Canadian Budget Binder

 

It’s almost soothing to hear the month “March” come out of my mouth because that only means we are one step closer to the snow taking a hike and the flowers blooming. All my fans know I have a thing for gardening, beer and tanning so the anticipation builds. The snow is what I’ve come to endure in Canada although I don’t mind the crisp air and the beautiful landscapes. In fact it gives me some time off from the yard work to focus on other areas of my life and to brag to my family back home about how much snow we have. We used to dream when we were younger that the snow would fall so we could go out to play in it. Now I dream that it doesn’t fall so much as I have to go out and shovel it like a maniac similar to the past few days. On the flip side I’ve worked hard on my gardening skills behind the scenes which I will talk more about in the upcoming week. I’ve also got a contribution post that I wrote for my mates who run an informative blog at Newlyweds on a Budget, “Food Shopping On A Budget” that I think you should all check out.

BC Pooled Pension Plan

I don’t know if you read anything but it was interesting to learn from the Canadian Press that the B.C government has brought a “Pooled Pension Plans” to the table for 2 thirds of the people with no plans. This was announced just yesterday by Finance Minister Mike De Jong and I’m guessing it’s a good thing for the people who don’t have a works pension plan especially those that are self-employed. I suppose it’s one of the downfalls of being self-employed as you don’t get the perks of a pension plan at work like others might. Looking out for yourself becomes even more challenging. I’m still learning plenty about Canada and like anywhere else everyone has their own opinion on what the good, bad and the ugly is when it comes to investing in our future.

Something I’ve always thought, even in my early years is that we can’t rely on what the government is going to give us when we retire and believe that it’s going to be enough. Sometimes I think we are in the dark and turning a blind eye to the message the government is sending and that is we better get prepared for our retirement because no one else is going to look after us. At least that’s the message I’m hearing, I don’t know about anyone else.

In the UK I also have a pension that has being growing year after year which I participated in where my employer matched up to 11% of what I contributed. Although I did contribute from the time I was allowed I’m happy I did because it’s something that I can look back on and say, it was a smart move, at least for me. I remember my mates who did not contribute to the plan because they said they couldn’t afford it, yet they would be the first ones down to the pub as soon as pay-day came around. I guess it all boils down to priorities and what people value in the present and if they even care or want to care about the future. There’s nothing wrong with a little balance and beer as along as all my bases are covered. Just to show how frugal I am, wouldn’t you know my acquired taste for Canadian Beer tops the Dirty Dozen Cheap Beers In Canada and fits nicely with my allowance.

The last thing I want to see happen is I get to the point where we retire and find out we didn’t invest enough even if only in a Tax Free Savings Account to weather the storm we may be in for. I sure as heck don’t want to get near the end of my journey to find the pot empty at the end of the rainbow. Apparently with this pooled pension plan the employers don’t have to participate with a plan to match employees, all they would have to do is set it up. They say the plan is managed by outside licensed financial institutions and for those that have no other options such as the defined benefit plans or a defined contribution pension plan it may be something to look into. I have a pension at my place of employment but the reality is that I’m new to Canada so I have to step it up a notch when it comes to making sure I’m saving enough for when the day comes I want to pack it in. It would be nice to have some sort of passive income coming in like my parents who have homes paid for and rented and the money is just their “spending money” although they travel quite often. Even though I don’t know if early retirement will be in the cards for me what I do know is that I’m going to make sure I plan now when I’m young instead of hoping and praying that I’ll make it through.

Questions:

What do you think of the new BC Pooled Pension Plan Act?

Should all the provinces adopt this act?

