Still Financially Crazy after 13 Years
After thirteen years of writing financial articles, I am still financially crazy , after all these years. I must be crazy I think debt is a bad thing!
Potholes, Tuition Increases, and #MoneyTalk
February’s new symbol in Ottawa is the Pothole. Due to the quick temperature swings, we have been experiencing, the roads are slowly deteriorating, and the size of the potholes cannot be discerned until you hit them. I think big money will be in realignment, hub replacements and tire repair because some of these potholes (or sinkholes) are pretty deep. They are as inevitable as tuition increases!
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of contents
My Alma Mater (the University of Waterloo) announced their new fees schedule, and tuition and all associated fees continue to track higher than inflation. Undergraduate tuition will rise by about 3%. However, co-op fees will increase by 2.8%. If you are planning to help your kids with University Costs, you need to know that you should prepare for these tuition increases every year. I don’t mean to pick on Yuppy U., but at least they publish this information.
RRSPs continue to be the non-topic for February, with few ads being seen. There are more ads for PayDay Loans and Short Term Loans than for RRSPs. The only thing people care about less is the Roll up the Rim at Timmy’s. What is going on in Canada? The next thing I’ll hear is that a Canadian Tuxedo has gone out of fashion!
The CRTC has rejected a call for a public inquiry into the big Telcos and Telecomm companies? It must mean that the frequent visitors at my front door, on my phone and in my mailbox must be my imagination. Well, that puts my mind at ease. The Canadian Telcos have it too darn easy, and what we pay for Mobile Phones, Internet and Cable is just too damn high.
This Flu season does seem to be a nasty one, with a second-round coming at us. I have noticed more folks sick at the office and more folks coming to work to share their illness. I got a flu shot for the first time this year so far, I don’t seem to have caught the Flu, but I guess I might be speaking prematurely?
Tangerine went a bit berserk a week or two ago and sent me countless tax forms in my emails (in both languages). I only have one account, so I’m not sure why I got that many emails, but I got an email saying they knew they sent them, but no real explanation why.
My Recent Writings
I guess I got caught up in the Olympics and work and ended up not writing anything new this week, but as I have mentioned, if you follow my Twitter feed, you will get a hefty dose of my archives as well. Remember that RRSP season can also be RRSP Re-Balancing season too.
Micro Blogging on Finance
The City of Hamilton is looking into limiting the number of PayDay loan places, and I am all for it. Our friend Doug Hoyes spoke, but this graphic did hit me.
RRSP, Lent, Happy Year of the Dog and #MoneyTalk
RRSP season is here, but there really doesn’t seem to be the hype of previous years. There seems to be an under-current about how the RRSP isn’t all that it is cracked up to be? I don’t understand this, yes it is a before tax savings plan, but it is a savings plan. The TFSA and RRSP both have a place in your savings plans, but remember that paying off debt is more important.
Lent began on Wednesday, a new season to try to make some positive changes in your life. You don’t need to be religious or Christian to use this as a time for positive change, just decide to change.
Happy Year of the Dog , it is Chinese New Year today and it is the year of the Dog (specifically the year of the Earth Dog). Might be an omen for investing, as the market has been a bit of a bad dog so far this year. One Astrology site gives very good financial advice for the year of the Dog:
Financially take more precautions with your security and don’t overspend. Get a budget going so you can track where your money goes.
So you can’t argue with that, it’s science!
Tax season is on the go as well folks, in fact TurboTax announced they are certified by the CRA so you can use their application to submit your taxes on-line. Yes, some folks submit early, and get their money back, a better idea than procrastinating and not getting your return in on time.
My Recent Writings
Index Investing Downsides came out of an article I read using the Ottawa Public Library’s free app RBDigital (very useful and free magazines). The article kind of sat on both sides of the argument, but I am really not sold on the value espoused by active management funds and active trading. Yes, when the market tanks, the Index tanks, but do actively managed funds really save you?
Micro Blogging on Finance
If you are reading my RDSP and DTC posts you really need to follow Milburn Drysdale because his site has far better information on how to get all this done.
