RESP

Apr 27: Best from the blogosphere

April 27, 2015

By Sheryl Smolkin

If you haven’t filed your income tax return yet it’s really getting down to the wire. Whether you take advantage of them this year or next, here are some tax tips that could put more money in your pocket,

Are you entitled to a tax refund for your medical expenses? by Brenda Spiering on Brighter Life draws on her experience following her son’s accident when she learned that the part of his dental bills not covered by her health insurance at work could be claimed as a tax credit along with a portion of her health insurance premiums.

Tax accountant Evelyn Jacks addresses The Mad Dash to April 30th in Your Money. Your Life. She says once you have filed your taxes, the most important question is how you will spend your tax return. Some options are: pay down debt; save in a TFSA; use RRSP room; invest in an RESP; or invest in a Registered Disability Savings Plan.

Hey last-minute tax filers: Don’t make these common, costly mistakes says Stephen Karmazyn in the Financial Post. For example, only eight percent of taxpayers are planning to claim the Canada Employment Amount (which is a credit for work-related expenses such as home computers, uniforms, supplies) even though anyone with a T4 income can make a claim.

In a timeless blog on Retire Happy, Jim Yih offers RRSP and Tax Planning Tips. He recommends that only one spouse claim charitable deductions. That’s because the credit for charitable donations is a two-tiered federal credit of 16% on the first $200 and 29% on the balance (plus provincial credits). Spouses are allowed to claim the other’s donations and to carry forward donations for up to five years. By carrying forward donations and then having them all claimed by one spouse, the first $200 threshold with the lower credit is only applied once.

And in a Global news video Smart Cookies: Last Minute Tax Tips, Kate Dunsworth shares last minute reminders for people who have been procrastinating with their taxes. She says if you are expecting a refund and you are not planning to file on time because you don’t owe anything, you are basically giving the government a tax free loan. And if you owe money, you will be penalized for every single day you file late. Also, repeat late offenders will be penalized up to double.

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.

 


How much of your savings can you tax shelter?

February 12, 2015

By Sheryl Smolkin

Saving for retirement or any other important goal like a home purchase or your child’s education is not easy. But if you are able to deduct your annual contributions from taxable income and/or accumulate investment earnings tax-free, the balance in your accounts will accumulate much faster.

Most Canadians have heard about and save in at least one of the following registered accounts: Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), pension plans, Tax Free Savings Account (TFSAs) or Registered Educational Savings Plans. But many may not be aware of exactly how much money they can contribute to these programs annually or carry forward to future years.

RRSP/Pension Plan 
In 2014 you can contribute 18% of your income to a defined contribution (DC) pension plan to a maximum of $24,930. RRSP contributions are based on your previous year’s earnings (2013 earnings for 2014 contributions). As result of the one year lag, maximum RRSP contributions for 2014 are $24,270.

In order to contribute up to $2,500/year to the Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP), you must have RRSP contribution room. Maximum permissible defined benefit (DB) pension plan contributions are calculated per year of service, and reduce your DC plan or RRSP contribution room.

RRSP and pension plan contributions are tax deductible and the contributions accumulate tax deferred. However, you do not have to take a deduction for RRSP contributions in the year you contribute. You can wait until a later year when your earnings are higher and if you do, the tax savings will be greater.

Unused RRSP contribution room can also be carried forward to use in any future year. And you can still catch up even if you are retired. For example, if you have unused RRSP contribution room from past years and funds are available, contributing to your own or your spouse’s RRSP is allowed up until the end of the year the plan holder turns age 71. However, you cannot contribute to an RRSP for a person (yourself or your spouse) who already turned age 71 in the previous year.

Unlike DB or some DC pension plans (i.e. SPP), funds in your RRSP are not locked in. That means you can take money out at any time subject to paying taxes on the money in the year of withdrawal.  But it is important to remember that once you withdraw money from your RRSP the contribution room will not be restored and you lose the benefit of future compounding on the amount of the withdrawal.

If tax-free withdrawals are made under the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan, you will eventually be liable for taxes on the money if you do not pay back the principal over a prescribed period.

Tax-Free Savings Account
The TFSA is a flexible, registered savings account that first became available to Canadians in 2009. From 2009 to 2012 maximum annual contributions were $5,000/year. Based on indexation due to inflation, the annual contribution maximum was increased to $5,500 in 2013. 

A TFSA can be used to enhance retirement savings or to accumulate money for other goals. Contributions are not tax-deductible but savings grow tax-free. If you make a withdrawal from your TFSA, the contribution room is restored in the year following the year you take money out. Unused contribution room is also carried forward.

Because withdrawals are tax free and contribution room is restored after a withdrawal, a TFSA can be an ideal place to stash your “emergency funds.” Another benefit of a TFSA is you can continue to make contributions indefinitely, unlike RRSP contributions which must end after age 71.

