All about Canadian Savings. Learn the ins and outs and get the latest news.
Latest News
Greek banks reopen with cash withdrawal limits + MORE Jul 21st
ATHENS, Greece – Greek banks are reopening Monday after a forced 3-week closure but restrictions on cash withdrawals will remain.
In a decree Saturday, the Greek government kept the daily cash withdrawal limit at 60 euros ($65) but added a weekly limit. For example, a depositor who doesn’t withd.... More »
Health-care workers Annie and Ben, 33, can afford a bigger house. But is now the time as they look to grow their family? + MORE May 1st
The couple has a combined annual income of $260,000, a modest mortgage, and is wondering how best to invest their savings..... More »
Enrollment surge likely under Clinton debt-free tuition plan, potentially boosting its cost + MORE Aug 11th
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton’s plan to make college more affordable and ease the burden of student debt could easily end up costing more than her proposed $350 billion.
Clinton’s plan essentially shifts more of the financial burden of college from students and their families.... More »
A quick and easy primer on capital gains tax + MORE Jan 11th
Q: Can I save capital gains tax by putting money into a TFSA?
Do I have to pay capital gains tax if I sell one investment to buy another investment?
—M
A: I have had a couple of questions lately about selling one investment and buying another to avoid capital gains tax, M. Given the end of the .... More »
How to juggle RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs and a mortgage + MORE Apr 6th
It’s funny how having a few kids can upend even the best laid financial plans. That’s precisely what Sammu and Mandy Dhaliwall are discovering as they deal with the competing challenges of raising children and still finding a way to pay off the mortgage and save for the future. It’s a juggling.... More »
WASHINGTON – The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee unveiled legislation Tuesday that would ease regulatory requirements on mid-size banks and give lenders the option for greater freedom from mortgage lending rules.The legislation by Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby would be the most ambitious rewrite of rules governing the financial services sector since Democrats passed the groundbreaking Dodd-Frank law when controlling Congress in 2010.The bill would lift the asset threshold for banks considered “too big to fail” from $50 billion to $500 billion, giving regulators flexibility to exempt them from tougher capital requirements and stricter oversight. It would also give mortgage lenders flexibility to avoid lending standards put in place after the 2008 financial crisis — so long as they hold onto riskier loans rather than selling them.The bill would also give lawmakers greater oversight powers over the Federal Reserve and force changes to the way it produces a key report on its monetary policy moves, while requiring it to be submitted to Congress each quarter instead of twice a year…
Do you know more about money than Americans?
– moneysense.ca
(Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images)The results of a new global financial literacy survey are in and they’re not pretty. It turns out that most Westerners are pretty clueless about money matters. Researchers used three basic questions to gauge financial literacy, and in the U.S. a measly 44% of those with college degrees got all three correct. The results were even worse for those with less education—and women generally fared worse then men. How would you compare? Canada wasn’t included in the survey, but you can take the test below to find out how you stack up.
1. Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2% per year. After 5 years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
2. Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year. After 1 year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same
c) Less than today
3…
Could Bigger Tax-free Savings Accounts Be An Antidote For Canada's ‘Overheated' Housing Market?
– walletpop.ca
Here’s a question for all those people against increasing contribution levels to tax-free savings accounts: What about all the people who never plan to own a home? Do they ever get a tax break?
Home ownership is a reality for about 70 per cent of Canadian households today and many of those people are sitting on a huge windfall that will never face a dime of tax because capital gains on principal residences are tax-free. Better yet, when those people do sell their house, none of the money will ever count against any means test for determining eligibility for programs like Old Age Security or the Guaranteed Income Supplement. — This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
New TFSA Contribution Rules: What You Need to Know
– ratesupermarket.ca
Tax-Free Savings Accounts – or TFSAs for short – have been in the news a lot lately. The Conservatives have recently announced in the federal budget the annual TFSA contribution limit increased to $10,000 from $5,500, effective immediately. That’s great news for all Canadian savers – but despite the fact that over 11 million of us have TFSAs, a lot of confusion lingers regarding their basic rules: a survey from Tangerine finds 31 per cent of Canadians with TFSAs are unaware they could carry over contribution room from the prior years. Meanwhile, just as many (31 per cent), are unaware they’re able to make TFSA contributions anytime during the year.
In fact, only half (56 per cent) of Canadians could name the new $10,000 contribution limit, while only 14 per cent knew the effective date of January 1, 2015.
What’s with all the TFSA Confusion?
TFSAs were introduced in 2009 as an easy, tax-free way to save money, and as a potential alternative to RRSPs. Originally, one could contribute up to $5,000 annually to their the TFSA…
