Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Today in Canada is Remembrance Day where the citizens of Canada thank the Veteran’s of all wars for their sacrifice and thank them for what they have done for all Canadians and for many others world wide. 

As a teenager I wanted to be a fighter pilot and I was sure I was going to be able to cut it, but two things derailed that plan, one was my eyesight which went just bad enough to disqualify me from being allowed into the elite fighter pilot program. I still went in to talk to a recruiter at my High School, and he was a very nice man who pointed out that I had one other point against me, I am 6′4″ tall, and that is too tall to fit in the jets, due to how the ejection seats work. Had I not had those two issues, I am pretty sure I would have tried to be a fighter pilot.

Lest We Forget

Lest we Forget

I wear my poppy with pride (if not some pain from the straight pin that keeps sticking me when I put my jacket on, but that shows I may not have been cut out to be in the military if I am worried about being stuck with a straight pin). 

This picture shows to those of you who are not sure what I am talking about. The poppy is the symbol for Remembrance day, and we wear it proudly.

Thank you to those present and former members of the Canadian and British Armed Forces, who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we remember you, and you have our humble thanks.

So one of the major interesting issues financially that I am facing is whether to opt out of my former employers pension plan and take a lump sum payment (which will mostly be transferred to a Locked In Retirement Account (LIRA)) or leave the money in the employers pension plan, and draw from it at either age 55 (at an actuarially lowered rate) or 65.

As I have said previously I will be opting out, as I have very little confidence the money will be available when I get to retiring age, and now I read in the Globe and Mail the following (by Derek DeCloet):

The bad news is that at the start of this year, Nortel’s plans were already short by $1.2-billion (U.S.). The worse news is that 53 per cent of the assets were in stocks, which have been annihilated. So the pension hole has become a cavern – one that will have to be filled with cash that the distressed company would rather use for other things. Like surviving, for instance.

I read this and am not shocked, but I am worried, as I was supposed to receive information within 30 days of my severance about my pension options, however, I have not received anything in the mail as of yet, and I now wonder what new “wrinkles” may arrive in terms of this money.

My view is that this money is mine, and I have earned it over the 20+ years I worked at my former employer, and given they “capped” this pension as of January 1 2007, leaving my money there makes little or no sense to me. If anyone cares to comment or disagree, please feel free I am open to discussion on this issue.

U.S. Elections Tuesday

As the Daily Show’s reporter is fond of saying, “Can we just FINISH THIS NOW!”. I can barely stand Canadian Elections and the campaign is typically only about 6 weeks, how our American Cousins can stand the two years of grind is beyond me. 

Permit me to make the following morbid observation:

• The chance of John McCain dieing each year from his skin cancer is put at around 6%, so cumulatively it is much higher that he will die before the end of his first term as President.
• Senator Obama’s life has already been threatened and as Chris Rock has pointed out, there is gonna be some nut wanting to knock him off, just because of his race.

Errant Wallaby and Personal Finance

I have now been taught how to catch a run away wallaby, evidently you throw a towel over it, hold it by it’s tail (don’t let go) and put it in a bag, and call the Zoo in Kemptville it escaped from. 

What the heck does this have to do with Personal Finance? Be prepared! If I see a wallaby in my backyard I’ll know what to do, just like in Financial Planning, in case of emergencies make sure you have a plan. (Now I sound like Marlin Perkins from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom).

Yes the forecast “weather bomb” has appeared and dumped a bunch of snow on Ottawa, thus causing all drivers to lose their brains, forget how to drive in snow and the added excitement that even those who own snow tires most likely do not have them on their cars yet, so today will be a day for accidents and arriving very late at work, if at all (thus causing significant economic hardship for a lot of folks (ok, not really but I needed to connect it back to Finance somehow)).

This kind of weather excitement will cause the CAA to take hours to respond, due to their towing service being overtaxed pulling folks out of ditches, cause the police to answer hundreds of calls about accidents and will have Hydro crews out restoring power to lots of folks, so maybe it would be a good day to be Calm, and pleasant with everyone? Just an idea folks, we are all in it together!

It Snowed In Ottawa

Caution for Ontario Drivers

Put on your snow tires if you live around Ottawa is the first caution, because we really DO need snow tires up here (I don’t think I can convince folks from Toronto that, and if you live in Windsor or Niagara, yes, you can live with all seasons, I guess).

