Financial planning starts with paying yourself regularly

I was working at my desk the other day with the radio on and my jaw almost hit my sewing machine. The interviewer was talking with a financial expert about RRSPs and Tax Free Savings Accounts. The shocker for me was that the TFSAs were introduced in 2009 but it seems like it was yesterday. With the maximum contribution per year at $5,000, your TFSA could be sitting at $15,000 right now. And that's without any financial gains in the interim. The expert quoted one of her clients who had chosen rather well with some stocks and had a current balance of $45,000 in his TFSA. No capital gains on that baby either.

That 3 minute radio interview got me looking pretty closely at my own financial planning and more specifically at my TFSA. Suffice to say it's a far cry from $15,000 but a more honest admission would be that I have put very little effort into taking advantage of the TFSAs. It's been months and months since I've made a contribution.

The thing about the TFSAs is you can hold anything in there. Cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, treasury bills, guaranteed investment certificates, you name it. And those investments will grow tax free. Your annual contribution is capped at $5,000 per year so you could open 5 TFSAs at 5 different banks and put $1,000 in each if you wanted but since this would limit your buying power, it doesn't seem like a smart idea.

The thing about saving money is that a lot is better than a little and a little is better than nothing. This last part I'd forgotten. I always have a little but somehow it wouldn't feel worthwhile to actually put that little away someplace separate. That's going to change starting this month.

So as a stranger in your computer and someone you can delete or shut down or Unlike, let me risk asking you some politically incorrect questions about your own financial savings:

• if you're in Canada, have you opened a Tax Free Savings Account for yourself? If not, I urge you to talk to your bank this week and tell them to get the forms ready for you. Tell them you want a trading account. Better to be set up at the beginning in case you want to purchase mutual funds or ishares down the road.
• do you invoice yourself each month? I don't but I'm going to start. It might only be $50 but as I say, a little is better than nothing and nothing is what I'm doing now. Billing yourself a certain amount each month is extremely effective. Yes it's another bill and yes you're going to pay it. It's not optional. Treat it like your phone bill or your internet. It has to be paid to keep you and everyone else in the house happy. 
• are your savings off limits? If you do have some egg money, do you view it truly as savings for your future or do you view it as funds you can access when there's an extra expense? Savings for yourself should be completely and entirely off limits to you and everyone else. No dipping. No withdrawing. When you're 70, you'll be grateful for your vigilence.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today. Maintaining financial independence as we age is surely what all of us desire and the smart ones among us likely started years ago. But the rest of us will start today.

Dorel car seat recall. Check the model number of your child's car seat.

Today on CBC radio they announced that Dorel Juvenile Group is voluntarily recalling approximately 800,000 child car seats. The harness strap at the base of the seat may not keep it's tension when your child is buckled in.

The seats in question were manufactured between May 1, 2008 and April 30, 2009.

If the name Dorel doesn't sound familiar, it didn't to me either. That's because they sell their seats under different brand names such as Cosco, Eddie Bauer, Safety 1st, Maxi-Cosi and Schwinn.

Here is the link to the CBC article: Dorel recalls 800,000 child car seats

and here is the link to the Dorel Juvenile Group's website: Dorel Juvenile Group Safety Notices

* You DO NOT return your car seat to the retailer.*

If you completed and mailed in the registration card when you purchased your car seat and your model is affected by the recall, you will be notified by mail. But if you didn't register your purchase, slip out to your car right now and write down the model number of your car seat. Then go to the Dorel website to see if your model has been effected. They have developed a fix so it's a matter of making sure that kit is sent to you as soon as possible. They have a link on their site so you can order your repair kit.

Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements. How much is too much?

If you stroll down the isle at the local drug store past all the vitamins, minerals and supplements for sale you'd think there were no nutrients at all in the foods we eat. And whether it's successful marketing on their part or guilt on our part, chances are good that some of those bottles are sitting on our breakfast tables right now. Not only that, but after consuming those pills we have florescent pee for the rest of the day as most of those vitamins pass right through our systems.

Recently I heard a commentary on the radio by a doctor who said that taking a multivitamin probably isn't necessary if you're someone who doesn't have an immuno-compromised condition. But if it makes you feel better (as in The Placebo Effect) then there's no harm in doing so.