Does your child have autism? Are you ready to apply for the Disability Tax Credit? T2201 guide version 4 is now released and a must read, especially for first time filers. https://t.co/X8I6XhCRYo pic.twitter.com/tBIzp5PkdX
— Milburn Drysdale (@AutismFundingBC) February 11, 2018
Superb Owls, RDSP Deposit and #MoneyTalk
It’s the Super Bowl weekend in Minnesota, but as a dedicated Vikings fan, I have no interest in the game whatsoever. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind if both teams were disqualified and no winner declared. I am a die-hard Vikings fan and I am not afraid to admit that I am bitter about the whole situation. So, if you’re planning to watch the game, you better have some chili in the slow cooker, plenty of beer on hand, and be prepared for what will undoubtedly be the longest football game of the season!
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of contents
Spent another 20 minutes on the phone to make my semi-annual RDSP contribution to my son’s account at TD Direct Investing. No, my son’s account is still inaccessible directly on-line for deposits or transfers (i.e. I can automatically deposit to his RDSP from my chequing account). I continue to ask how to fix it, but I keep getting told that is how the system works. Evidently someone who has their own RDSP, that they can contribute to their own account, so that might be the issue, but I also continue to get no explanation from TD why I must follow the circular payment method that I do?
There is a very interesting set of documentaries on Netflix called Dirty Money. The first episode was about the VW Clean Diesel scandal, however, the second episode is even more insidious as it is about Online PayDay Loan companies in the USA. The dirty tricks in the agreements are shocking. The story is also about the owners and their prosecution by the Federal Government, but I was just so disgusted by the way the loan customers were tricked into believing they were paying off their loans, when in fact they were only paying a service charge to roll-over their loan to the next period. I would recommend watching the series just on the basis of the first 2 episodes.
My Recent Writings
Been a busy week for me, so I didn’t put out any new content this week, but I do continue to update and edit many of my 3000+ posts, and if you follow my Twitter feed you will see those updated articles. For #BellLetsTalk I did bring back I’m an Adult Now?, where I lamented the passing of my father 7 years ago. Also remember that Debt is a Four Letter Word.
Micro Blogging on Finance
I hope that Mr. Buckley’s comments about fee erosion is true, too many people are making too much money off my investments.
Tighter Money, Best Investment, Go North! and #MoneyTalk
The Bank of Canada went and done it! They raised the overnight rate to its highest rate in 9 years! This is going to ruin the economy! The rate is now at 1.25%, oh my God! Yes, I am being sarcastic about tighter money from the Bank of Canada. Their overview paragraph from the report was quite telling.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of contents
While the economic outlook is expected to warrant higher interest rates over time, some continued monetary policy accommodation will likely be needed to keep the economy operating close to potential and inflation on target. Governing Council will remain cautious in considering future policy adjustments, guided by incoming data in assessing the economy’s sensitivity to interest rates, the evolution of economic capacity, and the dynamics of both wage growth and inflation.
Talk about hedging your bets, I guess they are trying not to scare folks? Rates will be going up, but not in the near future, maybe? Does sound like tighter money policies are coming soon.
On the downside, the rate hike has caused all the banks to increase their prime rates, and mortgage rates, which is going to hit us all in the pocketbook. Most of the major banks have raised their “prime” rate to 3.45% and all mortgage rates have gone up as well.
For those curious, what would be the best investment given these changing times? GICs will start becoming more interesting to folks, but what might be a good investment? Hmm… How about Pay Down Debt! It now has even higher pay backs! What other investment can give you a guaranteed pay back of around 5% (on a mortgage)? On the plus side my guess is GIC Ladders is going to be a popular search on Google very soon.
Bitcoin lost value this week. Why? I have no idea really, but as I type these letters it is worth less than $10,000, but it might have recovered by the time you read this. To say this is a murky investment area is an understatement. Are you thinking of becoming a Bitcoin Miner? Go North young folk (Northern Quebec that is). Hydro Quebec is luring Cryptominers to Northern Quebec with very low electric rates. Evidently Quebec Knows How to use their excess hydro-electric resources, to make money.
My Recent Writings
This week I queried Can I get a Deal from a Chatbot ? Given the use of automated (some might say AI) on-line and social media bots being used for customer service, it is a valid question. I guess you are not likely to get too much from a Bot, although they may offer occasional perks just to keep folks from complaining about the lack of deals.
Micro Blogging on Finance
The importance of keeping your important financial information safe is nicely summed up in the following meme, which is a twist on an old adage.
