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Canajun Finances Home » Election Reflections, Loose Money and #MoneyStories

Election Reflections, Loose Money and #MoneyStories

Well, that was a very interesting election result that I suspected might happen. However, it does make for a very interesting future (note I am not saying good or evil, just interesting). Trudeau is PM, and it was back to the Future Day on Wednesday? Welcome to the ’80s? Guess I need to find my Nash the Slash T-shirts?

For the direct money view, we go to the Globe, which explains 9 Things that the Liberal Victory will change in your financial life. I am going to miss that income splitting with my spouse, maybe they can bring it back later, or I may have to retire to do it with my pension. Everything else is kind of meh to me, but the $2000 back on my taxes last year was mighty sweet. You realize these new MP’s will be paid $167,400 per year, right?

One of the big topics is how exactly is Mr. Trudeau going to change the TFSA limit back to what it was? A general amnesty for a year? Really not sure, but it should be interesting to see how he treads gently around the topic.

What happened to the NDP? The Jack Layton Party returned to being the NDP again, and are back to their normal historic seat counts, which is too bad in some ways, and good in other ways (remembering Bob Rae in Ontario for one thing). Interesting that the popular vote levels are not that different, but all it takes is a few areas to change their previous voting habits (i.e. Quebec) and voila, a change of government.

In Ottawa, there was much rejoicing in the demise of the Harper Government (in the Public Service area, remember I am a Civil Servant) and here is one of the reasons that Ottawa was part of the Red Tide, an open letter from Mr. Trudeau to Public Servants. I may do an article on how Mr. Clement’s plan to revise the sick leave system in the Public Service might have been a good idea. However, it had some flaws.

It was pointed out to me that Mr. Harper’s hair was never really mentioned in the election (even though Mr. Trudeau’s had its own catchphrase “Nice Hair Though”), but am I the only one who said it looks like LEGO hair?

In celebration of the Liberal victory, the Bank of Canada did not change their key overnight rate, and money continues to be as loose as can be (all right, it had nothing to do with the election). You should really read the Monetary Policy Report for 2015 as well. The bank’s exact statement was:

The Bank judges that the risks around the inflation profile are roughly balanced. Meanwhile, as financial vulnerabilities in the household sector continue to edge higher, risks to financial stability are evolving as expected. Taking all of these developments into consideration, the Bank judges that the current stance of monetary policy remains appropriate. Therefore, the target for the overnight rate remains at 1/2 per cent.

My Writings for Week Ending October 23rd

I actually felt very re-energized by my attendance at CPFC15 (and am thinking I will be back next year), however, that still doesn’t expand my schedule, but I will be trying to write more soon. I did enjoy chatting with my peers and some very experienced writers and enjoyed the fellowship.

  • In Home Insurance: Three Strikes and You Are Out, I was pointing out that my mother’s home insurance was cancelled after three (major) events that she made insurance claims on, and that is the way home insurance works, so keep that in mind. Chime in the comments if you have your own stories in this area.
  • The Bank of Mom and Dad is a cautionary story about lending money to your kids (and family members in general) and how bankrupting one generation so the other can have a lovely house might not be the best idea.
  • I did check out my archives and found a classic, Top 5 Reasons You Are in Debt. It is a swerve post, as it is not what you think it is.

Facebook Post of the Week

Dave Ramsay does have a way of summing it up in one line


Money Stories and other Horror Stories

Do you think you live a frugal life? This young lad from Google has you beat, I mean living in a truck in the parking lot? That is cheap.  It was good to see Mark (aka the Blunt Bean Counter) at CPFC15, we did our standard good-natured jabs at each other about golf, hockey and cities, but Mark came back this week with a very truthy statement, Believe It or Not – We are NOT Immortal. I enjoy the truthiness of that statement, so if you are going to die, plan for it now.

Have you got a lot of spare time? If you do Investopedia gives us 10 Must-Watch Documentaries For Finance Professionals, I was impressed that I have actually seen a few of them. Robb from Boomer and Echo is a Finance Pro, and also a Cleveland Browns fan (but we won’t hold that against him (much)) and he wants to help your retirement with some good numbers to help you decide When to Take CPP: Early, Late or Somewhere in the Middle. I finally met Tom Drake at the conference (face to face) and Tom has written about a useful point for me (who has had his phone ringing off the hook throughout the election) the National Do Not Call List and Do Not Contact, but unfortunately, the political parties are exempt from this list.

EQ Bank Savings Account
No Bank Fees here though

Barry from Money We Have was very busy at the conference keeping things running relatively on time, but he did write this week about 5 Toxic People to Cut From Your Lives, the borrower is the one to really read. Mark from My Own Advisor continues to stump for the world of Dividend investing with another guest Frugal Trader – why I’m living off dividends and distributions

I know my readers love the free stuff, and Young and Thrifty’s MEGA New site Unveiling and E-Book unwrapping fit that bill completely. Michael James does enjoy a good discussion, and I think he is trying to evoke a hearty discussion with How Dividends Affect Stock Prices, as usual, he makes some excellent points, but no dividend zealots seem to be rising to the bait?

Finally, a useful hint if you ever run into David Chilton (The Wealthy Barber), don’t ask him the question, “Should I put my money in my Mortgage or my RRSP?”, because his answer these days is (evidently), “I DON’T GIVE A SH*T!“. Ask him about his old softball team, you might get a less, um, colourful answer. In other brushes with the famous, I did get to see Preet Banerjee‘s Virtual Reality system (at the fortress of awesomeness), very cool stuff.


Back to the Future

Man, 2015 really does suck?


Halloween is Coming

Every Dad can be a hero with a pumpkin if he just uses some power tools


2015 Random Thoughts


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Feel Free to Comment

  1. It seems that I provoked some vitriol, but that’s not my goal. I’d like to see investors who are considering dividend investing get into it for the right reasons and not because of false claims. Thanks for the mention.

  2. Thanks for the mention BCM. Glad you had fun at CPFC15. Hope to go next time.

    Seriously, what happened NDP? I guess they are back to an “issues” party. Surprised Tom didn’t step down….that doesn’t seem like leadership to me….

    Enjoy the weekend!
    Mark

    1. I suspect there was a “Layton Effect” in play in the last election, although I was surprised to read that the young lady who didn’t even campaign in the last election got reelected? Evidently she is a very strong voice for her constituents, so good on her!

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