Use Direct Deposit for Canadian Federal Government Payments

Direct Deposit or Cheque

Our family is a one car family. My husband works Monday - Friday 9-5, and I work shift work, typically evenings and weekends. With one vehicle, this can make running errands difficult!

Thankfully, going to the bank is one of those things that we don't have to do very often, thanks to a combination of direct deposit and e-transfers of money.

Most of my clients from my self-employment work now pay me either using cash or e-transfer. Many don't even own cheques. They are becoming obsolete. I still use them, but more rarely than I did in the past.

Government Cheques

Growing up, "baby bonus", now known as Child Tax Benefit, would be received by cheque monthly through the mail. As a teen, my mother would occasionally sign the cheque over to me to deposit. I'm pretty sure I had a debit card before she did, and I was able to deposit the cheques into my account after regular banking hours using the new-back-then "bank machines", that we all now are very well accustomed to using.

Most people get paid by their employer by direct deposit, The federal government is in the process of changing over payments to direct deposit as well. Tax refunds, Child Tax Benefit, Universal Child Care Credit, Employment Insurance, Canada Pension and more.  Make sure to sign up soon, to not miss any payments.

It currently costs the government 83 cents for every payment they make by cheque, and only 11 cents for every payment made by direct deposit. The government estimates that the switch to direct deposit by Canadians who have not done so yet will save taxpayers $17 million each year.

How do I sign up for direct deposit?

1) If you have someone do your taxes each year, they can set you up for direct deposit if you ask them to. Just provide them with a voided cheque.

2) Online If you are registered for Canada Revenue Agency's My Account, you can sign up for direct deposit now. If you aren't registered, look into it. It can be a useful tool!

3) By mail. Fill out the Direct Deposit Enrollment Form and mail it in.


4) By phone. To sign up for direct deposit, or change your banking information, call 1-800-959-8281

Financial Costs of Orthodontic Braces for Pre-Teen

Our daughter has very crowded teeth.  We've known she would need braces since her adult teeth started coming in at around age 4.  They didn't push out the baby teeth.  Instead, the grown teeth came in *Behind* the baby teeth.  She had two rows of teeth at the bottom as a result.  I think they call this "dragon teeth".  At the same time, her upper two baby teeth fell out, and it took a full year for the adult teeth there to grow in.  She liked pretending to be a vampire during this time period!

She is self conscious about her teeth.  She wants them "fixed".  She has a couple teeth that are still completely in behind the others.

My dentist offered to do them, but to be honest, I'm not comfortable with a dentist doing orthodontic work.  I'd rather go to someone who does them full time. An actual orthodontist.  It seems there are only two in our town, so I asked for advice from friends and about 80% recommended one and 20% recommended the other.

Although I have good medical benefits through my employer, it does not include orthodontic treatment at all.  Knowing braces would be in the thousands of dollars, I also knew that I wouldn't be able to afford them for the next couple of years.  My father has offered to pay for at least part of them though, so I booked a consult with the orthodontist that came highly recommended.

The consult was very reasonably priced, at $50.00, which included any needed x-rays.  We learned that not only are her teeth crowded, but that they don't align properly at all in the molars, and that she has an overbite.  Apparently we will start noticing the overbite more once the teeth start straightening.  She will need braces, and springs to go on the braces as well to correct all of this.

So...are you ready for the price?

$5800.00

(plus the $50.00 paid for the consult)

Payable as $300.00 for initial moldings, a $1500.00 downpayment, and then $200 per month for 20 months.

I'm thankful for proud grandfathers (my dad) who are willing to give generous gifts to their grandchildren to help pay for this!

Are orthodontic braces in the future for you or your teen?  How are the prices in your city?

Giving Gift Cards To Kids ATTENDING Birthday Parties??

Last week, I was at our local Chapters, and saw a friend and their 3 children shopping in the kids book section.  I was there with my daughter to pick out a book as a present for a birthday party she was going to be attending.  One of the three children had a gift card.  I asked her politely who had given her the card...I had been thinking maybe it was a small gift from a relative.

"Oh, it's from a birthday party," she replied.

"From your birthday party?" I asked.

"No, from someone else's birthday party."

At this point I looked quizzically at the father, who said she had been given the card as part of the loot bag upon leaving a party recently.

