By Sheryl Smolkin

Today I’m interviewing Saskatchewan Ombudsman and Public Disclosure Commissioner Mary McFadyen for savewithpsp.com. She assumed these positions on April 4th, 2014.

Prior to returning to her home province of Saskatchewan to serve in this capacity, Ms. McFadyen was Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada and before that, Director General Legal Services for the office of the Ombudsman for the Department of National Defense and Canadian Forces.

She has a Law Degree from the University of Saskatchewan and an LLM. from the University of London, the London School of Economics.

Today we’re going to talk about her role as Ombudsman, when her office can and can’t help you, and some examples of cases and investigations conducted by her office, including a recent report about the care provided to Mary Warholm.

Thank you for joining me today, Mary. 

Thank you very much for having me.

Q: Now what exactly is an Ombudsman?
A: Well, an Ombudsman is an independent, impartial public official who has the authority and the responsibility to receive and investigate or formally address complaints about government actions, omissions and decisions. When appropriate they can also make findings, recommendations and publish reports.

Q: So tell me a little bit about the mandate of Ombudsman Saskatchewan and the problems your office can help provincial residents resolve.
A: Well, the mandate of Ombudsman Saskatchewan is to take complaints about government actions, decisions or omissions that affect people personally. Most of the government institutions like the Ministries, the Crown corporations, the agencies and the boards fall under our jurisdiction.

We have very wide powers of investigation and we have the ability to talk to anybody to get any documents to determine whether or not the decision was fair or if we can recommend or suggest that it be changed because it was not fair.

Q: You’re primarily provincial. What complaints and government concerns can you not deal with?
A: We can’t deal with anything that’s in the federal jurisdiction or private interest between citizens of a private nature. That’s for the courts. There are very few provincial organizations that do not fall under our jurisdiction but there are some. Rural and urban municipalities are examples of areas that do not fall under our jurisdiction.

Q: If a Saskatchewan resident wants to file a complaint with your office, what is the process they have to follow and is there anything they should do first?
A: Usually an Ombudsman office is one of last resort, which means that people should try to work out the problem that they have with the institution that they have issues with. For example, most organizations have some kind of customer service or complaint resolution office already in their office and those offices are there to hopefully resolve people’s problems to their satisfaction so they don’t need to call us. Those situations should work themselves out. Otherwise we can help.

Q: So do all complaints get investigated and resolved?
A: Out of the complaints that we get (about 2,500 a year) we estimate that about 80% we deal with at the first instance, within a couple weeks. Sometimes it’s just a misunderstanding between what someone heard and what they think someone said to them. About 20% of complaints would actually go on to be investigated in our office.

Q: And how long would they take?
A: Well, our objective is to get 90% of our files closed within 90 days and we’re pretty good at meeting that. We try to do the big investigations within six months like we did with the recently Margaret Warholm case. Sometimes, depending on a lot of circumstances it can take longer. But we do try to be timely.

Q: So you’ve got offices in Regina and Saskatoon, but I notice you took a road trip to Kindersley and Meadow Lake at the beginning of the year. Was there a particular reason you traveled to these towns or do you regularly set up appointments throughout the province to meet complainants?
A: Well, one of the goals when I was appointed is I wanted to have a look at where complaints come from throughout the province because not everybody lives in Regina and Saskatoon. That was the reason for our road trips to Meadow Lake and to Kindersley.

Q: Interesting. In April of this year, you filed your first annual report. Can you give me examples of a few cases of unfairness that your office investigated and resolved?
A: This year there was a case that very much attracted the public’s interest. It was a senior citizen who had a direct debit to pay her SaskEnergy account.

Every month the bill came and it was paid directly from her checking account. And this went on for ten years. She didn’t really pay much attention to it but she just knew that it got paid. And then after ten years she got a letter from SaskEnergy saying that she now owed $13,000 immediately.

Q: Wow…
A: So that was a lot and as a result she contacted us. What had happened was the pre-authorized payments had been coming out of somebody else’s account for over ten years.

