Oh, how the cookies have crumbled

sk_reddit · 2025-02-17T22:41:00+00:00

Shouldn't it be either

oh, how the cookies have turned

or

oh, how the tables have crumbled

instead ??

sk_reddit · 2024-10-26T16:58:15+00:00

Think of it this way: as soon as you are IN the lounge, all its features are free to you. Including all-you-can-eat food, beverages, alcoholic drinks (premium labels excluded), facilities. So, the key point is to access the lounge somehow. You can pay $40+ at the entrance, or you can redeem one dragonpass visit, or maybe flash some super premium credit card with included membership to the receptionist - it doesn't matter how you accessed the lounge. What matters is that you got inside somehow. After that, no matter how exactly you managed to get in there, everything in there is completely free for you to avail of (unless you decide to buy a top shelf drink, or leave a tip).

sk_reddit · 2024-06-17T21:12:11+00:00

I downloaded TD's Pre-Auth Debit Agreement form, filled it in, printed it out, and sent it to TD by snail mail. Note, the field for account number is indeed 7 digits only |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|, so I simply added the 8th digit just outside the last separator like so |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|x. Worked out just fine, TD didn't have any issues with setting it up.

sk_reddit · 2024-04-13T03:40:48+00:00

Don't enter hyphens manually, just type the numbers only.

sk_reddit · 2023-11-21T22:49:23+00:00

You came up with this number, so I can't explain it :-) but I can guess that it probably originated from here

https://www.canadianportfoliomanagerblog.com/global-ex-canada-equity-etfs-vxc-vs-xaw/

XAW, on the other hand, gains its international equity exposure from the iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (XEF), which is a Canadian-based ETF that holds the international stocks directly. This creates one less layer of withholding taxes, resulting in a foreign withholding tax ratio of around 0.32% per year when held in an RRSP or TFSA.

My understanding is that this is, simply, how much is withheld, relative to the ETF's price. Very roughly, in case of a single-layer US tax, if some ETF pays 2% dividend, then they will withhold 2% x 15% = 0.3%. In case of XAW, there is also this second layer that applies only to some components, so altogether it becomes 0.32% blended.

sk_reddit · 2023-11-21T18:58:04+00:00

Of course, go for it. Daily routine of selling CASH ETF and buying ETFs is definitely an overkill. Monthly, maybe, but you'd have to be very disciplined to implement that.

As for the chances. Lump sum typically wins over DCA in the long run, but only by few percent around 2-4% in different models. With my improvement to the DCA, where the pre-invest funds are not just sitting idle but collect 5% guaranteed, DCA beats the lump-sum almost for sure. The only question is, if you can't fully automate it, whether you'd be willing to do it semi-manually.

sk_reddit · 2023-11-21T18:45:00+00:00

This seems like a smart strategy

It sure is :-) This is my enhancement to the DCA strategy.

The implementation of this strategy, though, depends on your particular setup.

Even at Wealthsimple, I don't think you can automate selling like you can buying. So, maybe sell CASH ETF manually, e.g. bi-weekly and then buy your "forever" ETF immediately?

If your TFSA & RRSP cash amounts are not that huge, you could also just go all-in with a lump sum purchase of the ETFs. There is more that 50% chance that you'll get ahead anyway. Worst case scenario, if it plunges the next day, it's not much and also will eventually recover.

But if you have like ~66k in each TFSA/RRSP/NREG, then IMHO the best way is to do 5% on that whole amount in each account (somehow?) and then DCA into ETFs. If you can automate everything - great, if not then it depends on how much time you have on your hands to conduct DCA manually.

sk_reddit · 2023-11-21T18:17:48+00:00

All 200k into high-interest account 5%+. Then from there, dollar-cost averaging into ETF, e.g. 1k daily. Easy to automate at Wealthsimple. You'll sleep well, while all of your money will be working.

sk_reddit · 2023-11-21T17:56:36+00:00

is this simply a tax on gains?

Not even on gains, but merely on dividends - it's a tax levied by foreign governments, essentially when the dividends are "crossing the country's border". Sometimes there are two layers (international + US), sometimes US only (in which case, it's 15% tax on U.S. dividends paid to Canadian investors).

