Wife and I have been discussing cutting back on some expenses, and one idea we keep coming back to is cutting our cable. There's an awful lot on Netflix, most of the hockey I watch is on GameCentre, and I have to remind myself that over the air broadcasts still exist.
Has anyone out there gone for it and ditched cable tv entirely?
Ditched cable when we moved to our house. Don't miss it except for a few shows that aren't on Netflix/Hulu/Network TV, and if I want to see them bad enough I buy the dvds.
I haven't paid for cable in a long time. Cut it.
Yes, we did so about 3 years ago. Don't miss it at all.
2 years ago, haven't missed it.
I'd do it if it wouldn't limit my access to live sports.
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 03:48:33 PM
I'd do it if it wouldn't limit my access to live sports.
That of course is the kicker for me.
Okay, I can get most Jets game on the internet, but that leaves 10-20 I'd miss. Plus I'd completely lose out on the CFL.
But is that worth the $100 / month it costs us?
All the good shows are on cable.
$100/month? You can get cable & internet for that here.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 03:49:58 PM
Okay, I can get most Jets game on the internet
You're a NY fan? :P
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 03:49:58 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 03:48:33 PM
I'd do it if it wouldn't limit my access to live sports.
That of course is the kicker for me.
Okay, I can get most Jets game on the internet, but that leaves 10-20 I'd miss. Plus I'd completely lose out on the CFL.
But is that worth the $100 / month it costs us?
You can probably get basic cable for less than that?
I like to DVR a lot of stuff that I couldnt get otherwise and I like to watch football and basketball so cutting cable isnt really an option yet.
If you dont already do it, just make your lunch to make up the difference.
I know my mother has since she got the Apple TV, except for some things can't see through the trio of netflix/hulu/hd antenna for network tv.
100$/Month is for 30 channels +base + HBO + The Movie Network + telephone + taxes. If you pay 100$/month solely for cable, you have too much stuff.
BB, just did a quick price check, with Telus, for 100 bucks (on sale now for 60) you get both internet and their Optik TV. If you are paying 100 bucks for just cable you are paying some kind of premium.
I've cut my cable (I only get the 30 or so "normal" TV channels). Unfortunately, we have nothing even remotely near Netflix. The best you can hope for are video on demand portals where you lend movies for between €0.99 for old movies and €4.99 for new movies (non-HD, often only German dubbed), or the very meager offering of iTunes. So I download series/and TV (thanks to Austria's comparatively lenient laws on private torrenting) and buy on disc the things I really like and want to watch in high quality on a somewhat regular basis (I have 300+ DVDs and blu rays).
In the end I had my cable sub mostly for the NFL and NCAA football, but as ESPN folded in Europe and the football games were taken over by a TV station I don't really care for .... I watch MLB and NFL online only.
I wished there was a decent video on demand portal over here with a wide selection and dual audio that worked on a subscription model. I've completely stopped downloading MP3s since I signed up with Spotify, for example.
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 18, 2013, 04:01:32 PM
BB, just did a quick price check, with Telus, for 100 bucks (on sale now for 60) you get both internet and their Optik TV. If you are paying 100 bucks for just cable you are paying some kind of premium.
Well yes, we have all the movie channels and HBO, which adds up a fair bit as well.
But cutting off cable would be a shared sacrifice. I'd lose some sports, and my wife would lose those movie channels (which means no Walking Dead, no True Blood, etc.). I can't ask my wife to cut out her movie channels, but I get to keep the sports package.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 04:09:35 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 18, 2013, 04:01:32 PM
BB, just did a quick price check, with Telus, for 100 bucks (on sale now for 60) you get both internet and their Optik TV. If you are paying 100 bucks for just cable you are paying some kind of premium.
Well yes, we have all the movie channels and HBO, which adds up a fair bit as well.
But cutting off cable would be a shared sacrifice. I'd lose some sports, and my wife would lose those movie channels (which means no Walking Dead, no True Blood, etc.). I can't ask my wife to cut out her movie channels, but I get to keep the sports package.
You can give up the movie channels and keep AMC, Space and some others - that is what we do so we can watch Walking Dead, Dr. Who etc. It is, iirc, just one step up from basic.
Why do you feel the need to economize? I thought you were making decent bank.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 04:11:24 PM
Why do you feel the need to economize? I thought you were making decent bank.
I suspect he is coming to grips with the cost of raising the starting forwards and defencemen for the next generation of Jets.
$2,000 strollers :(
I don't have cable as it is ridiculously priced in Manhattan. In a family of sharing, I use Hulu+ and Amazon Prime for most of my needs.
