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If you expect to get paid a bonus that would cover the entirety (or majority of your debt) and have no immediate need for purchases or savings, is it better to take the tax hit and pay the debt down? Or should it still go to an RRSP to mitigate your tax exposure?
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Feb 10, 2021 00:14
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 10:37 |
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Pay your debts. Also try to fully pay off your credit card bills every month if you can.
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Feb 10, 2021 00:44
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Kraftwerk posted:If you expect to get paid a bonus that would cover the entirety (or majority of your debt) and have no immediate need for purchases or savings, is it better to take the tax hit and pay the debt down? Or should it still go to an RRSP to mitigate your tax exposure? The simplified view would be to compare the interest rate of your debt with the expected return of your investments. Would you take the "guaranteed" return from paying down your debt over the potential return of whatever your chosen portfolio is?
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Feb 10, 2021 00:48
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I know I've asked this thread about banks and credit unions before, so might as well again. We recently moved to Vancouver from the US. I got a bank account with Coast Capital and, simply put, we hate them. There were tons of problems getting it set up, but most importantly we can NEVER get anyone on the phone or via email to help us. It took them a week to link a joint account to my website login, I've sat on the phone for over an hour multiple times without anyone responding (sometimes they provide an option to call you back, sometimes they do not), it took almost a month for us to get debit cards, etc. Just today we found out that Amex has tried contacting them multiple times to verify our identity and financial data so we can open a credit card, and Amex is not able to get a response (at least three phone calls where nobody has answered and multiple emails as well). Basically we are now in the market for a new bank, so any recommendations are welcome. We figured we would check out Vancity but at this point any bank that actually responds to a phone call or an email would be great.
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Feb 10, 2021 01:02
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Credit cards are always paid in full. I've just had this nagging line of credit I've been paying down on a monthly basis and throwing the bonus money into it would make the problem disappear much faster. Since it's 8.25% I can't see any investment doing that well unless I bought the COVID dip but that's just gambling.
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Feb 10, 2021 01:14
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Oh yeah at 8.25% just pay that poo poo down and feel better about everything. Alternatively if you put the whole bonus into an RRSP will the refund pay it down? Either way though you're in a good spot.
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Feb 10, 2021 01:17
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Voodoofly posted:Basically we are now in the market for a new bank, so any recommendations are welcome. We figured we would check out Vancity but at this point any bank that actually responds to a phone call or an email would be great. I like Vancity. No fees, pretty much just does what it says on the tin. Plenty of branches with helpful friendly people working in them (Seriously, compare and contrast by walking into a TD sometime) I've never had an issue with their phone support, but I also haven't had a need to call them since COVID so who knows how they're faring. The App and Website are fine. Not the best ever, but functional and does what you need it to do. The credit cards they have aren't the most competitive, but it seems like you potentially already have one you like? You're still better off going to an online bank for a HISA though - but that applies to any real-life bank. e: Holy poo poo yeah get rid of that 8.25%! That's awesome that you can just kill it!
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Feb 10, 2021 01:20
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RRSPs are theoretically tax neutral when you invest the refund, but that assumes an ideal world of income stability and good health. There are lots of reasons why you might be able to draw down an RRSP at a lower rate than you contribute at later in life, and, heck, if you don't, you're in that lofty "good problem to have" world of "just too darn much retirement income". Depending on your marginal rate (high thirties and up, especially) and how quickly you're paying down the debt, I'd consider the RRSP above paying down debt around 5% or so. 8% is likely a bit too high. Conversely, I don't think it's worth paying down debt at 1.5 to 2.5% at all right now. Invest all the way and, heck, borrow more if you can service it and weather any potential market drop.
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Feb 10, 2021 01:39
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Paying off low interest debt is always a question, but there is generally a "piece of mind" value that is hard to articulate, especially if you're not directly involved in the deal. I personally understand paying off debt, even low interest like a mortgage, if it's desirable to you. The weight off your shoulders once it is gone is tangible. Got registered for Revenue Canada online access the other day and saw that Mrs and I haven't been paying our full TFSA for the past bit. So, we topped it off the other day and also the RRSPs. Then Friday found out Mrs was laid off from her job if 15 years. Whelp! Still have a decent amount of liquid cash in savings but it kind of sucks. Neither of us have even been without a job in our entire lives so it's a new feeling for us but fortunately our monthly expenses are actually quite minimal (debt free).
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Feb 10, 2021 16:12
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Voodoofly posted:I know I've asked this thread about banks and credit unions before, so might as well again. VanCity is fine, they're at least as good service-wise as the national banks if not far better here and there. I've had a great experience with Prospera over the past few years, but they recently merged with Westminster CU and kept the WCU board, so who knows if that will change.
