Canadian Personal Finance Blog

I have spoken about My CRA before, it allows access to your CRA account. The error I received (Error – ERR.021) was shocking. I am now locked out from this with the following screen:

The access I used was using my Banking Access (i.e. my bank card log in credentials). I have not applied for CERB (as background).

I managed to call the CRA, and was told that someone would call me back about the ERR.021 issue. This would allow me to get access to my account. I was attempting to see what my RRSP room was (as background).

Then I received the following email to the email address I have on file with the CRA.

So now, I cannot log into my CRA account, and I cannot receive emails either. I will receive something using Canada Post, explaining what is going on, and how to fix this issue.

The CBC has posted the following:

Christopher Doody, a CRA media relations representative, said in an email it was meant “as a security precaution in the context of ongoing investigative work, and is not due to a cyber security breach of CRA systems.” He said affected users can expect a letter in the mail with instructions on how to unlock their account.

CRA locks online accounts amid investigation, leaving users worried – CBC

Current Status

Still locked out of my CRA account. Conjecture is that my log in credentials were being sold on the Dark Web. (Feb 17th)

The CRA answered my tweet, with the following:

Hi there! We will work with impacted individuals to re-establish their credentials and unlock their accounts. (1/3)

— Canada Revenue Agency (@CanRevAgency) February 22, 2021

I have been attempting to raise my visibility on social media, lately. I have been commenting on Instagram and Twitter and it seems I have ruffled a few feathers. Evidently paying off debt is risky ?

Let me be clear, the risk is losing possible growth through investing. To be specific, the argument made was:

“…disagree. This is why so many people are cash poor, they race to pay off debts costing them 3% with cash making 7-8%…”

Instagram rebuke of my comment about paying off debt (Instagram has financial advice?)

Firstly 3% debt rate is only for Mortgages (or secured credit). Most unsecured debt is much closer to 3 to 18% more than many advisers would have you think about. The “cash poor” phrase made me bristle too. Remember how no one talks about house poor any more.

Borrowing money to invest in the market always worries me. Leverage has the potential to make a lot of money, but it can also do the opposite. I wouldn’t do it, but I only buy Index Funds and similar ETFs.

A Scenario of What Can Go Wrong

I know a former exec at a large tech firm. He had many “options to buy” the firms stack at a lower price. He decided to exercise the options on the stock and hold the stock. Normally the option is exercised and then a quick sell order is put in place, to take profits from the sale.

This gentleman decided, he would be more clever, and hold the stock, to live off the dividends from it. At the time, the stock dividend yield was about 1%, which would be plenty to live on. Money was borrowed to make the transaction, as it was for a large amount of stock.

Less than two years later, the dividends were reduced to zero. A short period afterwards, the stock was worthless. This was yet another firm that was “too big to fail”.

Is this a “corner case”, yes I think it is. It is also an excellent example of someone assuming, “the good days are here to stay”.

Removal of Debt, Addition of Options

If you pay off debt, you have more options. Do not fall for the FOMO (fear of missing out) arguments. If you have little or no debt, you then have options to do whatever you like, with your money.

Social Media and Financial Advice

Some frowned at financial talk on web sites. Then there was Twitter and Facebook that got in on it, but now Instagram and TikTok? Seriously, unless it is the Wizard of Omaha on TikTok, maybe get your financial advice elsewhere? Need I point at the Gamestop Reddit debacle to suggest maybe you should be careful where you get your advice?

A Very True Statement

“Think of borrowing money today as negotiating a pay cut with your future self”

Preet Banerjee

The one thing that helped me get a Job: Activating my Network.

Most folks will find their eventual job via their network of contacts. I have not found more than a hand full of folks who got a job by dropping their resume off. Putting your resume it into a job database, rarely works either.If you succeed doing this, good on you, but maybe it is time to build your network.

Activating your network means: telling folks you are looking for a new job. You don’t need to be blatant, but you do need to be clear. Don’t be too vague, you want folks to know you are looking. An email broadcast may not be needed, but make sure folks know you are looking.

