The week started with the Government announcing a surplus in the 2014/15 budget year of almost $1.9 Billion, and it kicked off a bit of a reaction from many sides. A surplus is a good thing. How the surplus was created is questionable, but it did happen (unless the Government hired all of the old Nortel Accountants). Stories about forced spending cuts in key ministries and the infamous huge savings from Mr. Clement’s Sick Leave changes. However, it is a surplus that cannot be argued (if you view the term surplus as a specific accounting term). Just an observation, but when did the NDP become more “centrist” than the Liberals?

Glad to see some money sense with the story of a Brooklyn Nets rookie (who makes $1.3M a year) who has roommates because rent is whacked in Brooklyn! It’s easy when you get money fast to give in to the “Live Now, Pay Later” mentality that our society pushes, but glad to see one young person who realizes that all wealth can be fleeting.

The one interesting thing from the Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada Fiscal Year 2014-2015 is the statement of the National Debt. Remember, the National Debt is how much money Canada owes to Creditors (many of whom are CSB owners and such, see Page 24 for the exact details of the debt). If I am reading the report correctly, Canada’s Net National Debt is $612.3B (if that is what is on Page 26 of the report). To quote the report exactly:

With total liabilities of $1.0 trillion, financial assets of $336.7 billion and non-financial assets of $74.6 billion, the federal debt (accumulated deficit) stood at $612.3 billion at March 31, 2015, up $0.4 billion from March 31, 2014

So we really owe $1Trillion, but thanks to accounting fun, we say our debt-load is $612B ? I’ll have to remember that the next time I go talk to the bank. Financial Crisis? What Financial Crisis?

Luckily the US Federal Reserve kept their rate near zero. No sudden stock market crashes just yet.

My Writings for Week Ending September 18th

The days are getting shorter as Autumn is coming (in the Northern Hemisphere). :

• Are you a big lover of the Twitter Machine? If so you’ll want to check out Talking about Money on Twitter this Week, another kind of best of article.
• Yes, it only takes 10 kicks in the shins before I take my own advise, I have closed the mutual fund account mentioned in More Blocked Mutual Fund Transactions at TD, but I am always happy when I can have Dikembe Motumbo mentioned in an article.
• Yes, I am a cranky old man, “… get off my front lawn, ya rotten kids…”, and in that spirit I wrote, Don’t Be Afraid to Live With Your Parents, yes it is an example of swerve writing.

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Tweet of the week

The Government just told us about how they spent our tax money, why aren’t you reading this?

Release of the Annual Financial Report: http://t.co/lbSSHkglyN

— Finance Canada (@FinanceCanada) September 14, 2015

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Read More »Surplus, What Surplus, NBA Frugality, National Debt and #MoneyStories

It is 14 years since that day, when the world changed in 2001. Is the world a worse place because of the events of that day? It’s a different place, is all I can say with certainty. History will tell us the rest.

The election continues to show that the Tories are lagging, the Liberals are not wowing, and the NDP seems to be turtling their way into a slight lead, but none of the party leaders are running away with the race. It would have been exciting to see this election if Jack Layton had beaten cancer, but we will never know, won’t we?

Apple introduced some “new” technology, including the iPhone Maxi (6S Plus) and the reintroduction of the Apple TV. I get the feeling that the media world (specifically video streaming) is about to change, but I also suspect it may not be Apple that wins the fight.

Our friends at the Bank of Canada continued their rates on Wednesday with the following statement about the economy (hopefully, one day it will come with a helpful decoder ring to explain all the jargon as well):

Increasing uncertainty about growth prospects for China and other emerging-market economies, in contrast, is raising questions about the pace of the global recovery. This has contributed to heightened financial market volatility and lower commodity prices. Movements in the Canadian dollar are helping to absorb some of the impact of lower commodity prices and are facilitating the adjustments taking place in Canada’s economy. While the overall export picture is still uncertain, the latest data confirm that exchange rate-sensitive exports are regaining momentum.

Meanwhile, risks to financial stability are evolving as expected. Taking all of these developments into consideration, the Bank judges that the risks to the outlook for inflation remain within the zone for which the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate. Therefore, the target for the overnight rate remains at 1/2 per cent.

A simple translation? “risks to financial stability are evolving as expected” the known unknowns are known? The unknown knowns are better understood?

My Writings for Week Ending September 11th

With Labour Day being so late this year we are already well into September, however, it is still hotter than most of the summer, 2015 an odd year for weather :

• Over the weekend I continued my best of twitter world with Laboured Personal Finance Tweets of the Week, some fun tweets in there.
• Ironic Labour Numbers on Labour Day for August, not only included the rather ho-hum jobs numbers from last week, it also included a mention of Das Capital by Karl Marx.
• It is that magical time of the year, Back To School and RESP Time, but do you really care about RESPs if you are going to leave the post-secondary school costs to your kids?

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Tweet of the week

I found this one in my twitter feed and was horrified when I read the story

Woman issues warning after thieves ring up thousands on her credit cards and bank says she… http://t.co/2WrBK7QI0N pic.twitter.com/M5x3P6p6zl

— The Province (@theprovince) September 1, 2015

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Read More »That Day, I Miss Jack, Easy Money and #MoneyStories

I was tickled pink to see that my favourite party had returned, the Rhinoceros Party for this election. This party had a plank in their platform about damming the St. Lawrence River for Hydro-Electric power. In Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s riding, it ran another candidate with the name Pierre Trudeau (I got to vote in that election in that very riding). Their first plank for this election in their platform? Nationalize Tim Horton’s! Glad to see the return to common sense politics.

I was glad to see Steadyhand come out with the commentary Good Debt, Bad Debt which points out the alarming rise in Canadian debt. Tom Bradley’s commentaries about the Banks encouraging an already heavily in debt society that a concept of “Good Debt” distresses him, and I agree. With low-interest rates about to go away, what will happen when the rates go up? Thanks to reader @Gene2u for pointing this out. An excellent article.

The rest of the parties seem very excited about the Mike Duffy trial, except for Mr. Harper, who hopes we aren’t watching it. We’ve lost 1 or 2 candidates thanks to unfortunate tweets in their past (I guess I’ll never be running for public office) as well. That is about all that has been going on in the election.

Gas prices continue to drop, which is bound to screw up the CPI for the coming months, but with oil sitting at below $40 a barrel, it is about time that gas prices dropped. Is this doing any good for Canada? It depends on where you live. If you live in Alberta, NO!

Did you realize there are 77 Expiration Dates that you Should Track? Time Magazine has an interesting list for you.

My Writings for Week Ending August 21st

The summer is slowly coming to a close, and an entertaining fall lies ahead (with plenty of election shenanigans and tom-foolery):

• Before the dawn of oppressive bank fees my idea of having a bank account at whatever bank that was near my work was a great idea, however since high bank fees became the norm, A Great Financial Idea Dies.
• As if I really needed more reasons to espouse changing banks if you are being treated shabbily, however somehow I found More Reasons to Change Your Bank.
• Rob Carrick did mention in his piece in the Globe and Mail Nine castles that cost less than a Vancouver condo my RDSP: Banking Challenge Ignored, and no bank has taken me up on my challenge.

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I am also mentioned in this fun article too:

Hey, that's me! In the article that is, oh and Millenials shouldn't move back in with their parents either! https://t.co/0eQE2fXg9w

— Big Cajun Man (aw) (@bigcajunman) August 17, 2015

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Read More »Rhinos Return, No Good Debt, Election Banter and #BestMoneyStories