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 18, 2013, 04:13:06 PM
I suspect he is coming to grips with the cost of raising the starting forwards and defencemen for the next generation of Jets.
Best to get a trust fund now for the future dental work.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 04:11:24 PM
Why do you feel the need to economize? I thought you were making decent bank.
Wife's not working, and we've probably gotten a bit sloppy in our spending habits. We're not running up debt or anything, but we're finding ourselves with nothing left by the end of the month (when we used to always have a good balance in the ole bank account), so just trying to go back and look at our expenses.
Plus, there's a weird deduction I only have to make for approx the six months of the year, which will start coming off my paycheque again in January.
I'd cut cable in a heart beat if not for the wife and kid. I need to look into options for letting my daughter watch children's programming through the various streaming services, I think if some of the kid shows she watches were available I could maybe swing it, I just haven't dug into it at all.
I have Netflix and Hulu+ and Amazon Prime, so any non-sports that I watch is on those services. Other than Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire recently I can't remember a show I watched on actual TV. I'm such a streaming/on demand guy I couldn't even tell you when shows are on or what network schedules are, and almost wouldn't bother with a show not available at my fingertips.
I actually like to watch my live sports in a local sports bar, so the occasional game I watch at home wouldn't be missed terribly. Plus, with terrestrial digital signals you can actually get some major sports over the air if they are on one of the networks.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 04:31:51 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 04:11:24 PM
Why do you feel the need to economize? I thought you were making decent bank.
Wife's not working, and we've probably gotten a bit sloppy in our spending habits. We're not running up debt or anything, but we're finding ourselves with nothing left by the end of the month (when we used to always have a good balance in the ole bank account), so just trying to go back and look at our expenses.
Plus, there's a weird deduction I only have to make for approx the six months of the year, which will start coming off my paycheque again in January.
It's amazing how expenses continually increase if you don't watch them, isn't it. :lol:
My own favorite savings technique, because I have recording and budgeting everything - the automatic transfer of a reasonable amount off the top into a savings account. Then, live on what is left.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 04:31:51 PM
Wife's not working, and we've probably gotten a bit sloppy in our spending habits. We're not running up debt or anything, but we're finding ourselves with nothing left by the end of the month (when we used to always have a good balance in the ole bank account), so just trying to go back and look at our expenses.
Plus, there's a weird deduction I only have to make for approx the six months of the year, which will start coming off my paycheque again in January.
You're not asking for budgeting advice and I'm sure you're a smart enough guy to run your own finances, but I thought I'd mention the "budget to zero" philosophy I and my wife have used for years.
Basically at the beginning of each month, we total up our income for the month and then "budget to zero", basically meaning we allocate every dollar coming in to predefined expense categories. That way there is no "unassigned" money. The category balances build up over time if you don't end up spending them. After a certain period of carry overs you can decide on what to do with the excess. Some categories we frequently carry over would be things like electric / natural gas budgeted money in low usage months. With those, we let that money stay "assigned" to those categories because we know in higher usage months we'll want to draw from the surplus.
For other categories at the end of the year we take all the excess out and put into long term savings.
What I found great about switching to this system (which we did over ten years ago), is you no longer have to work throughout the month wondering if you're over or under spending. Everything is assigned a budget. To keep things on track you also record every transaction you make and make deductions from budget so you know where you're at. It sounds more involved than it is, for me it was an afternoon setting up an excel spreadsheet to do exactly what I needed and then just copying a new one for each month into a new worksheet. It sounds laborious to log your transactions but it works out to like 5 minutes a day.
I know if I cut cable TV, the twins would murder me in my sleep.
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 04:43:14 PM
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 04:31:51 PM
Wife's not working, and we've probably gotten a bit sloppy in our spending habits. We're not running up debt or anything, but we're finding ourselves with nothing left by the end of the month (when we used to always have a good balance in the ole bank account), so just trying to go back and look at our expenses.
Plus, there's a weird deduction I only have to make for approx the six months of the year, which will start coming off my paycheque again in January.
You're not asking for budgeting advice and I'm sure you're a smart enough guy to run your own finances, but I thought I'd mention the "budget to zero" philosophy I and my wife have used for years.
Basically at the beginning of each month, we total up our income for the month and then "budget to zero", basically meaning we allocate every dollar coming in to predefined expense categories. That way there is no "unassigned" money. The category balances build up over time if you don't end up spending them. After a certain period of carry overs you can decide on what to do with the excess. Some categories we frequently carry over would be things like electric / natural gas budgeted money in low usage months. With those, we let that money stay "assigned" to those categories because we know in higher usage months we'll want to draw from the surplus.
For other categories at the end of the year we take all the excess out and put into long term savings.
