This is kind of a Sunday Thoughts, Humor and Best Of post all in one, I had forgotten about this one, hope you enjoy the humor (and remember the importance of home security systems too).

So this one has little to do with finances, and isn’t really a religious thought, and I am stealing it directly from Joel Osteen, but I laughed out loud when I heard it and sometimes that is a good thing.

Jesus Is Watching!

A burglar broke into a house and as he was picking up the HD Plasma TV in the living room he heard a voice say, “Jesus, is watching YOU!”.

The burglar turned on his flashlight and he looked around to see where this voice came from, and he saw off in the distance a parrot, who squawked, and repeated, “Jesus is watching YOU!”.

The burglar walked over and said quietly to the parrot, “Are you talking to me?”

The parrot said, “Yes, I am, and Jesus is watching YOU!”

The burglars said, “Well what’s your name?”

The parrot said, “I am MOSES!”

The burglar chuckled and asked, “What kind of a person calls a parrot Moses?”

The parrot replied, “The same kind of people who call a 150 lb. Rottweiler JESUS!”

OK, a corny joke, but I had to share it. Remember also that every day Jesus is Watching You!

Related posts:

1. Best of: Debt IS like fat! Given I am starting to pack pounds back on (slowly, but I am now about...
2. Advent Financial Calendar Box Day 21 If you can't laugh at your financial woes, it is a sad world we live...
3. Best of: Humor: Always have a Target I find it interesting that the one night in a week that I am home,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Flu Pandemic and the associated hysteria continues on, with folks who are not high risk “queue barging” and then acting holier than thou when others say they have not been vaccinated yet. Interesting exercise in Anthropology this whole thing, makes you scratch your head and wonder what might happen if things get worse?

In da Financial Blogosphere

No real single theme this week in the world of financial blogging but still some interesting posts, none the less:

• The Canadian Capitalist writes about the 2009 Globe and Mail Discount Broker Rankings, which is interesting, given it doesn’t mention my brokers, but I haven’t had any issues with them (yet).
• Michael James shows that greed is good by Trying to Profit from the End of Oil, where he reviews a book that really doesn’t tell you how, which seems a bit of a tease really.
• Larry MacDonald points out the importance of Pay Yourself first vs. Budgeting quoting a few chestnuts about the importance of taking your cut before you pay everyone else.
• Preet talks about ETFs again in ETFs with Few Holdings… What’s the Point?
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade takes on a sticky issue in Making a Complaint about loans made to folks who should not be given credit.
• Free at 45 writes about His Simplified Retirement Plan, which is an important plan to have, unless you want to work ’til you die.

Snow on the ground in Ottawa, that will hopefully go away, enjoy this weekend!

Related posts:

1. Friday Random Thoughts: When Pigs Fly and Swine Flu This week was dominated by the Pandemic of Swine Flu, but also with the bankruptcy...
2. Random Thoughts During a Halowe’en Pandemic Can one take advantage of this Pandemic financially? Seems a rather ghoulish subject, and I...
3. ETFs are the Devils Work OK, I am tired it’s been a long week at work, and for some odd...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A preliminary report from the City of Ottawa garbage folks has floated the idea of removing the Garbage Collection portion of the City Taxes and turn it into a user fee. With this move City Taxes will drop by $86 which sounds like a nice idea, however, the User Fee for Garbage is slated to be $195 per household which is about a 115% increase in the cost of paying for Garbage in Ottawa.

How is this possible? Let’s look a little closer:

• $86 is our original garbage fee, so we’ll keep that
• $41 fee for the black and blue box program in place (say that 5 times fast)
• $68 for the new Green Bin program for organics and compost and such

Now that is an expensive program. If you are a rural Ottawa person you won’t have to pay for the Green Bins, since you won’t have them, but you’ll still have your garbage fee go up by around 50%.

My suspicion is that garbage collection will become more like water and sewers and will become a bi-monthly billed program, which will then spiral in price to match the cost of garbage collection.

Do I have any other options here? No, I can’t opt out, I can’t claim I don’t use the service, so I must pay, as must my neighbours.

Care to complain? November 10th is your day.  Read the briefing notes, very interesting accounting discussions there.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

For those with any UK heritage it is, in fact, Guy Fawkes day today. Hopefully there aren’t any more gunpowder plots out there!

Related posts:

1. Giving Away Free Crap Ottawa has an interesting weekend every year, where you can attempt to pick up stuff...
2. Death and Taxes The Big Killers Are… Stats Canada came out with a survey that pointed out that:...
3. Random Thoughts: Clean Up That Garbage It seems the City of Toronto may return to it’s normal smell soon, with the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

TD Waterhouse Finally Does One

This relatively new savings vehicle introduced by the Government a while ago, has been taking a while to appear as a Savings Vehicle in many of the banks. I have been checking with TD for a while, but they have finally come out with their version of the RDSP .

