FRED LUM/The Globe and Mail
It was almost five years ago that the penny was withdrawn from circulation in Canada. Nearly worthless currency hasn't disappeared in this country altogether, though. Not if you have any of those five- and 10-cent denominations of Canadian Tire money floating around your house.
There's a 10-cent piece of Canadian Tire money on our kitchen counter right now, and others no doubt hidden in desk and dresser drawers. They might not even add up to a buck, which is to say that the time and effort in gathering them together wouldn't be worth it. Or would it? A recent Maclean's article describes the considerable value that some Canadian Tire money has to collectors.
A $2 Canadian Tire bill from 1989 recently went up for auction at a reserve price of $3,000, thanks to an anomaly. A 50-cent note from 1958 is worth $1,500 or more. I doubt our Canadian Tire money is anything collectors would be interested in, but you never know. Let's just say I have new respect for the paper version of the late, unlamented penny.
Post-script: You can get a plastic My Canadian Tire "Money" Card or use a smartphone app to hold your Canadian Tire money. I'm signing up.
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Rob's personal finance reading list…
Think I'll go out to Alberta
A young woman writes about how Vancouver's crushingly expensive housing market pushed her out of the city. She's planning to move to Calgary. Read this if you want to understand how expensive housing affects young adults.
What restaurant trends tell us about the economy
This nicely written piece uses the U.S. restaurant chain TGI Friday's to document the struggles of the middle class.
Your basic password nightmare
This story will resonate with anyone who struggles to remember passwords for financial accounts. A tech industry guy buys some Bitcoins – the "cryptocurrency" that has been soaring in price lately – and stores them in a safe device called a hardware wallet. When he goes to check on his Bitcoins, he realizes he can't remember his password.
Beware the long commute
A recent British study found that even just a 20-minute increase in commute time is equivalent to getting a 19 per cent pay cut for job satisfaction. Long commutes are often the price paid for affordable housing in the distant suburbs and communities that are even further out.
Today's featured financial tool
To mark Financial Literacy Month, the federal Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has created this page of links to events and tools.
Ask Rob
A week or so ago, I answered a question about the iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF(FIE) and its suitability for an RRIF account. A reader then asked for a comment on something my colleague John Henizl wrote about this fund. He said a return of capital represents a huge part of its distribution. Very true, and definitely something to consider from a tax point of view before buying FIE for a non-registered account. In an RRIF, a return of capital is immaterial. Distributions from FIE inside the RRIF wouldn't be taxed, while cash withdrawals from the RRIF would be taxed as regular income at your normal rate.
Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can't answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length.
What I've been writing about
- Accept it, your children may grow up to be renters
- Meet the robo-planner: Money answers with no push to buy investments
- Nervous about frothy stocks? Here are four alternatives (for Globe Unlimited subscribers)
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