Unlocking Phones, Raiding Parents’ RRSP, Household Debt and #Moneytalk

Today is the first day of Unlocking Phones in Canada. The CRTC’s rules about how Cell phone providers must give the phone to you unlocked comes into play today. You can also get your phone unlocked for free, if you have a contract with the firm. Isn’t this a great day? Wonder when we start getting cheaper rates and unlimited wireless internet? Guess that one is going to take a little longer?

---

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

---

The minister of National Revenue reinstated the Disability Advisory Committee. This might be a good thing, but hard to tell. I believe this is a reaction to the media coverage of Disabled Folks losing their DTC. What is this committee going to do?

“The Committee will advise the CRA on how we can better inform people with disabilities and various stakeholders about tax measures and important administrative changes. The Committee will also review the CRA’s administrative practices and make recommendations on how we can enhance the quality of our services for people with disabilities.”

So my guess about them reacting to folks losing their DTC in the media is on-target.

The Real Estate world seems to be wetting their pants over possible drops in sales, so now they have come up with a new ferkokten idea, allowing buyers to borrow from their Parent’s RRSPs? I love my kids, but that is possibly the most meshuge idea ever. Put money away for my retirement, but decide I’d rather keep working so my kids can have a house? I keep reading that phrase and it doesn’t make any sense. Whoever thought that up is the definition of Chutzpah.

The amount of hype the Real Estate industry is creating is getting to the levels of the Cigarette Companies in the late 1960’s. A family in every house, a car in every garage and a chicken in every pot as the National Dream may well be over.

Did I say bubble? With Bitcoin smashing through $1000 maybe it is time to think about investing in it? What you nuts? Here is an interesting statistic for you, Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than 20+ European countries. People are wasting that much electricity for this? Wow.

Do those Boomers have money for their kids to borrow? Stats Canada put out a study that suggests:

“The level of household debt relative to income in Canada remains high by historical standards and continues to rise, driven by growth in mortgages and home equity lines of credit.”

This is bad news for all the bubbles out there. Eventually the Debt bubble will go pop, with either higher rates of interest or creditors tightening rules for lending. Listen closely folks the next financial bang might be very loud. Remember the good old days when Mortgages were 10% and we thought that was low? Should call my friend Mr. Hoyes to see how many bankruptcies he’d expect if interest rates went to that level?

My Recent Writings

With the maniacal shopping of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I figured I’d go to the one day out of it that speaks to me and that is Giving Tuesday. Everyone has their go to charities, and with Giving Tuesday, My List I give you my list of the charities I am giving to this year. I didn’t mention my Church on the list, but that is the other charity I donate to.

Micro Blogging on Finance

Today is the big day! The caveat I read is that your unlocking phones must be done under contract with one of the Cell Phone providers, but what about me, I am not on a contract, I am month to month? We shall see I suppose.

No unlocking fees for mobile devices starting tomorrow! Learn about enhanced #WirelessCode and what it means for you: https://t.co/wTgWi2B9u9 pic.twitter.com/wyIpsAJzd9

— CRTCeng (@CRTCeng) November 30, 2017

Financial Advent Arrives

As December begins, so does the Christmas season, which in the Church is called Advent. Advent translates to “coming”, as in the coming of Christmas, but remember Financial Advent means, the Christmas Bills are coming too!

• Did you know that Business Owners plan for their retirement more than non-business owners? You’d find that out and a bunch of other great info from the Blutn Bean Counter’s article, The Results Are In From The Financial Survey! That point alone should make you want to go over and have a read.
• Inside the Strange and Fascinating World of Celebrity Money Handlers is a bit of tattle-tale journalism, but still fascinating that rich folks know so little about their own finances. If I had that much money, I’d know how much I had every day.
• Robb from Boomer & Echo went easy on us and only gave us 10 Financial Lessons To Share With Friends. He says he has a lot more but people stop listening to him after 10. People should really listen.
• Should you transfer your stock to your TFSA? Mark from My Own Advisor answers that reader question. The answer isn’t as straight-forward as you might guess.
• Harvard Business School has started an interesting program where, basketball players and student mentors work together to build business acumen. I think the players and mentors could get a lot out of that program.
• Michael James does another book review for Finance for Normal People by Meir Statman. The errors we make using emotional measurements sounds right to me. Looks like an interesting book to read, maybe it will come out in an Audiobook one day.

---

End of 2017 Random Thoughts

• What is your price, Black Friday, Phoenix and #MoneyTalk (November 24^th)
• We Shall Remember, Paradise Papers, Tax Cheats and #MoneyTalk #FLM2017 (November 10^th)
• Fall Back, Farewell PC Financial, and #MoneyTalk #FLM2017 (November 3^rd)
• Mortgage Tests, Thanks Gord and Bombardier and #Moneytalk (October 20^th)
• Halifax Ikea, New Tax Plans, Pumpkin Spice ETFs and #MoneyTalk (September 29^th)

3rd Quarter Random Thoughts

• Summers end, Taxes, Doomsday Insurance, Uber and #MoneyTalk (September 15^th)
• Rates Up Trend, Summer Holidays, High Gas and #Moneytalk (September 8^th)
• Farewell PC Financial, Summer Holidays, Bat Guano and #MoneyTalk (August 18^th)
• Paying Children to Move out, Sears, and #MoneyTalk (July 28^th)
• Rate Reactions, Mortgage Double Ups, Bad Cycling and #MoneyTalk (July 21^st)
• Keep Calm and Pay Off Your Debt and #MoneyTalk (July 14^th)

2nd Quarter Random Thoughts

• #Canada150, B of C Rates, and #MoneyTalk (June 30^th)
• Donuts, Graduations, Summertime and #MoneyTalk #Canada150 (June 23^rd)
• Bank Profits, Loose Money, Used House Salesfolk and #MoneyTalk (May 26^th)
• Avocado Toast, Victoria Day, Ransomware and #Moneytalk (May 19^th)
• RDSP, DTCs, Mother’s Day and #MoneyTalk (May 12^th)
• Thanks Prince Phil, More Old Than Young and #MoneyTalk (May 5^th)
• MLM, Balanced Budgets, and #Moneytalk (April 28^th)
• Overheated Housing Market, Rent Controls and #MoneyTalk (April 21^st)
• Ladies on Panels, Good Friday, Friendly Skies, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk (April 14^th)
• Tax Time, Housing Bubbles, Financial Easter and #MoneyTalk (April 7^th)

1st Quarter 2017 Random Thoughts

• April Fools, High on Life and #MoneyTalk (March 31^st)
• Ho Hum Budget, Brackets Busted and #MoneyTalk (March 24^th)
• Naughty Banks, March Madness, Big Snow and #MoneyTalk (March 17^th)
• Teller Upselling, Auto-filling Taxes, Spring Forward and #MoneyTalk, (March 10^th )
• Lent Begins, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk (March 3^rd )
• RRSP Season, Tax Time, and #MoneyTalk (February 24^th )
• Farewell Vinyl Café, Snow, Monopoly and #MoneyTalk (February 17^th )
• RRSP , Tax , TFSA , RESP, and RDSP Time and #MoneyTalk (February 10^th )
• Year of the Fire Rooster, Financial Groundhog Day and #MoneyTalk (February 3^rd )
• Alternate Financial Facts, 1984 and #Moneytalk (January 27th)
• Bungled Mortgages, Friday the 13th and #Moneytalk (January 13th)
• Merry New Year, CPP, EI and #MoneyTalk (January 6th)

---