Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Time and Financial Goals

Yesterday I celebrated my daughter’s 20th birthday, by reminiscing about the day she was born (she is out of town at school, so we won’t celebrate with her, but assume she celebrated with friends).

Twenty Years Ago

The decision to have kids was a hotly discussed topic between my wife and myself, since I was positive we could not afford to have kids at the time (as usual, my wife was correct, that we would simply adjust our lifestyle to fit the new costs in).

Twenty years ago, I had little or no thoughts of retirement, and saving, we hadn’t even bought our first house yet (another hotly discussed topic in the apartment we rented at the time).

My parents luckily thought about the future for us, and started buying our kids savings bonds for their post secondary education (or when they moved out of the house). This is something that I hope I can remember to do for my kids when they have kids, and that money has since moved into RESPs and such. This is something that all parents can pass on to their kids, teaching them the importance of saving for the future, because the future comes a lot faster than you think.

I didn’t really even have any RRSP’s set up in 1990, I did have some savings that we were putting away to buy our first house, but that was hard enough to build up. In hindsight I could have made a lot of shrewd investments, but I have also seen over twenty years that “sure things” in the world of investment are not as sure as they look (i.e. Nortel stock and such).

What Would I Change?

It’s easy to be trite in this situation and list out the obvious things that I should have done back then such as:

• Start an RRSP and invest in high tech early and get out early
• Don’t build up credit card debt
• etc., etc., etc.,

but this would imply some degree of regret or sadness about those twenty years, and I don’t wish to portray those years that way.

I have learned more from being a parent than I would have, had I got a PhD. I have had more happiness and joy in those twenty years than I deserve (or merit), but I am unapologetic too.

Yes there are times where I look back and think, “I should have….”, when it comes to some money decisions and some other decisions in my life, but in some ways I learned more from my mistakes than from my (minor) successes in the financial world.

Am I saying, “Don’t worry, be happy!” (to paraphrase Bobby McFerrin) about your money? No! I am saying you should be careful and take the obvious steps to be safe with your money and to avoid debt every which way you can, however, if you think you have done all you can, and you are comfortable, then you should enjoy your life, is all I am saying.

Tempus fugit, and twenty years will fly by in a heartbeat, so make sure you are enjoying it.

Yes the most special day for amorous lovers of Personal Finance is coming on Sunday. Now all good Financial Bloggers know that Saint Valentines is actually the patron saint of all finances, or something like that, and keeping that in mind in this post I will make some suggestions for that special someone that you want to show Financial Servitude too.

Financial Valentines Gifts

This list while not exhaustive is in fact the first such list compiled (this year, on this blog) and should be held with great reverence:

• For the kids, don’t waste your money on chocolates or candies, simply put money into their festive Valentines RESP! Nothing says financial planning than a Registered Education Savings Plan, and your kids will thank you for it (in about 15 years, this year, they may not be as happy with you (re: not giving candy)).
• For yourself, maybe it’s time to set up a Valentine’s TFSA, where you could treat yourself and buy some Chocolate (or invest in Nielsen, who makes chocolate). The TFSA is really at the heart of Saint Valentine’s day traditions in the 21st century.
• Nothing shows your wife or significant other Saint Valentine’s spirit than a Bouquet, of Shredded Credit Cards. This is a great gift because it shows you care enough to make a gift for your loved one, and you have shredded (and cancelled) all of their credit, and that shows how committed you are to your financial future.
• Another gift that your loved one would be able to cherish is a visit to the Spa (well, not technically a Spa, more like a Financial Planners office, which is really a Financial Spa, so it is close). There you can spend hours planning your future life together and set the goals that will allow you to live happily ever after.
• Take your Vacation Fund and make a Saint Valentine’s Day Mortgage Overpayment, and thus shorten your mortgage by 2 months, your family will thank you (in 20 years), but think how much interest you will save!
• Remember what season you are in, so get yourself a romantic, Saint Valentine’s RRSP payment! You lower your taxes, and that means you have some extra money for the next item.
• It’s not Valentine’s Day if the Dad’s don’t get Mums something naughty, so how about some Financial Debt Load Lingerie. Think of your debt like your wife’s underwear (and nowhere else on the Internet, would you ever find that stretch of your imagination except here), thus the skimpier, the better! You don’t want your loved one wearing baggy (but comfortable) Granny Panty Debt Load (i.e. large and uncomfortable debt) so see ee if you can convince your wife to receive a Financial Debt Load G-String! (i.e. very small and very comfortable).

