Ladies on Panels, Good Friday, Friendly Skies, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk
United does seem to be the friendly skies any more, and also a collection of great Easter weekend financial reads for your pleasure.
Tax Time, Housing Bubbles, Financial Easter and #MoneyTalk
It’s tax season, and it’s important to get it done. Don’t procrastinate! Make sure you file your taxes on time. I’ve already received my refund, so it’s time for you to get yours too.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of contents
Are you assuming that you can claim all of your dependants? Not if your dependant is called Fluffy or Rover. Get all the tax credits you are due, but make sure you are not gilding the lily on things either.
There is a housing bubble starting in Ottawa, and the prices of homes are on the rise, leading to bidding wars and quick sales. While this is interesting to many, it’s not something I’m interested in, as I’m not sure where I would live if I sold my Big Cajun Hacienda. I suppose I could live in a van down by the river, but that’s getting crowded too. Meanwhile, there have been reports of landlords in Toronto raising rents, but this could backfire as it may prompt the government to introduce tighter rent controls, which could ultimately harm the landlords’ profits.
Remember the important financial credo to live by:
Pigs get fat, Hogs get slaughtered
Kind of a special Easter message, for those landlords trying to make it big.
Easter is coming folks, next week the week leading up to the big weekend. Another good time to start rethinking any financial plans you might have.
My Writings for the Week Ending April 7th
I didn’t write anything this week, but I continue to clean up a lot of my older writing, and republishing them on social media. You should really be following me on Twitter, I am told I am a delight to read. I also tweet under my own name if you are curious as well (much more raw and rude commentary on life, technology, sports and my own odd humor). What kind of tweets might you see?
April Fools, High on Life and #MoneyTalk
Tomorrow is April Fools Day, where there is usually hilarious fake news stories posted to amuse folks. Unfortunately 2017 seems to be a Fools Year, so I won’t be indulging too much in April Fools this year. Maybe they should just rename April 1st fake news first?
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Table of contents
I suppose I could make some joke about the exploding house bubble causing folks to buy old shacks for over a million dollars, but who would believe that ?
Given the ho hum budget last week, the government seemed to want to end the first quarter of 2017 on a high note. Evidently they will be pushing forward with their marijuana legalization program. They are very high on this program, and hope it stops them from being stoned in the polls. Maybe this spring the grass will be greener on the other side of the bong? Let’s hope for some high times in the Canadian economy. Suddenly I want to eat a bag of all dressed chips.
You now have a month until your tax return is due, might be time to start thinking about doing something about it? The CRA is making it as easy as possible with their auto-fill capabilities too. Get the government to give it back.
My Writings for Week Ending March 31st
I went back and had a closer look at a specific part of the budget, and hoped I could encourage more folks to do their DTC (Disability Tax Credit) application themselves. I point out in DTC Change For The Better, that allowing Nurse Practitioners fill in the T2201 forms from the CRA is a step in the right direction, maybe now the government could try to make the process a little easier for folks?
Read More »April Fools, High on Life and #MoneyTalk
Ho Hum Budget, Brackets Busted and #MoneyTalk
A very ho hum budget from our government this time with a few more tax tweaks (where tweak always ends up acting like a tax increase, due to the loss of yet another deduction).
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of contents
The big ones for someone like me end up being:
Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
- Disappearance of the Mass Transit usage tax deduction. Evidently it didn’t cause more folks to take the bus? Guess I can throw out my bus pants. I have taken the bus in the past.
- If I take an Uber, I will have to pay HST on it. It was surprising to me, that was not the case, no big deal in my book, I take the bus, no wait.
- I was sad to read about the death of Canada Savings Bonds. I remember when I had CSBs that paid 19% a year! Those were the days.
- For RDSP and RESP the rules for what you can invest in, have been tightened. The interesting part is that it is in the section, Closing Tax Loopholes Doesn’t really change anything in my portfolios, but it is sad when loopholes close (usually they make knots then). Nice to hear that they at least know the RDSP exists.
Extend to Registered Education Savings Plans and Registered Disability Savings Plans anti-avoidance rules similar to the ones applicable in connection with Tax-Free Savings Accounts and Registered Retirement Savings Plans.
- For Disability Tax Credit (DTC) Eligibility Certification, Nurse Practitioners are proposed to be added to the list of folks eligible to fill in the forms for you. This is really good news, and should make it easier to do the DTC paperwork yourself.
- Booze and Smokes are more expensive thanks to higher taxes too.
- Lots of promises for other folks, but nothing else that changes my life.
The good news is that the Capital Gains taxes and Pension Income Splitting haven’t been touched.
March Madness continues this weekend, and Formula 1 racing begins again as well. Yes that audible sigh you hear is Mrs. C8j realizing I will be a true Couch Potato this weekend. March Madness bracket picking is similar to stock picking in my books (i.e. I stink at both of them).
My Writings for Week Ending March 24th
Spring, sprang here in Ottawa, there is still snow on the ground and we had -25C temperatures, but it was Spring! I also wrote about Spring Financial Cleaning (revisited), and some of the things to do this spring.
A Money Thought
More disturbing comics from Dilbert, especially about investing.
Naughty Banks, March Madness, Big Snow and #MoneyTalk
I understand you’re aware of the profit-driven approach taken by banks, and the recent CBC coverage on this topic. It’s important to recognize that banks are not your friend, but rather they are businesses focused on generating profits for their shareholders. As a customer, you are simply an income stream that banks can exploit to meet their financial goals. We need to remember that our relationship with banks is purely a business one, and it’s up to us to be vigilant and protect our interests. The onus is on us to take charge of our finances and not rely on our banks to have our best interests at heart. Oh those naughty banks.
Remember those thoughts the next time you think your bank is helping you out, by allowing you to have a new service. The only reason they let you have it, was to make them money.
March Madness has begun, I am cheering for Deep State to take the whole thing. Curious stat I found that this time of year is when the most vasectomies occur (and around time for the Masters), so the patient can “recover” at home and watch the games in peace. Seems a little extreme just to have the family leave you alone, but, to each his own. One day I will write about my two vasectomies. Might this be March Vasness ?
Have I mentioned how much I dislike finding snakes in my car? As Bugs Bunny said, “Good Bye Florida!”.
It snowed, in Ottawa, too much. That is all.
My Writings for Week Ending March 17th
I took a week off, given it is March Break. Stay tuned we will be celebrating my 12th year of being the “Cranky old man of Personal Finance”, next week!
A Money Thought
Stan Buell has the correct view on the whole, “The Banks are out to get us” statement.