The other person died and when his estate was settled the executor found this mistake and contacted SaskEnergy realizing that this money had been paid someone else’s bills. So we looked at it and we agreed that it was obvious that this person did owe the money and that SaskEnergy did have the right to collect it.

But we tried to resolve the problem in the best way possible for her. It ended up that SaskEnergy agreed to a smaller lump sum because they understood that they had some responsibility as well because it had been going on for ten years. So the complainant who came to our office paid the lump sum and was very happy to have the issue resolved.

Q: Interesting. Now in mid May of this year, your report “Taking Care, An Ombudsman Investigation Into the Care Provided to Margaret Warholm While a Resident at the Santa Maria Senior Citizen’s Home” was tabled in the legislature and the report included 19 recommendations. What triggered this investigation? What was the issue here?
A: Well, what triggered this investigation is that back in November of 2014 Mrs. Warholm’s family actually went public with concerns about their mother’s care while she was a resident at Santa Maria. They had tried to get information after she died about her care and they found that the answers they received from Santa Maria were not satisfactory and they went to the legislature to express their concerns. The Minister of Health referred the matter to our office for investigation.

In Saskatchewan we have standards of care in the regulations that all long-term care homes must follow when they’re providing care. So we looked at the care Margaret care received when she was at the home and including her bed format, her pain management, nutrition and hydration.

We made ten recommendations directly to Santa Maria that they had to implement. One covered the care of bed sores, because her bed sores were very, very severe.

When we announced we were doing this investigation we got about 89 calls from all over the province, which led us to believe these were not issues for just one long-term care facility within just one health region.  People weren’t sure where to complain and if they did complain they were afraid that there may be reprisal against their loved ones and they wouldn’t be properly cared for.

When we looked at how the whole long term care system works in Saskatchewan we found about 100 care standards that the Ministry of Health has enacted that all long-term care facilities are to follow. Throughout this whole system there was actually nobody monitoring or making sure that the standards of care were actually being met.

Q: That’s frightening because we’re all going to be there eventually.
A: It is. That is a very good point because we did make recommendations that the Ministry of Health and the health regions have to make sure that people actually understand what it means and that the homes are actually putting processes in place to make sure that they are meeting the standards of care for each resident.

Because we had a really tight time frame for doing this investigation, there were lots of things that were mentioned to us that we just did not have an opportunity to look at, nor necessarily was my role to do so as an Ombudsman.

The last recommendation that we made was that they really have to determine what the future needs of long term care patients in Saskatchewan are and come up with a plan to address it because, you’re right, we’re all getting older and because this problem is not going to go away, it needs to be tackled.

Q: So how do you enforce your recommendations?
A: Well, as an Ombudsman we only make recommendations. But in this case, we notified the organizations, the Ministry, the health regions, and Santa Maria that we will follow up within six months to see how they’re progressing with the recommendations.

One of the benefits of being an Ombudsman is we do have the power to go public with what we recommend. Lots of times just shining attention on an issue is enough to get the government moving on something.

Q: That sounds like you’ve made a tremendous contribution to the province and if you can keep the heat on….
A: Yes, I think it was. We tried to write our report so that it was very reader-friendly.  Our goal was  to set out some very basic information about how long-term care works in the province to facilitate a good discussion about going forward and how we’re going to tackle this issue.

Q: Well, that’s really interesting. Thank you very much, Mary for talking to me today.
A: You’re welcome.

By Sheryl Smolkin

You’ve been diligently socking away money in a Registered Educational Savings Plan (RESP) since your child was a toddler and in a few short weeks she starts university. Getting at the money can be a little more complicated than simply taking out money from your savings account. To help you through the process, this week we feature articles and blogs exploring all things relating to RESP withdrawals.

