Canadian Personal Finance Blog

For those of us not directly affected, maybe it is time to check your home insurance policies to see whether this kind of event is covered or not. It would be less than prudent not to do that right now. I wonder what this might do to home insurance rates.

Listen up! Sunday is Mother’s Day, and you better remember the woman who has been, and still is, the center of your world. She’s the one who has guided you to where you are today. If you no longer have your mother, my sympathies go out to you. But if you still have your mother, have you planned what you will do for her on Sunday? And why wait until Sunday to do it? Don’t procrastinate. Show some appreciation and gratitude to the most important woman in your life!

New fathers remember this advice I gave a while ago

A helpful hint for new Fathers out there, you may have the idea that your wife is NOT your Mother so you don’t need to get her anything, you are mistaken. She is your children’s mother, and if you don’t get her something expect a very cold and quiet Sunday (and the argument, “You aren’t MY Mother!”, really seems to exacerbate the whole thing), not that I am speaking from personal experience.

My Writings for the Week Ending May 6th

A lovely spring week in Ottawa, with the Tulips starting to bloom (the squirrels have eaten mine already), but some interesting articles written as well.

With Fees and Penalties I wondered if some existing fees might disappear like the rewind fees on VHS tapes? I somehow doubt many are going away any time very soon.

Debt Consolidation and Tattoo Coverups has me making a connection between bad tattoos and debt (remember I have previously said that Debt is Like Fat and Debts are Like Weeds), and I think the point is well put.

A Money Thought

Don’t buy stuff just because it is on sale! –Anon

10 Things You Should Do Before You Start Investing https://t.co/g8cCfFdNBF pic.twitter.com/1dZOJKjOMf

— Big Cajun Man (aw) (@bigcajunman) May 3, 2016

Read More »Mothers and #MoneyTalk

It’s important to note that your taxes are due this weekend. As one of my new favorite shows, LetterKenny, would say, “Pitter-Patter, time to get at ‘er!” Don’t forget to keep your eyes on the prize, Sky Chief, when it comes to your money. Therefore, you must take immediate action and complete your taxes on time. Remember, procrastination is not an option! I hope you find this advice helpful.

There is a new report from the Government about the RESP program and who has benefited from this useful savings vehicle (for parents). The Report entitled “Canada Education Savings Program: Summative Evaluation Report“, and the telling statement in the report (about whom uses RESPs) is:

Furthermore, it was estimated that over $400 million in grants (or 49% of all CESP expenditures) were distributed to families with a household income of $90,000 or more in 2013, of which $280 million (or 32% of CESP expenditures) went to families earning $125,000 or more.

I think this is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy (i.e. Rich folk are the ones using the program the most), in that more affluent families are more likely to open accounts, and thus more likely to build up grants from it. Very few lower-income families are even aware, that even if they put no money in, they can still build up savings for their kid’s future post-secondary education. While there are groups like SmartSaver.org that are trying to help get the word out, the Government does a poor job educating parents about the benefits of the program for lower-income Canadians.

There was a planned NCFBA semi-periodic meeting planned this week, but thanks to most un-excellent planning on my part things did not transpire as I had hoped. It is always fun to meet with my fellow Financial Blogging folk, because most of them are very interesting folks (you would be surprised what most of them do for their real jobs). It may have been better that I didn’t go, given my son has a terrible cold (I might have infected some of the finest financial minds).

My Writings for Week Ending April 29th

Another week and more odd news from Stats Canada in terms of prices of things, where we continue to be told that drinking gas might be the cheapest way to live? Good Food Still Is Not Cheap in Canada (Inflation for March), outlines how good food is getting more expensive but thanks to cheap gas and oil, we don’t really notice.

Self-Driving Cars Will Change Things, but not just in terms of technology and such, financially. The insurance world is still analyzing what this new technology is going to do to their bottom line. A well-controlled piece of technology, instead of road-raged humans? That equation should mean lower (if not missing) insurance premiums, shouldn’t it?

A Money Thought

Have more than you show, speak less than you know.

Read More »Pitter Patter Tax Time, RESPs are For Rich Folk and #MoneyStories