By 2 Cents on January 29th, 2010 | Category: Book Reviews | People on commission cannot be trusted.
~ David Trahair, Enough Bull, p. 121
This book came out in August of 2009. By that time, the market tailspin had finally subsided and many investors have since felt comfortable diving back into the investment pool. David Trahair would probably advise against that.
This book was billed as “the one book your bank really does not want you to read”. When you understand Mr. Trahair’s position, you can see why. Many of the ideas he proposes in this book would be considered sacrilegious in many circles, including some parts of the personal finance blogosphere, and of course, the financial services industry.
My first impression was that Mr. Trahair’s views were a little too extreme and that the book probably wouldn’t even have been published if it weren’t for the panic instigated by the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The thing is, [...]
Read on and enjoy … Book Review: Enough Bull
By 2 Cents on January 28th, 2010 | Category: Retirement | Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.
~ Samuel Johnson
Our series on RRSP Basics continues today with some information on how and when to take money out of your RRSP.
Withdrawing Money Before You Retire
The idea behind RRSPs is that you won’t be taking any money out until you retire. But as we all know, life happens. Here’s how it works if you encounter an emergency where you absolutely need to take some of your money out:
Any money you take out of your RRSP will be added to your income at your marginal tax rate in the year you withdraw it. Your withdrawal will be subject to a withholding tax which will be deducted by your financial institution. The withholding rates for Canadian residents [...]
Read on and enjoy … RRSPs: Taking Money Out
By 2 Cents on January 26th, 2010 | Category: Retirement | The road leading to a goal does not separate you from the destination; it is essentially a part of it.
~ Charles DeLint
Yesterday we began a series on RRSP Basics with a primer on what an RRSP is and who should use them. Today, we’re going to look at where you can get them, what you can put in them, and how to decide what you should put in them. There are a few types of RRSPs that you can get:
Basic: These are usually provided through an advisor affiliated with a mutual fund dealer or bank who offers advice on where to invest your money. Self-Directed: These [...]
Read on and enjoy … RRSPs: What Should You Put in Them?
By 2 Cents on January 25th, 2010 | Category: Retirement | Warning: Dates in Calendar are closer than they appear.
~ Author Unknown
Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) were introduced by the Government of Canada in 1957 as a means of encouraging Canadians to save for retirement. That need has only grown over the decades as corporate pensions have been cut and the number of companies matching contributions has dwindled.
Many pension plans took a huge hit when the stock market fell in 2008 and 2009. Although they have since recovered a lot of their losses, the crash reminded us that money in the stock market is money at risk.
To make matters worse, Canadians have been saving less, taking on more debt, and keeping that debt on their balance sheets for longer than in the past. In October of 2009, The Globe and Mail ran an excellent series entitled Retirement Lost which outlined many of the [...]
Read on and enjoy … RRSPs: Who Needs Them?
By 2 Cents on January 23rd, 2010 | Category: BJ News | Every day of our lives we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference.
~ Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960
________
In the interest of more balance in my blog and in my life, I’m going to try out a slightly reduced posting schedule. Right now, I pretty much post an article 5 days a week from Monday to Friday.
Starting next week, I’ll be posting 4 days a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. If something important comes up that I want to write about right away, or if my monthly 20 Cents round up post falls on an off day, I’ll put up an extra post or two.
My goal here is quality over quantity. What do you [...]
Read on and enjoy … New Post Schedule
By 2 Cents on January 22nd, 2010 | Category: Spending | Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.
~ Author Unknown
Update: This post is included in The Carnival of Personal Finance @ My Journey to Millions. Thanks Evan!
Have you ever replaced an item before it really stopped working? Recently, we bought a new washer and dryer. Our old ones were working fine, but they were over 10 years old, and we began to worry about a sudden service interruption. We do a lot more laundry at our house than we used to. Here’s a tip for those of you with really young children out there: their clothes get bigger too! This means it takes a lot fewer pairs of jeans to fill the washer.
Mr. Cents did a lot of research online and decided that the most likely future problem would be that a bearing might go on the washer. It would [...]
Read on and enjoy … Preemptive Purchases: Wasteful or Worth It?
By 2 Cents on January 21st, 2010 | Category: Giving | To give and then not feel that one has given is the best of all ways of giving.
~ Max Beerbohm
Giving is something that most of us like to do. We love to buy great gifts for our loved ones, and we want to support charitable institutions that are close to our hearts. But sometimes when we look at our budget, there just doesn’t seem to be anything left over, or we forget to include giving altogether.
When an occasion to give comes up, it can be a real budget-buster, and may even force us to take on unplanned debt. We’ve been talking about budgeting a lot lately, and the crisis in Haiti has put giving on our minds, so I thought I might go over some ways to incorporate giving – without breaking the budget.
Pay It Forward First
Giving: How to Budget for It
By 2 Cents on January 20th, 2010 | Category: Budgets | There is no one giant step that does it. It’s a lot of little steps.
~ Peter A. Cohen
Update: 6 Remedies for a Debt Hangover is mentioned in today’s Money Hacks Carnival #100 @ The Ultimate Money Blog. Thanks Mrs. Money!
Over the past 2 years, I have had to rework our budget a half a dozen times or so, in addition to running various budget scenarios for potential job changes. So this stuff is pretty fresh for me. For what it’s worth, this post describes how I handle our budget. I don’t decide on percentage allocations up front. This might work for someone just starting out, but most of us have spending commitments that are well-entrenched. Rather, I start by looking at our net income and all of our expenses in detail.
Tools of the Trade
Quicken: I use [...]
Read on and enjoy … How to Make a Budget: My 2 Cents
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