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Lexicon posted:Can anyone recommend a Canadian Amex that's worth getting and ideally has no annual fee? If you're a Costco member, the Costco Amex is useful to have if only to avoid having to pay with debit at Costco. It's also 3% back on dining, 2% back on gas and no fee.
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Apr 21, 2014 23:32
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spoof posted:If you're a Costco member, the Costco Amex is useful to have if only to avoid having to pay with debit at Costco. It's also 3% back on dining, 2% back on gas and no fee. This is the one I have and really the only one I like. There are Air Miles and Aeroplan cards that some may like but I am so disgusted with both those rewards programs (I think they are a complete waste), I would never recommend them.
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Apr 21, 2014 23:40
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How is the Amex supposed to be useful for relocation? In my experience, no amount of preparation will help you with international banking and relocation. I'd love to be proven wrong.
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Apr 22, 2014 00:39
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I think Amex will give you a credit card in your new country based on your record with your Amex from your old country, but that's literally the only perk I can think of, and I've moved internationally a few times in my life.
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Apr 22, 2014 00:44
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DariusLikewise posted:I thought soft inquires won't affect anything? I don't believe they do, but it's just the idea of it baffles me. I'm ordering something online. What kind of info can a soft hit get? An actual FICO score? Also, I have the Costco amex. I really only use it at Costco but it's a decent card. I use my black PCF card as my main go-to card but that's mostly habit.
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Apr 22, 2014 01:26
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HookShot posted:I think Amex will give you a credit card in your new country based on your record with your Amex from your old country, but that's literally the only perk I can think of, and I've moved internationally a few times in my life. Yeah, this is really all I meant.
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Apr 22, 2014 01:45
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Lexicon posted:Can anyone recommend a Canadian Amex that's worth getting and ideally has no annual fee? The Costco Amex card only charges you for an annual Costco membership.
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Apr 22, 2014 02:27
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Am I going to cause a ruckus if I open a second TFSA savings account and transfer money from one to the other? They will both be through TD and I will directly transfer the money from TFSA to TFSA. I just want to create some mental seperation between my 6 month seatbelt and my downpayment savings.
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Apr 22, 2014 16:31
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reflex posted:Am I going to cause a ruckus if I open a second TFSA savings account and transfer money from one to the other? They will both be through TD and I will directly transfer the money from TFSA to TFSA. I just want to create some mental seperation between my 6 month seatbelt and my downpayment savings.  Danger! You run the risk of over-contributing if you do this wrong. Here's a scenario where that could happen: - Jan 2nd, 2014: Open a TFSA and contribute the allowed amount of $31,000 to date. - Jan 31th, 2014: "drat - should've split this amount up... I'd rather that $1000 was on its own as an emergency fund." - Feb 1st, 2014: Open a new TFSA, and move the $1000 from the first one into it. This is an overcontribution of $1000 and you'll be penalized for it Now this won't happen to you if the sum of your contributions* for the year is under $31k, or if you get TD to directly transfer the money on your behalf from TFSA to TFSA. But it's a risk to be aware of. Personally, I usually just tell people to have a single TFSA account, and do all the intended money shuffles around the new year (it's fine to withdraw whatever you want in late December, and add it back in whatever configuration you want early January). It's too confusing otherwise. (*A "contribution" is the act of throwing N dollars over the fence from a cash account to a TFSA. Using a single physical dollar, you could theoretically "contribute" a full $31,000 in a single year by constantly moving it back and forth, in and out of a TFSA and a cash account).
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Apr 22, 2014 17:11
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I'm planning a trip to the US soon and need USD. What's the best way to get this? I want about 400 USD for my trip. From what I gather a lot of places have really high commission/fees so I was wondering what the best place would be. Also would it be a good idea to wait for exchange rates get better, or is this simply a futile attempt at timing the market?
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Apr 22, 2014 17:23
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Lexicon posted:
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Apr 22, 2014 17:25
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PowFu posted:I'm planning a trip to the US soon and need USD. What's the best way to get this? I want about 400 USD for my trip. From what I gather a lot of places have really high commission/fees so I was wondering what the best place would be. Meh, I wouldn't waste much effort for the sake of $400 USD. Just use your bank and pay whatever it is. For reference, I was in the US yesterday and withdrew $80 USD at an ATM on a Tangerine debit card. Cost me $90.08 CAD all in (implying USDCAD = 1.126 for that transaction, versus USDCAD = 1.102 at mid-market). Not exactly a big loss in absolute terms. When you're transacting larger amounts of USD (to buy American-listed ETFs, say), 3-4k at least, that's when you want to start doing neat tricks like Norbert's Gambit. PowFu posted:Also would it be a good idea to wait for exchange rates get better, or is this simply a futile attempt at timing the market? You've guessed it - the latter! 
