Bank Rate Stays Put, Spring Forward and #MoneyStories
The Bank rate note changing isn’t really news and neither is Daylight Savings Time, but there are a lot of great financial stories here.
Canajun Finances
Home » Random Thoughts »
Random Thoughts
Welcome Americans and #MoneyStories
Another historical piece, when President Trump as elected SO many Americans said they were going to move to Canada, never really happened, that I saw.
Welcome our American cousins, and all those who are claiming that if Donald Trump (or Hillary Clinton) gets elected they will move out of the United States of America. We Canadians welcome you with arms wide open, however, please leave your arms down there (thank you). It is always interesting to hear folks down south claiming they would move up north, a few good examples were:
- If Obamacare passes! So you are running away from socialized medicine to move into a country with socialized medicine?
- If gun control laws are passed? Canada you want to move to? The big one up north?
- If marijuana is legalized?
- I am not even going to mention abortions
Should be an interesting choice down south, guess I should look into Wall futures? Remember that Toronto in the 60’s was a haven for Draft Evaders from the Viet Nam war, and that time was viewed as a Golden Age for Toronto, so who knows, maybe this is a good thing for Canada?
For any folks thinking of moving here, the topic for March is either, the Weather or Taxes! Luckily we have plenty to complain about on the tax side of things, with the Ontario Government slapping new taxes on many things, and the newly crowned Liberal Federal Government (or am I supposed to call them The Trudeau Government) talking of more taxes needed as well, the cold might not seem so bad. You see what I did there, I did the old switcheroo where it sounded like I was going to complain about how cold it was, and instead, I zinged in with a Tax Complaint (that is a very Canadian thing too).
My Writings for Week Ending March 4th
We leaped out of February into a short beginning of March, with RRSP season leaving us, but Tax Season is now in full bloom.
With this being a leap year did we have an extra day for RRSP contributions? Maybe, a few folks said it didn’t matter, but if you only worry about your RRSP at the end of February, you may have a financial planning problem, as I pointed out in Leap into Your RRSPs and Financial Planning
As I have mentioned many times I have a massive backlog of unfinished ideas, and I found one and added a bit of polish and a lot of sarcasm poking fun at Financial Services Web Pages
A Friday Thought
Read More »Welcome Americans and #MoneyStoriesThe hardest times to say the word no, are usually the most important times to say it.
RRSP Time and #MoneyStories
Attention! If you were planning on rebalancing your RRSP or any similar account, you only have until the end of Monday to get it done. While there may be exciting articles out there to read, always remember that the RRSP is more than just a savings account. It’s a tax deferral system, which means that you will have to pay taxes on the money you withdraw. But don’t worry, it shouldn’t be more than what you saved by putting money in your RRSP in the first place. Is it worth panicking to try to make a last-minute RRSP deposit if you don’t have a specific need to do so? Absolutely not! You will do better by putting the money in your TFSA (if you have room, for either, for that matter), or paying down debt. So, take action now and make the most of your investments.
The Ontario Government decided that they wanted to have the biggest sub-national jurisdiction Debt in the world ($308 billion), so they continue to run big deficit budgets with big promises. I will be reviewing the alleged extra funding for the Autism programs (with a lot of input from Mrs. C8j, hopefully), $333 million over five years. Why couldn’t they just give me a cut of that? Speaking of huge debts, evidently the World Debt is Rising (according to Bloomberg) but who are we borrowing from then? Mars? Venus? Maybe that is how Pluto ended up being demoted from planet (it owed too much money to the Intergalactic Banks).
Did you realize that Mattel has brought back the Thing Maker as a 3D printer? In case you were wondering what to get me for Easter.
A thought for a Friday:
“Don’t confuse comfort, for happiness”
My Writings for Week Ending February 26th
Another very confusing week of weather here in Ottawa, but luckily my writings didn’t seem as confusing (I hope).
To absolutely no consumer’s surprise Stats Canada published last week the monthly inflation numbers and it showed that healthy food costs a lot more than it did a year ago, and even Gasoline is more expensive too? Given the new taxes the Ontario Government is going to put on booze and smokes, that won’t help these numbers either.
What is a Spousal RRSP? That is a question a few folks have asked me, and I keep thinking about how only 10 years ago it was really the only way to income split (in retirement), but now thanks to Pension Income splitting the Spousal RRSP seems to have disappeared off folks’ savings radar?
Read More »RRSP Time and #MoneyStories
Digging Out, Ransomware, RRSP Time and #MoneyStories
Yes it is that magical time of the year RRSP time, do you need to defer any income this year? Save for your retirement? Stick it to the feds by lowering your income?
Lent is Here, Bricked iPhones, Love Day and #MoneyStories
Lent has arrived early this year, and it’s time to take advantage of this opportunity to make positive changes in your life. I hope you had your fill of pancakes on Tuesday night because now it’s time to buckle down. Lent is not just a time for piety, it’s a time to grow and improve, regardless of your religious beliefs. So, let’s get to work and make this Lenten season count!
Have you tried to save some money by getting your iPhone repaired by a 3rd party (not wanting to deal with the “geniuses” at the “Genius Bar” at your local Apple Store)? If you have be prepared, because your phone may brick itself as Apple doesn’t want you to be doing that, they want you to only use their technicians. How can they do this? Error 53 will happen if you have had specific repairs done, and if that happens, you will end up at an Apple Store, hoping they can do a “Lazarus Job” (keeping with our Lenten theme) on your bricked phone.
Love Day is coming this weekend, time for folks to gorge themselves on Chocolate, buy expensive diamonds and of course roses, or not. For me it is a time to remember my parents’ wedding anniversary and to enjoy being with the love of my life. Much like financial planning, if you only show the person you love attention on 1 day, you are not doing it right.
Our new PM (aka Le Dauphin) is now shying away from his bold statements of balancing the federal budget by the time his first term is complete? No big surprise there, given the shape of the economy, the price of oil and such, but yet another bold promise by a candidate becoming like a kitchen cockroach and scurrying away when the stark lights are turned on?
My Writings for Week Ending February 12th
For some reason I had 4 actual posts this week, maybe this means I will be writing more? Maybe.
More Folks Looking for Work in January and there are some more interesting graphs in there about where the jobs seem to be currently, well worth checking that one out.
The Financial Celebration of Lent is here, but even if you are not religious, you could take advantage of this time to try to make some positive changes in your life.
Lotteries are not a Financial Service, and I am calling out Red Flag Deals for categorizing their Lottery Deal as such. C’mon man!
Finally I loaned out my pulpit for a guest post by the folks at ProLiteracyCA, have a read if your child is getting close to University age.
Read More »Lent is Here, Bricked iPhones, Love Day and #MoneyStories