What I found great about switching to this system (which we did over ten years ago), is you no longer have to work throughout the month wondering if you're over or under spending. Everything is assigned a budget. To keep things on track you also record every transaction you make and make deductions from budget so you know where you're at. It sounds more involved than it is, for me it was an afternoon setting up an excel spreadsheet to do exactly what I needed and then just copying a new one for each month into a new worksheet. It sounds laborious to log your transactions but it works out to like 5 minutes a day.
My system, while no doubt much more wasteful than yours, has the benefit of avoiding the spreadsheet and tracking everything. Just decide how much you need to live on for a month, automatically transfer the rest into savings, and spend whatever you haven't transferred.
Works for me, anyway.
Quote from: Ed Anger on December 18, 2013, 04:45:35 PM
I know if I cut cable TV, the twins would murder me in my sleep.
Aren't they eventually going to do that anyway? Parricide is a rite of passage for evil twins. ;)
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 04:37:30 PM
I'd cut cable in a heart beat if not for the wife and kid. I need to look into options for letting my daughter watch children's programming through the various streaming services, I think if some of the kid shows she watches were available I could maybe swing it, I just haven't dug into it at all.
There is a decent bit out there from Amazon Prime and Netflix, but due to they way licensing agreements come & go for those services you never know when their favorite show will disappear. Hulu+ may be more stable, dunno-- when we had it we didn't really use it for kids shows.
Quote from: Malthus on December 18, 2013, 04:48:53 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on December 18, 2013, 04:45:35 PM
I know if I cut cable TV, the twins would murder me in my sleep.
Aren't they eventually going to do that anyway? Parricide is a rite of passage for evil twins. ;)
:(
You could always ship them off to a Swiss boarding school.
That costs money.
Quote from: Ed Anger on December 18, 2013, 04:49:37 PM
Quote from: Malthus on December 18, 2013, 04:48:53 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on December 18, 2013, 04:45:35 PM
I know if I cut cable TV, the twins would murder me in my sleep.
Aren't they eventually going to do that anyway? Parricide is a rite of passage for evil twins. ;)
:(
If they can do it and get away with it, they will make you proud.
Extra points for delivering, in tandem, a tearful eulogy at your funeral. :)
Beeb, the first thing you need to do is put $1,000 in a money market account. Or whatever a money market account is called in Canada.
On a very tangentially related note, what is the currency symbol for the loonie?
Flannel.
They use the $.
Was that a serious question, Yi? :huh:
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 04:37:30 PM
I'd cut cable in a heart beat if not for the wife and kid. I need to look into options for letting my daughter watch children's programming through the various streaming services, I think if some of the kid shows she watches were available I could maybe swing it, I just haven't dug into it at all.
Timmy (and little Andrew) do watch some kids tv, but Timmy works the iPad like a pro and watches all sorts of things on it.
One day I'm going to have to figure out how to lock that thing down since I know what you can find on Netflix, but so far he only watches cartoons and animal documentaries. :D
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 04:58:58 PM
Beeb, the first thing you need to do is put $1,000 in a money market account. Or whatever a money market account is called in Canada.
On a very tangentially related note, what is the currency symbol for the loonie?
Why's that?
$, as mentioned. Or C$, or CAD.
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:08:20 PM
Was that a serious question, Yi? :huh:
Yeah. Is it $? C$? I don't know.
I once cut the cable, but it was a bitch to splice it back together without getting static :(
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 05:10:20 PM
Why's that?
It's a little jab at Cal's wife. She had heard on some personal finance show that the first step is to put a grand in a MM account that you only touch in emergencies. Which is fine, but they're a two income family and Cal makes a gwilion dollars.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 05:11:10 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:08:20 PM
Was that a serious question, Yi? :huh:
Yeah. Is it $? C$? I don't know.
Depends on context.
Inside Canada, it is usually simply "$". If, in context, it is necessary to differentiate it from the US dollar, one can use either the code "CAD" or the sign "C$".
Quote from: Ed Anger on December 18, 2013, 04:54:49 PM
That costs money.
You could cut the cable to help pay for the expense.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
One day I'm going to have to figure out how to lock that thing down since I know what you can find on Netflix, but so far he only watches cartoons and animal documentaries. :D
I hear you. Both of mine have stuck to kids content on their own so far. The algorithm that keeps feeding kids content as suggestions seems pretty solid. Lola is totally obsessed with videos of people opening kinder eggs and crafting things with play-doh.
My overprotective & paranoid sister in law is convinced that she walked in on my 7-year old nephew was watching nekkid women dance on Youtube. I told her that's practically impossible, but there's no convincing that woman when her mind is made up. And she can't describe in any useful way what she thought she saw.
