Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Canada Day it is Again!

Canada Day returns this year with Canada turning a majestic 142 years young today. There is no Expo 67 like celebration this year, however Canada is preparing for it’s third Olympics this winter in Vancouver.

Enjoy the holiday Canadians!

Happy Moving Day in Montreal!

For those of you in Montreal, July the 1st is also the day that most leases begin, so enjoy your moving day, hope you found a moving van, and don’t carry too much up those winding stair cases!

And Now A Large Flag

Happy Birthday Canada

And Finally an NFB Vignette

Yes we drag out a movie from my past, from the NFB, Impressions of Expo 67.

I am astounded at the clarity of this film and thank heavens for the NFB, as I view Expo 67 as a “mile marker” in my life even though I was only 6 years old at the time.

I love the description from the NFB:

This short film served as an invitation to the World’s Fair that was held in Montreal in 1967. It was largely considered to be the most successful World’s Fair of the 20th century with over 50 million visitors. The film presents impressions of the event and of Montreal at its liveliest and most exciting moment in history.

After Expo 67 the exhibition went on for a few more years as Man and His World and my family went every year pretty much, and LaRonde the amusement park is still in operation. Certainly a mile marker for Canada as well.

Normally by this time of year (Mid-February) the airwaves should be inundated with reminders to get your RRSPs bought for this  year’s taxes, but this year, I have seen very little “pomp and fanfare” about the whole situation and assume the banks have figured out:

• People worried about their jobs are less likely to be worried about their retirement
• People without jobs aren’t going to buy RRSPs
• Banks have cut back on advertising due to their own financial shortcomings.

I may be wrong, but I certainly have not heard the normal crescendo of advertising campaigns about getting RRSPs bought before the end of February.

I am Worried About My Job

If you have money to put in your RRSP but are holding off, at least put your money into a TFSA to have it grow without taxes, but maybe think about putting it into an RRSP anyhow. The TFSA is a safe bet and is a good “holding place” for now.

If you have money you want to put into your RRSP now, just make sure it is in an investment that can be liquidated quickly (or does not have HUGE penalties for taking money out early) and the following scenario might occur:

• Put money into RRSP and get back tax money from last year (where you might have been in the highest tax bracket).
• Get laid off this year, and if at the end of the year you need to withdraw the money you might be in a lower tax bracket? Crunch the numbers but think about that possible scenario if it fits your life.

Weird Inquiries

Got a weird inquiry from someone from MTV (claiming to be) about a show they are doing about laid off people and how they have to adapt their lifestyle now they aren’t making a big salary. They were looking for folks much younger than me, so I didn’t answer, but I could think of some possible titles:

• Dude where is my career?
• The E.I.  (a parody on The O.C.)
• Dump’ed  (as in job)

I had to smile reading the e-mail. Now if the CBC wants to talk to me, I am all over that!

Canadian Government Leaps into the Mortgage Biz

Jim Flaherty announced on Wednesday that the Federal Government will buy up almost $75Billion worth of mortgages (CMHC insured) to help out the liquidity market. I am assuming these mortgages will not be “high risk” mortgages since we didn’t really have those in Canada, however, if they are insured with the CMHC the mortgage principle was over 75% of the value of the houses, so the mortgages are high(er) risk mortgages. Is this a good investment for the Government? Maybe, I don’t know, but it is worrisome that the Government must use my money to make sure these loans “happen”.

Evidently the Government still thinks they will have a modest surplus this year, even with this spending, we shall see if that is really the case.

Another Down Day on the Markets

Markets and the loonie continue to swoon this week, which is good if you are waiting to buy and bad if you have already bought stocks. Dropping commodity prices is evidently what is killing the Loonie, and with oil dropping like a stone, makes you wonder when the bottom is on that price?

Canadian Dollar’s ups and downs too

Church Bazaar and Uncluttering

T-Rex is like decluttering?

In our continuing attempts to de-clutter our lives we are now attempting to give away many toys our children do not play with by giving them to our Church’s Bazaar (on Saturday, for those in Ottawa). This is a great opportunity to get rid of clutter, as long as you don’t go to the Bazaar and buy new crap to replace the crap you gave away. Hopefully the number of “Groovy Girls” and “Polly Pockets” in our house will drop significantly.

Trying to get rid of crap by selling it yourself can be a money making endeavor, not for me. I tried to sell some crap on E-Bay and found out you are not allowed to sell old copies of Playboy (after 1980), who knew? If you wish to rummage through my garbage, my old collection will be in my recycle box next week. All of this in the name of making more space (or just getting rid of crap).

What does a T-Rex have to do with all of this? It goes with the photo thematic premise this week.