An additional attractive feature of a TFSA is that neither income earned within the plan nor withdrawals affect eligibility for federal income-tested government benefits and credits such as Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Canada Child Tax Benefit.

Also read:
SPP or TFSA?
TFSA or RRSP? Try these five tests 

Registered Educational Savings Plan
A Registered Educational Savings Plan (RESP) is a tax-sheltered plan that can help you save for a child’s post-secondary education. Unlike an RRSP, contributions to an RESP are not tax deductible. However, investment earnings accumulate tax-free in the plan. When money is paid out of the plan it is taxable in the hands of the student, who typically will be in a lower income bracket than the parent or other contributor.

There is no limit on annual RESP contributions but there is a lifetime maximum of $50,000 per child. However, there are annual and lifetime maximums on the Canadian Education Savings Grant (CESG) available for eligible beneficiaries under the age of 18.

The federal CESG matches 20% on the first $2,500 (maximum of $500) contributed annually to an RESP. The maximum total CESG the government will give, up to age 18, is $7,200 per beneficiary. The grant proceeds are invested along with your contributions, further enhancing the benefits of tax-deferred and compound investment growth within your plan.

A $500 Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is also provided for children of families who are entitled to the National Child Benefit Supplement (net family income of $44,701 in 2015) and who are born after December 31, 2003. These children also qualify for CLB instalments of $100 per year until age 15, as long as they continue to receive the National Child Benefit Supplement. The total maximum CLB payable per child is $2,000.

CLBs are allocated to a specific child; unlike CESGs, they cannot be shared with other beneficiaries. There is no requirement to make contributions in order to qualify for the CLB.

Adding it all up
Over the years RRSP/pension savings limits have crept up and with the introduction of TFSAs in 2009, Canadians have another tax-effective way to save. RESPs are particularly attractive vehicles for educational savings as the federal government offers CESG grants and the Canada Learning Bond as further incentives for saving.

Understanding annual savings limits for all of these registered plans will help you to budget and save the maximum affordable amount every year in the most tax-effective way. Any unused savings room that can be carried forward will come in handy as your income increases or if you ever need to tax shelter a lump sum such as the proceeds of a severance package or capital gains on the sale of a property other than your principal residence.


Mark Seed is his own advisor

December 4, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

 

Click here to listen
Click here to listen

Hi,

As part of the SaveWithSPP.com continuing series of podcasts with personal finance bloggers, today I’m talking to Mark Seed, author of the popular blog My Own Advisor.

Mark’s day job is Senior Designer of Quality Management Processes at Canadian Blood Services in Ottawa, but he is passionate about personal finance and investing. He started investing in his early twenties after reading David Chilton’s, The Wealthy Barber.

For the last five years, Mark has blogged about a broad range of topics ranging from asset allocation, to investor behavior, to retirement, to travel.

Welcome Mark!

Thanks for the opportunity, Sheryl. It’s great to talk to you.

Q: You have a demanding day job. You enjoy golfing, biking, hiking, and travel. When do you have the time? Why did you start a personal finance blog?
A: Good question. I try to find the time. I started off blogging because I wanted to share my story about saving and investing towards financial freedom. I figure running my own blog and sharing my own story could help people that are both new to investing and saving and those who are more experienced. 

Q: How frequently do you post?
A: Probably two to three articles a week. I have a demanding but also very exciting day job, so in the evenings I write and then I post the next day. 

Q: Do you have kids?
A: No, we don’t.

Q: So, how do you decide what you’re going to write about from week to week?
A: I get inspiration from quite a few sources, Sheryl. Sometimes it may be a workplace conversation, or it could be a chat with family and friends outside work. Often there’s a news headline I can play off and add my own perspective.

Q: That feeds well into the next question which is: what subjects do you like writing about the most?
A: Fixed and dividend investing — I practice that approach as you know. Taxation and insurance are also subjects I like to write about. And of course the travel stuff and investor behavior are fun subjects.

Q: There’s probably over a dozen well-known personal finance bloggers in Canada. What’s different about your blog and why do you think it’s a must-read?
A: I think it’s a must-read because I believe I am taking a holistic, DIY approach to investing and saving. I think people can relate to that quite well. I certainly don’t pretend to be an expert in every single field but I’m learning as I go.

Q: How many hits do you typically get for each blog?
A: I’m getting about 1,000 to 2,000 hits per article, which is great. So in some months that translates to maybe 50,000 hits a month.

Q: That’s fantastic! How long did it take for it to build?
A: Early on – I would say the first couple of years – it was really slow. There has been an upward trend in the third, fourth and fifth year and now there is an income stream from the site.

