Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Do you live in Toronto or the GTA and are thinking of changing banks? If you are Rita Trichur wants to hear from you (Business Reporter for the Toronto Star), and you can contact her at:

rtrichur AT thestar DOT caTake out the AT and DOT and you’ll have the address. If you aren’t thinking of changing banks, why not? Are you satisfied with the service you get? Are you getting as good a rate as you think you should? Think about it.

Related articles

• Bank Fees
• Free Banking?
• Trust is Earned
• Changing Banks

So I would bet some of you say, big deal, you have saved $12.95 a month by getting Free Banking for a year (sum total about $156.00 for the year), why do you care? Every little bit costs you is my theory, and every time I control a small thing, I feel more in control of my financial situation. I have many other areas where I can and will go after a small savings, just because it bugs me:

• My high speed Internet access is too high, and I think I can save $13 a month there
• I spend far too much on coffee, and vow to attack that spending
• I spent too much on my lunches at work, but I am attempting to remedy that situation

There are so many other areas I can work on, and will attack these areas in earnest, but saving $13 a month is important, and if you don’t think so, feel free to mail me $13 a month.I also feel good about it, because I feel like I “got a deal” which always feels good too!

I have NO idea how people smoke (yes there is nothing worse than a reformed smoker), but let alone the health aspects, how can you afford the price of a carton of smokes these days? I am worrying about $4.50 a day on coffee, just think if I was still a smoker? Wow!

I am starting to Psych myself up to go in and demand free banking from TD Canada Trust (again). For those of you who do not remember this is one of my pet peeves or favorite rants, depending on how you’d like to look at it.

About 7 years ago I changed banks due to me being incredibly pissed off at the Bank of Montreal. I outline this story in Don’t Be Afraid to Make A Change it is well worth reading. From that point on I have insisted on having FREE banking, and have had it mostly, until this past year.

I plan on going back in this Thursday and asking for my free banking again, using the following arguments:

• I am a customer of good standing over the past 7 years

• I do a great deal of business through this bank (interact, Mortgage and trading)
• I am willing to go to PC Financial for my banking, as they have paid me $1000 in groceries for the past two years, whereas TD has charged me over $150 for the past year

The important factor to remember here is that I must be willing to walk away, which I usually am. Occasionally I wimp out, when the argument, “No one gets free banking” comes out, but that is bollocks, and an attempt to bully you into taking their pathetic offer.

I will keep you all posted on the events as they transpire, but my wife is going with me as moral support.

Carnivals This Week

• Don’t Mess With Taxes has posted Tax Carnival #20 where my posting about Tax Freedom Day
  
• Forex Reader is hosting the Carnival of Economics and Global Trade #9 with my posting Canadian International Investment: Love Stocks & Bonds

Wow, the ATM is now 40 years old, at least this is the claim of the CBC, that is amazing. I remember when the Canada Trust in Waterloo got their first “Johnny Cash” machine (complete with catchy phrases in the machine that were supposed to read like Johnny Cash was getting you money). They even managed to get Johnny Cash to do a few ads for them, it was amazing. Now we use them and eschew dealing with the bank directly, yet continue to pay exorbitant fees to the bank for this privilege? Wow, we are gullible aren’t we?

In the first three months of the year Canada’s population increased by about 0.23% thanks mostly to immigration. Being the son of immigrants, I am glad to see our doors are still open, wonder where everyone is moving to now?

Here is an interesting graph about the crime rate in Canada comparing Large Urban, Small Urban and Rural areas. Interesting stat, but what is even more interesting is the quote in the report.

Of the 658 homicides in Canada in 2005 with a known location, 427 were committed in large urban areas, 95 in small urban areas and 135 in rural areas.

Taking population into account, the homicide rate of 2.5 homicides per 100,000 people in rural areas was actually higher than the rate of 2.0 in large urban areas and the rate of 1.7 in small urban areas. This pattern has held constant over the past decade.

A total of 658 murders in Canada with a population over 30 million (or 2.19 per 100,000 people). In comparison New York City’s homicide rate was 6.6 per 100,000 people, so Canada isn’t too bad for homicides. Interesting, that “living in the country” is a more likely place to get murdered?

Carnivals?

Carnival of Debt Management #15 : Big Cajun Man presents Canadian Household Net Worth Up posted at Canadian Financial Stuff. Canadians as a whole their debt as a percentage of their net worth is decreasing, but that seems to be due to their assets increasing in value, not due to a nationwide debt reduction strategy.