School's Out...For Summer!

Yesterday was the last day of school.  This summer I'm lucky, in that my Eldest Daughter is home on maternity leave.  That means Dear Child will hang out with her.  (Not sure that Eldest Daughter considers herself lucky, since that leaves her with 4 kids every day, and 5 if my Number One Son's daughter comes too, as she did some of the time last summer.)

Next year will be a much bigger financial burden for all of us, as she'll be back at work and all the girls will have to go to day camp right through the summer.  As it is, we are putting them in a couple of sessions of swimming lessons (necessitating me leaving work to pick up and drive everybody to and fro).  The lessons are 4 days per week for 2 weeks (but only 1/2 an hour per day) and we hope that the sustained amount of pool time will enable everybody to move up at least one level.  Last session (which was 8 classes once a week) nobody passed, although they all made progress.

DC will go to day camp for 2 weeks this year too, as my granddaughters' other grandparents are taking them out of town for 2 weeks.  That will give my daughter the relative quiet of only having her nursing baby at home.

Yesterday was payday. I paid some stuff then and some more this morning.  Right now I'm pleased to say that I'm current on all my bills (paid the water today) and that I have $651.14 in my TFSA, right on track for the year.  Property taxes for the rural house are due next week.  I have to check, but I think I have enough in the rural credit union to pay them.  Yay, me!

I went away to the house last weekend and spent some money, money on myself (gasp!) as well as gas.  But I just have the $50 odd dollars I charged for gas on the way back to pay back still.  And I made the regular $90 payment on the credit card anyway.

So, I have to pay for swimming lessons and I'm going to start some exercise stuff of my own that I'll also have to pay for.  And I only have about $150 left in my chequing account for food, etc. for the next 2 weeks.  But all in all, I'm not doing too badly.  And my hubby should be transferring some money over to me at month end.

Two "Wednesdays" This Week

And another week goes by....

At least I've been busy the past couple of days. I know yesterday was It Won't Wait Wednesday but some of the tasks got carried over to today. What all did I do?

I got paid and took cash out of the credit union to deposit into my bank account. I also wrote a cheque to myself at my other credit union and deposited it through the ATM so there'd be enough in the account to cover the service charge at the end of the month. The cash I took out couldn't be deposited until today.

I also went to the gym, but not to work out. My 18 month membership ends May 1st and I wanted to cancel. I hate gym contracts. It says you can't cancel until the anniversary date but then it says you have to give 30 days notice. After the "free" 18 months (that I paid $500 for up front) they start charging your credit card $29.95/month on the first of each month. You have to give 30 days notice too if you change your credit card or there are chargebacks. The credit card I gave them in 2007 was changed by the credit card company about a year ago to a totally different number.

Anyway, I went in and filled out the required form in person but they couldn't do anything about the credit card issue except tell me that I was going to get charged one month's fee before I'd be free of them. They suggested I call the head office and gave me the number. When I called today I got a recording and had to leave a detailed message. I'll try to call again in the morning because I want to take them the cash and have them sign off that I'm done. Of course, that's going to mean driving out to Richmond on Friday afternoon (at least half an hour each way). At least Shabbos doesn't come in early!

I went to my doctor's appointment today. She sent me for blood work (to check for obvious things like anemia or thyroid) and is going to set up an ECG and a treadmill stress test. However, she thinks I need to exercise more! (Right, just as I'm cancelling the gym membership.) Then she said I might be tired because I'm always so super-busy. And, if I'm so busy, just when am I going to exercise? Besides, this isn't just being tired. This is stuff like being too wiped to lift my arms to put them on the steering wheel. I think it's a little more than "de-conditioning". I went to the lab after the doctor and had 2 tubes of blood drawn. Then I walked across the street to the bank, deposited the cash and updated my book.

