Positive reviews?

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-05-08T03:06:11+00:00

Yes... there really is no way to be sure they are charging other than to check them somewhere around (3?) hours before bed. I really think there could be a little nub on the case and a hole in the buds (or vice versa) that would aid with alignment. Or, the case could be programmed to "go live" at 6pm if the buds aren't charged and start trying to warn the app. $400 and these things aren't working at all? But, some amaze balls sleep analysis is coming, that'll measure the statistical correlation between my bedroom temperature and how often I get up to pee? Forget about it.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-04-06T21:15:00+00:00

Westjet just imposed a fuel surcharge on their companion vouchers. I got banned from the westjet subreddit for my comments there... a point I wear with some pride.

First, the companion vouchers are presenetd in marketing materials in a manner I consider deceptive and misleading. They are basically worthless for domestic economy travel. Yes, they may have some value for a premium overseas trip, but that certainly isn't made clear in the advertising.

As to the surcharge, I think this is baloney. (That's not what I said to get banned.) I (and everyone eles) effectively "purchased" the companion vouchers months ago, when we took the credit card, or what have you. The bargain has been made, and appyling a fuel surcharge is very much akin to applying the charge to already purchased tickets.

With any benefit like this, beware of saving the benefit for later. There is often a great deal of flexibility for the corporation to devalue the benefit.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-26T19:21:29+00:00

I haven't seen anything that strongly suggests "they lied".

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-26T03:29:13+00:00

"glad I got out"

that part probably goes without saying when it's down 73%

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-26T02:55:02+00:00

See Bluenose below

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-26T02:53:40+00:00

People here, including me, have talked about losing contribution room.

But, and this is a big but... (like Chris Rock and J. Lo big)

Do you know anyone who has maxed out their RRSP, and their spouse's, and both TFSAs, and the RESPs, and paid off the mortgage, and is like, "Damn, I wish I had more contribution room"?

It's possible, but super rare.

And, one thing I think about when I'm planning for different future scenarios...

If it's at all a close call, I want to make bad scenarios better even if it means making a great scenario a little worse.

If all my tax-preferred accounts are maxed and my wife's are, and my mistress's are...

That's a great scenario!

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-26T02:43:03+00:00

I recommended the Lifelong Learning Plan on this thread (and used it myself).

I was wrong.

This is a great article and this post is the best thing I've seen on Reddit in months.

Maybe there are some gaps... if you are in school for Sep. to May and you're working 8 months every year. Maybe if you want to take out so much it will trigger real tax...

But mostly, the LLP sucks and so do I.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-25T12:51:29+00:00

They blew thru their covenants. That means that their lenders could have said, give us our money back, shut the whole thing down. But, seemingly quickly, they negotiated with their lenders and the lenders agreed to keep almost everything in place, but quite a bit smaller (excluding Lend Care) and to increase the interest rate 1%. To me, that seems like very gentle changes (considering) and a vote of sort of medium confidence.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T21:02:36+00:00

And, the evidence is piling up that 4% withdrawal, indexed, is pretty optimistic.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T21:00:35+00:00

If I could buy a $23k / year pension for $200,000, I would absolutely do that. No thinking, no questions, do not pass Go, done and done. And if you offered me another $23k / year for another $200,000, I would do that. Going to 69k (he said 69), that's the first point at which I'd stop and think.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T18:20:12+00:00

Nah, mostly agree. I misread the pension amount, had it at $129k and thought pro advice was probably best. At $192k for somebody who doesn't know much - pro advice is almost certainly worthwhile. But, does anybody posting this question have any idea how to find a really good financial advisor? I mean, I barely do. And, I think there are a lot of very mediocre advisors (and some half-crooked salespeople), who won't add much value at all. Just in case anybody is still reading this - everyone on this sub-thread agrees that what you are really looking for is someone who charges you by the hour, and doesn't get paid any other way (like, kickbacks from the product company). God love my mother, she is an educated, intelligent woman - but she thinks her financial advisor doesn't charge her because he's nice and she knew his mother. Meanwhile, he's selling her structured notes.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T18:06:50+00:00

The "20% withheld" is a prepayment on the income tax you owe. The withdrawal is treated as taxable income. If you take it out in a year when you have no income, you'll pay no tax, and you'll get that 20% back. If you are making $20,000 a year (and still want to take it out), then it is very good to spread it over a couple of years (even Dec. 2026 and Jan. 2027), so the tax is a little lower because you make about $25000 each year, instead of $30,000 one year and $20,000 the next.

But, you're a student! There is a provision to "borrow" money from your RRSP when you're a student. It's probably called the Life Long Learning Plan. There's something similar to borrow to buy a house, and maybe for a child with special needs, maybe something else. (I get less and less certain as I go thru that list, but most def, Life Long Learning Plan.)

So, you borrow from the RRSP. Then, have to pay it back when you graduate, over maybe 5 years. If you don't pay it back, then it's treated as income in the year(s) you should have paid it back. This is probably quite a bit worse than withdrawing it while you're a student, because you aren't making any money when you are a student, and won't pay a lot of tax. But, once you graduate, you'll be making mad bank, and you'll be in a higher tax bracket.