Q: You have to be patient though
A: You have to be patient, absolutely. It takes time.

Q: Tell me about some of the more popular blogs you’ve posted.
A: I think my article earlier this year about driving a fourteen year old car got a lot of hits and comments. The essence of the story was I don’t need a new car so why should I buy one? It works fine and it’s not costing me money. Why spend money on a nicer ride when I can put it in my RRSP or TFSA?

I also got a lot of attention when I wrote about why I’m no longer investing in costly mutual funds and paying fees I don’t understand for underperformance. There have also been well-received blogs about my passive investment strategy and some mistakes I’ve made, like when I paid the wrong bill.

It happens, right? And I think if you publicize those things people go, “Everyone is fallible, nobody’s perfect” and it’s funny to read these things.

Q: Right. So you’ve focused on dividend investing – why do you embrace this strategy and how does it work?
A: I’ll try to keep it fairly short and sweet. One reason is I like having an income stream is because as a shareholder of an established company with a track record of paying dividends, I basically get paid to be an owner of that business. And that dividend payment is very real, because I see the cash coming into my brokerage account every month or every quarter.

The second main reason is that some of these established companies have paid dividends for many years – decades upon decades, in fact, maybe even a generation or more – so they tend to increase their dividends every year as their net earnings go up. So the amount I receive tends to grow over time which is a pretty good inflation-fighting strategy.

The global financial crisis from 2008-2009 was very bad for many people. But most of the companies I owned or started owning and buying at that time paid their dividends even when their stock prices went down 30, 40 or 50%. So there’s value sticking with those companies through thick and thin.

And even though I’ve adopted both indexing and dividend investing, I think it’s the blend that’s important. I’m getting the best of both worlds.

Q: What’s a DRIP account and what are some of the pros and cons?
A: A DRIP account stands for a dividend reinvestment plan, and really it’s an approach to reinvesting dividends paid by the companies that you own free of charge. Not paying transaction fees is huge in my opinion.

There are really two types of those dividend reinvestment plans. One is called “a full DRIP” and the other is called “a synthetic drip.” You can read about how they work in more detail on my blog.

Q: Many investors have multiple accounts: RRSPs, TFSAs, unregistered investment accounts. As a rule of thumb, what kind of securities should they hold in each account and why?
A: Very good question, actually. I do follow some of those rules of thumb. In the RRSP accounts we hold both Canadian and U.S. ETFs but we also own a few U.S. stocks.

The reason why is that we escape withholding taxes applied to some U.S. listed securities. So putting U.S. stocks or U.S. ETFs in an RRSP, a locked-in retirement account or a RRIF is tax effective.

Because there is a 15% withholding tax if U.S. stocks are held in TFSAs (and also RESPs), in our TFSAs we hold basically Canadian content, including Real Estate Investment Trusts, ETFs and some blue chip stocks.

And in our non-registered account we only hold Canadian dividend-paying stocks because those stocks are eligible for a Canadian dividend tax credit if they’re not in registered accounts.

Q: Do you have a favorite personal finance blogger that you read religiously?
A: I have a few, actually. Million Dollar Journey is one guy that really inspired me to create my own blog. I’m a big fan of Dan Bortolotti’s site, Canadian Couch Potato. I think he’s a very gifted writer and certainly one of the strongest advocates I’ve met in terms of the interests of the retail investor. And I also like a Canadian living in the U.S., Mr. Money Moustache.

Q: What, if any, money-making opportunities or spinoffs have there been as a result of your blogging career?
A: You know, there have been a few, which has been great. I think the blog has certainly opened doors to meet some great people, folks I would probably have normally not met. In recent years I’ve managed to develop excellent partnerships with folks in the insurance industry and the mortgage industry as well.

Rob Carrick at the Globe and Mail has very kindly referenced me in a number of articles. I’ve also been interviewed on the radio and I’ve been quoted in MoneySense Magazine,

What does the future hold? Who knows? I’ll keep writing. I’ll keep sharing my stories. I’m certainly passionate about personal finance and investing and I enjoy interacting with others who feel the same.

Q: If you had only one piece of advice to readers about getting their finances in order what would it be?
A: Spend less than you make. It may sound utterly boring. But I think when it comes to finance and investing, boring works because you can’t invest what you don’t save and if you’re not saving then you’re obviously spending every dime you make. So spending less than you make and having money for your future is a pretty good plan.

Q: Thank you very much Mark, it was a pleasure to talk to you.
A: Thanks again, Sheryl, this was a lot of fun. I appreciate it.

This is an edited transcript of a podcast you can listen to by clicking on the link above. You can find the blog My Own Advisor here.