Mike Holman on Money Smarts discusses RESP withdrawal Rules and Strategies for 2015. He says there is one withdrawal rule to get out of the way – you are only allowed to take out $5,000 of accumulated income in the first 13 weeks. After 13 weeks, you can withdraw as much accumulated income (including educational assistance payments) as you wish.  However, there are no limits to withdrawals from the contribution portion as long as your child is attending school.

Bankrate.com blogger Jasmine Miller also writes about How to cash out your RESP. Because the government stipulates that financial institutions must follow “due diligence” to ensure RESP funds are being used for a child’s education your bank may want to see a copy of your child’s acceptance letter before releasing funds or they may take you at your word. Therefore she says it’s a good idea to keep all documentation and receipts.

The Investing for Me blog Withdrawals from RESPs notes that RESP withdrawals can generally be made to cover tuition, room and board, school supplies, computers and transportation as these are all eligible educational expenses under the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) criteria. However, guidelines for withdrawals from a Group RESP account are governed by the plan’s contract or prospectus and group plans may have more restrictions than family or individual plans.

But what if your child doesn’t continue her education? Get Smarter About Money explains that if your child doesn’t continue her education after high school, there may be financial costs and tax consequences. But you have these four available options:

1. Keep the RESP open – your child may decide to continue her studies later,
2. Transfer the money to another beneficiary,
3. Transfer the money to your RRSP,
4. Close the RESP.

In Need to use an RESP this fall? Back to school starts now, Rob Carrick covers some of the same territory as the blogs noted above. However, he says one more consideration in filling out the RESP withdrawal form is where you want the money to go. You can have it sent to your chequing account, or your child’s account. He has the money from his son’s RESP paid into his and his wife’s joint account, and then he pays tuition and residence bills via Interac online.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

By Sheryl Smolkin

Your child is heading off to college or university out-of-town. While many students live in residence for a year or two, after that they may prefer to rent an apartment or share a house with others. So in addition to budgeting for rent and utilities, your child may have to buy everything from furniture and dishes to pots and window coverings.

As the parent of two children (now adults) who moved out during their university years I can tell you from experience that less is always more. We bought far too many pieces that were either too breakable or too heavy when my daughter got her first apartment and in subsequent years she abandoned items that were too impractical to move to the next place.

Based on our experience, here are some suggestions on how to furnish a functional student apartment on the cheap.

1. Bed: The bed is the one item you should probably buy new and spend the most on. Because of bed bugs and other hygiene issues Goodwill and other charitable groups won’t even take used mattresses. Futons, hide-a-bead sofas and fold out foam couches are possible options for studio apartments.
2. Garage sales: Generally it is preferable to buy most of what you need in the city where your offspring will be studying, but garage sales can be goldmines for small appliances, dishes and cutlery. Stay away from less essential, once trendy items like fondue pots and electric yoghurt makers.
3. Desk: Anything from a kitchen table to an old door on four legs can be used as a desk. Some students are most productive on their laptops lying in bed or on the floor surrounded by piles of research. However, a student who is going to be spending long hours on a computer may avoid repetitive strain injury with an inexpensive ergonomic work station and chair which are usually available at a reasonable cost from stationery and department stores.
4. Former tenants: Former students who are moving on may be happy to sell dressers, tables and chairs and other essentials for a small amount just to get rid of them. This may not work out in cases where former tenants graduate in May and new students only take over the apartment later in the summer.
5. Online purchases: There always pages and pages of listings for used furniture on Craig’s List and Kijiji. Make sure you measure the space you have before you buy items like sectional sofa or upholstered arm chair that won’t fit in the elevator or through the door of the apartment.
6. Storage: When my son moved into a room at a co-op house at University of Toronto, the first thing we notice is the lack of storage space. So we headed out to Canadian Tire for a self-assembled wardrobe for his clothes shoes and other paraphernalia.
7. Window coverings: Window coverings are important for privacy, particularly if the window is close to the street or on a lower floor. They also keep in the warmth in winter and block early morning light. Inexpensive roll blinds can be cut to size and purchased at most hardware and home décor stores.
8. IKEA: You can buy anything from kitchen supplies to furniture to lighting solutions at IKEA. Unfortunately IKEA does not have a store in Saskatchewan but items can be ordered online from their catalogue and delivered. Keep in mind that this self-assembled furniture is often not durable and typically will not survive multiple moves, Also, if pieces are missing or broken (which can happen), it is a lot more difficult if you can’t just run over to the store to get what you need.
9. Locks: One of the apartments my daughter rented in Montreal was broken into. The most valuable thing she had stolen was her CD collection and fortunately our home insurance covered the cost of replacing it. These days students have computers, tablets and other assorted expensive electronics. If the landlord will allow it, you may want to replace the existing lock with a Medeco Deadbolt or other similar high security lock.

