The Loonie Bin: RRSP Challenge
It's that time of year again and one thing is for sure; If I read one more RRSP blog post I think I'm going to be sick. Just kidding! Although there are thousands of them out there, my post is a little different.
Ever since I can remember, I have been told to save money for retirement in an RRSP. Any money I contribute will be deducted from my income and I'll get some of the money I paid in taxes back from the government. Like most people, I was always excited to see that government check in my mailbox and It felt like I was getting free money. In reality it was MY money to begin with and the government was collecting interest on it and I was not.
It seems a lot of people think that way when it comes to tax time. I've even heard of people telling their employer to increase the amount of taxes they take off their pay cheque each month just so they have a huge refund at the end of the year. It is fair to assume that these people are not financial wizards and the only way they could amass a large sum of money is having it hidden from them. If I can just help one of these "over payers" to stop this silly strategy and see the "light", then maybe there is hope for this blog after all.
I have devised a strategy that allows me to pay less taxes throughout the year, and then end up owing the government money and not paying it back. My employer matches my RRSP contributions all year long and reduces the amount of taxes I pay each month. Basically my refund is distributed equally across twelve months which means my hard earned money is available to me every paycheck. No more free interest for the government to collect on my hard earned money and only pay me back the principle amount. I use the extra money every month to pay down debt so that the principle is reduced over the whole year, minimizing the amount of interest I pay overall.
So when February rolls around, I purchase Quicktax (I know it's called turbotax now, but that name is stupid ;) and I enter all my tax forms and I figure out what it's going to take to get me owing $1.99 in taxes. Why $1.99 you ask? Well the Canadian government has a policy for money transactions that if the amount is less the $2.00, then no money is owed or paid out. I first learned about this when my refund of .75 cents was not paid to me a few years ago, and ever since that day I've made it my goal at tax time to end up owing the government money and not having to pay it. Even though it might seem futile, it's the only legal way of getting back at them. Plus it makes me feel better.
I challenge all my readers to owe the government money without having to legally pay this tax season and enjoy the feeling of screwing over the government, no matter how insignificant it might be.
RRSP Challenge
It's that time of year again and one thing is for sure; If I read one more RRSP blog post I think I'm going to be sick. Just kidding! Although there are thousands of them out there, my post is a little different.
Ever since I can remember, I have been told to save money for retirement in an RRSP. Any money I contribute will be deducted from my income and I'll get some of the money I paid in taxes back from the government. Like most people, I was always excited to see that government check in my mailbox and It felt like I was getting free money. In reality it was MY money to begin with and the government was collecting interest on it and I was not.
It seems a lot of people think that way when it comes to tax time. I've even heard of people telling their employer to increase the amount of taxes they take off their pay cheque each month just so they have a huge refund at the end of the year. It is fair to assume that these people are not financial wizards and the only way they could amass a large sum of money is having it hidden from them. If I can just help one of these "over payers" to stop this silly strategy and see the "light", then maybe there is hope for this blog after all.
I have devised a strategy that allows me to pay less taxes throughout the year, and then end up owing the government money and not paying it back. My employer matches my RRSP contributions all year long and reduces the amount of taxes I pay each month. Basically my refund is distributed equally across twelve months which means my hard earned money is available to me every paycheck. No more free interest for the government to collect on my hard earned money and only pay me back the principle amount. I use the extra money every month to pay down debt so that the principle is reduced over the whole year, minimizing the amount of interest I pay overall.
So when February rolls around, I purchase Quicktax (I know it's called turbotax now, but that name is stupid ;) and I enter all my tax forms and I figure out what it's going to take to get me owing $1.99 in taxes. Why $1.99 you ask? Well the Canadian government has a policy for money transactions that if the amount is less the $2.00, then no money is owed or paid out. I first learned about this when my refund of .75 cents was not paid to me a few years ago, and ever since that day I've made it my goal at tax time to end up owing the government money and not having to pay it. Even though it might seem futile, it's the only legal way of getting back at them. Plus it makes me feel better.
I challenge all my readers to owe the government money without having to legally pay this tax season and enjoy the feeling of screwing over the government, no matter how insignificant it might be.
No comments:
Post a Comment