BOOK REVIEW: 397 ways to save money

November 27, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

Earlier this year we interviewed Kerry K. Taylor aka Squawkfox as part of our Personal Finance Bloggers series. Although Squawkfox has been blogging infrequently over the last few months, her blog continues to be a hilarious and invaluable resource for money saving tips.

So when I was looking for books with great cost containment ideas to review for savewithspp.com readers I was delighted to come across Kerry’s book “397 ways to save money” published in 2009. As I flipped through the book, it became apparent that the vast majority of her suggestions have stood the test of time.

This 275 page book is divided up into four parts with several chapters in each part:

  • Big Decisions: (renting, home ownership, financial choices, shopping)
  • Home Management: (home maintenance, energy, cleaning)
  • Room by Room: (kitchen, living room dining room, kids room, garage etc.)
  • More ways to save: (vacation, pets, cheap family dinners, monthly maintenance checklists)

Here are 10 of my favourite tips in the book:

  1. Change your ATM habits: Use only your bank’s ATM machines to make withdrawals. Know how many free ATM withdrawals you can make each month from your account. Some banks offer free accounts including ATM withdrawals for seniors.
  2. Don’t insure your kids: The purpose of life insurance is to serve as income replacement for the insured’s dependants. Pass on agents who try to sell you on the investment aspects of a cash value policy. Instead, save for your child in a registered educational savings plan (RESP).
  3. Barter to save money: Generally bartering is the trading of goods and services without the use of money. Check out the website U-exchange.com to find like-minded people to swap services such as website building for a haircut.
  4. Pass on extended warranties: Don’t buy extended warranties on inexpensive product like cameras and kitchen appliances. The only time a warranty makes sense is if a repair will devastate your budget.
  5. Don’t pay for shipping: Look for a free shipping option when you order from an online store. Many online retailers offer free shipping when you buy up to a specified dollar amount in merchandise.
  6. Turn off all electronic devices: Turning off your unused electronic devices like gaming consoles and computers is an easy way to save electricity. By turning on your computer only when needed for three hours each day rather than running it continuously can save you $75/year.
  7. Watch the price scanner: Mistakes on electronic price scans are common at the grocery store. Watch as your items are scanned at the checkout and you could save many dollars per month and even score free food. The Retail Council of Canada has a Code of Practice and a list of participating stores you can read here.
  8. Open the dishwasher to air dry dishes: Skip your dishwasher’s heat dry cycle by opening the dishwasher door to air dry dishes after the final rinse. I do this frequently because the full cycle is ridiculously long. Its mice to know it also saves me money.
  9. Skip the sofa bed: A sofa that can be used as a bed may seem like a good idea if you have frequent guests, but they can be much more expensive that a regular couch. They take a lot of room you may not have to open and even top of the line models may be uncomfortable. A blow up bed is easy to inflate and move and a queen size costs around $100.
  10. Buy clothing at the end of the season: Winter in Canada is interminable and most things are on sale by December 26th at the latest. If you can make it through the fall with last year’s wardrobe you can refurbish it with quality items at half the cost or less late in the year.

I really like the Hardware Store Shopping List for all of the do-it-yourself energy-saving projects so you save money on gas. However, by the time you fill your cart with items like caulking, weather stripping, attic insulation, low flow showerheads, programmable thermostats, dimmer switches for lights and compact fluorescent light bulbs to replace incandescent, you will definitely have a big upfront bill.

This is a great book to read once, go back to and help you set achievable goals for saving money. You can browse several chapters here and order the book online from Amazon or Indigo for about $11.00.

Kerry K. Taylor

How to save for retirement (Part 3)

August 28, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

28Aug-nestegg

See Part 1 and Part 2.

In the first two parts of this series on how to save money for retirement we focused on how to get started and some of the registered and unregistered savings plans available to Canadians.

This final segment looks at some other ways (in no particular order) you can both grow and preserve your retirement savings. And making sure your children are educated to effectively manage their finances is a big part of this discussion.