And circling back to the theme of “less is more,” remember that after graduation, the whole apartment of furniture and other stuff could end up in your garage or basement for an indefinite period. But the upside is you can always “pay it forward.”  The summer before my son headed out to grad school in Vancouver, I sold a whole garage full of his stuff to my personal trainer for her college age daughter who was furnishing her first apartment!

By Sheryl Smolkin

And before you know it it’s almost the middle of August. I haven’t seen any coloured leaves drifting down…yet. But already the days are getting shorter. This week we feature interesting blogs from top bloggers who kept on writing even when many of us were on vacation.

In GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca, Caroline Cakebread shares 5 ways to tap your home for cash in retirement. They are: sell and rent; sell and downsize; become a landlord; rent out your home  temporarily; and, get a reverse mortgage.

If you are in your 50s and starting to get really serious about planning your retirement, take a look at Rich at any age: In your 50s by David Aston, Romana King and Julie Cazzin on MoneySense. They suggest that you get a ballpark figure of what you will need; max out your savings; and then, pick the right moment.

Are you still agonizing over whether it makes more sense to save in an RRSP or a TFSA? Then take a look at RRSP Myth – Retirement Income Has To Be Lower For RRSP Benefit by Mike Holman on MoneySmart. He gives interesting examples to illustrate that even where income in retirement is a bit higher than in the earning years, RRSPs will likely still save you some taxes or at worst – won’t save you any tax, but won’t cost you anything either.

Mr. CBB gives advice to a couple with $5,000/month of discretionary income on Canadian Budget Binder about buying their first home. He says they should talk to a financial advisor about retirement savings and life insurance; figure out the size of mortgage they can afford on one income; factor in home maintenance costs before they buy; and understand how to be prepared for emergencies.

Dan Bortolotti writes on Canadian Couch Potato about Calculating Your Portfolio’s Rate of Return. Rate of return calculations fall into two general categories: time-weighted and money-weighted. If a portfolio has no cash flows (that is, the investor makes no contributions and no withdrawals), both methods produce identical figures. He says the key point to understand, therefore, is that any differences in reported returns come about as a result of cash inflows and outflows.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

By Sheryl Smolkin

The 2015 Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey reveals that virtually all health plan members are positive about their current health plans but almost two-thirds of employees responding to the survey would like the opportunity to spend their benefit dollars on programs that are more tailored to the needs of their family. 

Ninety-four percent of plan members are positive when describing the overall quality of their health benefits, with 58% describing them as very good or excellent. This result has been consistent since the Sanofi survey first posed the question in 2006. 

Similarly, 93% of respondents believe their health benefit plan meets their needs and 56% of this group judge that it does so extremely or very well. Health benefits also continue to be an effective means to attract and retain employees, as 77% of respondents say they would not move to a job that did not include health benefits (rising to 80% in Manitoba/Saskatchewan and decreasing to 66% in Quebec). 

When asked which statement most closely describes their plan, 77% of plan members selected “a traditional plan that defines what is covered and the levels of coverage” and 23% selected “a ‘flex’ plan that allows them to choose levels of coverage.” When then asked which type of plan they prefer, 64% of members opted for the less-prevalent flex plan and 36% opted for the traditional plan. 