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:28:40 PM
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
One day I'm going to have to figure out how to lock that thing down since I know what you can find on Netflix, but so far he only watches cartoons and animal documentaries. :D
I hear you. Both of mine have stuck to kids content on their own so far. The algorithm that keeps feeding kids content as suggestions seems pretty solid. Lola is totally obsessed with videos of people opening kinder eggs and crafting things with play-doh.
My overprotective & paranoid sister in law is convinced that she walked in on my 7-year old nephew was watching nekkid women dance on Youtube. I told her that's practically impossible, but there's no convincing that woman when her mind is made up. And she can't describe in any useful way what she thought she saw.
Oh, I'm more concerned about youtube, but Timmy rarely goes there.
Oops, I read your post & thought Youtube, not Netflix :blush:
Having profiles on Netflix now helps. I didn't like having my wife's zombie/horror movies show up in our queue <_<
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 05:30:53 PM
Oh, I'm more concerned about youtube, but Timmy rarely goes there.
In time he will spend a lot of time there, or its equivalent. My boys watch more youtube than any other media.
Not sure why you are worried about that. He isnt going to be looking for nekkid women on youtube. ;)
Do girls have a habit of looking at porn behind their parents backs? I know my brothers and I had stacks of girly mags but I can't remember my sister ever having anything like that.
My daughter is still at an age where I don't really worry about her intentionally finding anything bad on Netflix or etc, and most of the stuff would be buried in content she would have no interest in. When she's a bit older I'll have to look into some parental controls so she doesn't accidentally watch the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan or something.
Times have changed compared to even 10 years ago.Kids will see porn on the internet one way or the other, it's pretty unavoidable. It's pretty scary stuff, it's unhealthy enough for developed adult brains but it can apparently seriously mess with developing minds.
On the main topic- I would cut it down the barest basics
Lola was hooked on this really annoying French (?) cartoon "TroTro" on Netflix. The kid's (well actually he's a little donkey) voice is so annoying and he's a total narcissist.
Still better than that whiney piece of shit Caillou, though. One thing the wife & I agree on is not allowing that show on at any time in our house.
I haven't had cable for ages. Haven't missed it. Of course I don't watch much in the way of shows and movies, so it's not a big deal.
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:53:04 PM
Lola was hooked on this really annoying French (?) cartoon "TroTro" on Netflix. The kid's (well actually he's a little donkey) voice is so annoying and he's a total narcissist.
Still better than that whiney piece of shit Caillou, though. One thing the wife & I agree on is not allowing that show on at any time in our house.
:huh:
What's wrong with Caillou?
It' certainly better than my nemesis Fireman Sam. <_<
And yeah, Timmy has found some pretty bizarre cartoons on Netflix, stuff I'd never heard of. And weirdly one off his favourites is the 90s childrens
classic... Barney. :yuk:
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 04:49:20 PM
There is a decent bit out there from Amazon Prime and Netflix, but due to they way licensing agreements come & go for those services you never know when their favorite show will disappear. Hulu+ may be more stable, dunno-- when we had it we didn't really use it for kids shows.
Hulu isn't available in Canada, Netflix Canada does not seem to have that much content compared to Netflix US, so I really wonder if it's a really good option to cut cable in Canada.
EDIT: just found this: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/gadgets-and-gear/gadgets/cordcutter-gift-guide-best-tv-streaming-boxes-for-canada/article15800902/
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 06:00:27 PM
:huh:
What's wrong with Caillou?
To borrow my wife's description, he's a whiny little pussy and his parents are enablers. Plus it creeps her out that he's bald. She hates the show even more than I do.
Quote
And yeah, Timmy has found some pretty bizarre cartoons on Netflix, stuff I'd never heard of. And weirdly one off his favourites is the 90s childrens classic... Barney. :yuk:
Tommy has been watching The Magic Schoolbus, which is a really poorly animated show from the 90s (?). It's like a show they'd force you to watch in school, which may be where he discovered it, dunno.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 04:58:58 PM
Beeb, the first thing you need to do is put $1,000 in a money market account. Or whatever a money market account is called in Canada.
Tax free savings account, TSFA. 5000 (now 5500$) per year max though. Revenus grow with no taxes on them.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 06:00:27 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:53:04 PM
Lola was hooked on this really annoying French (?) cartoon "TroTro" on Netflix. The kid's (well actually he's a little donkey) voice is so annoying and he's a total narcissist.
Still better than that whiney piece of shit Caillou, though. One thing the wife & I agree on is not allowing that show on at any time in our house.
:huh:
What's wrong with Caillou?
IIRC, it taught parental disobediance to kids. Or something like that, I can't remember, it's been too long since I heard about it.