Yes, I am having you on (this is what happens when I go on training and the course gets a little dull, and I also listen to Stephen Colbert while stuck in traffic).

What I am saying is that bankrupting yourself buying a dozen roses and fighting your way into a reservation at a swanky restaurant, while somewhat romantic, can have it’s down side as well.

For those regular readers, you’ll know that I have gone on a bit of a Joys of Yiddish rant this week, but I can assure you that the site will not be changing to “The Joys of Yiddish Personal Finance” (although it is a catchy name).

In the Personal financial blog-o-sphere much less Chutzpah was written, and I can assure you that these meyvans are most definitely mentshes. Oy, what a week it’s been:

• PBS had a very interesting special on Credit Card practices in the States called The Card Game which has caused a great deal of discussion on a few sites. Again, classic examples of chutzpah in the financial services world.
• The Canadian Capitalist mentions the special directly in The Card Game on PBS.
• Whereas Michael James takes the special and disects one of the many dirty tricks talked about in the show with Many Bank Fees Should be Considered Interest Charges.
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade also mentions the special in This & That: Kids’ Education Edition. Useful hints on RESPs here as well.
• Million Dollar Journey continues the education theme with Talking About Finances with Your Aging Parents … or Grown Kids. Always a touchy topic.
• Preet at WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo asks the intellectual query about whether it would be good Severing the Link Between Price and Weight Part I, take close note of the comments on this one too, some interesting points brought out.
• Larry MacDonald asks the interesting question Time to Raise interest rates?, and I think maybe it is too late, bubbles are forming all over the place!
• Four Pillars shows the hypocracy of Financial Blogging, writing about something they hate with the post Personal Finance at Ridgemont High, hey I write posts that I detest doing, but someone has to write it! As Mr. Hand might say (my favorite character) Am I hallucinating here? Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing?

The Card Game from PBS Video

Here is the video for your enjoyment as well.

Now that is chutzpah!

After yesterday’s tale of Chutzpah I figured I’d show that I can show just as much temerity if I am pushed.

Over Christmas we purchased a new washer and dryer (a purchase we had been putting off but decided it needed to be done, as our washer treats our clothing the same as if you beat the clothes on a rock by the river). We saw that Home Depot was having a “Boxing Day” sale, and we actually walked down to Home Depot to purchase a washer and dryer. My wife had done her normal extensive investigation of the topic, so she knew what she wanted, so I let her have at it with the sales lady.

I wandered off and found that Home Depot did sell “liners” for my new green bin, and I looked at various other building supplies. I returned to find that my wife had settled on a model and price, which seemed reasonable and we then needed to decide when to have the new washer and dryer delivered.

Our previous configuration had a Natural Gas based clothes dryer, so to remove it and replace it with an electric dryer would mean a gas fitter would need to come and “cap” the supply line, so we pushed the delivery into mid-January which we were told was not a problem. We also “qualified” for the “don’t pay until next year (and then we gouge you with ASTRONOMICAL interest rates)” payment plan, so we signed up for all of this and left the store treading carefully (Ottawa had an Ice Storm on Boxing Day).

Fast forward to 3 days before the new washer/dryer was due to be delivered. By this time Home Depot had already put the purchase on my credit card (interesting, I never like paying for something I haven’t received yet), and the gas fitter had just come and capped our Natural gas line, leaving us with no clothes dryer, but for only 3 days (or so we thought).