This whole delay is a bit frustrating given the alacrity shown to get the TFSA vehicles in place for TD, yet for the RDSP an almost sloth-like speed in getting this savings vehicle in place, but I guess, better late than never will be the point of view I should take. I would like to point out the BMO has had an RDSP vehicle available for a while (and it almost caused me to move my banking services, and may still yet).

Who is Eligible for the RDSP?

The government’s explanation is simple enough:

• is eligible for the disability amount;
• has a valid social insurance number (SIN);
• is a resident in Canada and at the time the plan is entered into;
• is under the age of 60. This age limit is not applicable when a beneficiary’s RDSP is opened as a result of a transfer from the beneficiary’s prior RDSP.

The first point being the most significant. If you have a loved one or someone who you are helping who is disabled they must be identified as disabled by the Government, and that means you must have filled in a T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate and had it approved by the government. Once that is in place then you can start looking at the RDSP, as a possible solution for your future financial plan for the disabled loved one.

Why an RDSP?

That’s a good question, I think it is worthwhile reading over the Government’s information on the program, but the quick synopsis from their web site is a good starter:

A registered disability savings plan (RDSP) is a savings plan that is intended to help parents and others save for the long-term financial security of a person who is eligible for the Disability Tax Credit (disability amount).

Contributions to an RDSP are not tax deductible and can be made until the end of the year in which the beneficiary turns 59 years of age. Contributions that are withdrawn are not to be included as income for the beneficiary when paid out of a RDSP. However, the Canada disability savings grant, Canada disability savings bond and investment income earned in the plan will be included in the beneficiary’s income for tax purposes when paid out of the RDSP.

So a useful vehicle for parents with disabled kids worrying about how are their kids going to thrive or survive financially in the future.

Benefits of the Program

There is no limit to the amount of money that can be put into an RDSP in a particular year, however there is a $200,000 lifetime limit in place per person.

The benefit of putting money in this type of savings vehicle is that the government will pay matching grants of 300, 200 or 100 percent of the value added, depending on the income level of the family. This could mean for someone who’s net income is less than $34000 they would get $3 more for every $1 put into the program, whereas someone who’s net income is over $77000 currently, will get $1 more for every $1 put into an RDSP.

For folks with disabled loved ones this is another way to help out financially, and I am glad to see that TD is finally getting on board with the program.

Related posts:

1. Two Days Left The end of year is fast approaching and here are a couple of points that...
2. Found Money: What to do? This year I will not be receiving a tax rebate, thanks to a plethora of...
3. A budget for all That is what Minister Flaherty has created, a budget for every single person in Canada...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I remember as a kid I loved to play games, especially with friends and family and I enjoyed hours of fun playing those games. Some of these games actually were useful in teaching me about Money and it’s use, not just about the joy of competition (and winning).

The money games I played when I was a kid were:

• Monopoly, which is an obviously good money game, in the sense that it teaches kids about ownership, money management and about some monetary concepts like Mortgages, Taxes and Going bankrupt (not too sure what Free Parking taught you, but you did learn that it was good to stay out of jail as well).
• Careers was another game that I enjoyed, because it taught you about working or at least introduced the concepts around building a career and what you might need to do to build that career.
• Life, was a great game for day to day family life teachings, where you simply lived a life and had to pay out a lot of money along the way and attempt to get rich by the end of it all (and stay out of the poor house).

The best money game when I was a kid was called Pay Day, which was actually quite simple, but very effective in teaching you about balancing budgets, paying bills and living within your means. When I started playing this game I had no idea what some of the concepts being taught were, but when I got older more and more of those concepts showed up in my day to day life and I am sure I said to my wife more than once, “This is just like playing Pay Day”.

Not sure what today’s kids do to learn about money, although I guess games like SIMS and such do have a monetary concept to them (as does Roller Coaster Tycoon, a game I enjoy playing still).

Did you have a favorite money game when you were a kid?

Related posts:

1. The Library and Video Games? Why Buy When You Can Test Drive? Our family has a play console (A Wii...
2. Teach Your Kids to Be Frugal at Back to School Time When your kids are younger you worry about spending too much on their backpacks or...
3. Financial Pornography? That was the label I put on the Pay Day Loan and Cheque cashing shops,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Now I am talking about the micro-economics view of the upcoming pandemic.

