Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Netfile Tax Reprieve

Freedom from having to pay taxes, for 5 more days, if you Netfile. This extension only applies if you are going to use Netfile to submit your return, and it only applies if you owe money. As was pointed out by someone, if the government owes you money, they don’t really care WHEN you submit your taxes (but you better be sure you are getting a refund before you procrastinate like that).

Shrinking Economy

Stats Canada reported that economic activity shrunk by 0.2% in February, and this was caused by shrinking manufacturing and wholesale trade, what caused this? Don’t know but it’s not a good indicator that the Canadian economy is going to “weather the U.S. downturn well” as has been said by a few economists.  One month does not a downturn make, but it’s something to remember.

Interest Drops

This month is a new month, and for me, it means a complete month with lower interest rates on my Mortgage and my line of credit.  TD’s prime lending rate is 4.75% right now and if you are curious what rates you can get on a Line of Credit, read Michael James’ essay on that topic, especially the comments, which are very telling as well.  I will be taking this opportunity to make the same payments I always make and thus taking more principal off these debt devices.

Gas Prices at $1.20 per Liter

That is where they have been in the Ottawa area, and driving has been much more expensive. I am paying about $10 more a week for my car to drive (which is a 50% gain in what I was spending), just in gas costs also (not including car wear and tear and insurance). I am attempting to offset that by NOT buying coffee at work (yes I am attempting that again). So far this week, I have only bought 1 coffee, which means I have not bought about 8, so that is quite good (and it does add up to my goal of $10.00 or so). I will keep my readers informed of my progress.

Ottawa High Tech

Alcatel (ALA) announced some hefty bad numbers yesterday, with a 5th consecutive losing quarter.  This combined with a warning on sales figures and fresh lay off talk, makes the Ottawa Tech sector a little more jittery this month. Nortel (NT) announces Friday morning, and there are concerns of similar statements from the former High Tech juggernaut.

What does this have to do with me? I live in this world, and a jittery world it is right now.

… until they get punched in the face! Evidently this quote is attributed to Mike Tyson, but it outlines how life is, everyone has great plans and hopes, but when life punches you in the face, that is when your plan and YOU are being tested. I heard this one again after the Super Bowl and I do like the message sent, “Plan, but remember to react and change the plan if need be”.

February the Month of Pain

Not sure about the rest of my readers but February is a very painful month for me every year (financially speaking), because you have a perfect storm of Financial “trigger points” to cause stress:

• If you have managed to pay off Christmas, you are now very cash poor, or you may still be paying off the Christmas debt load.
• A month into your financial plan for the year, yet you most likely are not seeing much progress (due to the debt load of January).
• This is a short month, but all the bills still want to get paid (your cost per day of living this month is actually more, because it is so darn short).
• RRSP silly season begins and you are inundated with messages about how you must save for your retirement, or you will be eating cat food (and not the low ash stuff either, the cheap no name cat food) when you retire.
• Taxes loom on the horizon, both Federal and municipal property taxes and you wonder can you pay one with the rebate you hope to get from the other? Sometimes you do your Federal taxes and get a rude surprise like, you OWE money (due to your HUGE income from financial blogging (yes that is a joke)).
• This year’s extra concerns are looming University fees (and possibly living away from home costs).

All of this creates a “perfect storm” of financial stress to deal with in a very short month. Remember that Mike Tyson quote, I think this month is punching me in the mouth.

After chatting with a parent at a basketball yesterday it struck me that there might be some folk who do not fully understand all of the tax deductions and features that are available to them, so here I give you a list (not exhaustive) of some of the deductions you should think about.

Children’s Fitness Tax Credit

This is the new one that a lot of folks may not remember this year. Up to $500.00 worth of fees that show your child in an athletic endeavour are deductible. The title of this section is a link explaining much more about this tax credit, that parents should take advantage of. Important to have a receipt for this.

Nope, if Johnny played the violin last year, that is not covered.

Other deductions?

Some other deductions you might want to think about if you are eligible for them:

• Don’t forget daycare costs, if you both work you should claim those costs, and remember important things like summer camp also can be included in there as well. I cannot claim these as my wife’s income is insufficient to take advantage of these.
• Safety deposit box, yup that is a carrying charge, that you can claim as a deduction on your taxes.
• GST sales tax credit? You never know when that might kick in. My daughter got that last year for the first time, so that one is kind of cool.

Any other interesting tax credits that folks have run into, please comment on this.