TOP BLOG POSTS WEEKLY READING LIST

If I hang out at your blog and you missed me this week I really didn’t get a chance to read much as I’ve been busy on the home front and at work. I’ve slain the dragon in my email because I simply have so many blogs I follow now but only a handful, ok a bag full that I actually enjoy reading each week. I know my fans look forward to this reading list each week so I’m going to narrow it to the top 15 best blog posts (OK 16 but it’s a really good read) -Mr.CBB

• 13 Ways To Save Money In 2013 which shows an infographic with numbers and many ways we here at CBB talk about money-saving tips- Mo Money Mo Houses (I’m also jealous of her recent trip to Thailand, I’ve been and would love to go back. She Blogged about it and her costs with some phenomenal photos.)
• Getting To Know The Person “Catherine” at Plunged In Debt who has contributed to CBB in the past shares the inside scoop about who she is. She also encouraged me to do the same… I’ll think about it. OR “If I get 1 million Facebook Likes, I’ll do it” ha!
• Are Bad Genes ruining your Budget? They are for my lovely mate Lauren at LBeeandtheMoneyTree, comical and quirky, that’s my friend, go check her out, she’s a hoot.
• I Hate Coupons says Mandy at Money Master Mom, but does she really? Find out what Mandy is going on about and have your say.
• A Study On Why You Will Overspend This Season at Modest Money opened my eyes to a perspective I never quite thought about but is very true. I’m sure you will relate.
• So you want to be self-employed, well have a read what John says at Frugal Rules about Why he hates being Self-Employed as it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
• Tonya at Budget on The Beach really struck home with this post Longing For The Simple Times because I wish I could go back to the days where life was easy, no worries, just simplicity. We’ve come a long way but sometimes the convenience of life really makes things difficult.
• Pauline at Reach Financial Independence shares her inner secrets about saving money but not necessarily time and asks what you have done to do the same. Sometimes we give up that time to save a buck and it might be worth it to you, like it is Pauline.
• Emily at One Smart Dollar talks about the rise of the 15 year mortgage and wants to know how many people are thinking about switching.
• Adam at Money BullDog UK wants to know if people that are self-employed less credit worthy than those that are employed. It can be a struggle for those that are self-employed to get ahead, read what he has to say.
• One thing I had to do when I moved to Canada was detach from my stuff and Tony at You Only Do This Once elaborates more on this subject and how you too can say goodbye to “stuff” you no longer need.
• If you struggle to see the big picture take baby steps and accomplish your goals by doing the small stuff says CF at The Outlier Model. Don’t get overwhelmed with life, just take control of it little by little.
• Andrew of She Thinks I’m Cheap shares the opposite of what I did and he moves from Toronto to London UK and shares his story about what life is like in his post From Toronto To London: Relocating Overseas and Re-entering the Workforce Part I- Good Luck Mates!
• One thing I wish I learned more about in High School was budgets and our friend Jacob at IHeartBudgets shares a challenging budget excersice for a High School class.
• Michelle at Making Sense of Cents does what we do here at CBB and shares fan stories about debt and success. One fan share their story about getting out of debt with a plan.
• Planting Our Pennies talks about Pain and puts it into perspective… and stumpy really is an inspiration, a must read.

 

Recipes:

• I know you will love this! My mate at The Frugal Farmer does a series of before and after photos of what she does with her meal. This one for example is a post about what she does before and after with a Chuck Roast, check it out. 
• Jason at Work Save Live posted a recipe to these amazing Lasagna Roll-ups which we can’t wait to try. Have a peak for yourself, they look like something I’d put on my dinner table, how about you?
• The Savvy Scot gets on the apron and heads to the kitchen to make these amazing moist chocolate cupcakes. I’ll be testing out this recipe myself.
• My mate Aunt B on A Budget Shares her honey mustard salad dressing something I need to try out because I’m so passionate about limes, ginger and garlic that I need to move forward with my tastes. We make our dressings because they are easy and far cheaper to make at home and I’m sure Aunt B will agree.
• My good mate Karen at Lil Suburban Homestead is cranking out the tummy filling food with her Roast Chicken in a Dutch Oven with Dumplings. Two meals for the price of one, check it out! Photos are lick me, smell me, give me the fork type, you know what I mean.

Thanks to everyone who shared or re-tweeted Canadian Budget Binder posts this week on Twitter!

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