My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed LetterKenny Live, and as part of the show is stand-up from K. Trevor Wilson. Mr. Wilson’s comedy is very topical and he had financial advice for young folks that… Read More »More Financial Advice from a Comedian
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?