  1. Keep fees low: You ignore investment fees at your peril, says Toronto Star personal finance editor Adam Mayers in a recent article. The simple chart below illustrates what happens if you invest $6,000 a year for 40 years in a registered retirement savings plan. It assumes your RRSP earns a little over 5% a year and ignores taxes.
    1. In a utopian fee-free world, your money is worth $785,000 in 40 years.
    2. In a 1-per-cent fee world, you’ll have $606,000 (23% less).
    3. In a 2-per-cent fee world, you’ll have $435,000 (45% less).
    4. Annual fees in the Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) average 1%.fees
  2. Understand your risk tolerance: You should have a realistic understanding of your ability and willingness to stomach large swings in the value of your investments. Investors who take on too much risk may panic and sell at the wrong time. Other factors affecting your risk tolerance are the time horizon that you have to invest, future earning capacity, and the presence of other assets such as a home, pension, government benefits or an inheritance. In general, you can take greater risk with investable assets when you have other, more stable sources of funds available.
  3. Develop an asset allocation plan: Once you understand your risk tolerance, you can develop an asset allocation strategy that determines what portion of your retirement account will be held in equities (stocks) and fixed income (bonds, cash). The investment allocation in the SPP balanced fund is illustrated below.
  4. Rebalance: The asset allocation in your portfolio will change over time as dividends are paid into the account and the value of the securities you hold goes up or down. Rebalancing helps you reap the full rewards of diversification. Trimming back on a winner allows you to buy a laggard, protect your gains, and position your portfolio to benefit from a change in the market’s favorites.Balanced-Fund-Web
  5. Auto-pilot solutions: Balanced funds including the SPP balanced fund are automatically rebalanced. In your RRSP or company pension plan Target Date Funds (TDFs) are another way to ensure your investments reflect your changing risk profile. Developed by the financial industry to automatically rebalance as you get closer to retirement. TDFs are typically identified by the year you will need to access the money in five year age bands, i.e. 2025, 2030 etc. They are available in most individual registered retired savings plans and in your employer-sponsored group RRSP or pension. However, all TDFs are not alike so consider the investment fees as compared to the expected return before jumping in.
  6. Educate yourself: Personal finance blogs contain a wealth of information about everything from frugal living to tax issues to how to save and invest your money. You can find out about some of them by listening to our podcast series of interviews on savewithspp.com or reading the weekly Best from the Blogosphere posts. Some posts are better than others so caveat emptor. But blogs like Retirehappy and Boomer & Echo have huge archives so you can find answers to virtually any virtually personal finance question.
  7. Choose your retirement date carefully: We are living longer so your money has to last longer. And starting in April 2023, the age of eligibility will gradually increase: from 65 to 67 for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension. Even if you are among the minority who have a defined benefit pension, retiring early means you will get a reduced amount. Whether you keep working because you need the money or you love your job, you will have a more affluent retirement if you work full or part-time until age 65 or longer.
  8. Develop other income streams: One of the things that stayed with me after reading Jonathan Chevreau’s book Findependence Day is the importance of having multiple income streams in retirement. So even if you are saving at work or in an individual RRSP, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. While you may not want to work at your current job indefinitely, you may be able to use your skills or hobbies to do something different after retirement. For example before I retired I was a pension and benefits lawyer. Now I augment my retirement income by writing about workplace issues.
  9. Start RESPs for your kids: The following two Globe and Mail articles by financial columnist Rob Carrick brought home to me the impact that your children’s debt and failure to launch can have on your retirement.
    1. Carrick on money: Will millennials ruin parents’ retirement dreams?
    2. Parents of Gen Y kids face their own financial squeeze

Registered educational savings plans allow you to accumulate money for your children’s education tax free and receive government grants that add to your savings. When the money is paid out, your child pays taxes, typically at a lower rate. Saving for your kids’ education now so they can minimize student loans down the road is one of the best investments you can make in your future ability to retire sooner rather than later.

  1. Raise financially literate children: And last but not least, educate your children about money so they grow into financially responsible adults. Every event from the first allowance you give your kids to buying Christmas gifts to planning for college is a teachable moment. Someday your offspring may be managing your money and ensuring you are properly taken care of. That’s when all of your great parenting skills will definitely come home to roost!

Financing Post-Secondary Education: It’s a family affair

August 21, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

21Aug-packingforcollege

Before your child heads off to university or college this year, you need to have a frank discussion about how much it will cost and how much you can afford to contribute to his or her tuition and living costs.

If you opened a registered educational savings plan (RESP) when Janice or Jasper was much younger, that nest egg will be a big help. Some young people have also had summer or part-time jobs for many years and have a healthy balance in their savings account.

But with the escalating costs of post-secondary education, chances are that most students will be looking to “the Bank of Mom and Dad” for some assistance, even if that only means living rent free while going to school in their home city.

According to the D+H Student Index survey of 752 Canadian high-school and post-secondary students, when talking to their parents about the cost of school, one in three students say the conversation revealed a gap between the cost of post-secondary education and the financial support their parents could offer. Students only realized the need to line up other sources of financing after having these family conversations.

Fortunately, it’s not taboo for Canadian families to talk about money. Four in five students (80%) say they don’t have any difficulty talking to their parents about money. For the majority of students (55%), the family discussion on how to finance post-secondary education happens in grade 11 or 12.

Reflecting on these conversations, Canadian students say if they could do it again, they would go in with a more realistic idea of the cost of post-secondary education (36%) and have the conversation earlier (26%).

