Let me preface this: There are folks much worse off than I am; these are my observations of the world when you have less mobility. The question is, is the world accessible? Estimated reading time: 3 minutes I wrecked my knee about a year ago (2023), and it continues to not work to specifications. Thanks to this, I cannot use stairs, walk with assistance (a cane), and seem to fall a lot. While this seems more like an inconvenience than a disability, I can assure you it isn’t any fun. No, I have not applied for a Disability Tax Credit. However, if this continues, I may consider that ro ..read more

I stole this title from a notebook I saw being sold called “F*ck! I’m Dead! Now What?“. There are many similar journals, but I am not espousing spending money on that. All it will take is a simple blank notebook. I am reading a book, “The Bullet Notebook Method“, which is helpful, if a bit too philosophical for my tastes. An “I’m Dead” journal is something to help your family deal with it. Table of contents I’m Dead Your Will Everything Else A Death Certificate Banking Information Insurance Policy Information RESP, RRSP, TFSA, CPP and Pension Information RDSP Smail Mail Social Networking Pa ..read more

If you hate your parents, the man or the establishment, don't show them up by getting wasted and wrapping your car around a tree. If you really want to rebel against your parents, out-learn them, outlive them, and know more than they do. –Henry Rollins Henry Rollins says things that, on the surface, may seem harsh, but he speaks the truth. Those words are not that harsh in my books. I keep hearing about how Gen Y is going to have a hard time because we old folks are leaching the life out of them. My response: “Do Better!“ It’s easy to find excuses about why things aren’t working for you. It’s ..read more

After sending a quick email to the HSRDC folks, I was happy to get a call back from them. They have an email contact on the RDSP (Registered Disability Savings Plan) page, so I used that to contact them. Since my son’s Disability Tax Credit (DTC) was reinstated, I was curious how long it will take us to receive a revised Statement of Grant letter. I sent the email to the HRSDC rdsp-reei email account asking about this. I got a phone call the next day. The Current Statement of Grant for my son The young lady I spoke to was pleasant and helpful. We chatted about a few points. HSRDC won’t get the ..read more

My continued work with the CRA seems to have reached its logical end. Since my son’s diagnosis of being on the Autism Spectrum, we have had to reapply for his Disability Tax Credit every 5 years or so. This year, we had to reapply for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). Unfortunately, we let things lapse, thus stopping his RDSP payments (for now). My son is now 19 years old, so more paperwork will need to be done for his RDSP as well. Given the account is locked, not much can be done. We were lucky that we had to redo my son’s Educational Assessment work in December. Luckily, the psychologist we ..read more

I have written previously that Investing is like Golf. The punch line is that you need to go back in time, about 20 years and start doing it then. It was one of the first theme stories I wrote a while ago. The thematic premise was taking two investors: Young Buck $2,000 away yearly in an investment that grows by 6% annually on average, from age 22 until he is 55. Old Geezer decides to start saving later in life and puts away $6,000 a year from age 40 until age 55, with the same growth rate. If you look at your Future Value function in your favourite spreadsheet program. Assuming a 6% in ..read more

My frenetic writing pace has slowed, but it hasn’t stopped. What have I been writing about? That is a good question. March Madness from Me Do you have Financial Phobias? I found this while spring cleaning this site. There are plenty of things to worry about when it comes to money. Effective Interest Rate of Service Charges a rewrite of an older post from about ten years ago. Why is anyone paying service fees on their banking? Don’t stand for that. Nineteen Years Ago, This Started. What is more interesting is that I have been writing three separate sites for the past 19 years. Check out my tec ..read more

A long time ago, Michael James discussed an interesting article by Colleen Jaconetti about Rebalaphobia, where Couch Potato investors are afraid to rebalance their portfolios (at the appointed time to balance it). I know I sometimes have anxiety about whether I should balance at the appointed time, but remember, you shouldn’t be worried about market timing, so just do it. I guess this could be viewed as Agoraphobia, where you are afraid to leave a “safe” place, or you feel helpless. You do realize there is a phobia about money, right? Chrematophobia, is the fear of money, that might be my ..read more

Bank Fees as Simple Interest What if banks had to tell you their service charges as an interest rate? Bank Fees are clearly displayed as a dollar value. As an example $15.00 for our Extra Special Banking Service. However, what if we do a little simple arithmetic? Michael James could do the more interesting compound interest version of this equation. Assume that you hold a balance of about $500 in your chequing account over a year and that you receive no interest on your balance. You do, however, get charged $12.95 a month for the Extra Special Banking Service offered by Leech Banks. No Bank Fe ..read more

I have been writing here for more than 19 years now. Why? I am still not sure. Cathartic wailing? I hope to help a few folks. My hobby? I am not that sure, but some of that and many other things as well—time to reflect on these past 19 years. To begin with, I thought I’d make money doing this. I didn’t. Thought I’d gain a level of fame? I didn’t. What I did was make some good friends and acquaintances. I hope I helped a few folks, and I know I learned a lot. I have been reworking and rewriting many of my older works, mostly to read what I wrote early on. My opinions were a little over the top ..read more