Observational Personal Finance essays, stories, case studies and how to articles with a distinctly Canadian Point of View, from the Chief Kibitzer of Personal Finance. Paying it forward as best I can.
I received the good news is that I have EquiFax for long period of time to check my credit bureau status. The better news is it is Free. The really bad news is the reason why. I was part of the Desjardins data-breach so now I am being “compensated” for this by getting Free Equifax.
Previously, I had access due to Home Depot having a data-breach. Surprisingly, my account with Equifax still existed (with the same password?). My access was granted for a long period of time, and I did notice a few things when I logged in.
My first name is still incorrectly written in my report. This mis-spelling makes me wonder how accurate this report is. I tried to have it changed a while ago, but it never happened.
I have a lot of Desjardins credit vehicles on my report. Makes me think someone DID create them and was simply waiting to use them? Will try to cancel all of those.
A very large credit vehicle that should be on my report is not. That is interesting as well.
Credit Score by percentage in Canada
I am glad to see I have such an excellent Credit Rating, but it means nothing to me. It is most likely inaccurate, and unless I plan on buying another house I don’t really need it. The other danger is that given my Personal Info is compromised, any perpetrator could get away with a lot of money fraudulently.
Epilogue
Interesting that 57% of Canadians have Excellent Credit Ratings? That seems a little skewed, in terms of a data set. Either that or the actual term “excellent” has little or no meaning?
Related Topics
Free is a good price for things, however, things are rarely without some cost associated with them. This is how I got free EquiFax, the first time!
This lowers your risk in life and gives you choices.
Put money in your TFSA.
My opinion is that this is a good place to put your money. How you invest it, is up to you. It should be within your Risk tolerances. Whether you want to buy stocks, Index Funds, ETFs or mutual funds is up to you. Do this in a trading account. In a trading account you can buy all those savings vehicles. In a Mutual Fund account, you usually can only buy Bank or Insurance company (read high MER) funds.
TFSA until you reach your limit. You find that in your My CRA Account (limit as of start of current year).
Do you have Kids? If you do, maybe it is time to think about an RESP? This could be, before (2). The Registered Education Savings Plan will help your child’s future. You may decide you don’t want to do this, so you could skip this step.
Time to use your RRSP. It will lower your tax levels, so you should reinvest the money you get back into the RRSP, until you have no RRSP limit left.
Sometimes you can’t use your RRSP, if you are lucky enough to have a Pension. This is a tragedy of riches, so don’t complain to your friends about it, or they might kick you in the shins.
You have reached savings nirvana. If you are at this point where:
All your debt is paid off
Your TFSA limit is reached
Your RRSP is full You are now at the Zen level of life.
At this point in your life you have choices that most folks don’t have. Your Risk level should be quite low. Your stress level (due to money) should be non-existent.
This is your goal. Being out of debt, with money in the bank means you are financially in the right place. You can do what you want.
Am I Done ?
If you somehow get back into debt, restart the process. You did it once, you can do it again. Maybe create (say after step (1)) an Emergency Fund, in case something bad happens.
Is this easy? No, however, it is a good heuristic.
The Debt doesn’t matter crowd seems to think that due to low interest rates, debt is an afterthought. Unless the entire economy changes, Debt is going to comeback big time.
These days it is reminiscent of the hay days of the Internet Bubble. Back then the statement was:
Profits don’t matter. It’s eyeballs!
90’s Internet Bubble Investing Credo
That drove the 90’s Internet bubble. When you read that I am sure you smirked or laughed how insane that reads, but it was the gospel of investing in the 90’s. We saw the explosion of that bubble, and the associated side effects (i.e. loss in wealth for day to day investors).
One More
I like my women, like I like my coffee. Respected in the workplace and compensated at an equitable and fair level.
Big Cajun Man 2020
Same Topic
I wrote an article in 2005 about Experts? It’s your decision where Harry S. Dent Jr., back in 2000 advised how great the Internet was as an investment. This was written as the Bubble Exploded.
Index Investors, who purchase Canadian Indexes need to remember they are Highly Exposed on Banks. Banks hold a high portion of most major Canadian Indexes.
You need Two Key Investment Strategies, if you plan on investing for the long term. The first is easy, when to buy, but what might be the second?
Slowly we attempt to return to a semblance of normalcy, in our new COVID19 dominated world. In Ottawa, most businesses are “open” but under strict rules about distancing and masks are to be used pretty much everywhere.
Don’t expect Interest rates to go up any time soon.
The Bank is also continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, with large-scale asset purchases of at least $5 billion per week of Government of Canada bonds.
They are ready to react if Inflation occurs, but it sounds like they are not expecting that any time soon. Cheap credit continues on.
Not sure about the whole kerfuffle about wearing a mask. I wear it to protect my family and to protect the folks I interact with. Why folks are yelling at minimum wage employees of firms, is beyond understanding.
Can we nominate Dr. Fauci for President? Asking for a friend. Border being closed is good for Canada overall, but bad for tourism and those towns that rely on our American visitors.
On the topic of masking, my battle against unwanted email continues. I have not slain the dragon but it is wounded and my influx of spam has slowed.
There are more Seniors than Young Folk and it is only going to increase in the future.
Of those old folks most of them are Baby Boomers too. Stats Can’s definition of a Boomer is born between 1946 to 1965. That is interesting because for the longest time I wasn’t a boomer, but now I am included in them. I don’t know if that is a good thing or not?
Thanks to a bad tooth infection I have been distracted with other things. It is slowly being repaired, but I will hopefully have an implant to replace the missing teeth soon.
Is the RESP Only For the Rich ? That is what Stats Canada is stating, and I am not surprised. So few banks want the business of lower income Canadians in this area. How could this be fixed? More incentives for Lower Income Canadians, and maybe some for banks to help them open accounts?
While businesses slowly reopen, can they survive in this environment? That remains to be seen. Real Estate, however, continues to defy logic, in terms of market elasticity.
A friend sold his house about 3 weeks ago. He already had purchased his new home, did some work on his home, and then put his house up for sale. The sale, turned into a bidding war, which meant the house sold for $90K more than asking price. The purchasers had lost 3 previous bidding wars, and were determined to win. Evidently houses are now being sold before they reach the market, agents simply put up a “Coming Soon” sign on the front lawn, and the houses are selling privately. This is a very odd world we are living in.
Think Twice Before Taking a 5-Year Closed Mortgage is Michael James giving you some solid advice, it is up to you whether you follow it or not. As usual the system is rigged to stop you from paying things off quickly, look very closely at the penalties involved.
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