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2018

Budgets, Phoenix Death, Inflation and #MoneyTalk

How does a system named Phoenix go down in flames? The $1B payroll system, will be repaired enough to work (at much further cost), and then it will be replaced by something else? It was obvious that the current Government wanted this albatross from around their neck, but is this enough? We shall see if this helps or hinders them.

An interesting budget. It’s interesting that fiscal conservatism (note the small C) has gone right out the window in North America as a whole. Balanced budgets are a thing of the past, I suppose? There is an extension of the RDSP qualifying plan holders program, which will help families still trying to figure out the RDSP Statutory Guardian world (it is really not easy, and it is expensive too).

Last week Stats Canada published the January Consumer Price Index numbers, and as usual they are interesting.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.7% on a year-over-year basis in January, following a 1.9% increase in December. Excluding energy, the CPI increased 1.7%, matching the gain in December.

Interesting that energy did not cause issues this month.

CPI Inflation Phoenix
CPI by category compared to last month

Looking with a little more detailed eye we can see year over year:

Main upward contributors:

  • Gasoline (+7.8%)
  • Food purchased from restaurants (+3.7%)
  • Homeowners’ replacement cost (+3.5%)
  • Air transportation (+12.2%)
  • Purchase of passenger vehicles (+1.4%)

Main downward contributors:

  • Electricity (-5.0%)
  • Travel tours (-2.5%)
  • Digital computing equipment and devices (-4.9%)
  • Video equipment (-10.0%)
  • Natural gas (-3.0%)

Gas is really up year over year, but not really month over month. Eating out continues to rise in cost too.


My Recent Writings

I found something in my backlog of over 300 unfinished titles, with, Credit is the Lubricant for the Wheels of Business, which really should have been title Credit is the Opiate of the Consumer. Banks, and stores want you to use credit but trussing yourself up with easy credit is a dangerous game to play.

Micro Blogging on Finance

Will Payday loans go away? Not likely, according to Hoyes Michalos.

Read More »Budgets, Phoenix Death, Inflation and #MoneyTalk
Credit Opiate of the Masses

Credit is the Lubricant for the Wheels of Business

What drives the economy? Credit is the lubricant that helps the cogs of the economic machine run smoothly, but what happens when credit stops?

Potholes, Tuition Increases, and #MoneyTalk

February’s new symbol in Ottawa is the Pothole. Due to the quick temperature swings, we have been experiencing, the roads are slowly deteriorating, and the size of the potholes cannot be discerned until you hit them. I think big money will be in realignment, hub replacements and tire repair because some of these potholes (or sinkholes) are pretty deep. They are as inevitable as tuition increases!

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Table of contents

Pot Holes are getting out of Control Here in Ottawa (Photo Courtesy CBC News)

My Alma Mater (the University of Waterloo) announced their new fees schedule, and tuition and all associated fees continue to track higher than inflation. Undergraduate tuition will rise by about 3%. However, co-op fees will increase by 2.8%. If you are planning to help your kids with University Costs, you need to know that you should prepare for these tuition increases every year. I don’t mean to pick on Yuppy U., but at least they publish this information.

RRSPs continue to be the non-topic for February, with few ads being seen. There are more ads for PayDay Loans and Short Term Loans than for RRSPs. The only thing people care about less is the Roll up the Rim at Timmy’s. What is going on in Canada? The next thing I’ll hear is that a Canadian Tuxedo has gone out of fashion!

The CRTC has rejected a call for a public inquiry into the big Telcos and Telecomm companies? It must mean that the frequent visitors at my front door, on my phone and in my mailbox must be my imagination. Well, that puts my mind at ease. The Canadian Telcos have it too darn easy, and what we pay for Mobile Phones, Internet and Cable is just too damn high.

This Flu season does seem to be a nasty one, with a second-round coming at us. I have noticed more folks sick at the office and more folks coming to work to share their illness. I got a flu shot for the first time this year so far, I don’t seem to have caught the Flu, but I guess I might be speaking prematurely?

Tangerine went a bit berserk a week or two ago and sent me countless tax forms in my emails (in both languages). I only have one account, so I’m not sure why I got that many emails, but I got an email saying they knew they sent them, but no real explanation why.

My Recent Writings

I guess I got caught up in the Olympics and work and ended up not writing anything new this week, but as I have mentioned, if you follow my Twitter feed, you will get a hefty dose of my archives as well. Remember that RRSP season can also be RRSP Re-Balancing season too.

Micro Blogging on Finance

The City of Hamilton is looking into limiting the number of PayDay loan places, and I am all for it. Our friend Doug Hoyes spoke, but this graphic did hit me.

Read More »Potholes, Tuition Increases, and #MoneyTalk
Much Younger Me

RRSP, Lent, Happy Year of the Dog and #MoneyTalk

RRSP season is here, but there really doesn’t seem to be the hype of previous years. There seems to be an under-current about how the RRSP isn’t all that it is cracked up to be? I don’t understand this, yes it is a before tax savings plan, but it is a savings plan. The TFSA and RRSP both have a place in your savings plans, but remember that paying off debt is more important.

Year of the Dog
Me and my favorite Dog but he isn’t around to celebrate the year of the dog sadly.

Lent began on Wednesday, a new season to try to make some positive changes in your life. You don’t need to be religious or Christian to use this as a time for positive change, just decide to change.

Happy Year of the Dog , it is Chinese New Year today and it is the year of the Dog (specifically the year of the Earth Dog). Might be an omen for investing, as the market has been a bit of a bad dog so far this year. One Astrology site gives very good financial advice for the year of the Dog:

Financially take more precautions with your security and don’t overspend. Get a budget going so you can track where your money goes.

So you can’t argue with that, it’s science!

Tax season is on the go as well folks, in fact TurboTax announced they are certified by the CRA so you can use their application to submit your taxes on-line. Yes, some folks submit early, and get their money back, a better idea than procrastinating and not getting your return in on time.



My Recent Writings

Index Investing Downsides came out of an article I read using the Ottawa Public Library’s free app RBDigital (very useful and free magazines). The article kind of sat on both sides of the argument, but I am really not sold on the value espoused by active management funds and active trading. Yes, when the market tanks, the Index tanks, but do actively managed funds really save you?

Micro Blogging on Finance

If you are reading my RDSP and DTC posts you really need to follow Milburn Drysdale because his site has far better information on how to get all this done.

Read More »RRSP, Lent, Happy Year of the Dog and #MoneyTalk

High Fee Mutual Funds

Index Investing Downsides

Even though I do Index Investing (mostly) I do realize that with all investing plans there are downsides. I read an interesting article in the Kiplinger magazine (by Elizabeth Leary) that talked about the obvious… Read More »Index Investing Downsides

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