Weekend Reading: Easter Edition

I filed my taxes this week – both personal and for my small business – and came away pleased that I didn’t owe anything extra on the personal side and that my business taxes for 2015 came in less than expected.

I’ve mentioned previously that I work with an accountant to help ensure that I maximize all the deductions available to small business owners and to make sure that what we withdraw from (and leave in) the business account is done efficiently from a tax perspective.

Just before the RRSP deadline we calculated that my wife would owe about $1,120 in taxes based on the dividend income she receives from our online business. So I made a $3,500 RRSP contribution to get a refund of $1,120 and essentially wipe the slate clean for our household taxes.

Speaking of taxes, H&R Block will be hosting a Twitter chat on Tuesday March 29th from 8pm – 9pm EST using the hashtag #HowToRefund. I’ll be there to chat about all things tax-related and I hear there will be $750 in prizes to give away.

Follow H&R Block Canada on Twitter and join us Tuesday night to learn how to file your taxes for FREE this year.

This week’s recap:

On Monday I published an investing guide for beginners.

On Wednesday Marie shared some tips on managing multiple financial goals.

And on Friday we opened the Boomer & Echo mailbag and answered some of your tax-related questions.

Financial resource of the week:

One item in the federal budget that got my intention was the introduction of a new (and tax-free) Canada Child Benefit, which will replace the current Canada Child Tax Benefit and the (taxable) Universal Child Care Benefit.

This program will pay up to $6,400 annually for children under 6, and up to $5,400 annually for children ages 6-17. However, only families who earn less than $30,000 annually will be able to max out this new tax-free benefit. There’s a complicated formula that “phases-out” these benefits based on your family net income.

You can do the calculation yourself with this handy government of Canada Child Tax Benefit Calculator. I did the calculation and the new program should give our family an extra $54 per month over and above what the current UCCB and CCTB provides for us. Not bad!

Weekend Reading:

The liberals introduced a number of new items in their first federal budget and so this portion of weekend reading looks to summarize how those changes might affect you.

The Toronto Star shares an in-depth look at how the federal budget affects everyday families – actually crunching the numbers for various types of Canadian families to determine what’s in the budget for each. This is a must read.

Here’s MoneySense with 25 ways the federal budget impacts you.

Tax credits were restored for labour-sponsored funds, but experts still caution against them.

Meanwhile, corporate class investment funds will lose a key tax advantage later this year.

The Child Tax Benefit should put more money into the hands of Canadian families, however the liberal’s plan to phase out popular tax credits for children’s fitness and arts programs by 2017.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau expects to raise $3-billion a year by cancelling more tax credits.

Moving on from the budget, here’s how a tax-friendly RBC fund became a tax headache for unit-holders.

Canadian Couch Potato looks at what investment returns to expect in the future.

Robo-advisor Wealthsimple introduces a socially responsible investment portfolio, a smart move considering the popularity of this type of investing with Millennials.

Responsible investing is nothing new for ModernAdvisor, another robo-firm that’s based out of Vancouver.

One man robo-advisor Michael James on Money has coded all of his investment decisions into a spreadsheet that alerts him whenever his target asset allocation drifts out of balance.

What’s the cost of not paying attention to your finances? Ben Carlson looks at the latest ponzi-scheme victims.

Seven investment advisors share their biggest investment mistakes.

Need to upgrade to a larger house? Don’t let your bigger home own you.

How families can do Disney (and other big ticket destinations) on a dime. I’m not sure about this one. Travel is expensive.

Retiring with a mortgage? Why you might want to think twice about that.

The CRTC’s brilliant solution to lower cable prices and poor TV service is…haggling?

Since crossing the million-dollar net worth milestone this blogger has a new challenge – reaching $60,000/year in passive income by 2020 (when he turns 41).

A millennial blogger discusses why tracking your spending is crucial, but budgeting isn’t always that helpful.

Finally, Alan Whitton started Canajun Finances 11 years ago and shares the biggest reason why he keeps hustling.

Happy Easter weekend, everyone!