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Feb 10, 2021 17:55
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slidebite posted:Paying off low interest debt is always a question, but there is generally a "piece of mind" value that is hard to articulate, especially if you're not directly involved in the deal. I personally understand paying off debt, even low interest like a mortgage, if it's desirable to you. The weight off your shoulders once it is gone is tangible. If push comes to shove you can take money out of the TFSA with no penalty, the contribution room returns January 1st (just try not to withdraw gains made past the total limit for your account). Really sucks about your wife, sorry to hear that!
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Feb 10, 2021 18:24
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Less Fat Luke posted:If push comes to shove you can take money out of the TFSA with no penalty, the contribution room returns January 1st (just try not to withdraw gains made past the total limit for your account). Really sucks about your wife, sorry to hear that! Your gains become new contribution room next year after a withdrawal, so you don't need to worry about withdrawing past your original contribution limit. Edit: I phrased this poorly but basically anything you withdraw becomes contribution room next year, regardless if it exceeds what you originally contributed.
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Feb 10, 2021 18:27
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I don't believe that's correct. If my current total contribution limit is 50K and I withdrawl 80, I can only put in 50 next year (plus next year's contribution space). Although I would definitely prefer that you're right haha
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Feb 10, 2021 18:31
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Less Fat Luke posted:If push comes to shove you can take money out of the TFSA with no penalty, the contribution room returns January 1st (just try not to withdrawl gains made past the total limit for your account). The amount you take out gets added to the amount you can put back in next year regardless of what you take out. So if you have 500k in your TFSA (through good fortune/whatever) and take it all out, you can put in 506k the next year (if not 506,500 - dunno how close we are to that). Kreez posted:VanCity is fine, they're at least as good service-wise as the national banks if not far better here and there. I've had a great experience with Prospera over the past few years, but they recently merged with Westminster CU and kept the WCU board, so who knows if that will change. Overall the credit unions all have fairly backwards IT compared to the big banks at this point, where Coast Capital (the one he's unhappy with) is one of the better ones as far as I could tell. VanCity's was definitely worse when I tried an account with them a while back. Overall I think you're best off picking a quiet small branch of some big bank near you and doing most everything in person - there are basically zero waits/lineups because of all the people staying away due to COVID, vs the brutal phone queues for anything you can't do online. The small branches tend not to cycle so many junior staff (ie, mostly inexperienced/incompetent) through, and you tend to figure out which if any people you need to avoid if you're in there often at all. I guess ideally you establish an ongoing relationship with someone pretty decent and then everything you might have visited or called for becomes an email instead and maybe you come in quickly to sign something. I kind of have a hybrid in person / email approach going on at different banks.
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Feb 10, 2021 18:35
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Less Fat Luke posted:I don't believe that's correct. If my current total contribution limit is 50K and I withdrawl 80, I can only put in 50 next year (plus next year's contribution space). Although I would definitely prefer that you're right haha I am correct. It goes both ways too. If you contribute 50k over the years, make bad investments that leave you with 40k and then withdraw that, you've lost 10k contribution room forever.
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Feb 10, 2021 18:36
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Wow color me shocked! That is actually really cool. Edit: I mean colour
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Feb 10, 2021 18:38
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edit: whoops
Square Peg fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Feb 10, 2021 |
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Feb 10, 2021 19:11
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Less Fat Luke posted:If push comes to shove you can take money out of the TFSA with no penalty, the contribution room returns January 1st (just try not to withdraw gains made past the total limit for your account). Really sucks about your wife, sorry to hear that! Thanks for the feels! Question: Opinions on good retirement calculators? Preferably something that takes into account spouses and province of residence? e: For bonus points, is there something like a reverse calculator where you can input your assets and have it spit out retirement scenarios? slidebite fucked around with this message at 21:38 on Feb 11, 2021 |
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Feb 11, 2021 20:07
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This one, from the government, isn't too bad.
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Feb 11, 2021 23:04
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Seconded, it's one of the better ones I've come across for canadaland.
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Feb 12, 2021 15:37
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https://www.coindesk.com/first-north-american-bitcoin-etf-approved-by-canadian-securities-regulator Looks like there will be a Canadian listing of an ETF to mirror the Bitcoin market.
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Feb 12, 2021 17:25
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DeadMansSuspenders posted:https://www.coindesk.com/first-north-american-bitcoin-etf-approved-by-canadian-securities-regulator Weak. Tell me when the triple leveraged version comes out, only then can I YOLO my TFSA to the moon!
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Feb 12, 2021 17:36
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Thanks for that. It does seem fairly in depth. I've doing some thinking about retirement and life in general. The imminent passing of my stepfather (whom I am close) and the family coming back together as death seems to do, is having me think more on the tail side of my life and where I hope to be in some more practical angles. Is this a suitable thread to specifically talk about retirement as well? slidebite fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Feb 14, 2021 |
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Feb 14, 2021 15:59
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slidebite posted:Is this a suitable thread to specifically talk about retirement as well? I vote yes.
