We spent the first half of this year taking care of some short term financial priorities. We finished paying off my wife’s student loan, and then we started saving for a couple of major bills that were due in July. We completed the fence and landscaping at our new house earlier in July. Then last week we bought out our car lease.
Directing the majority of our extra monthly cash flow toward these short term priorities meant we weren’t contributing to our tax free savings accounts or RRSP this year. Now that these major expenses are behind us, it’s time to start ramping up our savings again. Here’s how we’ll do it:
- $1,000 a month will get transferred to my tax free savings account
- $500 a month will get transferred to my RRSP
- $500 a month will get transferred to our high interest savings account
This plan will max out my TFSA contributions for the year and use up my available RRSP contribution room for the year. The transfers to our high interest savings account will top-up our emergency funds.
Speaking of high interest savings, ING Direct has a promotion right now where they’ll give you a $50 bonus when you open an account with them using an Orange Key promo code. You can use my code – 35965713S1 - and sign up for your account here.
Weekend Reading
Here are some great personal finance articles for you to enjoy this weekend:
- Young and Thrifty asks, Do I need a personal trainer? Hint: You don’t.
- Canadian Finance Blog looks at the ridiculous obsession with short-term earnings
- Financial Highway lists 10 travel fees and how you can avoid them
- Million Dollar Journey looks at the cost of Canadian Ivy League schools
- Squawkfox says, Do you really need that upgrade?
- The Passive Income Earner gives some reasons to hold high yield stocks
- Free From Broke lists 5 keys to a frugal retirement
- Bible Money Matters looks at the cost of raising an Olympian
- My Own Advisor asks, Are you living your financial values?
- She Thinks I’m Cheap reviews the classic personal finance book, The Millionaire Next Door
- Frugal Zeitgeist says, I don’t give a damn about my credit score
- Retire Happy Blog explains how investing is a science
- Wise Bread looks at the best and worst things to buy in August
- My Wife Quit Her Job explains where your next good business idea will come from
- MoneySense comments on the rose-coloured retirement dreams of the young
We were also included in the following blog carnivals:
- Carnival of Retirement
- Wealth Artisan
- Carnival of Personal Finance
- Festival of Frugality
- Totally Money
- Lifestyle Carnival
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Thanks for the link, looks like your finances are all going great!
@Forest – thanks, and keep up the great work on Frugal Zeitgeist!
I’m always impressed by the discipline you have, re: saving.
With young kids, it sounds like you have a great balancing act underway…great work.
Thanks for the mention and have a great weekend, enjoy the Olympics!
Mark
@Mark – thanks! We have our spending vices for sure, but I think we came up with a solid financial plan last year and now we’re just executing the plan.
Not contributing to our TFSAs was killing me though. I’m glad we’re back on track.
Love this blog. Your approach is so sensible and reasonable and, as a previous poster mentioned, disciplined. That should make your plan easy to implement, and that’s the key, IMO.
I’ve been reading that a couple of banks are looking to possibly purchase ING. If that happens, I’m wondering what the impact would be on its higher interest environment. Just a rhetorical comment.
@NormaK – Thanks for the kind words.
As for ING, I’ll see how this plays out before jumping ship. Obviously it would be a huge blow if one of the big banks swallows up ING and introduces fees and lower rates on savings.
Back in February, Capital One bought ING Direct’s U.S. banking arm. They can use the ING brand for 12 months before they need to change it. I’ll follow what happens there since they have a bit of a head start on us.
Great round up you have here Rob, I found the first two articles were particularly well written
. Congrats on maxing out both registered savings accounts man! Anyone that can do that at a regular pace is going to set themselves up pretty nicely (by my standards anyway).
I too am interested in seeing what happens with ING. I was reading this morning in the G and M, and I can’t help but wonder why they are selling it? They say they are making a profit, and their consumer base is growing, their brand awareness should be going up, it doesn’t make much sense to me. The only thing I read in that article was that they were doing a “corporate restructuring” and were looking to “streamline” things. Whatever.
@TM – Thanks!
According to the Globe and Mail, “ING Canada is profitable, but is being discarded as part of a global restructuring effort that already saw ING Groep NV of the Netherlands sell its U.S. online banking operation for $9-billion (U.S.) in 2011.
Much of the shuffling is the indirect result of ING Groep’s €10-billion bailout from the Dutch government in 2008, but the new quest to sell both the Canadian and U.K. operations is part of a rejuvenated effort to streamline its operations.”
I was interested in signing up for ING, until I saw this in the fine print:
“*And if you can’t get to it today, we’ll still give you $50 if you open an Account by June 30th. Offer valid from April 30, 2012 to June 30, 2012 for new Clients joining ING DIRECT.”
What gives?
Hi Beth, thanks for pointing that out. I found this link (http://www.ingdirect.ca/referafriend/) which says the promotion goes on until August 31st.
Echo, you rock!
Thanks!
Thanks for the info on the ING Direct promotion. I have been looking to get a better card than the one I have and this starting offer looks nice.