Financial literacy is power!
The gold mine of anxiety
Anxiety is a very powerful emotion and motivation. The underlying force is fear. Many marketers use it to manipulate people into buying their products and services. Anxiety of money, body image, career success, relationship, social popularity, status, etc. The sales lady at the cosmetics counter will tell a woman how bad her skin is. Then,…
The emotional side of money
When it comes to money, sometimes it is about what we know, but more than often, it is about how we manage our emotion. Almost all of us know that that we should budget and spend less than we make. However, not all of us can achieve that. Sometimes, it is just not humanly possible…
How much remote work has saved?
There is a big fight between employees and employers on remote work. Amazon employees staged a protest this week over that company’s mandate that remote workers should return to the office by May 1. Disney, Starbucks, News Corp, and Lyft have also demanded employees return to the office. Is it caused by the recent lay…
Canadian rental properties lose money
CBC reported last week that more than half of GTA condo investors losing money on properties, per The research from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and real estate research firm Urbanation. The culprit is the fast-rising interest rates. Many condo investors have variable rate mortgage, but they probably have 1-year rent lease with their…
Are baby bonds too late?
Wall Street Journal Your Money Briefing Podcast aired an article “Baby Bonds could help end poverty in America”. Several states including California, Connecticut, et. in US are considering to pay thousands of dollars into trust accounts when a child is born. They can take it when they turn 18. The purpose is to close the…
AI will take our jobs. So what?
Is it really such a bad thing? That means AI can improve productivity. Then, productivity is not an issue but distribution. If people don’t need to make it living, what motivate them to work? Do people need to be forced to work to make a living? Can people be motivated by something else? Do people…
Name change in tax return
Being a transgender can face many challenges. Being a transgender Muslim makes it even harder. Being a transgender Muslim new immigrant to Canada adds a lot more difficulties. I was a newcomer once before, but I can’t imagine what this person has to go through. She came to Canada a few years ago from a…
First Home Buyer Incentive is under used
The Globe and Mail The Decibel Podcast recently talked about The Problems with The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive. It helps eligible first-time homebuyers get an additional 5 or 10% to add to their down payments. It was supposed to help 100,000 Canadians to buy their first home, but it was doomed from the start. Only…
Paper checks fraud
WSJ Your Money Briefing Podcast reported how writing paper checks can lead to fraud. We might think that who use checks these days? 😊 I know. You might be surprised. Many landlords still ask for checks to pay rents. Many seniors still have the habit to use checks to pay for their bills. The criminals…
U.S. Treasury bonds could surge? What?
NPR Business Stories of the Day Podcast reports that the demand for U.S. treasury bonds could surge, even as default looms. What? Am I hearing this right? The podcast says the reason is TINA – there is no alternative. How interesting, but why surge though? This reason alone can only explain that the demand is…
Disinformation/misinformation in personal finance
‘I’ve never saved a dime’: Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran has spent her millions, Yahoo Finance recently reported. She gives it away by investing it in business or other people the returns have kept coming back. The article also mentioned another Shark, Mark Cuban, who has opposite philosophy when it comes to money. In 2015, Cuban…
Loud quitting our jobs?
We might consider this more than once in our career. There could be many reasons. Someone told me that every Sunday evening, the depression starts to creep in because the idea that he has to go to work next day gradually emerges. 😊 I experienced that myself. Someone shared that he dreaded opening the laptop…
Buy now, pay later customers can’t get credits
Recent news reported that some buy now and pay later customers found that they can’t get the credit they need to buy stuff. That is new. Affirm, the buy now pay later provider, is reported that costs are up due to credit squeeze. Interest rate hikes and banking crises make borrowing costs higher. Perhaps…
US doesn’t have to pay off its debts. Really?
The debt ceiling occupies the news these days. It sparks a lot of very interesting discussions. The Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman said so in an op-ed in New York Times. Here are the reasons. First, country doesn’t die like a person so it can continue to pay off its debt, so we should…
Update – dining out/food delivery cost cutting challenge
It has been another 3 weeks on this challenge to reduce my spending on dining out and food delivery. Things are looking good. I didn’t dine out alone or order any restaurant food delivery in the past 3 weeks. I had this habit that if I am out, I am constantly thinking where there is…
Young people are harmed by financial fraud more?
We thought the elderly is the target because they are not tech savvy. However, both of them are targets. The scammers do not discriminate. They just use different media to reach different group. BNN Bloomberg reported this interesting finding that young Canadians fell victim to financial fraud more. The main reason is that young people…
Husbands are more OK with wives making more now
Wall Street Journal Your Money Briefing Podcast recently aired an interesting episode that more wives who out earn their husbands now are less likely to divorce. It implies that before, the fact that wives earned more than their husbands can lead to divorce because the husbands’ ego can’t deal with it. 😊 It is very…
Wakes up at 4 am and runs 8 miles per day?
Fortune magazine recently published an article about Damola Adamolekun, the 34-year-old CEO of P.F. Chang’s who wakes up at 4 a.m. and runs 8 miles every day. Trying to strike a balanced and well-rounded view, Adamolekun does emphasize that this is an individual choice. He considers work long hours in evenings and weekends fun. He…
Is inflation wage or profit driven?
Wow, this question is very class warfare. 😊 Basically, what and who caused inflation? Grassroot people/consumers/workers who earn wages to buy goods/services or big corporations who has the pricing power and is driven to maximize profits/shareholder value? The definition of inflation is too much money chasing too few goods. Perhaps this is wrong or one-sided?…
Work requirement for social benefits
NPR Business Story of the Day – Medicaid has become a key component in negotiations over debt ceiling. Actually, debt and deficit are not the point of contention. Both sides agreed that we need to reduce deficit and debt but differ on how to achieve it. The Democrats want to increase revenue from closing tax…
Opportunity from debt ceiling catastrophe?