This was not the first parent I'd heard this from recently.  I've been told that it's becoming the norm to give out $5 gift cards to each child who attends a birthday party either instead of a lootbag or as part of it.

LOOTBAGS

I'm not a fan of lootbags.  I'm especially not a fan of giving out a giftcard!  Holy moly!  Let's talk about teaching consumerism at a young age.  Do you know who the giftcard benefits the most?  The store where it's from!!  They get advertising.  They get kids, parents, and siblings into the store.  And of course, $5.00 doesn't go very far, so typically you will end up needing to spend more than the gift card in order to get something.

WHAT TO DO INSTEAD?

Although I don't agree with "lootbags", I do like the idea of having something from an activity.  Decorate or tie dye some t-shirts. Make and decorate a crown or wand.  Teach them how to play jacks and provide them a kit each.  My daughter just brought home a pot with some small cactus that she planted in it that they put together at a party.

Check out this article for some other ideas on non-loot bag ideas!

Are Contest Wins Taxable In Canada?

Are Contest Wins Taxable in Canada?

In Canada, anything you win through a contest is NOT taxable!  You do not have to claim it as income on your income tax.  However, if you earn money, and invest it, the interest you earn on the principal are taxable, unless you invest in a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA).  

Increase Your Income Through Contests!

You probably won't win straight up cash (but you might!), but you can win gift cards, products and experiences!  These "extras" are a great way to increase your income, especially if the prize is for something you would have already spent money on!  You can then allocate that money to somewhere else in your budget.  

You can also win for things that are above and beyond what your normal spending habits would entail.  For example, I have won tickets to concerts (eg one of favorite Canadian jazz bands Manteca) and sporting events (eg FIFA U19 when it was in Toronto) that I love to attend, but can't justify spending money on regularly.

But...I Never Win Anything.

So many people don't enter contests because they assume that they won't win anything.  But you CAN'T win anything if you don't enter!  So enter! Enter contests for that have prizes of things that you would use or would like. (Or that you know someone who would use the prize!)  Don't enter for things that you don't want.  Leave those contests to be entered by those who will actually appreciate the prize if they win!

What Have You Won? What Would You Like to Win?

What have you won?  I want to know! Tomorrow I will share with you a list of things that I have won in the last six months. 

New Baby? Make Sure Your Income Taxes Are Done!

Are you expecting a cute new baby in your life or have a newborn?  Are your income taxes all complete and submitted?

You might be wondering what the connection between these two questions is!

The Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)  is a payment from the Federal Government to help families with the costs of raising children.  The majority of Canadians are eligible for this program, but you MUST FILE YOUR TAX RETURN TO RECEIVE THEM!

Separate sub-programs that are also included in this payment are the:

1) National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) for lower income families

2) Child Disability Benefit (CDB) for families with children who are disabled and qualify for the Disability Credit.

Also, each province may have programs as well.  In Ontario, there is the Ontario Child Benefit (OCB).

Ok, lets get to what everyone wants to know.

How Much Money Will I Get??


Using the online calculators using 2011 net income, and assuming your children don't have disabilities, here we go.  For children age 6 or under you will also receive $100/month for the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), and your amounts will be slightly adjusted from these, as these figures are not including the calculations if you received UCCB in 2011. The amounts include CCTB, NCBS, and Ontario Child Benefit. 

These amounts are for people in Ontario.

Net family income of $100 000/yr will receive$21.59/month for 1 child,   $ 43.18 for 2 children.
Net family income of $ 80 000/yr will receive $54.92/month for 1 child,  $109.85 for 2 children.
Net family income of $ 60 000/yr will receive $88.26/month for 1 child,  $176.52 for 2 children.
Net family income of $ 50 000/yr will receive $104.92/month for 1 child, $209.85 for 2 children.
Net family income of $ 40 000/yr will receive $144.60/month for 1 child, $335.95 for 2 children.
Net family income of $ 30 000/yr will receive $271.27/month for 1 child, $594.27 for 2 children.
Net family income of  < $ 20 000/yr will receive $390.15/month for 1 child, $759.40 for 2 children.

To get an estimate of your own situation, go to the CRA calculators.


File Your Taxes!

You cannot receive this money unless you have filed your income tax return.  If you havn't filed for a few years and are eligible for these payments, you can go back up to 10 years and file and you will still receive the payments owed to you.