Canadian Personal Finance Blog

That is what Stats Canada says, which is not surprising, but the fact that it was only 2.2% amazes me a little. In 2006 the CPI was 2.0% so this is not a large jump in the CPI year over year, however, as I keep saying the impact of sky rocketing energy prices is still to be shaken out of the market.

Housing in 2007 seems mostly to blame for higher prices, but energy started having an effect by the end of the year as well:

Price increases for basic and frequently-purchased commodities, like food, also fuelled consumer prices in 2007. However, price declines for a number of commodities, particularly several of those less frequently purchased, such as new vehicles and computer equipment, mitigated the rise in consumer prices. Faced with higher prices for frequently-purchased commodities and lower prices for those not frequently purchased, consumers might perceive that inflation was increasing at a faster pace than measured by aggregate inflation.

Interesting view on things, wonder how important vehicles are going to be in the future? Will there be a glut coming soon, or will the Asian continent simply pick up the slack?

Very interesting indeed, this year is going to be a very different kettle of fish.

Politeness Wins Out

One of the Mantras that I espouse on this humble site is to be Polite when dealing with Customer Service folks in specific and with most folks in general (remember being Polite to Police is very important). Yesterday another example of speaking to someone who you want to fix something in a polite way helps out again.

My eldest just graduated from High School and we are very proud, however, we noticed she didn’t get an Ontario Scholar “tag” in her graduation. Given her previous marks we were alarmed to think what might have happened to her marks to cause this inability to keep her average at the correct level (80% for 6 Grade 12 courses).

I decided after discussing (calmly) with my daughter that there must have been a mistake, so I called the school and asked in a polite way if someone could look into this for me, and sure enough it was an error on their part and they are rectifying the situation. I was very thankful to the woman who called me back, but it again shows that acting in an aggressive or rude fashion rarely gets you what you want (unless you are a loan shark), but with a little politeness and courteousness you’d be surprised what can happen.

Happy long weekend to my Canadian readers (ok EXTRA long weekend, since you have to take Monday off to really make it a long weekend).

Consumer Price Index at 2.2% for May

Yes, inflation is on the rise folks, up from 1.7% in April, hope you aren’t surprised, because I sure as shooting am not!

For those who wish to note the obvious, from this month’s report we have the following statement:

The acceleration in consumer prices in May was mainly a reflection of the 12-month increase in gasoline prices. This acceleration in gasoline prices occurred as crude oil prices almost doubled between May 2007 and May 2008. Gasoline prices increased substantially across the country, rising the most in Quebec and Ontario.

I’ll take “State the Obvious” for $1600 Alex. This is only the beginning folks and this is going to trigger a reaction in interest rates, I think this might be time to start partying like it’s 1974, because we may be hitting that “tipping point” (to use an overused and trite term) and may be heading for some heady inflation rates real soon.

Property Tax Day in Ottawa

Given that the Hockey Night In Canada theme’s rights are already owned, I am curious what tune I might play as the theme for Property Tax Day in Ottawa (feel free to add ideas in the comments section), I’ll settle for the Beatles “Tax Man”, for now.

I had a look at my second payment for my property taxes this year, and I am struck by a few major points that I hadn’t noticed when I first bought it.

The City of Ottawa thinks my house has appreciated in value over the past 8 years by over 50% (if you calculate this by ( (New Price - Old Price) / Old Price ). I have done some work on the house, mostly upkeep things, but what would cause such an astronomical increase I have no idea. Yes I am living in one of the fastest growing suburbs in Canada (Nepean/Ottawa South), but new houses are going up around me faster than mushrooms in my back lawn!

There are a plethora of other interesting charges on my tax bill:

• Solid Waste Curbside pick up fee of $82.00, interesting, and I guess I don’t mind that, given I don’t want to go to the dump every week to drop my trash off.
• I am paying the Conservation Authority about $20.00, my only wish would be that they keep the Canada Geese and vermin in the parks and not in my backyard.
• A Capital Tax Levy, which I think is translated to “Give us more money dammit” of over $40
• Standard fees for Fire, Police, Transit and the actual money that goes to the City of Ottawa so they can afford all the interesting services they offer.

Am I getting good bang for my buck here? I guess, I do like the libraries a great deal, and we do use the recreational facilities a great deal. I just drove into work on the roads that the City supports, so I guess I should be paying for those as well, so I guess I am getting a bargain? At the end of it, I am paying %3.5 of my gross income on this.

One of the interesting trends I have noticed in my household is that during the summer months spending tends to drop, due to:

• No school fees needed for trips and such
• School lunches are now part of the regular groceries
• Organized sports are mostly complete so very little spending there
• Less running around, so a little less gas money spent.

This gives us a chance to try to catch up before the September onslaught of spending. September to December is the worst spending time for my family, due to start of school, sports and Christmas all piling in together and causing a glut of spending.

Did I mention it’s 6 months and 8 days until Christmas? Have you started planning yet?

Lazy Good For Nothing Canadian Workers

I mean that in a facetious fashion of course, but productivity dropped for another quarter again, according to Stats Canada.

In the first quarter of 2008, the labour productivity of Canadian businesses declined for a second consecutive quarter, in a context of inclement weather, reduced working hours, and a widespread drop in manufacturing output, especially in the motor vehicle industry.

Productivity of Canadian businesses edged down 0.3% in the first quarter of 2008, slowing from the upward revised 0.7% decline in the fourth quarter of 2007. The back-to-back declines followed four quarters of growth.

I think higher gas prices is going to be hitting us and a much stronger Canadian Dollar is going to really hurt manufacturing for a good long while.

BCE Takeover to the Supreme Court

BCE takeover bid takes another step towards wherever it may end up with a Supreme Court hearing being set. This expedited hearing means that BCE’s battle with it’s bondholders might be over soon and the final fate of BCE may be known before my kids go back to school? Maybe a little premature on that, but who knows?

More importantly the BCE board has defferred on whether to declare a second quarter dividend until the end of June, and speculation has it that that money might be used as part of a deal with the bondholders.

The Canadian Press reported Friday that one scenario would see the $294 million that otherwise would be paid as the second-quarter dividend instead used to compensate bondholders.

Hey, that’s my money! I am a shareholder and I hold BCE as a dividend paying asset, and you guys are keeping my money? Hey!