Random Thoughts

Suppose you devised a plan to get the UK out of the EU, and it worked. What would you do? If you are Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage, you quit (while you are ahead?). After pulling off one of the more memorable upsets in the past little while, the two prominent faces of the Brexit crew have resigned, and now the UK has very little leadership on either side (having lost Prime Minister Mr. Cameron earlier on, and the Labour Party Leader seems to be under siege as well). Who has the rudder on the excellent ship Brittania? I don’t know, but the markets suggest they are not happy with the current situation. Now might be the time to book a vacation in the UK this summer?

More than once, I have written about how children should aspire to stop living with their parents as soon as possible, and for some, that has been construed as Millenial Bashing (to quote Rob Carrick), and while it does sound like harsh advice, I stand by the statement. Do you know how you learn to live on not much money? By living on not much money (and not living in your parent’s basement, claiming you are saving up for a down payment). My opinion is there are not that many more youngsters are doing this, but the mainstream media has latched onto it, as their cause celebre of the year. If you want to read an excellent book about Millenials and how much better than they are than all previous generations, read Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World (amazon link), well worth reading. My parents complained about me watching too much TV, and yes, I lived with them when I went to University too (for full disclosure).

I was sad to see that the Welsh Football (soccer) team lost in the semi-finals of the European tourney to Portugal, but it is an astounding result for the team (not quite as impressive as Iceland, but still pretty darn good). As I have said, I am the proud son of Welsh and English immigrants, glad to see Wales soccer is improving (Welsh rugby has been severely pounded by New Zealand, unfortunately).

My Writings for Week Ending July 8th

Another week with only 1 article, but hey, it was a long weekend, and it is the summer. I could be like the Blunt Bean Counter and leave up a Gone Golfing notice. More than one person has asked me whether I might be downsizing, as 3/4 of my kids are old enough to move out, but I am not thinking of it (for the next little while). My opinion is that Down Sizing: Another Money Maker for Real Estate Agents, remember it used to be you bought a starter house, and then the one you were going to live in for the rest of your life, now they have added one more major Real Estate transaction, Downsizing! It’s like McDonald’s creating a new meal Brinner (about 3 PM when you are hungry for a snack, have a Big Mac!).

Inflation?

Bank of Canada has some theories for the next two years on the topic of inflation.

Expectations for inflation over the next two years are largely within the Bank’s 1-3 % range pic.twitter.com/sEmN0UvSCi

— Bank of Canada (@bankofcanada) July 4, 2016

Read More »Brexit Market Mayhem, Millenial Bashing and #MoneyTalk

A bit of fun from 2016 but also a Celebration of St-Jean Baptiste Day or La Fête nationale in Quebec (land of my birth).

For those of you who did not grow up in Quebec, today is La Fête National or St. Jean Baptiste day, typically the start of the summer in Quebec. For me it was always the end of school, but that was 40 years ago. The rest of Canada waits for July 1st for the summer to really start (next Friday).

It seems the Canada Pension Plan is being revised to help Canadians retire. It seems to be to protect younger folks so more money is saved for their retirement, we will all pay higher premiums (phased in over the next little while), and the maximum payout will increase over time (but if you are already retired, you won’t benefit from this). I am still investigating, whether this will change much for someone like me who might retire within the next 5 to 8 years. I am searching for an actual Government document that explains the changes, nothing seems to exist yet. Is this a good thing? As usual, I will reserve commentary until I read an official document.

How will all of this change my retirement plans? I will comment when I can figure out how this new system works with my pension, but I suspect, at the end of it all, it won’t change my retirement plans much, but, I (55 year old) am not the demographic that these changes were put in place to help.

Will the Rio Olympics end up like the 1980 Moscow Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Games? There are many folks saying they will not be attending (or are being told they can’t attend), for many reasons. Is the Olympic movement still relevant? Yes, I think. However, the Olympic organization seems suspect.

