Time to spring forward for daylight savings time, but also maybe time to spring forward on your financial planning. It isn’t spring yet in Ottawa though, sadly, but lots of great financial news along with… Read More »Steady Interest Rates, Spring Forward and #MoneyTalk
Who knew that this time of year had so many financial events? You have the RRSP deadline, tax preparation time and for some another important event. At the beginning of February I receive the Annual… Read More »RDSP Statement of Grant Entitlement
How does a system named Phoenix go down in flames? The $1B payroll system, will be repaired enough to work (at much further cost), and then it will be replaced by something else? It was obvious that the current Government wanted this albatross from around their neck, but is this enough? We shall see if this helps or hinders them.
An interesting budget. It’s interesting that fiscal conservatism (note the small C) has gone right out the window in North America as a whole. Balanced budgets are a thing of the past, I suppose? There is an extension of the RDSP qualifying plan holders program, which will help families still trying to figure out the RDSP Statutory Guardian world (it is really not easy, and it is expensive too).
Last week Stats Canada published the January Consumer Price Index numbers, and as usual they are interesting.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.7% on a year-over-year basis in January, following a 1.9% increase in December. Excluding energy, the CPI increased 1.7%, matching the gain in December.
Interesting that energy did not cause issues this month.
Looking with a little more detailed eye we can see year over year:
Main upward contributors:
- Gasoline (+7.8%)
- Food purchased from restaurants (+3.7%)
- Homeowners’ replacement cost (+3.5%)
- Air transportation (+12.2%)
- Purchase of passenger vehicles (+1.4%)
Main downward contributors:
- Electricity (-5.0%)
- Travel tours (-2.5%)
- Digital computing equipment and devices (-4.9%)
- Video equipment (-10.0%)
- Natural gas (-3.0%)
Gas is really up year over year, but not really month over month. Eating out continues to rise in cost too.
I found something in my backlog of over 300 unfinished titles, with, Credit is the Lubricant for the Wheels of Business, which really should have been title Credit is the Opiate of the Consumer. Banks, and stores want you to use credit but trussing yourself up with easy credit is a dangerous game to play.
Will Payday loans go away? Not likely, according to Hoyes Michalos.
What drives the economy? Credit is the lubricant that helps the cogs of the economic machine run smoothly, but what happens when credit stops?
February’s new symbol in Ottawa is the Pothole. Due to the quick temperature swings, we have been experiencing, the roads are slowly deteriorating, and the size of the potholes cannot be discerned until you hit them. I think big money will be in realignment, hub replacements and tire repair because some of these potholes (or sinkholes) are pretty deep. They are as inevitable as tuition increases!
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
My Alma Mater (the University of Waterloo) announced their new fees schedule, and tuition and all associated fees continue to track higher than inflation. Undergraduate tuition will rise by about 3%. However, co-op fees will increase by 2.8%. If you are planning to help your kids with University Costs, you need to know that you should prepare for these tuition increases every year. I don’t mean to pick on Yuppy U., but at least they publish this information.
RRSPs continue to be the non-topic for February, with few ads being seen. There are more ads for PayDay Loans and Short Term Loans than for RRSPs. The only thing people care about less is the Roll up the Rim at Timmy’s. What is going on in Canada? The next thing I’ll hear is that a Canadian Tuxedo has gone out of fashion!
The CRTC has rejected a call for a public inquiry into the big Telcos and Telecomm companies? It must mean that the frequent visitors at my front door, on my phone and in my mailbox must be my imagination. Well, that puts my mind at ease. The Canadian Telcos have it too darn easy, and what we pay for Mobile Phones, Internet and Cable is just too damn high.
This Flu season does seem to be a nasty one, with a second-round coming at us. I have noticed more folks sick at the office and more folks coming to work to share their illness. I got a flu shot for the first time this year so far, I don’t seem to have caught the Flu, but I guess I might be speaking prematurely?
Tangerine went a bit berserk a week or two ago and sent me countless tax forms in my emails (in both languages). I only have one account, so I’m not sure why I got that many emails, but I got an email saying they knew they sent them, but no real explanation why.
I guess I got caught up in the Olympics and work and ended up not writing anything new this week, but as I have mentioned, if you follow my Twitter feed, you will get a hefty dose of my archives as well. Remember that RRSP season can also be RRSP Re-Balancing season too.
The City of Hamilton is looking into limiting the number of PayDay loan places, and I am all for it. Our friend Doug Hoyes spoke, but this graphic did hit me.