Tonight I did my husband's taxes although not my own. Why? Well, technically speaking, you only have to get your stuff in by the deadline (which was midnight) if you owe Canada Revenue Agency any money. I can't remember the last time I ended up owing them anything. Usually I get somewhere between $30 and $100 back. Hubby, on the other hand, always owes money. And not a tiny amount either. It's usually $700 and up! Last year he ended up owing over $1,000 and he hasn't paid off much of it, maybe a couple of hundred dollars. If you owe money you still pay interest and all but there's no 5% penalty if you at least file on time.

So, I did his return. I was hoping it would be better this year because they have a new accountant at his office and because there have been a few positive changes in the tax rules. How does almost $1,000 back sound? Of course, they pay off any outstanding stuff first but he'll still get a cheque for $200 or $300! Actually, I would have done my taxes too but I boxed up most of the paperwork I need for it before Pesach and it wasn't where I thought it was. I'm not worried. If he got a refund I'm probably getting a bigger than usual one myself. I'll try to find the missing papers over the weekend and do it then.

Of course, once I finished the good copy of his taxes I had to get in the car and drive it out to the Taxation Centre in Surrey before midnight. I got it in with about an hour to spare.

It Won't Wait Wednesday

Some people call it Anti-Procrastination Day, but that's not as wonderfully alliterative as "It Won't Wait Wednesday". Basically, we all have things we put off, things that sit on our To Do lists for days, weeks, months or even longer. On Wednesdays I'm making an attempt to take care of at least one or two items that I've put off.

Today I accomplished three things with two phone calls!

My first call was to Canada Revenue Agency. I had my 2007 Notice of Assessment handy, but didn't need it for the series of security questions they asked me. I was probably on hold for about 2 minutes. I've received both my 2006 and 2007 tax refunds, a notice telling me we don't qualify for the GST rebate, my July CCTB and UCCB benefit payments, but not my retroactive CCTB (Canada Child Tax Benefit/BC Benefit) for last year. The girl I spoke to told me that I'll be getting a cheque for $730.82 and it will be issued for August 20th.

My next call was to ING Direct. I wanted to talk to someone who could walk me through changing the date that the withdrawals from my chequing account go through. Currently they come out on Mondays. I wanted to change that to Thursday so I would line up better with my paydays (every 2nd Wednesday) in order to avoid the problems I've had recently. The guy I talked to did that and moved $250 from my Vacation Pay account back into my bank account. This is something I've been putting off to my detriment.

So I'm happy with my accomplishments. I'll have enough in my bank account at the beginning of the month to cover the stuff that's coming out, I'll have less problem with being out of sync and having money come out of my account 2 days before the money is in there, and I know how much I'm getting from the government and when to expect the cheque!

Of course, it means that I'll be very tight for money right up until the 20th because I'm getting a smaller than usual cheque on the 6th. Then I'll get paid the first of 2 big paycheques with 1 regular week and 1 week of full time hours and the same day I'm due to receive not one, not two, but three cheques from the government (my retro CCTB of $730.82, my regular CCTB of $56 and my UCCB of $100)! But that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

So, how about it? Does anyone else want to commit to dealing with a task that won't wait next Wednesday? Post about it and come tell me about it, either on this post or next Wednesday's.

Another Tax Refund Arrives

I got home from work today and found more money from Canada Revenue Agency! True, it was only $17.69, but it means that I'm one step closer to getting my retroactive Child Care Benefit and BC Benefit payments. Now that they can confirm our total family income for 2006, they can figure out how much was due to me last year. That amount will come as a lump sum. In addition, they already know our family income for 2007, so I should start getting this year's benefit payments this month!

What will I do with my lump sum payment? Well, it depends on how big it is. Based on what I've received in past years I'm sort of expecting it to be somewhere between $500 and $700. If I'm in the right ballpark I'll be able to put away enough money to pay the next Home Depot payment plan to come due in January and put the rest towards my property tax and garbage collection and maybe have some left over. If it's less, the property tax and garbage come first, and the balance could either go towards Home Depot or school clothes for our DC.

