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That’s how Apple Pay works, your phone gives a temp number to the point of sale. Dunno if it helps you so maybe that’s just a fun fact.
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Oct 23, 2017 03:06
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 08:02 |
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I have a question that has bothered me for years, and this seems like the right thread. What the gently caress is Interac? I’ve read the Wikipedia page and I understand that it’s approximately synonymous with "debit card". But I have never in my life said or heard somebody say "we take Interac" or "will that be cash, credit, or Interac" or "I’ll pay using Interac". Why is there an entity called "Interac" that runs advertisements and prints stickers and apparently competes with... somebody? Other payment methods? Payment methods that are also provided by the same banks who provide your debit card? Is it like "concerned children’s advertisers" or the egg consortium or whatever weird trade group that nobody directly interacts with but nonetheless has a marketing budget to make its presence known for some reason? How is this a thing that exists in any publicly perceptible way beyond "your debit card lets you buy things at places"? Please let the answer be "bizarre, inferior Canadian oligopoly".
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Oct 23, 2017 03:25
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Ah ok. So Interac "won" as the debit card network in Canada (was this a tough battle?), so much so that it’s not really meaningful as a name until you get outside Canada, at which point nobody knows wtf you’re talking about. So why do they run ads and otherwise draw attention to themselves? Canadian banks trying to excise Visa's cut of transactions?
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Oct 23, 2017 04:02
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unknown posted:No, they were in place well ahead of visa. And merchants love it since it's flat rate (10-25c iirc). But when I pay with a credit card it doesn’t go over Interac? Or did Visa etc. show up with a competing debit network too but get nowhere? Is this related to "Visa Debit"? Sorry if this is off topic, it’s ok to tell me to take it elsewhere. I find this interesting but maybe I’m alone.
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Oct 23, 2017 04:20
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Ok it’s starting to click, thanks. I’m still curious about the marketing, like the "pay using Interac by tapping this capacitive touch screen with your bear claw somehow" ad going around. I find it baffling and wonder what the hell my takeaway is supposed to be. Is it just "please use debit instead of credit" or is there more to it?
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Oct 23, 2017 04:38
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It’s easy to get hung up on trying to make the “optimal” choice when it comes to fees. But don’t worry about it too much. All of the options you presented pass the test of “not eye-gougingly awful fees”. Choose one, get started, then see how you feel in a year.
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Oct 25, 2017 14:26
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Guest2553 posted:e. Crosspost from early retirement thread, but there's a kick-rear end link here about draw down and allocation strategies in retirement. It's geared towards the FIRE crowd and there are a couple things that don't apply to Canada (ie, mortgage interest deduction) but a lot of the ideas there are applicable to any retiree to help you buy all the avocado toast you want. This is very cool, thanks for sharing.
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Oct 26, 2017 03:18
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Baronjutter posted:So the reason I started my TD e-series stuff was that people like manulife charge 2-3% fees for everything, which I calculated would end up costing me about 100k by the time I "retired". How's Wealthsimple for fees? Obviously I don’t know you at all (beyond seeing your posts) so please feel free to tell me to get hosed if I’m way off base here; I promise I mean well. Is there any chance that you’re hitting some kind of mental milestone (2 years invested, some round number of dollars across your investment accounts, etc.) and thinking you need to "level up" or "do more" or "look for the next step"? If so, it might be worth considering whether your current setup is actually humming along just fine and will continue to do so indefinitely. I’m worried that maybe you’re itching to shake things up in a game that’s won by sitting tight for a few decades.
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Oct 26, 2017 04:19
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Ah yeah I’m with you, gotta start running the spreadsheets if you want your internal rate of return and all that.Baronjutter posted:What isnt humming along fine is manulife taking 3%+, that can get hosed. Amen to that.
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Oct 26, 2017 04:45
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Save on commission with less frequent trades?
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Oct 29, 2017 20:29
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One approach is to run whatever amount you’re investing through a calculator like this one (I think I’ve linked it before), which answers the question "I want to invest $X into my portfolio right now, how many shares of each security should I buy so I move closer to my target allocation?" I lop off part of my paycheque each month, feed it to that calculator, then buy what it tells me. I’ll still check my positions once a year in case things are out of whack and I need to buy and sell to rebalance, but it makes me happier to always be rebalancing with my monthly buys. Maybe it’ll stop you from sitting on cash you mean to invest!