According to Statistics Canada, on average, undergraduate students paid $5,772 in tuition fees in 2013-2014. Over four years, that is more than $20,000 for tuition, before considering other expenses such as books and additional academic fees or any living expenses.

Canadian students usually line up a variety of sources to cover the cost. The top five sources of funding are:

  • 43%: Parents are paying
  • 43%: Student savings
  • 41%: Government federal and/or provincial loans
  • 41%: Summer jobs
  • 39%: Scholarship money or grants

When parents offered financial support over 1/3 of students said the support was unconditional. However in some cases students were required to get good grades (41%); work in the summer (39%); and/or work part-time during the school year (19%)

Three-quarters of students who took out student loans say they could not afford post-secondary education without one. Nine in ten (89%) say the loans helped them pursue their education and career goals.

A recent CBC article reports that Canadians graduate with an average student debt load of $25,000. But for many others the amount is much higher, particularly if they study for professions like law, medicine or engineering.

High debt loads are not only a financial stress but can delay the time it takes individuals or couples to reach certain milestones, such as having children, getting married or owning property.

Therefore, the sooner parents and children talk about and begin saving for post-secondary education, the better. To the extent possible, students should also be encouraged to select a field of study leading to jobs where there is a healthy demand for new graduates.

 


Big Cajun Man shares RDSP, RESP expertise

July 17, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

Alan Whitton and his son Rhys
Alan Whitton and his son Rhys

 

podcast picture
Click here to listen

Hi,

As part of the savewithspp.com continuing series of podcast interviews with personal finance bloggers, today I’m talking to the “Big Cajun Man,” author of the Canadian Personal Finance Blog.

In real life, he is actually, Alan Whitton, a mild-mannered government civil servant and father of four, living in Ottawa. Alan has been blogging about finance and consumerism for about ten years, focusing on real life experiences.

As a result, he has written extensively about Registered Disability Savings Plans and parenting a disabled child.

Welcome, Alan.

My pleasure Sheryl.

Q: First of all Alan, tell our listeners where your alter ego name, “Big Cajun Man,” came from.
A:  Well, I was playing golf with friends and was wearing a straw hat and someone yelled at me, “What do you think you are, some kind of big stinking Cajun man?” and the guys I was playing with have called me that ever since.

Q: Why did you start blogging?
A: Well, I started initially just on BlogSpot as sort of an open letter to my mother because at the time, my wife was pregnant with our fourth child, who was a bit of a surprise. Then I realized I could write about other things and I was always interested in money so I figured I’d just start blogging about it.

Q: How frequently do you post?
A: I try to write four or five posts in a week. The Friday post is usually a ‘best of’ what I’ve seen during the week.

Q: How long are the blogs and how complex are they? Do they vary?
A: Oh, it’s usually somewhere between four and eight paragraphs. What shows up, or what I read about or something that happens in my life is usually the catalyst for the more interesting ones.

Q: Tell me about some of the topics you write about.
A: Well, family and money and how families work with money, a little bit on investing, a lot more on disability and how families can deal financially with kids with disabilities or loved ones with disabilities. And that really, again, arose because when Rhys was diagnosed on the autism spectrum, I had to learn about all this so I figured I’d write about it too.

Q: And, how old is Rhys now?
A: He is 9. I have three beautiful daughters who are 24, 22 and 20, and my son who has just turned 9. It’s a multi-generational family. That’s why I end up writing about things like university costs and parenting a 9-year old.

Q: There are probably over a dozen personal finance bloggers in Canada. What’s different about your blog. Why do you think it’s a must read?
A: I don’t know. I mean, my point of view as a father of a multi-generational family is interesting. I always have had a different perspective on things. I leave a lot of the specific investing ideas to some of the more qualified chaps like Michael James and Rob Carrick. I mostly just talk about John Public’s point of view of things.

Q: How many hits do you typically get for your blogs?
A: Between 8,000 and 12,000 a month. It started off very slowly and I think with the backlog of over 2,500 posts there’s a lot of people who just search and end up finding me accidentally.

Q: What are some of the more popular blogs you’ve posted?
A: Well, anything under my RDSP and RESP menus are popular, like how to apply for your child’s disability tax benefits. And on the RDSP side of things all the fights I’ve had with TD about putting money in and taking money out. Also, surprisingly, I wrote one simple blog that just said “I am a civil servant,” and let me tell you, that one caused no end of excitement.

Q: What is the essence of that particular blog?
A: I was trying to blow up some of the very negative views people have about civil servants. I mean, I worked in the private sector for over 20 years. I‘ve been a civil servant for 4 years.

Q. Tell me some of the key features of Registered Disability Savings Plans and what parents of disabled children need to know about them.
A: Well, just that right now they’re sort of the poor stepson at most financial institutions. I mean they’re not very flexible. Typically, at worst, they’re really just savings accounts. You can buy GICs or the bank’s mutual funds, which usually have very high management fees.

