Tax time

Jan 14: Best from the blogosphere

January 14, 2013

By Sheryl Smolkin

blogospheregraphic

With RRSP season in full swing, the blogosphere and more traditional media are chock full of advice for those of you who resolved to spend less and save more in 2013.

Live for today or save for tomorrow? How do you balance small pleasures with big investments? Toronto Star consumer columnist Ellen Roseman reports on responses from her readers when she posted a story on millionaire Kevin O’Leary’s advice to stop buying coffee, lunches, magazines and cigarettes.

BrighterLife.ca tackles How-to-dig-your-way-out-of-debt and Jim Yih shares ideas on how to Make RRSP Savings One of Your Financial Resolutions in his blog “Retire Happy.”

Of course, having enough money is not the only key to a happy retirement. You have to figure out what to do with your time. Tim Stubbs recently found himself with an extra 10 hours a week (wouldn’t that be nice!) when his gig as a Regina School Board Trustee ended. On “Canadian Dream: Free at 45” he writes about how he plans to spend his new-found “free time.”

And on another note, on Boomer and Echo, Robb Engen explores the difficult subject, “How to talk to your elderly parents about money.”


Dec 17: Best from the blogosphere

December 17, 2012

By Sheryl Smolkin

blogospheregraphic

November was Financial Literacy Month and Glenn Cooke of Life Insurance Canada organized a campaign by Canadian bloggers who published their best financial tips. Links to all of them appear in this blog from Canadian Capitalist.

Masters of Money’s Alison Griffiths warns on Getsmartaboutmoney.ca that if an investment seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Toronto Star columnist and consumer advocate Ellen Roseman blogs about how social media helped Kavitha Nadarajah get compensation from Whirlpool after she had to replace her top of the line five year-old refrigerator.

For holiday travellers, Mike Holman at Money Smarts has some ideas about avoiding cell phone roaming charges when you travel to the U.S.

T.V. personality Gail Vaz-Oxlade calculates how much money you can save by making lunch instead of eating lunch out every day.

Tax time is quickly approaching, so bookmark this post on Million Dollar Trader about CRA’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program for both people who need help and qualified volunteers who are able to assist them.