Vitamins, minerals and supplements are not cheap, even when you buy them on sale. Chances are good there's between $60 and $80 worth of pills keeping you company each morning when you sit down for breakfast. Are all of them necessary? Are any of them there for the placebo effect only? Are you using any of them as a substitute for real food; "I had my multivitamin so I can eat this bag of chips"?

In the area of health and food, I'll never cut corners. But given the amount of vitamins that pass through my  system unabsorbed when I take these pills, I'm now looking at my collection of bottles with a critical eye.

What will stay?  

Vitamin D, 1000 IUs. Research that was out last year indicated that we need to bump up our intake from previous levels of 250 IUs to maintain strong bones and teeth. And since some of us in these Canadian climes aren't getting that amount of vitamin D naturally from sunlight throughout the year, I'll keep my little white pills.

Glucosamine, 500mg, shellfish free. When I was running 100+km/wk a friend of mine suggested glucosamine to help maintain the integrity of my joints. Even when I was doing higher mileage for extended periods of time, I remained injury free. I can't attribute that definitively to the glucosamine but it's got such a great reputation with the arthritis crowd that I'm hedging my bets it will help me maintain healthy joints as I age.

Calcium Carbonate, 500mg.This will remain for a couple of reasons: osteoporosis is a nasty disease and whatever steps we can take to prevent it's arrival, so much the better. Even if the calcium from this pill is only partially absorbed, a little is better than nothing. Second reason; sources of calcium that I enjoyed so much in the past (yogurt, cheese, ice cream, frozen yogurt) have become migraine triggers so it's much more difficult for me to obtain a good amount of calcium naturally.

What will go?

Multivitamin. I'm not immuno-compromised and I will admit I sometimes use the multivitamin as a crutch. Ok, I'll say it. I don't always eat properly.

B100 Complex Time Release. This was an expensive bottle of pills that I bought as a trial to see if it would make a difference in my energy levels. We don't eat a lot of meat so it makes sense that we could be low in our vitamin B department. But time is up with this time release product because for me personally, it's had no effect.

Our bodies were designed to absorb what they need from the food that we eat. Lest we forget our primary source of vitamins and minerals, I'm opting to spend less time starting at the bottles in the drug store and more time staring at the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. And rather than researching the amounts of nutrients in 3 different types of lettuce, I'll keep to the rule that keeps it simple for all of us:

Eat foods of different colour.

How about giving a gift of safety this Valentine's Day?

It's true that the chocolate and flower industries have the corner on Valentine's Day but this Monday how about giving a zero calorie, long lasting gift of safety instead?

No generation gap

Sound unromantic?

I suppose it does. But don't blame me for suggesting it, I'm just applying to Valentine's Day what I see in my business all year long. Need proof? Well, I have a ton of grandparents buying my Child Harness for them to use with their grandchild. Or they have me send the harness directly to the child's parents because they know their little grandkid is tearing up the streets and wearing down Mom and Dad. Then there's all the case workers who pay for a Child-to-Adult Harness for a child with special needs. This gift of safety is inevitably a life-changer for the whole family.

I can attest to the fact that there is a lot of giving going on all the time, not just on Valentine's Day. So if you're wondering what to do on the 14th, ask yourself this: how badly can you screw up if you give a gift that won't cause a complexion disaster, wide hips, or hyperglycemia and might actually be used every day of the year to keep someone you love safe?

Now that's what I call a gift from the heart.

Waiting

It's exhausting.
Waiting for news.
Any news.
Good news or bad news, just tell us something.
Help us cope with waiting.

We worry while waiting.
Will everything be ok?
What about pain?
Will there be blood?

Blood. We hope there won't be any. That would be wonderful. No blood and manageable pain. Dare we hope for such perfect conditions.

Time has stopped. Can that be possible? The clock says No. But there's no news. Nothing different, nothing that we haven't heard before. So time must have stopped. Wait until tomorrow to hear news. But I want good news now. I want news that everything has turned out fine. That everyone is ok. That there's been no blood. That it's been a great start to a new beginning.

But we haven't heard that yet.

And so we wait.

For the birth of democracy in Egypt.

Don't let bank fees drain your account

When I was in graduate school, one of our profs told us "The banks have no incentive to be efficient. As long as they can pass their expenses on to the customer in terms of fees, there is no need for them to change their practices."