From what I can tell so far, TD Waterhouse is the only trading partner or trading house that has an RDSP where you can actually buy whatever you want like ETFs. But even the TD plan is not very well set up. It’s pretty cumbersome to put money into.

Q: What’s cumbersome about it?
A: Well, I can’t set up a weekly automatic withdrawal. I have to put money aside into another TD trading account. Then I have to phone up every once in awhile and transfer the money from the trading account into the RDSP. And then I have to call back after the money’s cleared to say, “And now I want to buy these ETF’s or index funds.”

Q: Why is that?
A: I don’t know. I’ve asked TD that a whole bunch of times. It’s just the way the system works. I’ve poked at them as best I can. I’ve asked a few other people to poke at them, but I haven’t really received a satisfactory answer.

Q: Are there legislative rules about how you can invest RDSPs?
A: Not, necessarily. It’s just the banks are putting that kind of limit on things because it’s not a big money maker for them. They’re not going to make a fortune on amounts people deposit into RDSPs.  Whereas with RESPs, there are more people with kids going to university.

Q: What are the contribution limits on RDSPs?
A: The overall lifetime limit for a particular beneficiary is $200,000. Contributions are permitted until the end of the year in which the beneficiary turns 59. Up to a certain amount every year, depending on how much money you make, will be matched by the government.

Based on parental income, an RDSP can get a maximum of $3,500 in matching grants in one year, and up to $70,000 over the beneficiary’s lifetime. A grant can be paid into an RDSP on contributions made to the beneficiary’s RDSP until December 31 of the year the beneficiary turns 49.

Q: Do you have a favorite personal finance blogger that you read religiously?
A: I’ve got a couple. I like reading Michael James “On Money”, but he’s a friend of mine. I really like the Canadian Capitalist, but he’s sort of taken a hiatus. “Boomer & Echo” and the “Canadian Couch Potato” are quite good and so is “My Own Advisor.” I’ve met most of these guys at various conferences. I also read Squawkfox and have had extensive correspondence with her on Twitter.

Q: What, if any, money making opportunities or spin-offs have there been as a result of your blogging career?
A: Well, I don’t do this for the money which is obvious given how little I make at it. This is more of a cathartic thing for me.

Q: If you had only one piece of advice to readers or listeners about getting their finances in order, what would it be?
A: Get out of debt. Debt is a bad thing. There’s no such thing as good debt. It’s all bad. Don’t fool yourself into thinking there’s livable debt like a mortgage or maybe paying for your university. Somehow carrying debt has been normalized in the last 30 years or so but it’s still really not ok.

Thank you very much, Alan. It was a pleasure to talk to you.

Thanks for the opportunity Sheryl.

This is an edited transcript you can listen to by clicking on the link above. You can find the Canadian Personal Finance Blog here.


BOOK REVIEW: HOW NOT TO MOVE BACK IN WITH YOUR PARENTS

July 10, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

10Jul-carrick

The same day I was planning to review “How not to move back in with your parents: The young person’s guide to financial empowerment,” the author and Globe and Mail personal finance columnist Rob Carrick wrote a column revealing how difficult it is for students to get summer jobs to pay for their education and quantifying the cost of post-secondary study.

He cited the Yconic/Abacus Data Survey of Canadian Millennials, conducted for The Globe and Mail earlier this year of 1,538 young people aged 15 to 33. The study found that just over one-third of young people worked more than 30 hours per week at their last summer job. Another 23 per cent worked less than 30 hours at the same job, while the rest were either working multiple part-time jobs, looking for work or taking summer classes.

According to the survey, earnings from summer jobs and other savings totalled less than $2,500 for 46 per cent of students prior to starting college or university, while another 23 per cent had $2,500 to $5,000. However, a year of undergraduate education away at school including tuition, books and living expenses can easily cost $20,000 or more.

That’s why the information in Carrick’s latest book is so valuable. Every new parent should get a copy when they leave the hospital with their precious bundle of joy and beginning at a young age children should be taught the basic principles of financial literacy outlined in the book.

The first chapter discusses sources of funding for college or university and the basics of Registered Educational Savings Plans (RESPs). It is important that new parents understand that the combination of government grants and compounding mean that by opening an account in their child’s first year, saving for a college education becomes almost painless.

He also zeroes in on avoiding the debt trap and the perennial student dilemma: go to school at home or go away to school? He suggests that if the out-of-town program is going to make the student more successful or give him/her the edge in building a career, the additional cost can more easily be justified.

Successive chapters deal with banking, saving, budgeting and the pros and cons of buying a car. Later in the book he looks to the future and covers off the financial implications of buying a home; weddings and kids; and, insurance and wills.