A separate survey of plan sponsors indicates that 32% offer flex plans. Larger employers (more than 500 employees) are more likely to do so at 50%, followed by mid-size (34%, 101–500 employees) and smaller employers (18%, up to 100 employees). 

Plan members, meanwhile, are consistent no matter the size of their organization. Approximately two-thirds said they prefer a flex plan over a traditional plan. 

“Plan members see great value in having a health benefit plan, but they also want to have a voice in decisions around what is covered. That’s a huge challenge for plan sponsors, but perhaps this is an opportunity and the time is right to make change,” says Susan Belmore-Vermes, director group benefits solutions, at Health Association Nova Scotia. “The question is, how do we as an industry create a strategy to redesign plans that are decades old for many of us?” 

Plan members’ high satisfaction levels can also contribute toward a sense of complacency in benefits management, warn members of the advisory board. As a result, change is generally a response to “burning platforms” rather than evolving needs. 

“Plan members are telling us there’s a desire for flexibility and personalization, and the timing is right because we’re seeing greater differences between the generations and we have this great ‘bulge’ of baby boomers in the workforce right now. The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of traditional plans doesn’t really suit this reality,” says Marilee Mark, vice-president, market development, at Sun Life Financial. 

As well, plan members’ changing needs do not necessarily point to added costs for the employer. “For example, there’s a growing interest in getting access to resources and education,” says Mark. 

Board members also point to a potential sleeping giant: chronic disease. “Chronic disease in the workplace is very prevalent and employers are not paying attention to it. We can’t wait for it to become a burning platform,” notes Carol Craig, director of human resources, benefits and pensions at TELUS. 

When plan members were presented with seven possible new benefit offerings, they said they would most likely use onsite screening with a healthcare professional to determine personal risks for chronic diseases (45%) followed by on-site immunization for infectious diseases (40%) and coverage for fitness/yoga classes (34%). 

Plan members also reported using paramedical services (i.e. massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractic services) an average of 7.3 times in the last year, the second highest rate of utilization after prescription medicine (9.5 times).

By Sheryl Smolkin

Every week in this space we offer examples of some of the blogs and personal finance articles we believe represent the Best from the Blogosphere. That’s why we were interested in a list recently published by LSM Insurance of the Top 50 Canadian Personal Finance Websites using various online metrics described in the accompanying article.

Here are several blogs (as opposed to mainstream media outlets) that made the list, and the “most shared content” that helped them get there.

Tom Drake at the Canadian Finance Blog was #10 on the list. How to Calculate Your Credit Score For Free has been a perennial favourite. Drake says that it’s actually fairly easy to see where you stand when it comes to your credit score. All you need to do is visit this credit score estimator and fill in the fields. Once you have done so, the calculator will tell you what range your score falls into.

Young and Thrifty was ranked #13. Sean Cooper helped to put this blog over the top with his guest post How to Achieve Findependence at Age 31. His three step approach is to achieve mortgage freedom by renting the top floor of his house and living in the basement apartment; have multiple income streams – by day he is a pension analyst, and by night he is a financial journalist and landlord; and, frugal living. You can see his own blog here.

The 24^th spot went to Mo Money Mo Houses where How Can She Afford That? She Can’t, That’s How generated considerable interest. Jessica Moorhouse says people may appear to be more affluent than you are because they have big houses or fancy cars, but if they are in debt up to their eyeballs, it’s all an illusion. In order to maintain a lifestyle in the black, her parents had to live frugally. They only bought what they needed and lived fairly simply. To this day, that’s how she still lives her life and that’s why she is also not in debt.

At #30, Nelson Smith on Sustainable Personal Finance got the blogosphere buzzing when he wrote about Living in a Shipping Container – really! After their life is over making trips across the ocean, shipping containers are often auctioned off to the highest bidder. Sometimes these high bidders are businesses looking for cheap storage options. Or, if you want to get really crazy, you can build a house with them. Before you poo-poo the idea, Smith says that you can check out some pictures of houses built from storage containers in his blog post.