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Apr 22, 2014 17:30
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cowofwar posted:Internal tfsa transfers don't mess up contribution limits. But it is good yo double check. For sure - the way it was written, I assumed the poster meant the transfer would be done using cash or a cash account as an intermediary, however brief. Basically, the bank has to do the transfer on your behalf - or I suppose an online transfer from TFSA to TFSA would work too.
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Apr 22, 2014 17:32
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PowFu posted:I'm planning a trip to the US soon and need USD. What's the best way to get this? I want about 400 USD for my trip. From what I gather a lot of places have really high commission/fees so I was wondering what the best place would be. On $400, it's probably not worth trying too hard to find a good rate. At the market rate today, that $400 USD is $441 (400 * 1.102). A bank will charge you an additional .025 or so which means you would pay $451 (400 * 1.1275). How much is that $10 worth to you? Don't try to time the market. Who knows where the exchange rate is headed. edit: Beaten. drat you Lexicon.
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Apr 22, 2014 17:33
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Kal Torak posted:On $400, it's probably not worth trying too hard to find a good rate. At the market rate today, that $400 USD is $441 (400 * 1.102). A bank will charge you an additional .025 or so which means you would pay $451 (400 * 1.1275). How much is that $10 worth to you? I approve of these answers
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Apr 22, 2014 17:38
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By "transfer" I meant a transfer via TD's easyweb. It takes the money from one account, throws it to another. No cash, doesn't hit some middle account. Just account to account. TFSA 1 -> TFSA 2. But by the amount of s, it sounds like I should just go in and talk to my branch first.
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Apr 22, 2014 17:38
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reflex posted:By "transfer" I meant a transfer via TD's easyweb. It takes the money from one account, throws it to another. No cash, doesn't hit some middle account. Just account to account. TFSA 1 -> TFSA 2. But by the amount of You're probably safe then. And at least it's at the same institution - I had two TFSAs at different places until earlier this year. I merged them in early January to a single account and couldn't be happier... so much easier to keep track of, especially if, like BMO Investorline, they actually record your contributions for you.
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Apr 22, 2014 17:54
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No, I don't think that's safe at all. I think that is going to treat it as a withdrawal and contribution. To transfer internally, you would need to fill out the appropriate form, probably this one: http://www.tdwaterhouse.ca/products-services/investing/td-direct-investing/accounts/forms-applications/forms.jsp?id=595172 edit: Actually that is institution to institution. I would talk to your bank. edit2: Maybe it's this one: http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/document/PDF/mutualfunds/tdeseriesfunds/517656.pdf Kal Torak fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Apr 22, 2014 |
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Apr 22, 2014 18:01
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Yeah... reflex: either don't do it or talk to your bank.
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Apr 22, 2014 18:23
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Just FYI TD Bank gave my brother incorrect TSFA advice and he got hit with a $50 penalty from CRA (I'm sure they would have cancelled it if he asked, but he just paid it), I wouldn't necessarily trust the banks to give you the correct info, I would actually call that hotline CRA has and ask them.
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Apr 22, 2014 18:43
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The best Forex rate you can get is by pre-buying your cash from the airport guys. I was utterly shocked at the spread between their good (and convenient since you can do it online and just get it at the airport) rate vs. my bank's "best" rate.
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Apr 22, 2014 18:51
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Franks Happy Place posted:The best Forex rate you can get is by pre-buying your cash from the airport guys. I was utterly shocked at the spread between their good (and convenient since you can do it online and just get it at the airport) rate vs. my bank's "best" rate. Interesting. Precisely opposite to what I would've expected.
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Apr 22, 2014 19:08
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Lexicon posted:Interesting. Precisely opposite to what I would've expected. Yep, that was why I was so surprised. Edit: http://www.ice-canada.ca/
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Apr 22, 2014 19:14
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HookShot posted:Just FYI TD Bank gave my brother incorrect TSFA advice and he got hit with a $50 penalty from CRA (I'm sure they would have cancelled it if he asked, but he just paid it), I wouldn't necessarily trust the banks to give you the correct info, I would actually call that hotline CRA has and ask them. The CRA will tell him it has to be an internal transfer within the bank and to talk to the bank on how to do it. The second link I posted is the right form to use for this transfer.