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Oct 29, 2017 21:36
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DariusLikewise posted:Fido card looks interesting, they still charge 2.5% exchange but the 4% cashback puts you ahead There’s also the Rogers card which charges 1.5% on exchange but still has 4% back. That one has an annual fee after the first year though unless you pay your Rogers bill with it.
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Jan 19, 2018 19:09
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Guest2553 posted:2FA from major banks would also be nice but digital security is generally seen as a ball wash wherever you are so Tangerine shows me a picture when I log in so they’ve got it under control.
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Jan 21, 2018 02:37
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Excelsiortothemax posted:Dear stocks, stop going down. Are you retired?
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Feb 2, 2018 23:56
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Chillyrabbit posted:I mean I would like it if the historical data shows that it at least matched my tangerine fund. Basically that it grows a decent amount. There’s no rush. Wait a year to see if it matches your other fund, then take the plunge if it looks good.
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Feb 3, 2018 00:14
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Subjunctive posted:I don’t think I could look at a year or two’s performance and decide if a fund was going to be successful, especially coming off this ridiculous bull run, but I am not a very sophisticated investor. I was thinking along the lines of: These new Vanguard funds claim to put X% in index A, Y% in index B, etc. I’m interested but I’ll wait a year or two to make sure the fund tracks the indices it claims. If it seems like the fund is working as advertised and I trust the fund provider not to bail on me, I’m in. I’m not sure what the failure case is for Vanguard Canada funds. Seems like they can be run pretty cheaply so you don’t need a massive amount of funds under management, but what do I know.
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Feb 3, 2018 00:46
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"RRSP season" is such a goofy marketing scheme.
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Feb 6, 2018 00:23
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Fair, I wasn’t saying you specifically are Doing It Wrong. More a general whine.
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Feb 6, 2018 02:09
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PhilippAchtel posted:What's the difference between a fund that tracks an index and an etf that tracks that same index? I believe an ETF (can be) set up to run more cheaply than an equivalent mutual fund? But I don’t imagine that explains that wide a gap. Can’t think of any other differences that might explain the different expense ratios.
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Feb 23, 2018 20:52
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PhilippAchtel posted:How is Questrade able to sell ETFs at no cost? Is it like rewards credit cards where, if you are careful, your limited use of the service is being subsidized by other users? The actual cost to a discount broker like Questrade to maintain your account is practically nil. Lots of the account management is automated. They have a trading platform built already so adding a couple more accounts to it is no big deal. Then, as mentioned, they charge commission when you sell ETFs (all of $10 per trade). You can run things cheap when you’re not paying for so many bodies to sit behind desks. quote:Yeah, this is basically what I was getting at. "I read some articles online, and consulted with some forums posters, and now I'd like to move half our retirement savings from the mutual funds you know and bank guy you're comfortable with into something akin to stocks. Also, did I mention I want to use a website you've never heard of?" It's a hard sell. Totally fair. You could move a little at a time, make yourselves comfortable, convince yourselves it’s working at least as well as your old approach. Do it in your TFSA maybe, so it’s easy to pull out if you aren’t happy. Lots of places (including Questrade) will cover some of your transfer fees if you do decide to switch all the way over. I will say it takes some time and effort to transfer to another brokerage (think a half day's time spread over a month). Run some numbers, maybe that’s worth the extra gains/savings, maybe it’s not. Also run how much it will cost y'all over your lifetime just to stay with your bank advisor. Read the books from IfYouCan.pdf if that’s your thing. I don’t know if Baronjutter still hangs around but I remember they were in a similar spot: eager (or at least willing) to take the self-directed plunge, spouse wanted to stay with their bank advisor. You can maybe search their posts in the thread? Or poo poo just read the whole thread over the course of a month or two, there’s no rush. Finally, you’re better off staying invested (if at a higher fee) than withdrawing everything. So if either of you are so squeamish about switching that you’re at risk of bailing entirely, this random Forums poster gives you permission to stay put.
