Random Thoughts

Every Christmas there is a must have gift that parents have to get, or risk being dubbed lame, and this year we have an interesting Canadian Xmas It Gift, that is the Hatchimal. Don’t worry about trying to buy it, you can’t find it anywhere. When my daughters were at the magic age we had Tickle Me Elmo, the Teletubbies and countless other important purchases (that have been donated somewhere). Are these toys that important? When I was a kid, I remember making my Dad run around Montreal looking for Dungeons & Dragons manuals, and it was important to me (at the time), so maybe they are important?

Big C8j Xmas Gift hint Remember that if you are planning on being lazy and giving gift cards, you can buy iTunes cards on sale all the time at Costco (usually you can buy $100 worth of cards for $94), perfect for that friend dealing with an emergency CRA audit? Truly an Xmas it gift (for those being fleeced).

The Bank of Canada kept their key overnight rate at 0.5% for 2016. Their overall view is interesting, and not clear:

In Canada, the dynamics of growth are largely as the Bank anticipated. Following a very weak first half of 2016, growth in the third quarter rebounded strongly, but more moderate growth is anticipated in the fourth quarter. Consumption growth was robust in the third quarter, supported by the new Canada Child Benefit, while the effects of federal infrastructure spending are not yet evident in the GDP data. Meanwhile, business investment and non-energy goods exports continue to disappoint. There have been ongoing gains in employment, but a significant amount of economic slack remains in Canada, in contrast to the United States. While household imbalances continue to rise, these will be mitigated over time by announced changes to housing finance rules.

So they won’t do anything, for now. I suspect if the Americans start running up their rates, Canada will have to react in some fashion, or risk having a 50 cent dollar.

Viola Desmond will be the new face of the $10 bill in Canada, an excellent choice.

My Writings for Week Ending December 9th

I have been mucking around with trying to get Quicken running on my Mac in some fashion, and found a great article about it, but found that at the end of it, it was simply easier keeping an old PC laptop to run things, but I outline what I did in, Mac Quicken (in Canada) ?

The Xmas It Gift

In case you wondered what this miraculous toy might look like, here it is!

Parents' futile struggle to acquire Hatchimals, this year's hottest Christmas toy: https://t.co/3Vjp7ElmYq pic.twitter.com/mCumdk4HXh

— The Daily Dot (@dailydot) December 8, 2016

Read More »Xmas It Gift, Loose Money and #MoneyTalk

Where might you find me this weekend? Surprisingly, I will be at #CPFC16 with a bunch of other Financial Writers, Bloggers, and Industry Folk talking MoneyTalk (and Mortgage Hikes). It is always interesting to put faces to writings (as I am sure it is for a lot of folks when they meet me). Hoping to touch base with many friends (note I didn’t say old) and make a few new ones as well.

Black Friday is coming next week, with American Thanksgiving on the 24^th. What does this mean? For Canadians, not as much as it used to mean, if you can find any deals, you will be lucky. I wandered around Best Buy and they are ready for an influx on Black Friday, but the deals don’t make me want to squander my money just yet.

I note the sun has been rising these days, so the world has not quite ended with Mr. Trump’s election, but it is a much more interesting world (and that is an understatement). One interesting theory I keep hearing is that Mr. Trump is purposely trying to get impeached or thrown out, we shall see if that is a valid theory.

Sounds like Amazon may be extending their Video Streaming capabilities to Canada soon (if you believe tweets by Jeremy Clarkson). Another competitor for Netflix? Not likely, but you never know.

Yes, the Banks are upping their Mortgage rates, as I predicted (6 years ago)! Now might be a good time to lock in for a while, given it might give you a bit more peace of mind? The Bank of Canada hasn’t changed anything yet, but this might be a harbinger of some kind? Bank of Canada will remain quiet until December 7th on the topic of Interest Rates.

My Writings for Week Ending November 18^th

After having a lunch with some prominent financial folk (aka the N.C.F.B.A.) I was inspired and wrote two articles this week. It was sad to read about the death of Leonard Cohen, but I also remembered his financial issues, so I joined the two with Leonard Cohen a Cautionary Retirement Story. Are you sure your retirement savings is safe? I would go check just in case.

The American elections now has reached the blame game and with that, folks are suddenly realizing how simple it is to manipulate Social Media (I know how to, I simply, choose not to), however I outline some things in Fake Money News and other Manipulations. What I forgot to mention was the authors of these less than truthful stories also make money from you coming to their unscrupulous sites too! To quote Yakov Smirnoff, America, what a country!

A Money Thought

I actually stole this one from Crazy Ideas on Reddit, and it seems to have been well received. I would watch those documentaries as well. How do you submit ideas to Netflix ?

They should make documentaries where Ministers of Finances try to live on minimum wage in their countries. https://t.co/sT8gNdJDu0 @reddit pic.twitter.com/S6j1I0MAuy

— Big Cajun Man (aw) (@bigcajunman) November 15, 2016

Read More »CPFC16, Black Friday, Mortgage Hikes and MoneyTalk

Holy Cow! (to quote Harry Caray) the curse of the billy goat that was on the Chicago Cubs, has finally been broken (yea curses broken), and I am glad to see it. I remember the 69 Cubs with Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and crew making a run for the playoffs and then getting it all derailed by the Miracle Mets (yes, I am very old), so I was happy to see the Cubbies finally winning it all. It seems to be giving new hope to Blue Team fans as well.