And rounding out the list at #50, Nancy at Money on Trees questions whether Netflix is really all you need. As a first time home buyer with little discretionary income, she says she simply cannot afford to spend $80 a month on satellite or cable. What she really misses are sports but even these are becoming more accessible as major events like the 2014 Sochi Olympics and CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada are streamed online. We have also been watching many Pan Am events online this summer and displaying then on our “smart” television which has a bigger screen.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

By Sheryl Smolkin

I don’t often review personal finance books because it seems to take an inordinate amount of time to wade through yet another statement of the obvious just to glean enough cogent information to give readers a taste of what the book is all about.

But when I read accolades from the likes of Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Preet Bannerjee, Roma Luciw, Dan Bortolotti plus a whole bunch of my other favourite personal finance bloggers in the introductory pages of the book, I thought I’d better keep on going to find out what all of the fuss is about.

Author Robert R. Brown says Wealthing Like Rabbits is written to be a fun and unique introduction to personal finance and suggests that any book that includes sex, zombies and a reference to Captain Picard is “an absolute must read,” regardless of genre.

Brown starts out by asking how many rabbits there would be after 60 years if 24 rabbits were released on a farm on a great big island. Before providing an answer to this question, he introduces the need to save for retirement, although he doesn’t begin to predict how much you or I will need. His only conclusion is that “more is better” because it is better to be 65 years old with $750,000 saved than 65 years old with $75,000 saved.

Then he reveals that there would be 10 billion rabbits after 60 years and launches into a discussion of the history and key features of registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs). Subsequently he riffs about how many zombies there would be in England if France sent 100/week for 40 years.

If you are still with me, you may wonder — what is the point of all this?

Not surprisingly of course, it’s to illustrate the power of compounding, whether in relation to rabbits, or money or zombies. We learn that just $100/wk deposited in an RRSP earning 6% for 40 years will add up to a nest egg of $624,627.

But the positive and the negative impact of compounding interest are also very cleverly brought home in later chapters. I particularly liked the comparison of brothers Mario and Luigi who both had similar incomes and $100,000 for a down payment on a house. They went to the bank to find how big a mortgage they were eligible for.

Mario’s banker told him “he could afford” to buy a house for $525,000. Luigi told the mortgage specialist he needed $10,000 for closing costs and the $90,000 balance had to cover at least 20% of the purchase price of the house so the most he would be willing to spend is $450,000.

The story continues with Mario buying a 3,000 square foot home for $525,000. Luigi sticks to his budget and buys a 1,600 square home nearby for $350,000. Over 20 years, compound interest on the mortgage means that Mario ends up paying $807,538 for his house while Luigi only has to fork out $538,359.

Similarly, when it comes to debt, Brown illustrates that high interest credit card debt can quickly escalate if balances are not paid off every month. Even I did not realize until recently that if you miss your payment due date by even as little as one day, the interest-free grace period completely disappears. In fact you have to pay interest on the amount of each transaction from the date each and every purchase was made.

Brown also reviews the characteristics of a line of credit; a home owner’s line of credit; bank loans and consolidation loans. While generally he believes all of these can cause severe damage to your financial health, he recognizes that when handled properly, they each have their place.

But he draws a line in the sand when it comes to payday loans. Never, ever get a payday loan, Brown says.

He gives the example of Buddy who borrows $400 from a payday loan place because his furnace broke down. He is charged $21 for every $100 he borrows for just two weeks. Two weeks later he pays the payday lender $484. That’s 21% for only 14 days, which works out to 546% annually. And that’s only the beginning.

If Buddy can’t pay in two weeks the payday loan company will charge him an NSF penalty and continue to accumulate stratospheric interest rates on the whole amount. Further defaults mean he will likely be hounded both by telephone at home and at work day and night. The file may be handed over to an even more aggressive collection agency.