Every chapter has a useful hot list. Examples are:

  • Tips for saving money in your student years
  • Expert tips on building a solid credit rating
  • Five rookie financial mistakes to avoid
  • Ten things you need to know about your company pension plan
  • Top mortgage tips for first-time buyers
  • Top reasons not to buy mortgage life insurance from your bank

Regardless of how well parents and their offspring plan and save, Carrick recognizes that kids may need to move home for some period of time when they are out of work or looking for a job. In fact he did so himself after he finished university.

In those circumstances, parents will have to make “boomerang decisions” like:

  • Whether they should charge room and board
  • Whether to provide some day-to-day spending cash
  • Whether to push their child to take any job you can get.

But kids also need their part by acting like adults, making non-financial contributions and keeping parents updated on their job search. Recognizing that parents may have useful contacts and advice can also help to avoid friction.

The principles of good money management for students and parents Carrick discusses are not new. However, they are introduced and packaged in a way that makes sense for both cohorts.

It’s well worth the couple of hours it will take you to read the book and a good reference you can dip into from time to time in the future when your family is at an age and stage where specific information will apply.

The book can be purchased for $16.57 online at Chapters.

10Jul-Carrickphoto

 


Apr 28: Best from the blogosphere

April 28, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

185936832 blog

This week the country mourned the untimely death of Jim Flaherty, the former federal finance minister. In Goodbye Jim, Canadian Dream Free at 45 blogger Tim Stobbs says the most important lesson he learned from Flaherty is “life is short, so don’t spend all your time working. 

With the deadline for filing 2013 income tax returns extended to May 5th because of temporary system shutdowns due to the Heartbleed software bug, procrastinators have several more days this week to delay the inevitable.

However, there are some cases where it may be a good idea to defer taking tax deductions you are entitled to this year to a later year. In the blog Taxes: When it Pays to Procrastinate or Defer on Young and Thrifty we learn that you will get more “bang for your buck” on your RRSP deduction if you contribute this year but do not take the deduction until a later year when you are in a highrt income bracket. The same goes for your educational tax credits.

Financial Procrastination can also result in making bad financial decisions, says Dave on Canadian Dream Free at 45. For example, he recently accepted the first house and car insurance package offered to him, instead of making the time to shop around (a serious personal finance no-no).

For many people, the reason to scrimp and save during their working life is to leave a legacy for their children. But on Boomer & Echo, Marie Engen says if you have sufficient money to Leave A Legacy Before The Will Is Read, consider giving your children a financial boost when you are still alive to see them enjoy it. Helping with a down payment on a house, funding RESPs for your grandchildren and family vacations can be very gratifying.

Finally, Squawkfox questions Repair or replace: When does it make sense to mend the threads you’ve got? She says it depends whether the item is busted or just worn out. It costs $50 to repair the heel and sole her eight year old blue Fluevog boots instead of $350 to replace them so she opts for the repair. But she regretfully acknowledges that even good quality items won’t last forever.

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.


Mar 10: Best from the blogosphere

March 10, 2014

By Sheryl Smolkin

185936832 blog

This week we have a number of interesting blogs on a variety of topics relating to how you save and spend your money.

On Boomer & Echo Marie Engen asks How Safe Are Your Bank Deposits? Canada is widely considered to have one of the safest banking systems in the world.  But several large financial institutions have failed in the past, so it is  important to understand Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation limits for banks ($100,000/account) and provincial plans covering Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires.

Jim Yih discusses a hypothetical financial counselling session with Jack and Jill and how they decide to save their extra cash flow of $500/month. They choose to contribute $200 extra to their RRSPs for the long term as long as their incomes were higher than the 32% marginal tax rate.

Their tax saving will be used to pay down the mortgage unless they believe he markets will produce future returns of 7% or more. They will also allocate the remaining $300 per month to their TFSAs. This will give them flexibility to use savings in this account to pay a lump sum on their mortgage, top up their RRSPs or open RESPs in the future.

On Canadian Dream: Free at 45, Dave shares how he and his wife are living a (relatively) stress-free life. They live on one salary so if either of them loses his/her job they can still manage financially. The fact that they don’t have children or other dependants helps to make this a practical alternative.

If you have just opened a trading account with a new discount broker or you have accounts in different places and want to consolidate, you’ll need to transfer your holdings between brokers. The Canadian Capitalist has put together a detailed checklist on what you have to do to make this process as painless as possible.

And on Sustainable Personal Finance, Miranda questions whether there are times you should put your ideals ahead of your pocketbook. That could mean giving just a little bit extra to causes that are near and dear to your heart, or making a commitment to socially-responsible investing.

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.