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Feb 24, 2018 05:27
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Speaking of Questrade I just finished transferring in an account and they reimbursed me more than the transfer fee. So my handful of hours learning up on transfers and shepherding it along earned me $15.
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Feb 24, 2018 05:30
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James Baud posted:Stop saying two years, you're not looking at Canadian stuff. Yeah this.
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Feb 28, 2018 04:43
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Wirth1000 posted:Is it me or does Tangerine not do instant bill payments now? Before I'd select 'Now' and then hit pay and it woulda instantly deduct. Now it ... schedules it every time. It just got scheduled to midnight tonight. Is this a bug or working as intended? I think I paid a bill March 1 that went through right away. Used the iPad app if that matters.
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Mar 13, 2018 03:07
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Baronjutter posted:Are the TD e-series still ok? Yep!
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Mar 24, 2018 13:08
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Plenty of time for that shoe to drop.
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Mar 28, 2018 00:15
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Questrade has trial accounts, does that help? I think they expire after 30 days but you could probably ask them to extend that if you need.
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May 10, 2018 20:29
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Killingyouguy! posted:I don't have a ton of money right now (just finished university, looking for a job), but I was under the impression that ones emergency fund should go in a savings account rather than an investment so it can't decrease (aside from inflation, which Alterna's high interest savings accounts would help buffer a little)? Wouldn't I want my emergency fund in a tax-free account so I don't get punished for being in an emergency situation? Exactly right, generally you want your emergency fund to be easily accessible and away from risk, which means (high-interest) savings account. If you aren’t currently using your TFSA (or you have enough room) and have no plans to use your TFSA room for the rest of the year, you could save yourself a few dollars on taxes by putting your emergency fund in there. (Do the math for your situation but we’re probably talking, like, tens of dollars.) Just remember that you don’t get the TFSA room back until January 1. If you start investing some savings in the future, you can use your RRSP and your leftover TFSA room, then in December you can figure out whether it makes sense to keep your emergency fund in your TFSA for another year. (Personally my TFSA is stuffed with long-term investments and my emergency fund is sitting in an unregistered high-interest savings account.)
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May 13, 2018 23:26
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Killingyouguy! posted:So I actually already have a TFSA with my current bank, it's got a lovely mutual fund in it. (Don't quite understand how that works, but like I said, newbie) Does that complicate the process of getting one with Alterna at all? I know I should probably reinvest the money in the mutual fund. What part(s) do you feel you don’t quite understand? Most of this stuff is unnecessarily complicated but it’s worth having a good handle on it, and this thread is pretty patient and helpful. You have some dollar amount of TFSA room available to you as an individual. You can open and maintain as many TFSA accounts at as many institutions as you like. They will report any deposits and withdrawals to CRA, and you don’t want the aggregate deposits to exceed your available room or CRA starts taking penalties. Note that the institutions themselves won’t be able to tell you how much room you have or stop you from going over! This is because your current bank won’t know that you opened a new TFSA with Alterna so they can’t add up all your TFSA deposits across all your accounts. The plus side is that because they don’t need or want to know about other accounts, it’s very easy to open new ones. You can log in to the CRA website to find out how much TFSA room you have. If you don’t have a CRA login, consider getting one as it's quite helpful to have. You can also probably call them and ask, or you can add up what your TFSA room should be and then subtract the deposits you made at your current bank. If you’re comfortable posting the mutual fund you’re holding, I’m sure the thread would be happy to give advice about whether to hold it or dump it. Totally up to you. edit: I should add that there’s no rush here, you’ve got your emergency fund hanging out somewhere you can access it so you’re not gonna be screwed tomorrow. It’s ok to take some time, read some stuff, ask questions (no matter how stupid they may sound in your head), and figure it out slow. I mention this because when I started learning up on this stuff it felt like I was way behind, all those wasted years, etc. but that’s not a terribly useful approach. pokeyman fucked around with this message at 04:57 on May 14, 2018 |
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May 14, 2018 04:54
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NumbersMatching320 posted:I was just thinking about this the other day, when I did a 5-figure transfer that could have been done shockingly easily by someone other than myself. But hey, my 44 cent Steam card collection is protected by two factor authentication AND a waiting period that's email notified on both ends so there's that at least To be fair, the quality and quantity of griefing and other shenanigans that bored, idiot gamers will undertake would flummox any bank's IT security department within ten minutes. Hell hath no fury like a gamer scorned.