That very afternoon my wife got a phone call from the manufacturer of the Washer/Dryer (LG) that our delivery was going to be delayed by over a month because there were no more Washer/Dryer models in North America of the type we purchased. Now that in itself is a type of chutzpah but at least they called, leaving my wife at a level of aggravation which if it was on a scale of 1 to 10 would be around HOLY CRAP! level.

I got on the phone to the manager of Home Depot to voice our displeasure about the fact that:

• We no longer had any ability to dry our clothes for more than a month (at least).
• When we “purchased” the washer/dryer it was not actually purchased, it was in fact simply us saying we’d like them and if they were in stock, we might get one when we wanted. No one went into the “warehouse” and marked a set “Property of Mr. & Mrs. C8j, deliver in January”, we simply put in an order which might be filled.
• The purchase had appeared on my credit card yet I was not going to have it for more than 2 months after I allegedly “purchased” the product.
• The manufacturer was the one who told us about this, and not Home Depot
• He had upset my wife and I got to enjoy her wrath, when in fact she was mad at him and his store

After assurances that the situation would be remedied, the Manager never called me back, but did call Mrs. C8j and offered her a “loaner” clothes dryer until our actual washer/dryer pair arrived, for free, so that we could continue to have clean clothes and such. Mrs. C8j was happier with that solution (although still secretly seething with hatred for Home Depot) and we now have this dryer in place and we are able to have clean clothes until our new washer and dryer appears.

Was this Chutzpah on my part to get a loaner dryer? Not really, but I do think it is truly chutzpah on the stores part not to ensure that they had stock enough to make their deliveries for the next month.

My guess would be someone looked in the inventory for the warehouse, saw there was a set left and sold them before they could be delivered to us, so someone else got a “great deal” and “fantastic service”, while I ended up with a loaner dryer and a wife with the disposition of a Wet Wolverine.

I will neither confirm nor deny that my birthday may or may not have or will occur in the past or next few days, however, I will confirm that my age is in between 30 and 75. Having been crystal clear on this point (no, you should not be publishing on the web your birthday and year, since that is the start of someone stealing your identity or something of the like), let’s talk about the things you might do if your birthday anniversary is some time this year (which I hope it is).

Things to Do Financially on Your Birthday

Just some ideas for some of the financial things you can do on the anniversary of your birth:

• Are you old enough to retire? Seems like a straight forward question, but when can you retire is another question to ask if the answer to the previous question is No? If you can’t even guess when you can retire, then today would be a good day to figure it out, or at least make a guess and work towards it. Aim to retire at 61, that’s an interesting prime age.
• Can you take today off today? Some companies actually give you your birthday off as a vacation day, I think it would be good to know that one (nope, not in my case).
• You can get free meals at some restaurants, I think Denny’s is one of those places, but call around and see where you can eat for free. Free meals is a very good way to celebrate a birthday.
• Does my car registration need to be renewed? Ottawa has an interesting problem because if you don’t renew your registration by your birthday, and take your car to Quebec, you can get fined a LOT of money, because in Quebec they’ll fine you for that one (I think they do in Ontario too, but they don’t worry about it too much until the next month).
• Did your car driving license expire? I was surprised that one year I realized a month after my birthday that I had been driving with an expired license, I received no reminder in the mail. Luckily I was not pulled over or that might have been expensive.
• Has your life insurance premium just jumped? If you have crossed an age group, your term life insurance rate may be increasing, so go check that out.
• Can you get a senior citizen’s discount now? You’d be surprised, a lot of these discounts do not start at age 65, it actually starts at 55.

Any other ideas I may have missed that you should do on your birthday?

In Carnivals my posting Personal Finance Resolutions For the New Year? was mentioned in the Carnival of Personal Finance #239 and the Carnival of Money Stories.