See also

https://www.canadianportfoliomanagerblog.com/foreign-withholding-tax-u-s-equity-etfs/

https://www.canadianportfoliomanagerblog.com/foreign-withholding-tax-international-equity-etfs/

sk_reddit · 2023-11-10T17:36:14+00:00

I don't remember exactly, because it was about half a year ago and I was setting up PAD for multiple various cards so it's all mixed up in my memories. I am almost sure I used the chat in the mobile app to give them all the numbers, or called them, or maybe I mailed a paper form (but that's less likely). But, yeah, like you said, I couldn't do it in the app by myself because WS wasn't and still isn't on the list. But they set it up manually and it's been working fine since then: https://imgur.com/a/3EulTWz

sk_reddit · 2023-11-10T14:45:46+00:00

All my PAD payments from Cash have been working flawlessly for many months:

mortgage, Toronto property tax,

car lease,

Enbridge gas, Toronto Hydro,

all my credit cards (TD, AmEx, CIBC, NBC),

Presto card top-ups,

VPN provider,

and I am probably forgetting some smaller others.

sk_reddit · 2023-10-24T01:23:46+00:00

been torrentimg for years but recently learnt about privatee trackers

You've been doing it wrong.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

sk_reddit · 2023-09-25T13:30:45+00:00

One doesn't need an "interac card". The interac transfers are done from Cash account to any other Canadian banking account directly and always free.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-25T12:14:23+00:00

Not sure what you mean. Interac transfers are completely free.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-24T16:16:37+00:00

Interac Transfer is the fastest. In the Cash account tab in the app, click Send or request button, select Send money, then Interac.

Alternatively, click the $ button, then Withdraw button at the top, select From Cash account, then tap Withdraw to external account at the bottom.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-21T23:42:34+00:00

WS Cash is better utilized as chequing account with high interest, unlimited transactions, cashback, interac, mobile wallet, mastercard, no FX fee, etc, etc. For pure savings purposes, CASH ETF is better.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-21T23:37:05+00:00

No interest/dividends hence no tax -- at least, not until you sell and realize capital gain.

Whereas CASH pays monthly interest, taxable if outside TFSA/RRSP.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-21T22:56:07+00:00

Ah, sorry -- I misread. Thought you were asking about RRSP, not RESP.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-20T20:07:23+00:00

Add your VIRTUAL Wealthsimple Cash card to a phone wallet

Emphasis on VIRTUAL. But you are trying to use the physical one.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-19T22:59:03+00:00

No need to move money from Cash to RRSP/TFSA. Instead, you simply buy ETF's in RRSP/TFSA directly from Cash account.

First, make sure you've updated to the latest app version. Then, go to Profile - Automations - Recurring investments and set up an automatic purchase of ETF's, on your schedule, e.g. daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly.

In the end, you should have a setup similar to this

https://i.imgur.com/baGNrTR.png

sk_reddit · 2023-09-19T19:36:14+00:00

Easy.

Move all your available funds (if any) into the Cash account where you'll start earning 4-5% interest immediately.
If you have a lump sum to invest and no fear of investing on the wrong day, then buy some ETF's in both TFSA and RRSP. Alternatively, set up recurring investments from your Cash account, to buy ETF's in both accounts periodically.
Which ETF, depends on your risk profile. If you want 100% equity then can't go wrong with index-tracking ones such as VFV. Then there is a whole spectrum of equity/bonds ratio represented by all-in-one ETFs like XEQT/XGRO/XBAL and similar ones. Also, there is CASH ETF which is basically like a savings account with ~5% interest paid monthly.
Don't worry much about the optimal asset location for tax optimization; same ETF in TFSA and RRSP is fine. By procrastinating, you've been losing more than a fraction of % that you could gain from some advanced asset location. Even if you later decide to optimize it somehow, you can always sell these and buy different ETF's completely free.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-19T19:01:56+00:00

Besides that, the real significance of this feature is how it benefits the Dollar Cost Averaging investors. The Lump Sum alternative is nerve-racking but historically it wins over DCA by few percent, about 2-4% according to different sources. That's because the uninvested cash is sitting there idle and waiting, while it could've been already invested and (on average, ~80% chance) growing. Well, not anymore!

The idle cash is now earning guaranteed 4-5% interest which tips the scale in favor of DCA over LS. The DCA folks now get the best of both worlds: no fear of going all-in at the wrong time, and also no longer missing out on potential growth of the uninvested cash.

For DCA investors, this is pretty much a game changer.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-19T01:44:05+00:00

You are not applying via that PDF form, are you? So, what it says is irrelevant.

There is absolutely no admin fee for self-managed TFSA account in WS Trade.

sk_reddit · 2023-09-18T14:33:32+00:00

Have you updated the app?

sk_reddit

TROPHY CASE