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Apr 22, 2014 19:23
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PowFu posted:I'm planning a trip to the US soon and need USD. What's the best way to get this? I want about 400 USD for my trip. From what I gather a lot of places have really high commission/fees so I was wondering what the best place would be. I know this has already been talked about, but I always just use a local bank machine in the US. Some Canadian machines in border cities also dispense US$$ (I have one downtown) but for such a small amount I wouldn't bother driving around to save a couple bucks in fees.
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Apr 22, 2014 19:35
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My advice with forex is to buy the the foreign currency in your home country and home currency in the foreign country, using a currency exchange store, not a bank. The reason is, in your home country, the currency store wants to get rid of foreign currency and in the foreign country, they want to get rid of your home currency.
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Apr 22, 2014 21:54
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Mantle posted:My advice with forex is to buy the the foreign currency in your home country and home currency in the foreign country, using a currency exchange store, not a bank. That does seem like reasonable logic, but does it translate to lower rates? It seems that in the latter case at least, you're a fairly captive customer.
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Apr 22, 2014 22:03
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Lexicon posted:That does seem like reasonable logic, but does it translate to lower rates? It seems that in the latter case at least, you're a fairly captive customer. Anecdotally, when I last visited the UK from Canada, I changed my CAN to GBP at an Indian currency exchanger in Vancouver at 1.71. The bank rate at that time was 1.70. The time previous to that, I don't remember the rate I paid in Canada, but I walked all over London trying to find a similar rate when I ran out of GBP and I couldn't find anything even remotely close. I've never changed back into CAN in a foreign country, so I don't "know" know that it works both ways.
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Apr 23, 2014 00:29
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Jesus gently caress, Compu-Share is a pain in the rear end to deal with. Sweet tap-dancing christ. 
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Apr 23, 2014 03:26
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slidebite posted:Jesus gently caress, Compu-Share is a pain in the rear end to deal with. Sweet tap-dancing christ. What the gently caress is Compu-Share? I've just googled them and I'm none the wiser.
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Apr 23, 2014 03:35
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Do you mean Computershare?
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Apr 23, 2014 03:51
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Yeah, that's what I meant. 
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Apr 23, 2014 04:26
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Lexicon posted:Interesting. Precisely opposite to what I would've expected. In my limited experience I've found this to be best as well. One quasi related factoid I also picked up is that the exchange rate for coins is way way lower than bills, so go ahead and be the rear end in a top hat that buys €100 worth of duty free with coins  Story behind it: i was traveling with a large group that wanted to buy some nice scotch for the guys who helped organized the trip. I collected a few euro-bucks from everyone, mostly in change, but paid for the booze with my bills. Imagine my surprise when I turned in 100 euro at near parity at a time when it was trading 2:1 
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Apr 23, 2014 04:59
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I have an extra $7,000 of savings built up that I'd like to invest. My plan is to save this money for expenses that will crop up over the next five years. I'm 25 and single, and while one of those things is certain to change over the next five years, the latter may as well - and that poo poo gets expensive. But those type of expenses are not sudden, so I won't need easy access to this money. I have a TFSA that I'm already putting $100 a month into, and I would definitely like to increase that monthly amount, but I'd rather use that as a more long-term savings as per the advice from this thread. So, I'm pretty green when it comes to investing. I've read this whole thread but I'm still not quite sure where to go for this type of savings scenario. Maybe my TFSA is the best place? Also, regarding my TFSA, I just have it through my bank (CIBC) but as far as I can tell I'm only getting 1% interest. Is this par for the course? Should I head somewhere else?