In the second last chapter, Brown offers a brain dump of financial tips (which he doesn’t call “Fifty Shades of Brown”):

• Spousal RRSPs are cool.
• MoneySense magazine is a great source of personal finance information.
• Eat dinner at home. Then go out for a fancy coffee and desert to Starbucks.
• Buy life insurance, not mortgage insurance from your bank.
• Read Preet Banerjee’s book Stop Overthinking Your Money for the skinny on life insurance.
• Use the noun“wealth” as a verb. So instead of saving $150/week in your RRSP you will be wealthing your money.

And finally, Brown’s parting words at the end of the book are “you’ve got to show up.” Put some money away for your future. Live in a house that makes sense. Be smart about how you spend your money. Spend less than you earn. Be comfortable living within your means. He says it really is that simple.

Wealthing Like Rabbits is funny and engaging and it hits all the personal finance bases. Regardless of whether you are a Millennial, a Gen Xer or a Boomer, you will find lots of tips on how to save more, spend less and still have a lot of fun along the way. 

The book can be purchased in hardcover for $16.95 and the epub and kindle versions are available for $7.99.

By Sheryl Smolkin

Barbecuing is the obvious alternative when you don’t want to cook inside and heat up the house on a hot and muggy summer day. But feeding a crowd can get expensive if you entertain frequently or if there always seems to be a gang of hungry teenagers foraging for food in your fridge. This week we feature blog posts that have useful tips for cheap and cheerful summer barbecues.

First and foremost you need a grill. Barbecue Bible’s Steven Raichlen offers 8 questions to ask yourself before buying a grill or smoker. How much can you afford? Charcoal, gas, wood-burning or other? How many people will you be cooking for? What foods do you enjoy grilling or smoking? Is portability important? These questions and others will influence your purchasing decision.

Real Simple has 10 Money-Saving Ideas for a Summer Barbecue. Some examples are:

• Skip the porterhouse steak in favour of a great flank steak.
• It’s super easy to make do-it-yourself rubs and sauces.
• Maintain your grill properly so it will last as long as possible.

In 7 Tips for Hosting a Low-Budget BBQ Readers Digest says don’t stress about impressing your guests with an elaborate menu. Instead of trying difficult recipes, serve simple dishes that you know they will like. Plus, if the kids at your barbecue are picky eaters, your uncomplicated menu is bound to please them.

Tiphero says the way to have a cheap and successful barbecue is to make the most of the meat you purchase by serving skewers. It breaks up the meat with some veggies to make for a nice, filling snack on a stick. Skewers are a great presentation and work wonderfully for portion control.

And finally, Stockpilingmoms gives 7 tips to a fun and cheap BBQ. What about a hot dog or bratwurst bar? Grab hot dogs, bratwurst or sausages for less than a steak, chicken or burger would cost.  Pick out regular, wheat, onion and poppy seed buns.  Offer different fresh or grilled veggies, relish, chili, and all your favorite condiments for a fun spin on a typical barbecue.  Let everyone build their own dog mixing and matching classic flavors to create a new favorite.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.

By Sheryl Smolkin

Have you noticed that your most recent pay cheque is higher than usual? That could be because you have paid the maximum in Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and (EI) Employment Insurance Premiums for the year. 

The total amount you must contribute to CPP in 2015 is:

($53,600 [maximum earnings] – $3,500 [basic exemption]) x 4.95% = $2,479.95 

This amount is matched by your employer.

Similarly, the annual Employment Insurance (EI) maximum earnings are $49,500 with an employee contribution rate of 1.88%. Therefore the maximum EI contribution you have to make this year is $930.60. Your employer must remit 1.4 times the maximum premium you pay up to $1,302.84.

These annual maximum CPP and EI contributions apply to each job you hold with different employers. So if you leave one job during the year to start work with another company, your new employer also has to deduct EI premiums without taking into account what was paid by the previous employer. This is the case even if you have paid the maximum premium amount during your previous employment.

