Comments for Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Comment on And the Horse You Rode in On by bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:42 +0000

I found that Teksavvy works well for my daughters and their Internet usage, and yes even though there are not many choices, you can change from the Big 3 if you want to.

Wonder if Google will ever come to Canada with their Fiber network?

Comment on And the Horse You Rode in On by LifeInsuranceCanada.com

LifeInsuranceCanada.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:12:29 +0000

I’ve gone to using rogers and bell as little as possible. When Rogers started dropping channels because I didn’t have digital, they assumed I just went and got a digital box for all my TV’s. I figured if I had to do work, it was time to shop around. And sure enough, Shaw satellite was very interested in my business – we kicked rogers to the curb. Rogers and Bell customer service aren’t ‘service’. They’re simply functions of a large uncaring 1984 style business designed to either have you pay more money or go away as quickly as possible.

And no way would I sign a contract every again for a cell phone. We’ve been using Koodo for a couple of years now and couldn’t be happier. My wife wants to switch phones, and with Koodo, you can just switch phones. No negotiations, no contract revisions, nothing.

Comment on And the Horse You Rode in On by bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:48:18 +0000

Indeed that is another way if you like to be persistent.

Comment on And the Horse You Rode in On by Jane Savers @ Solving The Money Puzzle

Jane Savers @ Solving The Money Puzzle — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:23:24 +0000

I have found that it is best to end the discussion with an uninterested customer service rep and call another day to speak to someone else who is interested in customer service or who will cut you a deal just to get you off the phone.

Comment on The Seduction of Spending by Carnival of Personal Finance #414

Carnival of Personal Finance #414 — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:17:05 +0000

[...] THE Canadian Personal Finance Blog: The Seduction of Spending [...]

Comment on Happy Victoria Day by Bet Crooks

Bet Crooks — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:20:20 +0000

We also like to copy the Americans. I’m not sure we’d get Canada Day off if they didn’t get the 4th.

Comment on Inflation at 0.4 % For April in Canada by Bet Crooks

Bet Crooks — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:16:59 +0000

Well I guess if inflation is under 0.5% then I am staying ahead of inflation with my money in the bank at 1.35%…….Why do I not actually believe that?

When I excluded gas (and clothes/food other variable costs) the real rate of inflation on our 2012 fixed costs (nat gas; electricity; water; property tax; house insurance; car insurance; cable; telephone; internet) was
1.6%.

Guess I’d better try to find something better than a bank account.

Comment on How Do I Retire at 35 ? by CanadianInvestor

CanadianInvestor — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:17:02 +0000

When “retirement” was first created as a concept at the time of the introduction of CPP, 65 became the normal age to do it. Life expectancy was only about about two more years. People started working at 15, so by 35 they would have worked 20 years. The 35 age holy grail of retirement is where you somehow cheated the system, working 20 years and being retired 30+ years. It’s all about saying to everyone, “ha, ha look at me, I’m retired, you’re not, I’m smart, you’re a dummy still working away”.

But people no longer die at 67. and what with modern young folk taking longer to get an education, finding themselves and their career, a spouse, doing the procreation thing, many have barely begun serious work at 35. One could almost say that retiring at 35 nowadays effectively means never actually working at all (but then, can you retire if you have never worked?).

To keep with the original concept of early retirement (20 years on, then 30 years off) we need to take account of the fact that life expectancy for those reaching their 30s is somewhere around 85. Taking 30 years off death age brings us to 55, the new 35.

Comment on How Do I Retire at 35 ? by The Financial Blogger

The Financial Blogger — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:32:02 +0000

I actually want to retire from the corporate world at 35 (I’m turning 32 this year) but I certainly don’t want to stop working at all.

I agree with you that spending the next 50 years of my life of simply exploring the world would probably end-up being boring.

The point is reaching financial independence (e.g. not having to work 9 to 5 everyday) as soon as possible. Then, there are plenty of things you can do to occupy your mind

Comment on Happy Victoria Day by bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:40:11 +0000

Thanks a Union for that one. Were it not for the Trade Union movement of the late 19th century we’d be working 365 days a year.