Haven't had cable for four years. Do have netflix though, if you're watching through your pc Beeb you can also get a browser add-on to let you have American netflix... much better choices for TV shows than Canadian netflix... movies are about the same.
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:33:52 PM
Oops, I read your post & thought Youtube, not Netflix :blush:
Having profiles on Netflix now helps. I didn't like having my wife's zombie/horror movies show up in our queue <_<
Ugh, I go the same problem. I have a netflix account which my mom uses quite a bit and it recommends to me the most boring British television.
Quote from: viper37 on December 18, 2013, 06:20:29 PM
Tax free savings account, TSFA. 5000 (now 5500$) per year max though. Revenus grow with no taxes on them.
That sounds like your IRA equivalent. A money market account has no special tax treatment. It's a hybrid checking/savings account.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 03:34:16 PM
Wife and I have been discussing cutting back on some expenses, and one idea we keep coming back to is cutting our cable. There's an awful lot on Netflix, most of the hockey I watch is on GameCentre, and I have to remind myself that over the air broadcasts still exist.
Has anyone out there gone for it and ditched cable tv entirely?
I do not have cable television. In fact, I don't get broadcast TV either. I don't have the gear.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 06:52:46 PM
Quote from: viper37 on December 18, 2013, 06:20:29 PM
Tax free savings account, TSFA. 5000 (now 5500$) per year max though. Revenus grow with no taxes on them.
That sounds like your IRA equivalent. A money market account has no special tax treatment. It's a hybrid checking/savings account.
We have the same thing. But with TSFA's nobody uses them much anymore.
What are the withdrawal rules on a TFSA? People use money market accounts or regular savings account because they are ultra-liquid. IRAs are easy to put money into, but you can't pull it out without paying a 10% penalty unless you're over the age of 59.5.
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 04:43:14 PM
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 04:31:51 PM
Wife's not working, and we've probably gotten a bit sloppy in our spending habits. We're not running up debt or anything, but we're finding ourselves with nothing left by the end of the month (when we used to always have a good balance in the ole bank account), so just trying to go back and look at our expenses.
Plus, there's a weird deduction I only have to make for approx the six months of the year, which will start coming off my paycheque again in January.
You're not asking for budgeting advice and I'm sure you're a smart enough guy to run your own finances, but I thought I'd mention the "budget to zero" philosophy I and my wife have used for years.
Basically at the beginning of each month, we total up our income for the month and then "budget to zero", basically meaning we allocate every dollar coming in to predefined expense categories. That way there is no "unassigned" money. The category balances build up over time if you don't end up spending them. After a certain period of carry overs you can decide on what to do with the excess. Some categories we frequently carry over would be things like electric / natural gas budgeted money in low usage months. With those, we let that money stay "assigned" to those categories because we know in higher usage months we'll want to draw from the surplus.
For other categories at the end of the year we take all the excess out and put into long term savings.
What I found great about switching to this system (which we did over ten years ago), is you no longer have to work throughout the month wondering if you're over or under spending. Everything is assigned a budget. To keep things on track you also record every transaction you make and make deductions from budget so you know where you're at. It sounds more involved than it is, for me it was an afternoon setting up an excel spreadsheet to do exactly what I needed and then just copying a new one for each month into a new worksheet. It sounds laborious to log your transactions but it works out to like 5 minutes a day.
My wife and I started doing this when we got married, and we have eliminated a ton of debt, and have about 10k in cash put back, plus we refinanced our house, saving us a ton of money. We upped our grocery budget after four years of $50/week to $62.50/week because we were zeroing out and missing out on something each week, and we're basically a week ahead at this point. And all we really had to do was plan. We're not as disciplined as OvB, but then, we're not high rollers, because we're still mostly paying off debt. This week, we killed my last credit card. Now, we are going to be flush.
Quote from: Barrister on December 18, 2013, 06:00:27 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:53:04 PM
Lola was hooked on this really annoying French (?) cartoon "TroTro" on Netflix. The kid's (well actually he's a little donkey) voice is so annoying and he's a total narcissist.
Still better than that whiney piece of shit Caillou, though. One thing the wife & I agree on is not allowing that show on at any time in our house.
:huh:
What's wrong with Caillou?
It' certainly better than my nemesis Fireman Sam. <_<
And yeah, Timmy has found some pretty bizarre cartoons on Netflix, stuff I'd never heard of. And weirdly one off his favourites is the 90s childrens classic... Barney. :yuk:
Caillou is the poster child for the Child King phenomenum. His parents let him do everything he wants all the time.