NPR Business Story of the Day Podcast just aired an episode on what debt ceiling could mean for your retirement plan. Basically, nothing much if we don’t need the money for a decade or more. It can be short term dip, but it should recover before we need the money. Just don’t panic sell. However,…
Canada Federal Student Loan interest eliminated permanently
It was said that we should only borrow to invest in assets that appreciate. A house and education are two such assets. Thus, mortgage and student loan are considered good debts. The Federal government suspended the accumulation of interest on student loans in 2021 as part of the pandemic relief efforts. It was set to…
Auto-File My Tax Return Program
The Federal Government 2023 budget plans to expand the File My Return Program. Per Government of Canada website, “The File my Return service allows you to auto-file your income tax and benefit return over the phone. It is free, secure, and easy to use. There are no forms to fill out or calculations to do.”…
Payday loan interest lowered in Canada?
Just received a pamphlet in the mail from my MP. It listed all the recent achievements. One caught my eyes. It says that the maximum annual interest rate of payday lenders is lowered from 60% to 35%. The maximum amount payday lenders can charge is lowered to $14 per $100 borrowed. The above is in…
Good economics and business podcasts
Here are some podcasts I like on economics, finance and business. Marketplace podcast Daily update focuses on US economy. Planet Money by NPR Always educational. Its purpose is to educate the masses on money matters including economics, personal finance, business, etc. It tries to make complicated concepts easy to understand. I find it quite friendly…
Apple launched high yield saving account
Apple just launched its high yield saving account on April 17. What a great timing! Right during the banking crisis when people moving their savings out of regional banks to bigger banks. It was reported that massive of amount of funds poured into this new Apple saving account. The amount of deposits the Apple savings…
Buy US bank stocks now?
What a roller coaster ride of the US banking industry! The BMO US bank covered call ETF ZWK dropped by more than 4% in the morning today. The transaction volume was 6 times of the recent lows. Wow! Some investors are dumping it. Time to buy the dip? Fortunate favors the brave? LOL! Some people…
Limited income but owe tax
Here is a real-life case. A couple without children with household income just above $55K are not eligible for GST credits and Ontario Trillium Benefits because they are not considered as low-income by the government. One of them just started to receive CPP payment because he just turned 65 the year before 2022. He kept…
When to use GIC
GIC is so popular these days because 1-year GIC annual interest rate is 5% or more which we haven’t seen for a while. When the stock and bond market is so volatile, it can be a quite attractive option. Here is what Motive Financial GIC rates by term. Very interestingly, the longer the term, the…
Restaurants expense cutting challenge update
It’s been 2 weeks since I started this challenge. It is going well! 😊 I didn’t order any restaurants delivery in the past 4 weeks. I did deploy all the solutions or tricks. I started to learn new, easy and delicious recipes. How about roasting a whole eel? Just put a bit oil, salt and…
Never retire movement
Wall Street Journal Money Briefing podcast yesterday reports that more and more Americans over 60 say they will never retire. Some might immediately guess that they simply can’t. Actually, there is another reason because they enjoy their jobs. Those are the lucky ones. The jobs keep them mentally, socially and physically active. It doesn’t hurt…
Crazy grocery prices again
It seems that grocery price is on top of our minds these days. Just this weekend, someone asked me where I do my grocery shopping. She wants to find a cheaper place to shop. Heard another podcast by The Big Story “Why your grocery prices are getting tougher to predict?” There is an interesting point…
How to change tax return
There are a few easy ways to do it. First, if I simply miss a tax slip which only arrives after I file my tax return, I can log in to CRA My Account online and go to the tax return tab and click the change tax return link. There are 2 ways to do…
The quality we consume
I went to one of my favourite bakery spots which has been closed for 2 months for renovation. A bit too eager, I found that their ready-to-serve food in display was very eye catching. I forgot I did try before, and it was only mediocre at best. Apparently, the distant memory faded. I ordered a…
His ex didn’t file his tax return for 5 years
Someone just found out after split from his spouse that she didn’t file his tax return for 5 years. It seems that the wife promised and didn’t deliver. Also, the husband was totally ignorant about it. He never asked to see the Notice of Assessment from CRA. If he did, he would have found out.…
Grocery rebate and tax scams
Someone was asking where is the grocery rebate that was announced in the Federal 2023 budget. It seems that it hasn’t show up in the GST credit estimate when we file tax returns now. Only low-income people would receive GST credits, so you might not even see it in your tax return result. The government…
Should CRA prepare your tax returns?
Most people tax affairs are very simple. They should not have to pay to get it done. Usually it costs $100. Some countries do it for the individuals and just ask them to sign off. I think it can be done in Canada for most people. CRA has the tax slips/statements from employers and financial…
Restaurant expense cutting challenge
The biggest expense is restaurant delivery and dining out. When I am home and tired of my own cooking or craving for something I can’t make, I will order restaurant delivery via Apps. It is quite expensive. I uninstalled all the restaurant delivery Apps from my phone. I still have Uber because I might need…
Forever renters can benefit from First Home Savings Account
The first Home Savings Account – FHSA can be misleading. Many people who rent and don’t want to buy a home might think it is no use for them. That is not the case at all because they can transfer the money from FHSA to RRSP tax free without taking up any RRSP contribution room.…
The illusion of diversification
We all know that diversification is the key for investment or actually many things in life. For example, a good case in point is our communications service providers in cellular and home/office internet connection. Last summer, the long network outage of Rogers cross Canada really taught us how essential connection is for our works and…
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