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Jun 2, 2018 10:49
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Bank loyalty is for chumps. If Tangerine ain’t getting the job done, abandon ship.
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Jun 16, 2018 02:16
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Methanar posted:my idiot parents bitch about how RRSPs double tax you Sounds like you have this covered but: you’re not double-taxed on RRSPs. I had no idea this was a thing people thought! Always learning new things in this thread. Also, Methanar, it might be less confusing to just pick one thread to ask for advice. Doesn’t matter which one.
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Jul 14, 2018 17:34
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Methanar posted:I still don't really get TFSAs. It’s confusing, but it’s worth understanding so don’t give up! quote:I have a business and all of the money I draw out of the corporation to my personal bank account is subject to personal income tax. Why would I pull 55k personally and put them into a TFSA and get taxed at the 55k income tax bracket when I could instead pay myself 50k and just hold that extra 5k in my corporate bank account in ETFs indefinitely. Then only draw 30k or whatever out of my corporate bank account later in life when my house is paid off and I'm retired and pay the 30k personal income tax bracket Because you can hold those same ETFs in a TFSA and pay no taxes ever on the gains. As in, you can open a TFSA at a brokerage. (I’m just restating what two other posters have told you, but you never know which restatement will click.)
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Jul 28, 2018 05:03
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Kal Torak posted:There are a few HISA out there paying >2%: Same site has a table of GICs too, in case anyone's curious and missed the link in the top nav.
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Aug 2, 2018 03:28
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Methanar posted:What do credit unions even do that are different from a bank. Nothing, they do the same things they’re just sometimes less assholish. quote:And are GICs ever worth it? Yes, they’re risk-free and can pay out more than a high-interest savings account, so they’re useful for stashing money for 1-5 years.
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Aug 8, 2018 03:16
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Post it here. Round off or change the numbers if you like. Someone will have reckons.
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Sep 5, 2018 03:53
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Or 
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Sep 8, 2018 21:07
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EKDS5k posted:So...where do I start? The OP is still pretty good; everything in it is still true. I’m not saying you have to follow in my footsteps, but here’s how I started: by reading this entire thread over the course of a year. Checked out a few books from the library when people recommended them. Then asked some questions that were answered by the fine people in this thread. You might feel like you need to get started now now now, but you're not in so big a rush. Really, it’ll work out fine if you take your time. quote:I assume it's more complicated than just picking a random bank and signing up online Honestly, when it comes down to implementing whatever strategy you choose, it shouldn’t end up much more complicated than that. But it can take some time, some reading, and some asking questions before being convinced of that. Took me some time anyway. edit: oh, and congrats on punching your ticket!
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Oct 29, 2018 12:52
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EKDS5k posted:Any other good recommendations? I followed the lil reading list known as If You Can and it felt beneficial.
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Nov 2, 2018 01:14
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You can also make a service request from your account page after logging in. I did it back in May. (It’s my first year with the card, so I can’t say from experience that it worked. But my service request got a reply a week later saying the statement credit for January 2019 was set up as requested.)
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Nov 15, 2018 23:06
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 08:02 |
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Some (a lot?) of things in Canada are just plain more expensive than comparable things in the USA, even after controlling for things like higher taxes. (Hence the thread title.) If I recall correctly, this tends to remain true when the CAD-USD exchange rate is closer to par or even when it favours CAD, so I think there’s more to the story than simply importing a bunch of stuff from the USA. My hunch is that you’re probably coming out ahead living in Canada while getting paid in USD, at recent exchange rates, compared to living in the USA and getting paid in USD. Put another way, the You’re In Canada Now Extra Percentage is lower than the exchange rate. But I’m not even sure how to go about testing that hunch. Is this just something you’re curious about? Or are you seriously considering this as a reason to move/not move?
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Dec 2, 2018 06:16
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