For those of us who can drive across a bridge to Quebec, here is an interesting quandary: Quebec has mandatory snow tire laws, are they going to enforce those laws for out of province vehicles? I would guess they might not, but you never know.

Markets Rebound

But is it a rebound or a respite? Very good question, we shall see,  I have gone back in a little with some index fund purchases, but I am still not sold that this is the bottom, as I mentioned yesterday, I’ll tell you in six months whether this is the stock market bottom. The run at the end of the trading day yesterday was qutie astonishing, but we have seen these kind of runs as sell offs as well.

Frank Folds

For those in Ottawa you will be saddened (or happy) that Frank magazine is shutting down. Frank was a satirical paper that had a lot of “insider” gossip from Parliament hill and was funny only when it went way off the normal path and made outrageous statements, that no normal human being would think was “real news”, however politicians always thought it was, and their reactions were priceless.

Many folks in Ottawa have learned that if you drive in Quebec and your “tag” (date of expiration) on your car is the current month, the S.Q. will pull you over and if your registration is expired, they will hit you with a whopping fine (for driving in Quebec with an expired out of province automobile registration).

Cell Phone Usage Ban in Automobiles in Ontario

Since we are talking about cars, the Ontario Provincial government will make it illegal to be talking on your cell phone while driving your car (without a hands free device), but they have also added if you are TEXTing, doing e-mail on a Crackberry type device or a gaming device. I must admit I am guilty of this on occasion ad I welcome this law to stop me from being so stupid, however, for those of you part of the Crackberry cult, put the darn thing down! No e-mail is so important that you must answer it while driving at 100 KM/hr with your children in the back seat!

Indeed this is approximately posting number 1000 for me, and after over 4 years of writing, I am beginning to think that I still haven’t really scratched the surface when it comes to home finance, personal financial issues and investing from a consumer’s perspective. 

Will I keep going? I am not sure, it seems most bloggers stop suddenly and just disappear, usually caused by the pressures of life or just disinterest. I am hoping to keep going for a while longer.

To help celebrate posting number 1000, here is a “Best of” list from me to my readers:

Personal Financial and Planning

1. Free Banking
   One of my favorite topics on how to get your bank to give you FREE banking for a while at least.
2. Quarterly Personal Finance Status Report
   A way for couples to keep each other up to date on their financial status. 
3. Debt is Like Fat
   Another way to look at trying to get out of debt.  
4. Debt Makes Me Sick
   A frank article on my feelings about debt.  
5. I Should Divorce My Wife?
   An interesting point of view from the tax side of things. 

Children

As most of you know I have kids and I write about their effects (affects?) on my financial life.

1. Real World Example: Kids Allowances
   Where I outline a system to ensure kids get their allowances on time. My kids were pretty mad at me until I implemented this system, and as a bonus, I am still watching them (financially).
2. Kippers
   Not just a salted fish eaten for breakfast in the U.K.
3. Hidden School Costs
   Not just for universities are there hidden costs in education, public schools rake a lot of money off parents too.  

Investment

1. Einstein: The Rule of 72
   Understanding what a doubling period is, and how the rule of 72 can help you with this concept is important to the start of your investment plan.
2. RRSP or Mortgage?
   Should you invest or pay down debt, always a good question to ask. 
3. Top 5 Investing Mistakes of my Life
   This one hurts to read EVERY time, seeing how much money I lost.  

Parables

In personal finances sometimes a lot can be learned in parable format.

1. Parable: Money and the McDonald’s Play Structure
   How can my son getting stuck in a McDonald’s play structure have anything to do with money? Read and you will be amused to see where I went with this story.
2. Best Financial Advice Ever Given
   Outlines a parable my Dad told me when I borrowed a large amount of money from him. I have used this parable many times myself.
3. Don’t Pass it to the Other Team
   How does the Carleton basketball coach have anything to do with finances? Read and you’ll see a long stretch.
4. The Dangers of Advice
   How I inadvertently gave very bad financial advice to a dear friend. 

Humor

I enjoy a good laugh, mostly at my own expense and here are some of my favorite personal finance posts with a humorous angle.

1. Always Have A Target
   OK, yes, my humor normally drops to toilet humor, but this one is funny too! 
2. God and a Stock Broker?
   This is funny, except last week.
3.  Why Banks are always funny
   Going into banks, talking to banks, interacting with banks, etc., you had better have a sense of humor, because if you don’t you’ll go crazy.
4. Get Off the Throne
   A perspective on the Throne Speech, that Stephen Harper might not have appreciated.