Found 85 posts tagged as "Personal Finance"
When Susan Campbell of Stratford, Ont. didn’t receive her monthly government cheques in December she called the Canada Revenue Agency to see what was going on. To her dismay, she was told that she had been marked “deceased” on her file.
The 51-year old mother of one relies heavily on the assistance she receives, especially the $382 monthly child tax benefit. “The money that goes into the bank is what comes out almost immediately for cost of living,” she told CTV yesterday.
Tax protesters have been around for decades. I have never actually met one, but I have no question that they are out there. And, according to the federal government, the number of Canadians falling into this group is on the rise. Recent warnings by the Canada Revenue Agency have prompted a new discussion on tax protestation. So, what exactly does this mean?
Here’s the basic gist of the argument: tax protesters think that they can escape paying taxes by using legal arguments to place themselves outside of the tax system. Protesters treat themselves as two separate people for income tax purposes. According to the CRA, “they define the natural person as the individual that performs the labour required to earn income, and the legal person as the legal entity that the federal government creates through the issuing of a social insurance number (SIN).”
Not long ago, I was questioning whether or not I would marry someone who’s in debt. To get a good idea of how people felt, I asked friends, family members and my Twitter followers for their opinion on the subject.
One gentleman was floored by the fact that debt was even a decision-making factor. He called my question both crass and offensive. “If you love someone,” he said, “debt shouldn’t even be a consideration.” Spoken like a true romantic – or someone who’s never been stung by an ex. Well, here I am again, considering a very similar problem – the dreaded and controversial prenuptial agreement.
It wasn’t until, due to health reasons, I had to stop drinking coffee for four months that I really noticed just how much Canadians love their java. No joke; I got weekly invites out for – not tea, but coffee. Every morning, my Twitter feed was filled was happy tweets posted by people who were clearly enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee. It nearly drove me crazy! I’m not going to lie, of all the things I was asked to give up – and there were many, many things – coffee was without a doubt the most difficult. I’ve only recently been allowed to return to a semi-normal diet and, you guessed it, coffee was the first to return. Man, I missed it.
Canadian coffee consumption
The Canadian Coffee Association reports that 63 per cent of adult Canadians drink coffee on a daily basis. On average, Canadians consume more than 40 million cups of coffee per day. That’s an average of about 2.6 cups per person. Obviously, some will drink more than others, and some will drink none at all.
By volume, the Beverage Marketing Corporation says that coffee accounted for 16 per cent of all non-alcoholic beverage sales in 2008. According to Stats Canada, “Coffee competes with a variety of other non-alcoholic beverages including tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, milk and dairy beverages, fruit juices, bottled water, sports drinks, vegetable juices, soya beverages, hot chocolate, and low alcohol wine coolers and ciders.” In fact, in 2008, coffee and tea sales totaled $1.5 billion.
Money Talks News just featured a guest post from a social worker who wiped out $37,000 of debt in one year. How’s that for inspiring? Or maddening, if you're the envious type. As someone with an outstanding mound of student debt, I find it personally inspiring. Here are some reasons why.
Do you know how much it costs to mail a letter?
Up until last week, I didn’t. I am a child of the e-mail generation and I don’t use snail mail very often. I pay most of my bills online. I send e-cards and Facebook event invites. I love getting mail, but I rarely send it.
But I’ve recently started using coupons, and recently agreed to trade coupons with a few people across the country. It was only then that I discovered the cost of sending letters was much higher than I remembered. And that cost just rose two cents.
Taking the plunge into a more frugal lifestyle can save you a lot of money, if done right. Over the years I've seen a number of well-meaning cost-cutting Canucks take to thrift, only to damage their financial bottom lines and become miserable.
To keep you from becoming 'penny wise' and 'pound foolish', here are five frugal living mistakes even thrifty people make:
Thinking of switching from paper bills to e-bills? Better be careful, paying your e-bills the wrong way just might cost you.
E-bills, which are electronic copies of paper bills emailed to the billee's inbox or or to a consolidated bill payment website, have grown in popularity in Canada over the last few years. The vast majority of Canadians I asked on my blog's Facebook page cheered in support of this greener bill payment method.
Leigh writes: "I enjoy e-bills not only for their environmental support, but I always misplaced the paper ones. I also like not having to keep my copies."
Many Facebook commenters switched to electronic billing during last summer's Canada Post strike to ensure bills would be received and paid on time. Frequent flyers and travel enthusiasts also prefer e-bills since they can be paid from anywhere in the world.
But despite this roaring support, there are a few glitches electronic bill payers should be aware of, as these mistakes could cost you some serious cash.
Here are three ways e-bills can cost you:
What would you do with an extra $205 in your pocket? Pay for groceries, pump fuel into your tank, clothe your kids, or travel? According to a new study, the average household active in loyalty programs earns a tidy $622 a year in credit card cash back, points, or miles, but fails to redeem $205 of those rewards.
We're literally throwing away over one-third of our credit card rewards annually and handing these programs around $16 billion in unclaimed value, reports the recent Colloquy Loyalty Census study.
If you find yourself busting your budget from month to month, racking up credit card debt, and depleting all your savings, then maybe it's time to talk to a money coach.
Over the past few years, money coaches have become a popular option with cash-strapped Canadians looking to get a handle on their daily finances.
While traditional financial advisors generally work with clients to invest their retirement savings, money coaches help people improve their money management skills to fill the gap between being cash-strapped and having the funds to invest.
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