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just go into your bank account and set up a bill like you would for hydro or bell...and choose CRA installments ....and then each month pay towards it ....i have a spiral notebook andi wirte all my payments down and the day i paid them so come tax time i know exactly how much ive already paid
I have short term and long term disability insurance, also life insurance and a drug plan - all rolled into one monthly payment. This is because in Que., the subsidized home daycares are unionized. We actually had a vote (5 years too late IMO,) on whether we wanted to keep this insurance. Won't know for a month or so if we will.Quote:
Originally Posted by MommaL
I have the most basic plan that is available - for a single person with no kids. If I was married and/or with kids, it would be way more expensive. And for me it's $150/month.
Have moved my inlaws into a seniors home this past weekend A huge eye opener to me after researching various homes of how much money is needed down the road to live in a half decent place with good caregivers. And people living longer. My inlaws both have good pensions but makes me realize that not having a pension or being able to contribute to RRSP is a huge deficit for us who can't. I told my kids ill be living with them (I'd never do that to them) my son says he can't wait to boss me into cleaning my room when I'm under his roof... Seriously though, it really hits home when you have to start looking into how to care for parents and realizing you're next even if it's still far away.
I just spent the last 8 months as a full time student with no income and living off of my husbands wage only. He works 55-60 hours a week on average and earns a good income. That being said, we struggled, a lot! Kids are getting more expensive as they get older and home maintenance is a big drainer. It was a huge eye opener for me, hence why I've started daycare again and will be continuing my degree online and in the evenings for the time being. There was also an unexpected death in the family in November and we had to foot the bill to fly my husbands mum over from Portugal as she has no money. This sucked up our emergency fund in it's entirety when all was said and done, and was a great example of how life can just change in a second.
We have life insurance....most people are under insured, we are well covered with private term life policies and my husband has good life insurance through work which includes spouse and dependants. Costs less than $100 a month. We had mortgage and long term disability insurance a few years ago and after reading the policy in great detail, realized it was a massive con. We now use that premium money by adding it to our mutual funds. My husband has a great RRSP and DRSP plan through work. He pays 4% and his company pay 6% which was initially a hard deduction to manage as it could have been used day to day, but we have gotten used to it and it will pay off a lot in the future. I don't pay EI. I came to Canada in 2005 and didn't get landed status until 2012 so wouldn't have been entitled to claim anything had I paid. My husband being employed had to pay and wasn't able to opt out although he wasn't entitled to claim EI during that time period. Seems like EI really doesn't pay much either and I'd be better off just putting a bit away each month if I'm able to.
Going to school made us adjust the way we spend, eliminate unnecessary things, even if we were convinced we needed them and we really cut back. Lots of research resulted in cheaper television and internet options, cheap bulk meat purchasing ($2.41 for 1lb of ground turkey), free or almost free entertainment options that could include the kids. I even traded hair services for wine lol I trained as a hairdresser straight out of school. Now it is our goal this next year or two to figure out how to be able to live entirely on one wage, with enough money left over which is key, so I can go back to school on campus, or in case something should happen. I should also mention that I am paying for me degree entirely out of pocket which is a huge burden on the family.....many times I saw that idea as unnecessary but my family pushed me to go for it as I have put it off for years.
Monthly payments to CRA should be something I do to cover the following years tax bill but unfortunately I am still paying off the last.
I don't know how I missed this discussion before, but I'm here now. Lol
This is the first year since starting daycare that I've contributed to my rrsp. I'm happy I did, because now I know how great it is in Manitoba. I made my contribution at the end of February, and the province has already put money back in my back account, 50% of what I put it. :)
I have life insurance and critical illness, but no disability. And I don't ever take the insurance a bank wants to put on your mortgage. That's the biggest scam, in my opinion. I'm so happy someone gave me that advice when I bought my first house.
I have an automatic withdrawal every 2 weeks into an online bank, to cover large expenses. I should increase that amount, because I would like to start saving for things like home renos, etc.
I save one childs fees to cover tax/ cpp and pay it in a lump sum.
I think we all need to contribute something to an rrsp/tfsa/savings account for retirement. The maximum payouts from cpp/oas are really pitiful. The "basic" level of care in a nursing home is not always the nicest and waiting lists for even the least desirable places are ridiculous ( 12 months+) in Ontario.
I think many people are very unprepared for retirement or even "if sh#t hits the fan". Starting now with little bits will help.
I also agree with Brights parks about life insurance. Term policies can be very affordable and in my opinion are essential.
Agreed! I learned this when a family friend who had insurance on his mortgage became sick. He was basically told that he wasn't sick enough. He appealed the decision, but was declined again. He hired a lawyer, but ended passing away before anything could be resolved. Such a sad situation. One definitely has to read all the fine print.Quote:
Originally Posted by superfun
I feel really bad that so many people trust their bank, and that insurance. They'll never find out that they aren't properly covered, until something like that happens to them or someone close to them. And by then, it's basically the worst time in the world to find out you don't have the right insurance.
That is so sad Mommal- the banks always find a reason not to pay, for anyone who has a mortgage insurance with their bank just know that you can cancel it at anytime just by calling them as it is a waste of money that can go towards something elseQuote:
Originally Posted by MommaL
Last year was my first year and after all was said and done, claimed a loss for tax time (we bought a huge house with a huge mortgage to do the Dayhome). But, with this said, there are some predictable costs. We have mortgage insurance - that's our life insurance as my husband is often in between jobs and going to school. If either of us die, the mortgage is paid. You can also add disability to that (haven't done it yet but I will). We won't keep the mortgage insurance forever - there's a point where the mortgage becomes smaller - at that point we'll put that $50/month into savings or another plan - this insurance isn't through our bank.
Insurance for my Dayhome is $600/year. I can't use my homeowners insurance because it's a business.
RRSPs pay back so little these days, if we have extra money we put it against our mortgage or in the kids' RESPs.
Smart idea if you have 5-6 kids to put one kid's fees in a tax account. Those of us running with 3 or less aren't turning much of a profit to pay taxes at all (if you write off all that you are entitled to).