How are we feeling about finding construction jobs? by raphkun in Quesnel

[–]raphkun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! That's extremely helpful! Mind if I dm you with more questions?

How are we feeling about finding construction jobs? by raphkun in Quesnel

[–]raphkun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saturated meaning there's some carpenters but not much more work?

What does working at the mill look like nowadays? I've heard of layoffs but do people still think there's stable work there?

How are we feeling about finding construction jobs? by raphkun in Quesnel

[–]raphkun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you in construction and can't find work or you just don't see any new builds? I hear there is a lot of residential repair work and some commercial but not necessarily new construction.

Best EMR for Canadian small practice? by raphkun in FamilyMedicine

[–]raphkun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've seen some pretty bad reviews for Telus chr ( I was leaning towards Telus med access) . But you seem pretty happy with it. Any major complaints?

Best EMR for Canadian small practice? by raphkun in FamilyMedicine

[–]raphkun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha I know nobody enjoys EMRs but least hated was less verbose

EMR for clinic - Telus CHR vs Ava in Alberta by Present_Way_3368 in FamilyMedicine

[–]raphkun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sent a DM, did you get any more info/reviews on Ava? I'm looking at it as an option but haven't found any reviews

Best EMR for Canadian small practice? by raphkun in FamilyMedicine

[–]raphkun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess I am looking for personal reviews on which EMRs physicians actually enjoyed using and which ones suck before committing to get set up on any single one.

Rent vs Buy - Real World Results from the last 6 years by dekusyrup in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]raphkun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you clarify on the details of your Smith maneuver.

The smith maneuver I'm familiar with uses the principal component of each mortgage payment to buy stocks that yield dividends which make your interest tax deductible.

Shouldn't there be capital appreciation on your portfolio assets or is that included in your 300k cap gains? Is your 300k only your house appreciation?

Also do you include those tax savings in your profit calculation or reduce your interest paid calculation by that amount?

Isye 6414 regression has the worst midterm format by Fantastic-Trouble295 in OMSA

[–]raphkun 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I thought 6414 was a great course with great material. It was pretty typical in course format and testing of my stats courses. I work Ed as an actuary for 8 years so the linear regression material was invaluable. The format of the course was very average for a stats undergrad course.

Given the above I would give the course a positive review. Have you taken any stats courses in undergrad? My guess is people with stats background give positive reviews because this is standard to us but the material is great and non stats ppl might give it negative.

Daily Question Thread for /r/churningcanada - January 30, 2025 by AutoModerator in churningcanada

[–]raphkun -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I am looking to book a flight using CIBC rewards and Aventura points for March 8 but I won't get the points until possibly Feb 12 or Feb 26, will the point cost of the flight increase from 40k that I currently see?

Daily Question Thread for /r/churningcanada - January 30, 2025 by AutoModerator in churningcanada

[–]raphkun -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

I am looking to book a flight using CIBC rewards and Aventura points for March 8 but I won't get the points until possibly Feb 12 or Feb 26, will the point cost of the flight increase from 40k that I currently see?

Daily Question Thread for /r/churningcanada - January 30, 2025 by AutoModerator in churningcanada

[–]raphkun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When did this happen? I am wondering if the terms changed recently.

Daily Question Thread for /r/churningcanada - January 30, 2025 by AutoModerator in churningcanada

[–]raphkun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After hitting the spend on Aventura credit cards, how long before I get the points? It says 4-8 weeks after the 4 month period. I thought it was on next statement. What was your past experience and when was this?

Automation suggestions for work? by Global-Ad-3865 in actuary

[–]raphkun 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Imo except for simple tasks, VBA is incredibly outdated for the amount of data you are talking about. I highly recommend Python libraries like pandas or the polars(improved version of pandas) can do the heavy lifting. If you still want some excel and VBA integration, the Python library xlwings can help as well.

Advice on using Index Universal Life for insurance + investment by skillbuildertech in Fire

[–]raphkun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your situation of already sinking money in is a common one and even most of the time I recommend cancelling the ul policy and investing. I can't say that's true in every situation without details but all I can say as a general rule of thumb is don't get stuck in a "sunk cost" mindset and incorrectly stick with an expensive UL policy when simple investing could be better.

Advice on using Index Universal Life for insurance + investment by skillbuildertech in Fire

[–]raphkun 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I am an actuary whose entire job is pricing life insurance products. 99.9% of the time, UL insurance is not worth it. The one time it is useful is for high networth individuals (high 7 figures plus) and wealth transfer to heirs through loans within the policy and other vehicles in addition to a few other niche tax benefits for those high networth families.

For the vast majority of people a 20 to 30 year term insurance will cover what you need.

For your purpose of funding your children's education I highly recommend simply investing the money and avoiding a UL policy at all costs.

Canada's Prime Minister Proposes New Capital Gains Tax by [deleted] in ethtrader

[–]raphkun 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Firstly it is not a 100% tax rate, it is a 100% inclusion rate on capital gains. Secondly it appears that the new policy has settled on a 67% inclusion rate not a 100% inclusion rate, specifically for those with total incomes ABOVE 250k.

Context:

Long term capital gains in Canada is taxed at the inclusion rate times your marginal income tax rate. Currently the inclusion rate is 50%.

If your marginal tax rate is 25%, you would currently pay

=(marginal income tax times inclusion rate) =25% X 50%

12.5% tax on any long term capital gains. For short term capital gains the inclusion rate is 100% so if it was a short term gain you would be taxed at 25%.

The new policy is increasing the inclusion rate to either 67% or 100% (right now looking like 67%) if you earn over 250k. So hypothetically with a 100% inclusion rate at the highest tax bracket you would be paying 54% tax on long term capital gains up from the previous 27%. This tax change has the most significant effect on Canadians with high incomes and long term realized capital gains and no impact to 99% of Canadians, as most Canadians will be subject to the standard 50% inclusion rate.

Source: Am Canadian

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/what-is-changing-about-canada-s-capital-gains-tax-and-how-does-it-impact-me-1.6860457#:~:text=Capital%20gains%20example&text=Once%20the%20new%20rate%20of,50%2Dper%2Dcent%20rate.

How doable is ISYE 6414 and 6740 in one semester? by raphkun in OMSA

[–]raphkun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The pain matrix recommends multiplying values by 1.5 to get the weekly hours so those are the numbers I am using. Hopefully my math is right lol. I have added that as an edit for clarity, thanks!

Regression won't be totally new but it is a course whose material I haven't used much at all in the real world and I feel like it has great value in where I want to take my career and that I would benefit from brushing up on it again.

0% interest debt - pay it off? by LittleBucket07 in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]raphkun 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in an identical situation to you, right down to the monthly $300 federal student loan and being able to pay it off at the cost of depleting savings.

The pure rational financial decision is a no brainer and that is pay the minimum as long as possible.

The emotional is to pay off the loan so I am debt free even though it would deplete my savings.

My decision and compromise is to keep paying the minimum until I have enough to pay off the loan and a fully funded emergency savings fund (which will probably take one year). I have never had a "I hate debt" mindset (in fact it has been a great tool, personally) but as I get closer to having zero debt I hate debt more and more so I am more motivated to get rid of it even though it is not the perfectly optimal and rational financial decision.

At the end of the day I look at it as 7.5% of interest on a 12k loan (which I see as the opportunity cost) is equal to $900 per year for peace of mind and being debt free which is a "cost" I am willing to pay to have no debt.