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IKEA, furniture warehouse store. Location

Halifax IKEA, New Tax Plans, Pumpkin Spice ETFs and #MoneyTalk

Why would anyone celebrate the opening of an IKEA in Halifax? One reason is there are no IKEA stores in the Maritimes. The closest one is in Quebec, and there are companies that will charge to ship IKEA kits to folks in the Maritimes, but now that is all changed. The Halifax IKEA is now open, and now Maritimers can enjoy meatballs, hot dogs and using Allen keys to build things. Remember to follow the instructions! Follow Squawkfox’s instructions on How to Survive a trip to IKEA. Evidently IKEA stuff is hard to put together so they bought a start up to help you ?

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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IKEA in Halifax
Big Crowds on Opening Day at IKEA in Halifax

Why do I know so much about IKEA and the Maritimes? I once made an IKEA run for my daughter from Ottawa to Wolfville to drop off her furniture. Would have been nice to have an IKEA closer by, back then.

President Trump unveiled his new tax plan this week, and it looks interesting, but as with all revised systems, the devil is in the details. In the USA, you can tell the former Canadians, because when an American complains about how high their taxes are, Canadian is the one that chuckles quietly in the background. The Highest tax rate in this new system will be 35% (maybe), in Canada the Federal Highest Tax Bracket is 33%, but remember we do have provincial tax to go with that. Whenever I hear tax reform is coming, I remember to hide more money in my mattress (figuratively speaking).

Pumpkin spice ETF? What is that? Well it is the only place I have not seen those descriptors used. Isn’t pumpkin spice just nutmeg?

Recent Writings

I keep hearing how advice from the past is no longer valid for investing, but I disagree. With Three Investment Credo from the Past  I point out that three good points from the past in investing are still quite valid. You can lose money with any investment, keep this in mind.

Good Money Podcasts outlines a few great Podcasts, from Canada, but also points to the Debt Free in 30 Podcast specifically. I was on with Doug Hoyes, and we talked about what happens when a 47 year old gets laid off. Which 47-year-old? Who do you think? Doug is in bankruptcy, and there is always jobs there.

Micro Blogging on Finance

I think Doug is taking a little poetic license on this one, although some say it just might be!

Read More »Halifax IKEA, New Tax Plans, Pumpkin Spice ETFs and #MoneyTalk
K Cup Pod

Good Money Podcasts

There are many good money podcasts out there it is important to learn as much as you can from various sources.

Old Investment Credos

Three Investment Credo from the Past

When I started investing there were very few rules for investing, but here are 3 old investment credos, that still ring true these days.

Understatement

Summers end, Taxes, Doomsday Insurance, Uber and #MoneyTalk

Tax discussions continue in the media with both sides of the argument claiming the other is misleading the public (on the usage of incorporation for individuals, to be specific). The tax change will not change my life, except that most of my doctors are threatening to move to the USA if it happens, but I am curious. If the law is passed, what smart accountant will find the “wrinkle” in the tax laws to allow for money sheltering? As usual I don’t feel I know enough to say if either side is “pleine de merde” or not.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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Understatement
Masterful Understatement

Given all the hurricanes lately in the states, are you aware that hurricane insurance and flood insurance are two different things? I didn’t realize that, and I don’t think I need hurricane insurance in Ottawa, but do I need flood insurance? Wonder if I need thermo-nuclear attack insurance, given North Korea’s continued sabre rattling? Is that covered under some other policy?

I took my first Uber this week, didn’t seem that cheap to me, but it was during the work day, and I was going to an out-of-the-way place, but so far the hype of this outstrips my experience. Driver seemed like a nice guy, payment using my phone seemed OK too, but seemed like a Taxi to me.

The Canadian Financial Summit happened on-line and you can have a look at the talks. Some are quite interesting, oh and here is my tip (I offered to do this as a presentation):

If you spend less than you make, life is easier. Debt is bad.

My perspective on these talks is you should take all advice (including this) as a lexicon of ideas and find what works for you. Luckily no one is espousing how short-term loan companies are really our friends.

Recent Writings

I keep hearing from co-workers about how banks are forcing them to open bank accounts with them, if they have a loan with the bank, and that is where Bank Accounts and Loans came from. The Banks have the right to ask this of their customers, but their potential customers also can decline.

Micro Blogging on Finance

Boomer and Echo came up with a very powerful tweet, which I liked a great deal.

Read More »Summers end, Taxes, Doomsday Insurance, Uber and #MoneyTalk
Bank Accounts and Loans

Bank Accounts and Loans

It seems these days that if you get a debt vehicle with a bank , bank accounts and loans are tied together, and you must bank with the bank, to be redundant

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