I have already noticed some very interesting things that is occuring in the name of the Pandemic of ‘09:

• The Upper Canada School board has closed their school’s gyms off hours (for non school events) to slow the Flu’s progress. This is an interesting one, are they then going to lock students up next? This means community groups’ meetings and events are being cancelled or postponed.
• More folks are taking sick leave than before. Are that many folks sick right now, or is it that folks who normally would have come into work are feeling the pressure to stay home because of the Pandemic? Not sure what the answer to that question is but I view this as a positive thing, less sick people at work or at school is a very good thing.
• People are coughing into their elbows, which is very interesting to watch, but I am not sure it is very safe when you are driving. What about those folks who are doing elbow bumps instead of handshakes? Are they inadvertently passing the Virus on?
• No one is talking about how bad the economy is, because they like to argue about whether or not to get vaccinated, which is good as well. Less people talking about the economy is a good thing (right now), hopefully it won’t cause anybody to buy Canada Savings bonds (yikes).
• People are missing work and school to get vaccinated, even though they are not in a High Risk group. I have a problem with that, if there are folks who SHOULD be getting the vaccine and they aren’t that is wrong (my opinion).

Will this somehow stall the recovery? Not sure, but there may be some ramifications at the micro level with more and more folks taking sick leave.

Related posts:

1. What is H1N1? There is a lot of information out there about Swine Flu and H1N1, so as...
2. Random Thoughts: Flip, Flop and Flu The Flu Pandemic and the associated hysteria continues on, with folks who are not high...
3. University Costs (some more) Given the numbers we looked at from Stats Canada yesterday you need to ask yourself,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

There is a lot of information out there about Swine Flu and H1N1, so as a public service, here is a useful video from the CDC about what Swine Flu is, and better still, what symptoms might suggest you have it (and what to do about it).

I am not going to comment about whether you should get vaccinated or not, because so far I have personally heard of:

• Parents at my son’s Nursery school getting into an  altercation shouting at each other about whether their children should be vaccinated.
• Seen incredibly long lines of folks who are NOT in the high risk groups all wanting to get vaccinated (ahead of the high risk groups).
• People writing letters to the editor implying that if you don’t get vaccinated and you get H1N1, you should be denied hospital care (see the Friday Ottawa Citizen).

Let’s all be calm (like we were during the Great Financial Meltdown of ‘09), and take a pill (or not, if you so choose).

Related posts:

1. H1N1 The Economic Impact Now I am talking about the micro-economics view of the upcoming pandemic. I have already...
2. Friday Random Thoughts: When Pigs Fly and Swine Flu This week was dominated by the Pandemic of Swine Flu, but also with the bankruptcy...
3. Random Thoughts: Flip, Flop and Flu The Flu Pandemic and the associated hysteria continues on, with folks who are not high...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Can one take advantage of this Pandemic financially? Seems a rather ghoulish subject, and I haven’t thought of any way, aside from investing in whichever pharmaceutical companies that are crunching out “vaccines” at a great rate. The one good thing about a Pandemic is the amount of time the media spends spinning the story and thus less time lamenting the Financial Crisis of ‘09. I seem to have an affliction which I suspect is the common, garden variety Cold, ho hum (but I bet more people have died from Colds than Swine Flu so far).

More likely to make money off Halowe’en? Dental supply offices and Candy manufacturers might get a spike in business, but then again, the Candy displays have been out since July in our Loblaws.

Around the Financial Boogosphere (oooh scarey kids)

Given we are about to celebrate All Hallows Eve (and then All Saints Day), let’s wander around the Booooogosphere to see what is new:

• Michael James points out there is Pension Reform Promised Soon which is a very scarey topic right now. Many baby boomers approaching their “Golden Years’ are now afraid they may be their “Tin Years” (as in eating out of a Cat Food Tin).
• The Canadian Capitalist has a tip to stop Horrible Identity Theft by using Using a Pre-paid Credit Card for On Line purchases. That identity theft will turn you into a Credit Zombie if you are not careful!
• Larry MacDonald writes about something that scares me to the core the Unbearable heaviness of the tax system pointing out how the Tax system and it’s implementation seems to force people into making ill-advised moves with their money, in the name of short term tax savings.
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade writes about a horrifying topic of Wants & Needs revisited I want to be rich, but I need to get out of debt first, that is scarey (that some folks don’t figure that one out).
• Ellen Roseman asks the gut wrenching question Does your furnace need to be replaced? Trust me folks, that question really does make me quake all the way down to my boots.
• Preet at WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo is still asking Do You Want to Be on the W Network with him?

Enjoy your weekend and remember to use eye sanitizer after reading this, you may pick up whatever I have, if you are not careful. I bet all the germ-o-phobes I know are in 7th heaven with all this over sanitization.