The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship, how much money does that mean to the City of Cleveland? It will certainly mean less jokes about Cleveland, well, maybe not. Is Lebron James better than Michael Jordan? Not in my opinion, and the Warriors team from this year is not better than the 95-96 Chicago Bulls, but, only my opinion.

My Writings for Week of La Fete National

Another slack week for me, only writing one article, but to me, an important article, that needed to be written. RDSP the Savings Plan Nobody Knows About, came from a discussion I had with another parent about the Registered Disability Savings Plan, and how the people who seem to know the most about the program, are those who are trying to use it (not the folks who offer it, like the banks).

A Money Thought

People get very offended when you tell them how to raise their child, unless you wrote a book about it. Then they’ll pay you for it.  -ShowerThoughts Reddit

The same is true for Personal Finance.

If you had all the money in the world, you wouldn’t be able to spend it, as no one else would use currency.  -More Shower Thoughts on Reddit

Read More »La Fête nationale, Enhanced CPP and #MoneyTalk

I am disturbed to read about a new scam being perpetrated by scum bags, who call unsuspecting folks and claiming that that the victims owe a great deal to the CRA and it must be paid right now. The scam is quite unbelievable if you hear it, but it has caught a few folks already. The CRA has a page for this specific type of scam, so please check this CRA Scams Web Site (by the CRA) and learn how to recognize this kind of scummy behaviour. The CRA are nice folk, but they are a government agency, have definite rules of conduct with the public, and can’t directly harass on the phone (I don’t think). Some simple hints that this is a scam:

• Very aggressive behaviour, and demanding payment within the next hour. This is a government agency. Nothing happens in an hour (OK, most things never happen in an hour).
• If they ask for a Credit Card Number or for you to “Cable” money, the CRA doesn’t do that (and they sure as hell do not do iTunes cards).
• Tell you that you cannot tell any 3rd parties or the like. That flaming red arrow should cause you to hang up your phone.

Please, don’t be fooled or duped.

Staying with scumbags there were folks in Toronto that were contacting new Parents to try to sell them RESPs. Evidently Rouge Valley Health System had their patient personal info stolen, and this is where these folks got the info to contact the new mothers. Don’t buy stuff over the phone, if you didn’t ask for it in the first place.

Farewell to Canada AM which goes off the air today, after 43 years. The morning show format seems to be dying off, but I haven’t really watched Canada AM for a while (sorry guys).

Will Tragically Hip farewell tour tickets become the next Tulip Bubble for Canada?

My Writings for Week Ending June 3rd

A busy week for me at home, so only one new post put in place for the week.

Bad Financial Planners Can Help points out that even if you start with a terrible financial plan, if you review it, revise it and keep it up to date, you might end up with a very good plan. Remember any plan is a living thing, and will need to change with time.

A Money Thought

This hour has 22 minutes still continues to be funny, however, in this instance, I fail to see the humor of this (as a parent who has already talked about moving back in with your parents).

Young adults now more likely to live with parents than elsewhere. But only for a few decades until they can scrape together a down payment.

— 22Minutes (@22_Minutes) May 28, 2016

Read More »CRA Itunes Pmts, RESP Scams and #MoneyTalk

For a while it has miffed me that every time I have ranted about PayDay Loan places, Google Adsense (my major advertiser) decides that the article should be surrounded by advertising for those very same PayDay Loan places, but evidently this will be changing! Google will be removing PayDay Loans from their Adwords networks, but I remain skeptical. My guess is that the High Risk Loan industry will just market themselves in a different manner, but, good on Google for taking this step (wouldn’t it be nice if the CRTC did the same thing for those ads on TV?).

Are you curious whether your boss or your neighbours (or even family) are mentioned in the Panama Papers? Now, you, can search and see what is going on at ICIJ Offshore Leaks. Yes, I did search, but none of my relations seem to be mentioned. As I have mentioned, I aspire to be in that kind of a database (i.e. having that much money).