Graduate school was more than a few years ago for me but this adage still seems true. Yesterday I received a pamphlet in the mail outlining the new fees associated with different accounts at my bank. My chequing account will be effected and as of April 1, there will be a $2 fee for keeping a bank book and a minimum balance of $1500 must be in the account to waive the transaction fees ($0.65 each).

You gotta love the banks. It's amazing I managed to read these tiny changes listed in their little pamphlet, written in a font of 2 with black ink on a grey background. A magnifying glass should have been included in the envelope.

I've ALWAYS avoided paying bank fees. They make enough off my money through their investments, I begrudge giving them more if I can help it. Other than purchasing my cheques, I always maintain the minimum balance required in my chequing account to avoid transaction fees. The minimum balance used to be $1000 so I'd always treat this as my $0. I'd maintain a float of whatever I needed above the $1000 to cover my monthly expenses. Transaction fees can add up! At $0.65 each and an average of 8 transactions per month, that's over $60 a year you can save just by keeping a float above their minimum balance. And don't fall below that minimum balance. If you go below by 1 penny for 30 seconds any time during the month, you'll be charged a fee for every transaction executed that month. 

I also go paperless. Doing good for the environment is incentive enough so sign onto your bank account and look under account settings to switch to paperless if you haven't already. It will stop the flood of monthly statements that you put directly into recycling anyway. And it will avoid any charges the bank may inflict for having a bank book. What's $2 you say? Well, if you saw $2 on the sidewalk, would you pick it up? So I guess it's worth saving then.

If you haven't done so already, have a look at your bank statements and see if you've been dinged any fees lately. How much have you paid in bank fees over the past 6 months? Add them up. Is there something else you'd have rather done with that money or does paying it to your bank give you a warm and fuzzy feeling?

With a little planning on your part you can keep a bit more of your money in your bank account where it belongs. I'm sure the banks will increase their fees to compensate. 

March Break and travelling with a 4 - 5 year old. Is it worth buying a harness for 'one' trip?

So you're headed out of town for March Break. You're all excited about getting away and you're making your lists and organizing your stuff for yourself and your kids and you've laid it all out on the livingroom rug.

Uh oh. How much of this can be crammed into regular checked baggage and how much is going to be additional baggage at a cost of $20 or more per bag each way? Do the airlines really need more of your money on top of your airfare and airport tax and whatever other taxes and expenses that balloon their "seat sale" from $299 to $600?

To take the stroller or To not take the stroller. That is the question. 

Your 4 to 5 year old has been walking all over the place with you for some time now and it seems like those days of hauling the stroller in and out of the car are over. But at the airport or just because you're leaving the country or just because you're going someplace you've never been before, maybe dusting off the stroller and taking it with you would be a good idea. You can strap in your independent one and keep a close eye on them. But the stroller is awfully bulky and maybe the times it will be used the most is at each end of your trip.

Now I must confess that I loved my stroller. It carried everything we needed for our outings and sometimes it even carried a child. It was an essential piece of equipment for us and I never stepped outside the house unless I had the stroller, drinks, snacks and their harnesses. If this sounds like you, then it's a No Brainer. The stroller is the first thing that's packed for your trip.

But if that's not you and you haven't used your stroller for a while, maybe you can get by without it. Hm. Ok, if leaving it behind is an appealing idea, how will I keep track of my kid?

Well funny you should ask. How about one of my Child-to-Adult Harnesses? It's not such a bad idea if you think about it. My harness bundles into a small pouch that is very easy to toss into a purse or day pack. The lead is detachable so your child can wear the body part of the harness all the time. When crowds come along, attach the lead to keep everyone together. And unlike paying more at the airport for additional baggage and having nothing to show for it at the end of your trip, you still have the harness. And chances are very good you'll use it more than once.

But there is another factor in the argument to consider using one of my harnesses that is far more important than any sales pitch I can throw. The feelings of your child. It can be a little overwhelming for them dealing with crowds at the airport or shopping in an open market in another country. Wearing a harness in those strange places will give them a sense of safety and security having that physical connection to Mommy or Daddy.

My own boys continued to ask to wear their harnesses long after they were needed. For them it was their comfort level, their sense of security and safety knowing that I was holding their leads.

For them, it was like holding my hand.