Some think that Doomsday may be much closer after the Tuesday elections in the United States. For the record the Doomsday clock stands at 3 minutes to Midnight, so there isn’t much more wiggle room here, in terms of the big boom”. Let us hope cooler heads prevail, and whatever happens on Tuesday, it doesn’t create the Biblical Apocalypse that some have promised.  In other good news, the new Russian Satan II Missile can’t wipe out Texas or the UK as previously advertised (well, not just 1 of them).  Reading that helped me sleep better (sarcasm).

Evidently there is no such concept as a No Fault Divorce From Europe as the UK PM is finding out. Should be interesting to see where this winding road of interesting quandaries leads.

My Writings for the Week Ending November 4th

What Do Investors Complain About the Most ?Inappropriate investing strategies seems to be a big one (like having a 75-year-old retiree investing in a tech start up?), according to the IIROC. Worth reading, but I suspect that is only the tip of the iceberg, in terms of complaints.

A Money Tweet

What happens when Preet meets up with the Blunt Bean Counter? Why don’t you listen in to find out?

Podcast: Family Dynamics & Estate Planning w/ @bluntbeancountr
74% of you should listen to this. Find out why: https://t.co/CuPxtb7q2h

— Preet Banerjee (@preetbanerjee) November 2, 2016

Read More »Curses Broken, Doomsday, and #MoneyTalk

For my regular readers you know I am a big fan of Mark the Blunt Bean Counter (even if he is a rabid Leafs fan), and a while back he dropped me a note that he was going to be publishing an article on a topic I had asked him about a while ago, Henson Trusts. Mark said he knew a bit about them, but didn’t feel comfortable commenting on them, but did find someone who did a great job explaining another way for families of disabled loved ones to take care of them (financially). Mark got Katy Basi to write Estate Planning for Disabled Beneficiaries – Henson Trusts , and it is a great read. Next week Mark will be touching on another important topic (near and dear to my heart) the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).

Speaking of RDSPs, this week I wrote about another annoying session with TD Direct Investing attempting to put money into my son’s RDSP, and naturally I wrote about it in, TD Investments RDSP Continues to Annoy. I am just flabbergasted by how the system works, and as Michael James pointed out (in an April Fool’s article) this may actually be a Deposit-Only Bank Account (i.e. I will never be able to get the money out of the darn thing). The added annoyance from previous posts about the account I only learned about because the young lady I was speaking with said, “Oh, I remember, with that type of account I have to…”, read the article to find out what the “…” entailed.

The only comment I can make about the fiasco that is the US Election is,“… people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones …” . That’s enough on that topic, let us hope it is over very soon, or that there are more Blue Jays games to watch instead!

Read More »Henson Trusts, RDSP Gripes and #MoneyTalk

This weekend we celebrate the harvest in Canada, with our version of Thanksgiving. At this time, we need to remember the turkey, and the contribution it makes to our festive tables. Traditionally for Canadians this weekend is a time for families and friends to get together (nothing compared to our raucous neighbours Thanksgiving in November, however) and remember that charity at this time of plenty is important as well.

The ugly side of sports showed itself as a Blue Jay fan chucked a beer can (and almost hit) an unsuspecting Orioles player. As a lifetime Expos fan, I am unimpressed, and if I saw anyone do that at a ball game, I’d point them out to the authorities. Come on Torontonians figure out who the culprit is and do the right thing. The only Knucklehead at the Jays game should be R.A. Dickey!

It is also Oktoberfest in my old stomping grounds of Kitchener/Waterloo (and Germany) (a good use of beer, as well). This wonderful fall tradition starts (officially) on Thanksgiving weekend. Allegedly, the PM himself will be tapping the first keg.

The big financial news for the week was Minister Morneau Announces Preventative Measures for a Healthy, Competitive and Stable Housing Market, which we shall see how it impacts the bubbling house markets in some cities in Canada.

Stuff I wrote this week

I had grandiose plans of writing a bunch of stuff this week, but life does sometimes get in the way of my best laid plans. It’s not quite what I had in mind (Financially) outlines how some folks settle for bad service, with their money, and they should not. You worked hard to make that money, fight to make it do the most for you.

I keep asking the same question on Social Media, but I never get an answer, RDSP: Question for Canadian Big Banks, asks why is the RDSP such a piss poor program at most banks? I have yet to have anyone from a bank respond to it.

Deep Financial Tweets

The Buddha mentions the following happiness:

Ananasukha – the happiness derived from not being in debt.

#DeepThoughtsOnMoney pic.twitter.com/GMmN4vnnEh

— Big Cajun Man (aw) (@bigcajunman) October 4, 2016

Read More »Thanksgiving, Knuckleheads, Debt & the Buddha & #Moneytalk