Fort MacMurray is still under threat of forest fires, but it is good to hear the damage to the city is not as extensive as it might have ended up. Remember you can donate to help at many different outlets (including most on-line banking web sites).

I didn’t realize that there are over 500 Billionaires (with a ‘B’) in the United States. #TIL

My Writings for Week Ending May 13th

I guess the fires in Fort Mac had me thinking about house insurance and claims, and thus the two posts from this week were in that area.

Home Insurance Gotchas was from my archive of unfinished stories, outlining the importance of making sure you are always following the rules of your Home Insurance Policy. If you think something is covered by your policy, it never hurts to ask your agent whether it is covered or not (finding out later it is not, is a likely outcome if you do not ask).

In Home Insurance Follow Up I point out again, that exceptional things in your house need to be identified in your Home Insurance Policy, or you may not get them replaced, should there be a fire at your home. Ask your agent if you are unsure what is or is not covered (I seem to be repeating myself here).

Evidently in Ottawa there is a full moon tonight, and it is Friday the 13th as well, for those interested in that type of stuff.

Where do Bitcoins Come From Mommy?

For those curious, here is a tweet about where some of them come from.

A 360-degree tour of a secret bitcoin mine https://t.co/bIPsBQFfpW via @BBC_Future pic.twitter.com/df2I6svg9X

— Alan Whitton (@alan_whitton) May 11, 2016

Read More »Panama Papers, Google & PayDay Loans, Full Moons and #MoneyTalk

For all of you worried about interest rates jumping, you have another month’s reprieve with the Canadian Dollar rebounding (along with Oil Prices) and a “strengthening” of the economy, The Bank of Canada kept the overnight rate the

same for a while longer. Their exact statement about why they kept the rates the same is:

Overall, the risks to the profile for inflation are roughly balanced. Meanwhile, financial vulnerabilities continue to edge higher, in part due to regional shifts in activity associated with the structural adjustment underway in Canada’s economy. The Bank’s Governing Council judges that the overall balance of risks remains within the zone for which the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate, and the target for the overnight rate remains at 1/2 per cent.

So the Canadian economy seems to be “in the zone” for now, however, that zone continues to be the in dire need of stimulation zone.

The hockey season in Ottawa was a complete disappointment, and it’s unfortunate that the team owner, who seems to be more skilled at finding organ donors than winning coaches, has fired all the coaches. Since there are no Canadian teams left, it’s time to move on and find another team to support. Personally, I’ll be watching the Jays and Formula 1, as they are both thrilling and entertaining.

Under the your mileage may vary category, I submitted my tax on-line on this past Saturday, and when I checked at MyCRA on Tuesday, the return had been processed and I am due to receive my refund on this coming Monday. That is a very quick system, given these are the dog days of the Tax Year (i.e. the CRA is most busy).

Sorry to see Tom Mulcair get the boot from the top seat at the NDP, but someone was going to have to eat that stunning election collapse. The only question now is, will the NDP return to being the Political Party of the Oppressed and Downtrodden, and the conscience of Canada or continue their move to the center? The Liberals are hoping for the first one (I bet).

I have a special treat for you, at the bottom of this post another great John Oliver video, but this time on something very on topic, Credit Ratings.

My Writings for Week Ending April 15th

When people make statements like I Just Don’t Like Saving I kind of scratch my head and wonder how they got to that point, but surprisingly I hear this more often than you think.

You would think a giveaway would cause a flourish of comments, however, not on my site! No comments have shown up yet? This explains my inability to get a date when I was younger as well (I suppose), but remember I have 1 comment now, and 5 on-line Turbotax licenses to give away (thanks to my friends at Intuit ).

I have Said This Before

Experience is learning from your mistakes. Wisdom is learning from the mistakes of others

Read More »Loose Money, Free Stuff, Hockey and #MoneyStories