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Feb 14, 2021 17:41
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slidebite posted:Is this a suitable thread to specifically talk about retirement as well? If this isn't the place, then I don't know where else would be! Not that I'll be much of a help, mind. IIROC weighing in on the recent surge in brokerage accounts being opened: quote:Since the start of the pandemic, there has also been a significant surge in inquiries and complaints to IIROC's Complaints & Inquiries team. Between March 2020 and January 2021, DIY investors' inquiries and complaints are up by 270% compared to the same period in 2019.
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Feb 14, 2021 19:06
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Jokes on them, I know this thread would never lead me astray. They're just trying to talk me out of making that MONEY!
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Feb 17, 2021 23:16
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Well gently caress: CRA suspends online accounts of over 100,000 Canadians after login credentials found for sale on dark web
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Feb 18, 2021 04:01
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Less Fat Luke posted:Well gently caress: Ok so it was what I originally talked about (either here or in another thread, I forget) - people using the same email + pw elsewhere, though at least one goon told me they didn't reuse credentials so I bet a lot of them don't actually work with CRA and they're just casting a wide net. Cold on a Cob fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Feb 18, 2021 |
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Feb 18, 2021 04:02
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Cold on a Cob posted:So they were lying through their teeth about there not being a hack. Nice. Did you read the article? They were not lying. The compromised accounts used the same passwords and logins targeted in breaches with other companies. e: quote:“In this particular case, an internal analysis revealed evidence that some account credentials (i.e. user IDs and passwords) may have been compromised, and may be available for use by unauthorized individuals,” Doody wrote. I use some repeated passwords for accounts idgaf about, but for gods sakes use unique passwords for your financial accounts.
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Feb 18, 2021 04:04
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Jordan7hm posted:Did you read the article? They were not lying. The compromised accounts used the same passwords and logins targeted in breaches with other companies. Yeah sorry, already corrected myself. 
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Feb 18, 2021 04:07
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Yeah it's a super common tactic, you can see which sites have been compromised with your email address at places like Have I Been Pwned.
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Feb 18, 2021 04:08
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quote:OTTAWA – The Canada Revenue Agency had to suspend the accounts of more than 100,000 users of its online service because it detected troves of leaked login information on the dark web that could have led to data breaches. That's fairly explicit.
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Feb 18, 2021 04:12
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Well, just to be safe time to change my financial passwords again  Also, What is the recommended *income* biased ETF right now? Unfortunately my stepfather is likely to pass imminently and my mother is going to be on a fixed income (XX% of his pension + old age). From what I understand, they have around ~$100K in investments with Edward Jones or some other advisor. No idea what they are doing with them, but to make it simple and potentially get out of their fees, is there a simple single ETF to look at OR something a strategy more conservative/income based than growth? I know you're not going to live on the dividend of $100K. I'm thinking she'd be lucky to get over $100/month but to be honest I have no clue. She will also be selling their free and clear home this spring/summer which will *probably* be $400Kish and we will want to do something conservative with that as well.
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Feb 18, 2021 15:37
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VRIF is worth a look and what my retired parents use.
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Feb 18, 2021 15:53
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Huh, thanks. I'll do some checking into that. An all in one ETF with a 4% return sounds pretty reasonable.
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Feb 18, 2021 20:48
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 Hey, uh, Questrade, I realize that it's a busy time of year for you, but... uh, 3 years...?
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Feb 22, 2021 12:57
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Let’s say hypothetically I start with $75k contribution room in my TFSA, and I make a cash deposit of $15k. Contribution room is now $60k. Now let’s say through a series of investments and trades within that TFSA, I turn that $15k into $30k very rapidly. Is my contribution room still $60k, or is it now $45k?
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Feb 22, 2021 13:27
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Handen posted:Let’s say hypothetically I start with $75k contribution room in my TFSA, and I make a cash deposit of $15k. Contribution room is now $60k. Now let’s say through a series of investments and trades within that TFSA, I turn that $15k into $30k very rapidly. 60k. And if you withdraw the 30k, your contribution room will be 90k next year.
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Feb 22, 2021 13:30
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This is a tangent but just to be comprehensive, you can't day trade in your TFSA, so if you make huge gains in it, you might get some extra scrutiny at tax time. Also, the corrolary is that if your investments don't turn out, the TFSA contribution room is permanently lost. This is why for your TFSA you want to be a little more conservative than you'd normally be.
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Feb 22, 2021 13:43
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The opposite also applies. If you turn that $15k to 0 then you lose that 15k contribution room forever.
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Feb 22, 2021 14:27
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