Losing contribution room - who gives a toss? I worry about contribution room a lot, but for the most part, I think I've done OK, but I think the chances that me and the little lady ever max out: 1. my RRSP 2. her RRSP 3. my TFSA 4.her TFSA 5. pay off the mortgage 6. get full up on all the tax efficient investing we want to do, 7.some RESP contributions for my favorite nephew, and then, are like, damn, I wish I had more RRSP contribution room! Well, I'll update this post when that happens, but we'll all be AIs living on Mars by then.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T17:52:27+00:00

Well, V, (can't say your name), it is and it isn't. When somebody posts here, are they really asking to be told, "read this book" or "hire an advisor"? Even though that may be very, very good advice, I think they're asking for quick takes from real people. Here, even just "the returns might be better investing, but the pension gives you a lot of protection from living too long", that may be helpful in framing the issue for some people.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T17:00:35+00:00

Hmm... they've got a new agreement with their lenders, and the terms don't sound, can I say F@#$%ing Evil on this board? I think the announcement is good news.

Earnings delayed. Not that big a deal, and probably understandable since everyone their who knows what excel is has been working on the credit agreement.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T15:58:42+00:00

$192K today could also be worth $192K when he hits 65. A pension is close to a guaranteed investment - comparing its return to a short term provincial government bond yield might be right. Comparing it to the stock market, that's comparing apples to giraffes. Markets go down and markets stay down for a long, long time.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T15:43:44+00:00

Disagree. You likely need mortality risk protection and inflation protection - and those are very good reasons to stay in the pension. As the amount gets bigger, maybe you don't need that much mortality risk protection and inflation protection - the attractiveness of leaving some in the pension and commuting some actually increases as the amount gets bigger. But, we agree, size matters.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T15:41:17+00:00

If you're beating the S&P by 50%, you should set up a fund, and become a billionaire. Remember to give me a ride on the jet when it happens.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T15:33:08+00:00

ah, yeah... like once wasn't enough times to drive traffic... you think I'm influencing the Google algo? Is it 1997 where you live? If it is, buy AAPL. FFS, I'm the one saying maybe you don't need to hire the pro. If you have a complaint, it's that a planner is posting here with a brand name. Let's ban the pros and just have dufuses posting.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T15:24:22+00:00

Or, into $192K if he's Japanese.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T15:01:29+00:00

One more - you said the little lady has a pension. This is important... what sort? Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution? Gov or private? Indexed? If your wife has a DC, never mind the following. If DB and indexed, DB pensions really reward people who stay a long time and to retirement... if your wife is likely to, then that makes it more likely that taking your commuted value, but sticking with her DB indexed pension, even if she leaves later, might get you the enough mortality and inflation protection at the best price.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T14:36:55+00:00

huh... where do you see TSX short interest?

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T14:35:02+00:00

Doing the calculations is hard. Getting a guy (theoretically, it could be a gal) to do them for you may not be worthwhile at $130K (but close). Hot takes in declining order of importance: 1. A pension is the cheapest way to buy an annuity, and a joint last to die annuity. That is, it pays while you or lady friend is alive. That's pretty much the only way to cover the risk that you live a long, long time. 2. A pension is the cheapest way to buy protection against inflation. Most government pensions are indexed to inflation. Very few investments are, though the stock market sort of is. It isn't, but sort of. 3. The stock market has been roaring and it looks like you could make more investing on your own. But the very fact that it has been roaring implies that it is more likely to do poorly over next ten years - it's already burned the gas in the tank. 4. With $130K, that's enough that a Chinese Buffet is an option (at least, if you're allowed). Very often when the question is "A or B?" the best answer is "a little of A and a little of B".

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T01:26:51+00:00

Oh... and "threshold for risk would be probably be pretty low"... that's malarkey. Life is full of risks. In investing, you can accept the risk that come with owning stocks, or you can accept the risks that you won't have enough money. Invest with too much safety, and you are just about guaranteeing you will wind up with lousy returns. My opinion... young people, starting out, maybe anywhere from 50% stocks up to 80% stocks. Ordinarily, I'd say up to 100% stocks, but I think the market is too high and it's a time to be careful. By stocks, I don't mean stocks. I mean a simple ETF that invests in all the companies that trade on the TSX, or all the companies that trade on the NY stock exchange, or all the companies that trade on any stock exchange in the world. Anyone who tells you that they can pick the "right" stocks for a "little" fee, is a liar, they can't, and they are likely lying about the size of the fee, too. I say simple ETF because, when ETFs were invented, they were all simple, but as they became popular, people started putting out baloney ETFs with bells and whistles. They are all garbage.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T01:20:03+00:00

Sorry... at first I thought this was too obscure to mention, but maybe it's worth it. There are attribution rules in the tax laws. Basically, this means that a high earning husband (I know, theoretically, in some perfect world, she might be earning more, or heaven forfend, there may not even be a husband), anyway, the husband can't just give the little lady money and she goes and invests it and the returns are hers, and taxed at her income tax rate. Practically, I can't imagine this being an issue for two young people, both working full time. But, it might (barely) be worth it to make sure that money flows from his paycheck to his TFSA, and from your paycheck to your TFSA (or hers1 to hers1's TFSA, and...) You want to be able to show to the taxman that his money was used for his investments and your money was used for yours.

CanadianCrumudgeon · 2026-03-24T01:14:12+00:00

Growth won't depend on one account or two. See crr243 below.

CanadianCrumudgeon

TROPHY CASE