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2015

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RRSPs, Valentines, 50 Shades of Debt and #BestOfThisWeek

It is RRSP season, if you have not noticed, and there is still time for you to put money into your RRSP and claim it for your 2014 taxes. You should have done this a long time ago, but if this is how you do things, you still have about 16 days to get this done. A word of warning: you are not buying an RRSP. You are either (1) Setting up an RRSP account and depositing money into the account to purchase or set up a savings vehicle, like GICs, Bonds, Securities, Mutual Funds or the like, or (2) You are adding money to an existing RRSP account, where you will purchase or set up a savings vehicle. You are not “buying an RRSP”, please don’t say that.

Valentines Day
An Apropos Sentiment for tomorrow

This Valentine’s Day Weekend remember your loved ones, and show them that you love them in some fashion, that does not entirely bankrupt you. No matter what the diamond industry says, 3 months’ gross income is far too much to spend on anything that dangles off your loved one, or slides onto a part of their body. Just remember that Lent starts this coming Wednesday, so start getting your Shrove together as well.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, a truly lovely romantic movie is coming out, 50 Shades of Grey, is being touted as a beautiful love story. I have read 2 of the books, and I can assure you, that is not how I read them (I couldn’t get through the final book it was, “too beaucoup”). The books are quite graphic, which makes me wonder how the movie will cover some of the more exciting parts of the books. Still, it is not likely that I will see the movies unless I get a free copy or it appears on NetFlix (and even then, I think I’d rather watch House of Cards (U.S. and UK versions) or the IT Crowd). The one exciting prognostication I have seen is that the sales of “sex toys” may skyrocket thanks to this movie, so all you We-Vibe stockholders must be rubbing your hands with glee (at least I hope that is your hands).

And I do have a partially written article entitled 50 Shades of Debt, but I can’t quite get it right. Oh and yesterday was my 2700th post as well, I guess that is what 10 years of writing will do for you.

My Writings for Week Ending February 13th

I had only planned on two articles this week, but the extra “Valentine’s Doom” post just wrote itself:

Read More »RRSPs, Valentines, 50 Shades of Debt and #BestOfThisWeek
Cigarette Butt

Going to the Gym to Work on my Retirement

Big Cajun Man emphasizes the importance of considering one’s health parallel to finances while planning for retirement. Regardless of the ease of pension planning for civil servants, if one is unfit or deceased, all the financial preparation is meaningless. He emphasizes regular exercising, in his case going to the gym, to sustain healthy knees and heart in elder years. He also implicitly discourages smoking by correlating it with his father’s immobilized retirement conditions and urges smokers to redirect their smoking expenses towards retirement and start exercising.

Stats Canada

More Part Time Jobs in Canada in January

According to Statistics Canada, the country’s employment saw an increase of 35,000 jobs, predominantly part-time, causing concerns over worker benefits and job security. Over the past 12 months, employment rose by 0.7% with majority of the growth happening in the second half. In January, part-time employment spiked by 47,000 while full-time saw no significant changes. This trend of rising employment, driven mainly by part-time roles, has been prevalent for the last five years. The growth was largely attributed to women aged 55 and over, suggesting older employees are increasingly filling part-time job vacancies.

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Superb Decisions, Gas Going Up, Rugby and #BestThisWeek

Being a fervent football enthusiast, the game on Sunday emphasized the criticality of making prompt and confident choices, as anyone who witnessed the match can attest. Despite some justifications, it’s hard to deny that it could be one of the worst play decisions ever made, even surpassing Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. However, the game was entertaining, but what gave me immense pleasure is the fact that the Giants remain the only team to have defeated the Brady/Belicheck Patriots in a Super Bowl. Regarding finances, it’s imperative to remember not to count our chickens before they hatch, as one erroneous decision can wipe out all our hard-earned money in no time.

CIS Rugby
Some fine CIS Rugby

Did you realize that the man who brought us Ketchup Potato Chips died this past week? Did you know he was Canadian? Herman Neff (a German immigrant) is that man, and I for one, thank him for that forbidden snack flavor.

Gas prices in Ottawa have jumped about 15% over the past week, and look like they will not be slowing down any time soon, which will make for very interesting stats on Inflation next month. Even with Oil going up in price, the Canadian Dollar has not started to rebound, which could make for some interesting “re-thinks” on the part of the Government in terms of tax breaks and such.

The RBS 6 Nations Cup starts today, with England playing Wales, and I’ll be watching (somehow). In 1972 the (then) 5 Nations Cup ended up tied each team went 2-2, so they all shared in the championship.

My Writings for Week Ending February 6th

Back to my regular 2 a week schedule, which is interesting because right now I have about 175 unfinished articles sitting in my “drafts” folder, I should have a contest to have a lucky writer finish one of those fine topics :

  • I think a financial fit bit might be a cool thing to have, or at least some kind of interface to monitor spending, that maybe shares with your spouse, you spending habits?
  • Car Insurance Savings Devices is me being a paranoid consumer, but there is an excellent (and civilized I might add) discussion with “Chris” who works in the industry about how this might all work. Well worth a read.
  • One of my favorite old stories is the Financial Shock Collar as a spending control device. My view is that any time I can add Star Trek (the original series) into an idea, it makes it much better.
  • CLBs, Weak Loons, Tax Time, Superb Owls and #BestThisWeek
Read More »Superb Decisions, Gas Going Up, Rugby and #BestThisWeek
Lamborghini Gallardo Sports

Car Insurance Saving Devices

Insurance companies are offering driver tracking devices to lower your insurance rates, is this a good idea or just a big privacy invasion?

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