By 2 Cents on January 6th, 2012 | Category: Saving | The following is a guest post with some good advice to kick off 2012. Enjoy!
The New Year is upon us, and for many, this time of the year signifies a time of new beginnings. People strive to better themselves by creating New Year’s resolutions, many of which are focused on health. While trying to be a better person in the new year is nothing to scoff at, there are a few New Year’s resolutions that are good for you both physically and mentally, as well as financially.
Losing Weight
Obesity is one of the greatest epidemics plaguing America today, making losing weight one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions this year. However, losing weight isn’t just ideal for your health, it is also highly beneficial to your wallet. In addition to saving money with reduced eating out and grocery bills, losing weight will also [...]
Read on and enjoy … 5 New Year’s Resolutions that are Good for Your Wallet
By 2 Cents on November 15th, 2011 | Category: Saving |  Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
~Leonardo DaVinci
When the Tax Free Savings Account was introduced in Canada in 2009, it was hailed for its practicality and simplicity. Any Canadian 18 years or older can now contribute up to $5000 per year to a TFSA and have those savings grow completely tax free. While TFSA contributions are not tax deductible, you will not have to pay any tax on the money you withdraw from your TFSA.
You can put just about any type of investment in your TFSA, or choose a number of different TFSA accounts for different purposes. You could simply have a TFSA savings account, or you could open a TFSA brokerage account whereby you could include stocks, bonds, ETFs or just about any other type of investment vehicle. Whether you earn interest, dividends or capital gains on your savings, your money can be withdrawn tax free. [...]
Read on and enjoy … TFSA Contribution Limit for 2012
By 2 Cents on September 19th, 2011 | Category: Saving |  Starting today, there’s a new financial resource for Canadians out there. It’s called Finizi. Basically, Finizi is a free online service that allows financial institutions to compete for your business. At this time they are only offering GICs, but there are plans in the works to offer competitive bidding on rates for car loans and mortgages as well.
How It Works
Basically, you just need to go to finizi.com and:
1. Request a GIC rate
Select the type of GIC you want and specify the amount you’d like to invest.
2. Financial Institutions Bid for Your Money
Review your bids in a live auction environment. Financial institutions bidding for your business may include credit unions, trust companies or chartered banks. So far, they have about 5 institutions on board, but many have said that they would [...]
Read on and enjoy … Introducing Finizi: A New Financial Tool for Canadians
By 2 Cents on February 21st, 2011 | Category: Saving |  The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
~F. Scott Fitzgerald
Update: Thanks to Arjun at Investing Thesis for including this article in the Canadian Personal Finance and Investing Carnival #16.
Very few topics elicit the kind of virulent debate that the TFSA vs. RRSP argument has generated in Canada this RRSP season. To be honest, those of us who cover finance are probably a little tired of writing about the TFSA vs. RRSP war. I’m sure a lot of readers don’t care to read about it anymore. And yet we (including me, apparently) just can’t seem to let it go. (The RRSP deadline for the 2010 tax year is March 1, 2011, so it should be over soon. )
For years, [...]
Read on and enjoy … RRSP vs. TFSA: One Last Dip into the Debate
By 2 Cents on January 10th, 2011 | Category: Saving |  Money often costs too much.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Update: This article was included in the 13th Canadian Personal Finance and Investing Carnvial posted at Investing Thesis. Thanks!
As if earning enough money to live wasn’t hard enough, we have to figure out a way to put enough aside for the days when we are no longer earning income. Even more arduous is the task of finding the best vehicle for growing that money. And then there are the taxes . . .
In Canada, we have a new product that is supposed to help defray some of our tax burden. The Tax Free Savings Account became available in 2009 and was considered to be a simple, efficient way for Canadians to save money and avoid paying taxes on the growth of that money. I love TFSAs and I think they’re a great product [...]
Read on and enjoy … TFSA: Investment Gains, Withdrawals and Contribution Room
By 2 Cents on October 13th, 2010 | Category: Saving |  To decide is to walk facing forward with nary a crick in your neck from looking back at the crossroads.
~ Betsy Cañas Garmon
Update: This article was included in the 279th Carnival of Personal Finance – 80s Music Edition posted at Dough Roller. Thanks!
I’ve received a couple of questions from readers on how exactly I have allocated our GIC portfolio. Previously, I’ve written about how set up a GIC ladder, but in reality the numbers don’t always work out as neatly as they do in the examples. The idea behind a GIC ladder is to diversify your interest rate exposure. You can do this by owning GICs with durations of 1-5 years or simply buying a new 5-year GIC each year and rolling money back into 5-year GICs as they mature.
The hope is that you can take the confusion [...]
Read on and enjoy … GIC Strategy: Two Important Questions
By 2 Cents on June 16th, 2010 | Category: Saving | My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
~ Errol Flynn
Update: This article was included in the Festival of Frugality: Summer Edition posted at Where’s My Rolling Pin? Thanks!
I recently received a request from a doctoral student to fill out a short questionnaire on savings methods. The survey was directed at personal finance bloggers. Two different savings approaches were explained, and then respondents were asked which they would prefer, and to what degree. I wasn’t quite sure if I completely grasped the spirit of each approach, but I answered the questions to the best of my ability.
The two approaches proposed by the doctoral student are the circular savings method and the linear savings method. I’m going to outline both of them as explained by the author here, and I’d be
interested in your thoughts on [...]
Read on and enjoy … Which Is the Best Way to Save Money?
By 2 Cents on May 25th, 2010 | Category: Saving | The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.
~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Update: This article is included in the Carnival of Personal Finance #259 at A Gai Shan Life.
I love TFSAs. I think they’re the best financial “innovation” to hit the market in a long time. Last week, I wrote a lot about the complexities that have built up, wreaked havoc on, and continue to threaten our financial system.
The beauty of Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) lies not only in their tax sheltering function, but in their simplicity. The [...]
Read on and enjoy … TFSA Withdrawal Rules
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