Christmas Treats, RESPs, The Markets and Polkas and #MoneyTalk

With Advent upon us, it is not much time until Christmas will be here (and then gone). Did you realize there is actually a Financial Advent Calendar on this very site? You can consult it here.

With interest rates slowly rising, is it time to rethink short term savings? A good example is your RESPs for your kids. Should you be thinking about using GICs to ensure the money grows slowly but safely? Can you even use GICs in your child’s RESP? All good questions. Now you can get GICs with interest rates above 2%, maybe you should at least be putting your kids’ Grant money and put that in  there? Remember it is near year end, if  there is room still left you should  put a top up to get to your $2500 yearly maximum payment to the RESP.

My view of the Stock Market is it is currently having a shart. If you are unclear on what a shart means, please clock on the link. This shart might become something worse soon, given the trade stupidity going on, but for nice it is a mess caused by someone thinking they were only letting off gas.

Are planning on playing the Christmas Money Polka this season? It’s a simple game where you have bought many things on credit, and when the bill arrives in January, because you didn’t budget well you take the cash you got from family and pay off some of those bills. The money just goes round and round, and at the end of it you feel sick (just like a Polka), and broke.

Did you start your Emergency Fund with the idea that you were going to pay off Christmas with it? That’s not an emergency fund, that is a Christmas Fund. Maybe you should have both? Remember starting to plan for Next Christmas can start before this Christmas. You will have a better Christmas perspective now, than in July next summer.

Recent Articles

I really need to read letters more carefully, as I ended up blundering my way into a very large tax bill because of my inability to read letters well. I outline the predicament of my own creation in CRA and me: Assessment Excitement, the CRA was very helpful is the moral of this story.

Podcast of the Week

Finally you get to see what I actually look like, and you may realize why I have commented that I have a face for Radio. I do like the preview photo makes you wonder what I was thinking.

Advent is Here

Financial Advent is here, which is a time of waiting. No, it is not time to wait until your huge credit card bills arrive in January. It might be a time to wait before you dump your entire portfolio?

• Michael James discusses changes in the Canada Pension Plan, but he wonders about the Bad Arguments Against CPP Expansion. I think CPP expansion is a good idea, but evidently some folks are really upset about it.
• The Blunt Bean Counter brings more solid financial advice with Tax on Split Income (“TOSI”) Update. If you have a corporation for tax purposes, why aren’t  you reading this site? 
• Cut the Crap investing brings us, Retiring early and waiting for your spouse. The waiting is the hardest part. What if your spouse doesn’t want to retire early? Worse, what if they want to, and can’t afford it?

Tweet of the Week

The 2018 Random Thoughts

• GM, PC M/C Changes, Podcasts and #MoneyTalk (November 30^th)
• RDSP Awareness , Volatility and #MoneyTalk (October 12^th)
• Tech Infiltration , NAFTA/USMCA, WiFi, Tornadoes and #MoneyTalk (October 5^th)
• Back to School, London Calling, Basic Cable and #MoneyTalk (September 14^th)
• Tighter Money, the 13th , Hydro Savings and #MoneyTalk (July 14^th)
• Ganja Tourism, Sneaker Smuggling, Solar Potential and #MoneyTalk (June 22^nd)
• Mothers Day, Counterfeit Reality, Higher Stress and #MoneyTalk (May 11^th)
• Decisions, Bitcoin, Inflation and #MoneyTalk (April 20^th)
• Stock Picking Update, Crypto Credit, and #MoneyTalk (April 13^the)
• RDSP, Easter, Thanks Rusty and #MoneyTalk (March 29^th)
• Facebook, Spring is here and #MoneyTalk (March 23^rd)
• Still Financially Crazy after 13 Years (March 16^th)
• Steady Interest Rates, Spring Forward and #MoneyTalk (March 8^th)
• Budgets, Phoenix Death, Inflation and #MoneyTalk (March 2^nd)
• Potholes, Tuition Increases, and #MoneyTalk (February 23^rd)
• RRSP, Lent, Happy Year of the Dog and #MoneyTalk (February 16^th)
• Roller Coaster Markets , Olympics and #Moneytalk (February 9^th)
• Superb Owls, RDSP Deposit and #MoneyTalk (February 2^nd)
• OHIP Overload, Doomsday minus 2 minutes, and #MoneyTalk (January 26^th)
• Tighter Money, Best Investment, Go North! and #MoneyTalk (January 19^th)
• Paper Delivery, Bitcoin and #MoneyTalk (January 12^th)
• Polar Vortexes, Minimum Wage and #MoneyTalk (January 4^th)

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