In this week’s video clip, tax expert Tim Cestnick talks about the good news about personal income taxes in the recent past: decreasing tax rates, pension income splitting and of course, the introduction of the TFSA.
- With bond yields heading up, the big banks decided to rise the interest rates on fixed rate mortgages this week. TD, for instance, boosted 5-year fixed rate mortgages by 0.25% (as did RBC, BMO and CIBC). If your mortgage is up for renewal consider locking in a lower rate still available through many mortgage brokers.
- The Task Force on Financial Literacy put out its report this week and independent observers are not very pleased with the initiative. Ellen Roseman writes in The Star that involving financial institutions in financial literacy initiatives is a bit like having the fox guard the hen house. Rob Carrick of The Globe and Mail commented that Canadians can become more savvier with money with better disclosure of fees, rates and fine print.
- The proposed “merger” of the TSX with LSE was also in the news this week. David Olive of The Star says that the deal is unlikely to happen.
- In a series of posts, Sustainable PF explains how she saved $9,300 by purchasing a 2011 Subaru Outback south of the border.
- A Canadian Money Forum member is very happy with cellphone plans from new entrant Mobilicity provided you are satisfied with the limited coverage.
- Michael James offers a reasonable explanation of why those who chose to save for their retirement in a RRSP grumble about paying taxes when the time comes to withdraw from it.
- The T-slips have just started rolling in. Money Smarts Blog offers an useful tip for Ontario residents: don’t forget to claim the Ontario Children’s Activity Tax Credit for the 2010 tax year.
- TFSA or RRSP? Jim Yih says do both if you can. If you can’t he offers some thumb rules on where to save.
- Larry MacDonald sees aggressive mandatory RRIF withdrawal rules as a valid reason for disenchantment with RRSPs. There may be some legitimate complaints here but we shouldn’t throw th RRSP baby out with the RRIF withdrawal rate bathwater.
- With Valentine’s Day coming up on Monday, Canadian Financial Stuff offers a humorous take on some of the ways to express your love and the financial ramifications.
- Preet Banerjee says that a person who drives responsibly and pays attention to routine maintenance is going to come out ahead if they buy a car instead of leasing.
TurboTax Giveaway
I received three review copies of TurboTax this year — one each of Standard, Premier and Home & Business. I’m going to test drive TurboTax Standard but I simply don’t have the time to try out the other two copies. That’s where you come in. I’m going to give away one copy of TurboTax Premier (list price of $69.99) and one copy of TurboTax Home & Business (list price of $99.99) to two readers picked at random from among those add their comments to this post. Entering your name in the giveaway is, as always, super simple. Just leave a comment in this post (please do not send an entry via email) and don’t forget to include your email address. If you are reading this through your favourite RSS Reader or via e-mail, you have to click on the headline, get through to the website and scroll to the bottom of the page and type in your comment. Some quick rules: (1) Deadline for entries is 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday, February 15, 2011. (2) One entry per person please. (3) Canadian residents only. (4) I treat your privacy very seriously. Your email will be used for the sole purpose of contacting you if you happen to win. (5) I’ll pick one entry at random and announce the winner after the deadline. Thanks for entering and good luck!