If you are serious about Netflix, you need a netflix switcher, like adfreetime. https://adfreetime.com/region-unlock/
I can't cut cable, I want to watch the Habs play & those games won't be on Gamecenter for me. There's also the kids channels, the cooking & home improvement channels my gf & I watch almost constantly.
Maybe in a couple of years when Videotron's Netflix has more content.
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 08:34:34 PM
What are the withdrawal rules on a TFSA? People use money market accounts or regular savings account because they are ultra-liquid. IRAs are easy to put money into, but you can't pull it out without paying a 10% penalty unless you're over the age of 59.5.
It depends on the institutions you use. Most seem to be a 25$ fee per cashing out.
A thought: Kids having video on demand.
How does this affect their likes and dislikes?
Beyond getting to see and like odd stuff of course.
What I mean is...with conventional TV it was an episode, maybe two if you're lucky, a week. Shows lasted for years. Kids could grow up with one or two main shows for each time of their life.
With this video on demand stuff...then they can blow through every episode ever made of each show several times over within a month. Its much more disposable. Or do they forget they've seen every episode? Or just plain not care/see it as part of the fun? (my mother says I watched my one Thomas VHS tape front to back so often she knew it all by heart).
I'd wonder further on this how it would tie into the whole TV-show/marketing tool thing...
Quote from: Razgovory on December 18, 2013, 06:42:50 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 18, 2013, 05:33:52 PM
Oops, I read your post & thought Youtube, not Netflix :blush:
Having profiles on Netflix now helps. I didn't like having my wife's zombie/horror movies show up in our queue <_<
Ugh, I go the same problem. I have a netflix account which my mom uses quite a bit and it recommends to me the most boring British television.
You really should give Doc Martin a chance. :)
Quote from: Tyr on December 19, 2013, 01:22:09 AM
A thought: Kids having video on demand.
How does this affect their likes and dislikes?
Beyond getting to see and like odd stuff of course.
What I mean is...with conventional TV it was an episode, maybe two if you're lucky, a week. Shows lasted for years. Kids could grow up with one or two main shows for each time of their life.
With this video on demand stuff...then they can blow through every episode ever made of each show several times over within a month. Its much more disposable. Or do they forget they've seen every episode? Or just plain not care/see it as part of the fun? (my mother says I watched my one Thomas VHS tape front to back so often she knew it all by heart).
I'd wonder further on this how it would tie into the whole TV-show/marketing tool thing...
Timmy can watch the same episode of whatever, be it Team Umi-Zoomi, Barney, Caillou, or whatever, multiple times and not care in the least.
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 04:43:14 PM
You're not asking for budgeting advice and I'm sure you're a smart enough guy to run your own finances, but I thought I'd mention the "budget to zero" philosophy I and my wife have used for years.
Basically at the beginning of each month, we total up our income for the month and then "budget to zero", basically meaning we allocate every dollar coming in to predefined expense categories. That way there is no "unassigned" money. The category balances build up over time if you don't end up spending them. After a certain period of carry overs you can decide on what to do with the excess. Some categories we frequently carry over would be things like electric / natural gas budgeted money in low usage months. With those, we let that money stay "assigned" to those categories because we know in higher usage months we'll want to draw from the surplus.
For other categories at the end of the year we take all the excess out and put into long term savings.
What I found great about switching to this system (which we did over ten years ago), is you no longer have to work throughout the month wondering if you're over or under spending. Everything is assigned a budget. To keep things on track you also record every transaction you make and make deductions from budget so you know where you're at. It sounds more involved than it is, for me it was an afternoon setting up an excel spreadsheet to do exactly what I needed and then just copying a new one for each month into a new worksheet. It sounds laborious to log your transactions but it works out to like 5 minutes a day.
My lady-friend and I have a similar system, but don't you have an issue with the administration of it? You're basically checking every receipt to track every dollar spent, no?
Quote from: PRC on December 19, 2013, 02:00:26 AM
My lady-friend and I have a similar system, but don't you have an issue with the administration of it? You're basically checking every receipt to track every dollar spent, no?
My version of this is a spreadsheet with all my monthly, quarterly and annual bills with the next debit date. Each month, I subtract what's coming out that month and transfer what's left minus a safety net to a separate cash account which I use for food, petrol and all out of pocket expenses, as far as possible using actual cash. If I haven't touched the safety net, it goes as an extra credit card repayment. I swap my credit card debt between interest-free offers as they run out. My savings will equal my credit card balance in a few months, I may take the plunge and pay it off entirely, but I'm not happy without having some savings in case of emergencies.
Yeah, I seriously micro-manage (I check my balance pretty much every day) but having been in financial strife the last couple of years it's the only way I sleep at night.