Also, if you have several part-time jobs or a part-time job in addition to your full time position, your secondary employer is also obligated to withhold CPP and EI premiums based on your earnings regardless of how much your primary employer is deducting. If as a result, you over- contribute to either program, you will be credited with excess when you file your income tax return for the year.

That means if you earned $50,000 in the first half of the year, by early July your pay will go up by 6.83% or about $131.45 per week. If your annual salary is lower, your “Withholding Tax Freedom Day” will occur a little later in the year. But whenever it kicks in, it will feel like you suddenly got a healthy raise.

So what are you going to do with your windfall? How about joining Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) and setting up a monthly deposit equal to the amount you would have paid to the government?

Depending on your income level, you could easily contribute the $2,500 SPP max in the second half of the year. Beginning January 2016 you could elect to continue contributing at a reduced level throughout the coming year. Or in the alternative, you could take a break until later in 2016 when you have again paid the maximum CPP and EI to start saving again in SPP.

A key feature of SPP is that how much you contribute and when is completely up to you. You can change your method or level of contribution at anytime.

 Choose from any of the following methods:

• by mail (A contribution form is required )

• in person or by telebanking at your financial institution

• by phone using your credit card (1-800-667-7153)

• online from this website

• directly from your bank account on a pre-authorized contribution schedule (PAC)

Contributions to SPP are permitted up to an annual maximum of $2,500, subject to your  available RRSP room. And because SPP contributions (like contributions to an RRSP) are tax deductible, if you are making regular contributions, you could file a Form T1213 Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source so your employer remits a lower amount of income taxes during each pay period.

That means that while you can not only build a retirement nest egg in your SPP account once you no longer have to contribute to the CPP and EI programs, you will actually have more disposable income every month.

By Sheryl Smolkin

This week we focus on travel and interesting articles by writers named in Canada.com’s list of 11 Canadian travel bloggers sure to inspire. Included below are excerpts from Canada.com’s profiles of several of these bloggers.

From kicking it with grandchildren to strolling solo in some of the more sought-after destinations in the world, travelling granny Evelyn Hannon shares her tips and tricks for women’s excursions on her web site, Journey Woman. In Test Your Travel Insurance IQ she presents a useful quiz for readers who may not fully understand the reasons for and potential pitfalls of travel insurance.

Founder of I Backpack Canada Corbin Fraser writes about destinations, activities and adventures from the perspective of an independent backpacker travelling throughout the country. Insider travel tips, inspiring videos and more can be found on his Canada-specific travel blog. 4 Valuable Tips for Moving Across Canada is a useful resource if you are trying to figure out how to get you and your stuff from one part of the country to another as cheaply as possible.

Canadian couple Dalene and Peter Heck chronicle their full–time travel experiences which began in 2009 on Hecktic Travels. After selling everything they owned, they hit the road. Being together 24-7 for several years straight is a great litmus test for any relationship. But it’s one they’ve clearly survived, because their adventures continue. They answer some of the most frequently asked questions about how to travel long term and speak to the biggest rewards in this travel lifestyle.

If you’ve ever wanted to just pack a bag and go on a trip by yourself, then read Janice Waugh’s work on Solo Traveler Blog to get inspired. If you are tired of flying economy and being kicked in the back by the child behind you for the whole trip, you will be interested in her blog Best Seat on the Plane According to Your Needs and Budget. She says some planes are definitely more comfortable than others, so choose a booking engine that gives you details on the aircraft scheduled for the flight.

And finally, using the most efficient ways to convert to local currency when you travel outside the country can save you big bucks, says Barry Choi in his guest post The 5 Best Currency Exchange Options For Travellers on the Financial Independence Hub. According to Choi, using ATMs is the generally the best currency exchange option to get cash at the lowest rate. ATMs are everywhere and the best part is they only charge the spot rate of the day plus 2.5%.

Do you follow blogs with terrific ideas for saving money that haven’t been mentioned in our weekly “Best from the blogosphere?” Share the information with us on http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card.