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Canajun Finances Home » Interest Rate Hikes, TFSA Limits and #Moneytalk

Interest Rate Hikes, TFSA Limits and #Moneytalk

The Federal Reserve in the United States in December 2016, hiked its key rate from 0.5% to 0.75%, marking the first time in a year and only the second time this decade. This rate hike is a significant increase of 50%, and it is imperative to understand its impact on Canada. Although it is uncertain what actions Canada will take, it is unlikely that it will follow the US’s lead. We must stay vigilant and be prepared for any changes that may arise with the upcoming presidency of Mr. Trump. I highly recommend reading various articles analyzing the interest rate hike to stay informed and updated on this crucial matter.

Interest rate hikes
Interest Rate Hikes Down South, but what does it mean?

The most intriguing part of the announcement is that there were 3 planned rate increases for 2017. This was in reaction to an inflationary trend in the States. Canada may not have reacted with an interest rate hike right away, but a reaction seems likely (unless gas jumps to $120 a barrel, in which case the Canadian economy will be back in boom mode).

What should you have done about this? Lower your debt, now, before it become more expensive to hold, thanks to these interest rate hikes.

The TFSA limit for 2017 is going back to being $5500 (you should know this for your end of year and start of 2017 financial planning). Doesn’t look like the limit is going to go up in 2018 either, which sucks. Don’t be financially stupid, still take advantage of the TFSA program (even if the rates suck).

My Writings for Week Ending December 16th

With the holidays next week, and getting together with family and friends, I wanted to help out with those interactions with my simple idea, Christmas Advice: How to Deal with Uncle Frank the Financial Expert. Every family has the one relative who is a know-it-all and wants to tell you what you are doing wrong.

A Money Thought

The CRA likes to think they can help out with your end of year account close outs, and remember to give this holiday season.

Tis the Season


I think a lot of my favorite writers are getting ready for the season, but there are still a lot of great stories out there. Remember to stay in tune with my Twitter feed (bigcajunman) where I broadcast some of my archives and my favorite articles of the week too.

  • There are two certainties, death and taxes, and Mark from the Blunt Bean Counter covers both with, U.S. Estate Tax for Canadians, how does he keep track of all this stuff? I can see where in the states, some folks call Estate Taxes, death taxes. Taxing death, now that is where the money is!
  • Robb from Boomer and Echo has a great set of New Years Resolutions in his My 2017 Financial Goals (yes we should be thinking about next year as well). I hate resolutions myself, but goals I can get on board with.
  • In Ottawa, the new Phoenix pay system continues to be a big news story. For those who are thinking, who cares if  Civil Servants get paid, remember all the problems here are added costs that end up coming out of taxpayers pockets.
  • On the festive side of things, if you were to ask my favourite Christmas song, I’d have to say the Pogues – Fairytale of New York. The song sums it all up nicely to me.
  • There are countless “end of year” pieces being written, but I like all of them, and Mark from My Own Advisor gives us a good one with Year end tax tips and financial housekeeping. Read these articles, you would be surprised what you might forget during the festivities at the end of the year.
  • Michael James found an excellent article about how life can be unpredictable, and he writes about it in, How Life Can Mess Up the Best-Laid Financial Plans. It is important to make sure you understand the financial coverage that you have, because life can change in the blink of an eye.

Learn About Investing #3: Compound Growth

Money School continues on trying to educate us about investing, this week compound growth

The Rules of Monopoly

A helpful video for all those Christmas monopoly games!

2016 Random Thoughts

My Twitter feed is where I re-tweet many great articles by some of my featured writers (and make the occasional odd or off-color commentary on life (in 140 characters or less)). I am also on reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest , Flipboard, Instagram and other Social Media sites (look for the BigCajunMan userid) as well. If you have social media accounts, don’t forget to vote for my posts (see the nifty dashboard on the bottom of each article, where you can cast your votes).As they say in Quebec, vote early and vote often!

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