I get my TV (including on-demand TV, some movies and a sports channel with most of the premiership matches), broadband, telephone line rental and calls (but who uses a landline these days?) for £47. No cable, it's an aerial/broadband thingy.
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 08:34:34 PM
What are the withdrawal rules on a TFSA? People use money market accounts or regular savings account because they are ultra-liquid. IRAs are easy to put money into, but you can't pull it out without paying a 10% penalty unless you're over the age of 59.5.
No penalty. You can put in, and take out, as much as you like from the total TFSA "space", up to the maximum contribution - the amount you put into that space has a maximum (which grows by $5500 each year).
http://www.tfsa.gc.ca/
It's really useful.
The big question, for Canucks, is - put into RRSP, or TFSA?
The diferences - RRSP is for retirement, you are not taxed on money you put in, you are taxed on money you take out. TFSA - for anything. You are not taxed on the
increase on money inside the TFSA "space". You can take out whenever you want.
For high-income types, filling up the RRSP to the max seems to me to be a no-brainer: if you are in the over-30% tax bracket, it's like being handed an instant extra third of the money you contribute. Then, fill up the TFSA, the RESP (the education savings plan) if you have kids, etc.
There is no way I could micro-manage my finances like you guys do, let alone make my wife do the same. I find it hard enough to docket my hours at work. :lol:
I just say "every month I save X$. The rest we spend".
Oh, the life of the rich.
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 19, 2013, 09:29:14 AM
Oh, the life of the rich.
I used the same method when I had very little money. I
always had savings, even if only a small amount.
Quote from: Barrister on December 19, 2013, 01:35:56 AM
Timmy can watch the same episode of whatever, be it Team Umi-Zoomi, Barney, Caillou, or whatever, multiple times and not care in the least.
I know Lola has hit her limit on watching the same episode of whatever show when she throws the remote at me.
Latinas. :rolleyes:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 19, 2013, 09:33:40 AM
Latinas. :rolleyes:
Yeah. She's a redhead on top of that :pinch:
Quote from: Malthus on December 19, 2013, 09:31:46 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 19, 2013, 09:29:14 AM
Oh, the life of the rich.
I used the same method when I had very little money. I always had savings, even if only a small amount.
Oh the life of the frugal.
Quote from: Malthus on December 19, 2013, 09:31:46 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 19, 2013, 09:29:14 AM
Oh, the life of the rich.
I used the same method when I had very little money. I always had savings, even if only a small amount.
Yeah, ironically we used to save a much larger percentage of our incomes when we made much less. We still save a lot each year but if we had anything close to the kind of discipline we once did.... then our kids would have less fun :D Beware the teen years!
Quote from: Ed Anger on December 19, 2013, 09:52:29 AM
Quote from: derspiess on December 19, 2013, 09:38:02 AM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 19, 2013, 09:33:40 AM
Latinas. :rolleyes:
Yeah. She's a redhead on top of that :pinch:
I'll pray for you.
She put her head on my shoulder last night & told me I was her best friend :cry:
Pretty sure that was just to get my attention because I was reading a news article and <gasp> not paying 100% attention to her.
Quote from: Malthus on December 19, 2013, 09:31:46 AM
I used the same method when I had very little money. I always had savings, even if only a small amount.
You always had savings? You never had one savings-draining emergency? You lucky fuck. I just had to blow most of mine on a new water heater. Damnit. Hope everything holds together while I replenish my funds.
Quote from: Valmy on December 19, 2013, 11:59:57 AM
Quote from: Malthus on December 19, 2013, 09:31:46 AM
I used the same method when I had very little money. I always had savings, even if only a small amount.
You always had savings? You never had one savings-draining emergency? You lucky fuck. I just had to blow most of mine on a new water heater. Damnit. Hope everything holds together while I replenish my funds.
Yeah, I had a couple of occasions when I had to use up my savings on something or other pressing, though mostly self-inflicted (my foray into entreprenureal business. :( ). But as soon as I drained it dry, I always started to build it up again. I was always, when possible, putting something of what I earned away, even if only a little bit.
The contrast is with some of my friends, many of whom literally lived paycheque to paycheque - it didn't matter how much they earned, they spent it. They still do that. One of my buddies is also a lawyer, and he has two luxury cars and a very nicely furished house, and two small kids, with a great nanny, they take fancy vacations - yet I know he makes less than I do. My wife was all like 'how
do they do it!?' Sadly, he'd told me the answer earlier, in some fear - they were up to their ass in debt to pay for all these nice things and had no savings at all - not a penny. A massive mortgage on the house and the cars are leased, plus a big line of credit to pay for renos and furniture, *and* credit card debt on top. If he lost his job for a month, they would be royally fucked; and as for retirement, forget it.