What will I do with the monthly benefit? I'd like to say it's going to go to savings but, if I'm honest, I'll have to say it will be absorbed into our current budget to reduce the deficit we've been running . And what about the $17.69? I think I'm going to deposit it into my Credit Union account, which is the account I use for the bills for the rural house. That amount will cover almost 2 months worth of bank charges on the account.

Climate Action Dividend vs. Climate Action Tax Credit

Back in February 2008 BC Finance Minister Carole Taylor introduced a Carbon Tax which will be implemented over the next few years. The plan is that this tax will be revenue neutral as both (provincial) corporate and personal tax rates are going to be lowered.

But there are two more carrots on the horizon. The first is the Climate Action Dividend. This is a $100 payment to every resident of BC and is not income dependent. Adult or child, employed or not, if you were a BC resident on December 31, 2007 you're supposed to get the Climate Action Dividend cheque this month.

The second is the Climate Action Tax Credit. This is a tax credit designed for low income individuals and families. It pays $100 per adult and $30 per child and is supposed to be available annually. If an individual's net income is over $30,000 or a family's is over $35,000 the tax credit is reduced by 2% of the amount of net income over the threshold level. If you qualify, the tax credit is paid quarterly like the GST credit.

So, we'll get the Dividend cheque but not the Tax Credit at our house.

And just what are we supposed to be doing with this money? Well, the idea is that we're supposed to spend it on something "green", like CFL bulbs. But it's really kind of like the US economic stimulus cheque in that people are going to use it for what they want as opposed to how the government suggests you spend it. One of the local TV stations was asking people on the street what they'll do with their dividend cheque and at least one person said it was going towards her Visa bill! Mine will almost certainly also go towards reducing credit card debt. A lot of people are saying they'll just fill their tank with gas and drive for free for a few days.

How about you? What will you do with your climate action dividend cheque? And, if you qualify for it, will the tax credit make a difference?

And the Money Keeps Coming

I came home from work and found my Notice of Assessment from Canada Revenue Agency. I forgot to take the employment deduction, so they refigured my return and sent me $79 and change! Can't complain about that. Well, maybe a little. They deducted money they say I owe to Canada Child Tax Benefit (around another $75) but I really don't.

You see, it's this way. If you file your taxes on time and you qualify for the CCTB you get a cheque every month, kind of like the old Family Allowance program back when I was a kid. Unlike the Family Allowance, this payment is based on your income and you have to requalify for it every year. So, this year you might be getting $100 per month but at the same time you had more employment income as a family. Next year you might only qualify for $60 per month. Taxes are due April 30th and the new amounts for CCTB come into effect in July. But, because the CRA is a tad busy during May and June and might not get through everybody's return in time for the new cheque amount to be calculated, they give you a cheque at the old rate in July if they don't have the new information. If it turns out that you don't qualify at all anymore you have to give the money back.

I didn't file last year because I didn't think I owed anything and because all my paperwork was in several of the 400 boxes packed by the restoration company after our flood. I have no clue about the rules in the US, but here in Canada you don't technically have to file even if you earned money so long as you don't owe the taxman any money. But then you don't get the other goodies, like the CCTB. And you do have to file if the CRA asks you to.

So, I didn't file and I didn't get CCTB last year, except for that July payment. But now that I've filed for both last year and this year I will get everything they should have paid me all at once (probably in July). The previous year we qualified for $75 per month but we both made somewhat more money. So maybe they owe us $50 per month for last year and $40 per month for this year (totally guessing on the amounts). That would be a $600 lump sum retroactive payment and then regular cheques around the 20th of each month of $40 (or whatever).

Anyway, the point is that they didn't need to take the whole $75 back and they could have taken the smaller amount that really was overpaid out of the lump sum payment instead of taking it out of the $155 refund. Plus, this was only my 2007 Notice of Assessment. They still have to do the 2006 one and I think I made the same mistake on that return. That means I probably have more money coming to me from that!

But, really, it's all good. For whatever reason, the money has started pouring in from all different sources and I'm happy with that.