Related posts:

1. Random Thoughts: October Begins As the trees slowly turn their colours to a majestic red and gold, we welcome...
2. Random Thoughts: $50 Billion is a lot of money During a week where the federal government disclosed just how enormous the federal budget deficit...
3. Random Thoughts: Remembering 9/11 Eight years ago the world changed. For those who had loved ones who died on...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Given I am starting to pack pounds back on (slowly, but I am now about 30 lbs. above my ideal weight and it is rising), I read over one of my favorite posts from the past Debt is Like Fat. I am doing better with my debt, but now not as well with my fat.

Debt is Like Fat

I was telling my daughter that comment and she looked at me like I had five heads. I tried to explain that building up debt rarely happens overnight, just like building up your body mass is not done overnight, and I think it is very true.

When I had my weight gain it happened over about a 14 year period, and it was slow, but by the time I finally did something about it, it was significant. It was a compounding of eating the wrong things, in the wrong quantities at the wrong time, and a complete lack of physical exertion, luckily I have taken the weight off and am keeping it off (mostly).

Debt build up is the same way, usually (unless you make some gruesome investments, an incredible blunder or you are a victim of a fraud), slowly without you noticing you are doing it. Buying your lunch every day isn’t going to put you into debt, neither is leasing your car, vacationing in Las Vegas, or buying lottery tickets either, however, start adding these together with spending more than you make and suddenly you are building up debt, instead of equity. Keep doing this over a long period of time, and suddenly you have a debt load that you cannot afford and you are just not sure how the heck you did it. It was done one small step at a time.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, debt reduction is accomplished in the same way. Unless it rains money, getting out of debt is done slowly and one month at a time, using a plan and self-control and a wililngness to change your lifestyle (because losing weight and debt reduction are BOTH lifestyle changes, not just a quick fix that allows you to go back to your old habits).

Losing the financial bad habits is the key to debt reduction, keep that in mind.

Carnivals

My posting about Jesus is Watching You! was mentioned at the Personal Power and Self-Help Carnival.

Related posts:

1. Economic Update: Take that Fat Cats! Jim Flaherty came through with an interesting and I would say very optimistic Economic Update...
2. Advice for New Grads? I got called by Insight Magazine to give some advice to new grads on what...
3. TV Trends: You are wrong! From my viewpoint most of the “self help” shows on TV these days consist of...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Given the numbers we looked at from Stats Canada yesterday you need to ask yourself, just how much is this all going to cost and how can I deal with this expense.

Let’s run down some of the expenses you are going to need to remember are part of the entire “going to University” equation:

• Cost of Tuition (which varies depending on the school gone to, and the faculty in that school as well).
• Service Fees, some of these you cannot hide from and you need to remember they are there.
• Books and Lab Fees, not expenses you can hide from (you can try to lower them by getting used books or buying them where they are cheaper).
• Living expenses (if the child lives away from home), which could be either a residence and food plan, room and board if they rent a room off campus, or Rent and living costs if they live in an apartment-like model.
• Moving costs, if they leave home (especially if they are going a LONG way away).
• Computing costs, if they don’t already have a computer
• Back to school supplies, paper, printers, etc., etc., etc.,
• Coming home money
• Everyday living money

First, you need to ask, “Am I going to pay this, or am I going to leave it up to my kids?”. In my discussions previously many of my readers have pointed out they didn’t have their education paid for, nor do they plan to pay for their kids’ education. This is an option for a lot of people (and the only option for some folks too). If you don’t plan on footing the bill, then I guess you don’t need to worry about this.

If you are planning on paying for this, how are you going to save? Will you use the RESP savings vehicle? Maybe use your TFSA for extra saving? Get your kid to get a job while at school to help out (so they appreciate the cost of their education)? Hope to win the lottery? Sell a kidney on e-bay? All interesting ways to save for the financial onslaught that University costs can be.

Are you going to have multiple kids at University at the same time? That makes saving doubly important (and you better put twice as much away, at least).

Co-op education for your kid? That way they earn their way through school and it is less of a burden on you?

Nobody moves out, the kids go to school locally and live at home. That saves a WHOLE LOT of money, but then again, you have another Adult in your house, which may cause other issues, but that can cut your University bill in half, if the kids live at your place (but then, how do you get them to move OUT once they have a degree?).

Planning for this orgy of spending can cause your hair to turn prematurely grey, however, it will help you out in the long run.

Related posts:

1. Teach Your Kids to Be Frugal at Back to School Time When your kids are younger you worry about spending too much on their backpacks or...
2. Back to Skule Dude… Given the late date of Labour day this year, school (aka Skule) starts a little...
3. University Costs (again) So Stats Canada came out last week with some very interesting numbers about the cost...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.