It's actually not that uncommon a story, according to the news.
I autosave at least $1,000 every month. Plus ordinary buildup that gets transferred to savings when overload threatens.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 18, 2013, 06:52:46 PM
Quote from: viper37 on December 18, 2013, 06:20:29 PM
Tax free savings account, TSFA. 5000 (now 5500$) per year max though. Revenus grow with no taxes on them.
That sounds like your IRA equivalent. A money market account has no special tax treatment. It's a hybrid checking/savings account.
oh, that. Well, we have that, but interest rate on this is close to 0%, 0,1% if you're lucky:
http://www.desjardins.com/particuliers/comptes-services-relies/comptes-cheques/rendement-croissant/index.jsp
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on December 18, 2013, 08:34:34 PM
What are the withdrawal rules on a TFSA? People use money market accounts or regular savings account because they are ultra-liquid. IRAs are easy to put money into, but you can't pull it out without paying a 10% penalty unless you're over the age of 59.5.
IIRC, there's a time limit. If you have the right to put, say 25k$ max in a TFSA this year, if you remove momey and put it back right afterward, it will count double. Meaning, you take out 5000$ and you put back 5000$ a month later, if your previous balance was 25 000$, you are over your limit by 5000$ and there are penalties to pay. If I'm not mistaken, you have to wait a minimum of 30 days before you refund and the next fiscal year to not go beyond your maximum.
Quote from: Malthus on December 19, 2013, 09:25:13 AM
The big question, for Canucks, is - put into RRSP, or TFSA?
The diferences - RRSP is for retirement, you are not taxed on money you put in, you are taxed on money you take out. TFSA - for anything. You are not taxed on the increase on money inside the TFSA "space". You can take out whenever you want.
For high-income types, filling up the RRSP to the max seems to me to be a no-brainer: if you are in the over-30% tax bracket, it's like being handed an instant extra third of the money you contribute. Then, fill up the TFSA, the RESP (the education savings plan) if you have kids, etc.
It's simple, both :)
Maximize your tax income deductions with your RRSP. Basically, what you need to do, is put enough money in this to change your tax bracket. Say, if you are above 135 054$ for this year, you need to bring down your revenue to 87 123$. From there, going to 85 000 or 80 000$ is not the same huge gain you make as before, so it's better to use the TFSA then. Or other financial products, depending on what are your objectives.
These numbers are for Federal level only, of course, you need to consider provincial taxation schemes too, but you get the basics.
RESP is great for kids, especially considering the provincial and federal grant money they will give you if your kids go to college&university (not too sure about pre-collegial technical education, like mechanics or hair dresser).
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 19, 2013, 10:05:40 AM
Yeah, ironically we used to save a much larger percentage of our incomes when we made much less. We still save a lot each year but if we had anything close to the kind of discipline we once did.... then our kids would have less fun :D Beware the teen years!
so, raising the next line of defensemen for the Winnipeg Jets is not the only thing draining your savings? :cry:
Quote from: viper37 on December 19, 2013, 05:28:21 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 19, 2013, 10:05:40 AM
Yeah, ironically we used to save a much larger percentage of our incomes when we made much less. We still save a lot each year but if we had anything close to the kind of discipline we once did.... then our kids would have less fun :D Beware the teen years!
so, raising the next line of defensemen for the Winnipeg Jets is not the only thing draining your savings? :cry:
Look at who you're replying to.
You Anglos all look pretty much the same.
Quote from: Malthus on December 19, 2013, 09:27:29 AM
There is no way I could micro-manage my finances like you guys do, let alone make my wife do the same. I find it hard enough to docket my hours at work. :lol:
I just say "every month I save X$. The rest we spend".
I use a similar system. "Zero" is a possible value of x, right?
I tried keeping track of my spending once. That way madness lies.
I tend to just stuck to having x an month I can spend which is a bit more than an x a week I can spend (though basically the same money). I don't hold to it strictly and excuses are accepted if there was something special one weekend or I had to buy something that cost more than a 1000 yen.
Still, my bank balance just doesn't want to go up this year. :(
I have adopted seasonal cable. I get cable during football season, and disconnect it once football season ends. The beauty is that I then get the signup package for new customers so I get the cable I do use for about $35 a month. I'm not sure why comcast doesn't impose contracts on the signup packages.
Not sure what to do this year though. Olympics are in February, and the World Cup is over the summer.
Yeah, AT&T U-Verse and local cable here impose no contracts for their special introductory offers so you could easily cancel/restart as often as you want and get whatever special package they have available at the time.
DirecTV seems to only do two year contracts unless you're willing to pay $300-400 to buy all the equipment outright at the beginning.