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Apr 23, 2014 14:18
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Rick Rickshaw posted:I have an extra $7,000 of savings built up that I'd like to invest. My plan is to save this money for expenses that will crop up over the next five years. I'm 25 and single, and while one of those things is certain to change over the next five years, the latter may as well - and that poo poo gets expensive. But those type of expenses are not sudden, so I won't need easy access to this money. If you need it in five years or less, the typical advice is that you don't want to invest it. You don't even want to lock it in with a GIC since the rates suck and you want the money soonish. Just keep it in your chequing account or a coffee tin or whatever. As for the TFSA, you read the thread so I assume that you know that, despite the name, the TFSA is just a registered investment vehicle that banks are selling as a savings account. This is fine if you want (the bullshit savings account rate that fails to beat inflation) + (your marginal tax rate on the interest paid if over $50). However, if you use the TFSA as an investment account for bonds and stocks, last year you would have made like ~20% from an indexed portfolio. You can open one of those accounts with an online broker like Questrade or by using any of the brick and mortar bank investment services like TD Waterhouse and you will do better than your 1%. Maybe. Read the Canadian Couch Potato blog and The Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein if you haven't already.
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Apr 23, 2014 14:41
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I know with PCF, you get 1.3% with their high interest savings account. They also have a 2.2% promotional rate for 2 months. I don't particularly see any reason you couldn't place it in your TFSA, as you likely aren't running near the limit. I looked at laddered GICs and other low volatility investments, but they were about the same or worse than a high interest savings account. Even then, 7k at 1% or 1.3% compounded monthly over 5 years is 350 or 460. If you are happy with CIBC, I'd be inclined to stick with it. To me the purpose of TFSA is to shelter you from higher growth investments, like bonds and above. Not the 1.4% interest the bank gives for any cash sitting in it. Of course I'm still new to ask this so take with a few grains of salt.
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Apr 23, 2014 14:57
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It may not be possible for everyone, but with regard to solving the "I need cash on hand for emergencies" but "I want to invest my cash at a high rate of return with some risk" dilemma, the best solution is a good line of credit, possibly secured against an asset, whether that be equity in a home or other deposits (like your TFSA). I keep a marginal amount of money in my walking around account, say 10k or so, but that is not even close to the general guideline of 6 months salary. I have a line of credit with a decent rate I can tap for anything above and beyond that (it's never come up) and meanwhile the difference between the 10k and six months salary is earning a high rate of return in my TFSA and other investment accounts.
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Apr 23, 2014 15:56
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tuyop posted:If you need it in five years or less, the typical advice is that you don't want to invest it. I agree with the spirit of this, but I'd replace "five" with "X" and adjust X for the profile of the investor in question. Those nearing retirement probably want to be the most conservative, and younger people with no debt, etc probably should be a bit keener than that. Saltin posted:It may not be possible for everyone, but with regard to solving the "I need cash on hand for emergencies" but "I want to invest my cash at a high rate of return with some risk" dilemma, the best solution is a good line of credit, possibly secured against an asset, whether that be equity in a home or other deposits (like your TFSA). Agree totally. 6 months of salary for a high-earner with securable assets is an absurd amount of cash. Curious: what sort of interest rates are available for a secured LOC on TFSA holdings? Lexicon fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Apr 23, 2014 |
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Apr 23, 2014 16:06
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Saltin posted:It may not be possible for everyone, but with regard to solving the "I need cash on hand for emergencies" but "I want to invest my cash at a high rate of return with some risk" dilemma, the best solution is a good line of credit, possibly secured against an asset, whether that be equity in a home or other deposits (like your TFSA). Yeah I really think this is about personal risk tolerance. I have no problem living with the slim possibility of all of these things happening at once:
They're all semi-related, but the odds of all happening at once are pretty slim. And so I think it's fine to have a one-month buffer and skip the whole emergency fund thing. The most likely bad scenario is that I pay 7% on my LoC for six months after a few years of earning ~7% on the invested cash that would have been an emergency fund. The risk is vulnerability to the worst case, which is like a 10-30 year depression and some kind of brain injury precluding any sort of work. I'm not convinced that either a LoC or a huge e-fund protect you from the worst case, so it makes sense to take the risk and maximize return.
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Apr 23, 2014 16:10
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Saltin posted:It may not be possible for everyone, but with regard to solving the "I need cash on hand for emergencies" but "I want to invest my cash at a high rate of return with some risk" dilemma, the best solution is a good line of credit, possibly secured against an asset, whether that be equity in a home or other deposits (like your TFSA). This is what I do. I live on the edge in terms of my cash flow as I do a lot of investing and trading. We use our LOC as the buffer if we ever need it. The only thing I would say is don't secure it. You should be able to get a small LOC unsecured unless you have really bad credit or something. edit: I guess if you want 6 months worth, you probably need to secure it.
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Apr 23, 2014 16:18
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