Parts of Your Network

• Former employers and former bosses. You need these for your references and if these folks are working, they will know better than anyone else, where jobs might be. These folks are the Insiders, treasure them and treat them well.
• Former co-workers, again, if these folks are employed, they will know of inside jobs and who might be hiring. These are good insiders and you should stay in contact with them and treat them well (don’t buy them lunch or anything, but maybe buy them a beer or coffee).
• Acquaintances in your industry. You meet these folks at conferences, or other events. These can be very useful folks, if you cultivate your relationships with them well.
• Those you meet on your job searches, this will include:
  • Other jobs seekers, these folks are useful because they may have heard of folks hiring, but remember they are competitors, and if they don’t have a job, they aren’t as useful as the first two groups of folks.
  • Headhunters are of use because they might give you tips on what areas are hiring, and they might even find you a job (yeh, right).
  • Trainers and folks who teach job hunting courses. These folks will give you useful tips on how to make your resume more interesting, and have more tips for you.

This is a good list of useful folks. Remember you are trying to find out about the inside jobs that are not necessarily going to be advertised. A lot of times these jobs are simply unavailable to most folks, but if you have a good insider, you may be able to work around that (keep that in mind).

Job Searching Isn’t Easy

Job searching is hard these days (I knew of what I spoke), but nothing worth having is going to come easily now either.  

Activate your network before you think you need them, it is just being prudent.

I have written before about Chutzpah (see for Joys of Yiddish full explanation). The phrase is used to describe a specific type of person. Audacity would be the closest english equivalent word.

Many years ago I was interviewing for a job in a very interesting group. I had heard of the leader of this group, but didn’t really know him personally. When he called me for an interview I was very happy to come in and chat.

The interview seemed a little stunted in the discussion. It was mostly this person pontificating about his views on how technology was going to go in the future, but having been to many interviews I didn’t think much of it. I asked a few questions to keep my interviewer going. My opinion is the more an interviewer talks, the better the interview seems to go. I asked open-ended questions as follow ups to his statements, and time seemed to fly by, with me saying very little (of substance).

There was a pause, so I felt obliged to throw in another open-ended question to my interviewer. I asked, “What kind of person are you looking for to fill this job?”.

Ask “The” Question

This is an excellent time-wasting question for an interview. Most interviewers don’t really have a clear answer for that question. If they are very confident like this chap, the answer can take up to 10 minutes. All you do as a candidate is point out how you are that exact person (a trick I learned long ago).

Sure enough this interviewer ran on and on about someone who could create symbiotic technology concepts, and show an ability to create a fused capability delivered cross-domain in the pike position,etc., etc., etc.,. I noted the catch phrases being used. I was formulating my follow-up to this statement when the interviewer completely de-railed me with a statement.

Don’t get “The” Answer

It started off with the phrase, “If I could sum up what I am looking for in a candidate for the team, I’d have to use a word I learned a while ago, it’s a Jewish word…”. I fought the urge to point out that it would either have been Hebrew or Yiddish. I figured that as long as he didn’t say “Schmuck“, I was ok, but what he did say was entertaining.

“The word that describes it best is someone with CHOO-TS-PUH…”, (I spelled the word phonetically so you could get the gist of this story). Now the word chutzpah is pronounced HH-oo-tzpa (along those lines at least), and the CH is most definitely not pronounced as CH. I must have had a bewildered look (it was actually the look I have when I am attempting to not burst into laughter), because the interviewer proceeded to give me an explanation of chutzpah (a relatively correct one).

I sat there using all of my inner strength attempting to:

1. Not correct this individual on pronunciation, because he seemed positive that he was correct.
2. Not burst out laughing at the mis-step (very bad form for a job interview)
3. Figure out whether I really wanted this job.

There was a long pause at the end of the interviewers ramble and I felt he was expecting me to respond, so I carefully responded how I fit the bill of this kind of person without actually saying the word out loud, for fear of offending this individual. After summing up, the interviewer then had to recap by saying, “So you think you have this CHOO-TS-PUH, do you?”, again, I fought hard to not burst out laughing.

Am I That Guy

My only way to respond was, “Yes, I think I am that guy.”.

I didn’t get the job, but I did get an interesting anecdotal story that I tell sometimes.