Canadian Personal Finance Blog

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.

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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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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.

Know anyone who's been cashstrated? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/AbmlnuTYzW

— Boomer and Echo (@BoomerandEcho) September 10, 2017

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

Holy cow, interest rates went up another ¼ point this week, and the media is wetting itself. Indeed it is time to panic? Not yet, but a single jump could have been an isolated event. Two could signify a trend. Was this not expected? This is the only question to ask. The Canadian economy seems to have gone off the rails in terms of growth, and the Bank of Canada feels it needs to put the brakes on things, so this looks like a trend.

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The Canadian Dollar has jumped in reaction to this rate rise. Your Canadian Dollar can buy more, but your Canadian products are now more expensive on the open market too.

My vacation didn’t go that well, but I did have a friendly conversation with Doug Hoyes. Doug will attempt to make it sound coherent, and there will be a podcast about a few things soon. Doug is an engaging chap to chat with, given he is a Bankruptcy trustee. Before you claim bankruptcy, I learned that you need to show your spending habits and all your assets to the trustee. Maybe folks should do that now, so they can figure out where the problems are before you call Doug?

Gasoline is back to over $1.20 a litre in Ottawa, and it is not likely to drop any time soon is the predictions from Gas Buddy and such. I guess I am glad I drive a Corolla. It might be time to look at electric cars, or better still, go back to a single vehicle for the family.

The NFL season has begun, and I wonder how long this sport will continue? I have loved football my entire life, especially the NFL, but given the concussion findings coming out, I wonder how much longer the sport can continue? Some have suggested that better equipment might change things, but I am not optimistic. I guess that football has about 10-15 years until it will fade away. Economically, what will the economic impact of this multi-billion dollar industry disappearing have?

Recent Writings

No, I am not getting into the travel blogging world. Far too competitive. The Big Cajun family went on vacation, so we figured we’d publish some Big Cajun Vacation Tips. The vacation didn’t go as expected with my son getting nasty strep throat, but it was still enjoyable. I also did a bit of work, chatting with Doug Hoyes, there is a Podcast planned out of those sessions.

What is the Importance of Financial Reports? Do you put together IKEA furniture without reading the instructions? Why don’t you read your financial reports? You need to be at least able to understand your Credit Card Bills and Bank statements, or you will be in trouble.

I tip my hat to David Letterman with Stupid Bank Tricks, showing some of the things I have done to make my bank help my financial plan.

Read More »Rates Up Trend, Summer Holidays, High Gas and #Moneytalk