Comments for Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Comment on RESP: Cover Tuition by bigcajunman
In reply to <a href="https://www.canajunfinances.com/2012/04/10/resp-you-realize-it-is-only-going-to-cover-tuition-right/#comment-130991">CS</a>. Congratulations, given you have invested well, and been diligent in paying in, you have "won" the game. There are folks who have simply bought bank Mutual Funds (or worse used the RESP as a savings account) who may not have gotten as good return as you did. The past 20 years has also been a "gang busters" period for the Stock Market, as a data point. When I started buying RESP's in 1994 (?) maybe earlier, the pay back on investments were not quite as bullish. Also the fees structure in place in most Colleges and Universities, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-canada-university-budgeting-mandatory-fees/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow ugc">have gone up a great deal over the past 20 years or so</a>. Negative? Maybe, but that is my general tone. I think a cautionary tone would be better description. Again, congrats on getting it done.

Comment on RESP: Cover Tuition by CS
This is an unusual article. It seems to suggest that RESPs won't cover the 'full cost' of post-secondary education. Why? Our experience with RESPs and university tuition has yielded an RESP that has covered and will more than cover post-secondary for both my kids. "...get a little growth and you should be just fine"? I'm no investing genius, but a conservative return over 18 years has yielded more than enough to cover all the costs for both kids to live away from home and cover all associated costs without really thinking about it. The fact that we made our kids get jobs and pay a (not insignificant) portion means they will actually have more than they need by quite a margin. This means my daughter is confidently able to think about graduate school and my son, entering university this year has the freedom to pursue any path. I'm not trying to toot my own horn - but I dont understand the negative tone - if you an afford the annual contribution the program works.

Comment on Retirement: Adieu, Farewell, GMOOH! by Benjamin Hunting
Congratulations! Thank you for all of your writing and insight over the years.

Comment on Retirement: Adieu, Farewell, GMOOH! by Andrew
Big congrats Alan. Hope you enjoy the next adventure that is retirement.

Comment on Retirement: Adieu, Farewell, GMOOH! by Michael Wiener
Congratulations! Retiring is great and unsettling all at once. Have fun.

Comment on Retirement: Adieu, Farewell, GMOOH! by Armand
Congratulations on this new chapter of your life. Enjoy every day, because tomorrow is not promised.

Comment on Does a Credit Card Appear Out of Nowhere? by bigcajunman
In reply to <a href="https://www.canajunfinances.com/2018/04/17/magic-credit-card/#comment-121753">aB</a>. Agreed, everyone should be doing that, but she should also make sure she isn't paying for her Dad's latest Monoprice purchase as well :-) >

Comment on Does a Credit Card Appear Out of Nowhere? by aB
Yes pay off the credit card each month, but make sure you (she) reviews what she is paying for. Don't want to find out there are some mysterious (fraudulent) charges or anything.

Comment on Why I’m Still Not Your Investment Guru (but that’s OK) by bigcajunman
Me too! I am using outlook's RSS reader, how very, odd... hmmm....

Comment on Why I’m Still Not Your Investment Guru (but that’s OK) by Sally
Funny how today's post showed up in my RSS feed via feedly, where half the article showed up. Something about the two horizontal lines under "Thought for the Month (in 2008)" section broke the way it showed up in my feed. Wanted to let you know!

Comment on RDSP: Statement of Entitlement 2026 by bigcajunman
In reply to <a href="https://www.canajunfinances.com/2026/02/23/rdsp-statement-of-entitlement-2026/#comment-130610">Ron Malis</a>. Excellent point about the importance of submitting your child's taxes from age 17 onward. I did that, but don't remember if I ever wrote about it. Might be an idea! From our cursory checking of the ODSP rules, he already has too much in his bank account to qualify. Now, having said that if we worked at it: 1) Spent his savings account on his schooling, along with his RESP 2) I started charging him rent (which isn't a bad idea, come to think of it) 3) Read the ODSP qualifications closer We could get him qualified, but we'll wait on that for now. --Thx Ron

Comment on RDSP: Statement of Entitlement 2026 by Ron Malis
I'm curious why you think your son wouldn't qualify for ODSP. Generally, it is more difficult to qualify for the DTC than ODSP. Or do you think he wouldn't satisfy ODSP's financial eligibility criteria? About Grant entitlement calculations the year the beneficiary turns 19, plan holders need need to understand the beneficiary's tax return needs to be filed the year they turn 17, even if they earned zero income, because the Grant entitlement for the year the beneficiary turns 19 is based on their net taxable income from the year they turned 17. If the tax return isn't filed, the Grant entitlement will be $1,000 instead of $3,500 and the Bond entitlement will be zero because the government won't know the beneficiary's income was low enough to qualify for the $3,500 Grant or $1,000 Bond.

Comment on Financial Stress and Sleep: Why Money Worries Keep Us Awake by Grok's Perspectives
Grok's perspectives on this are: The post discusses how financial worries disrupt sleep by perpetuating stress cycles, linking to a blog advocating budgets and expense cuts to regain control and improve rest. Accompanying image features the adage "Plan like a Pessimist, Live like an Optimist," illustrating a balanced approach to financial anxiety that prepares for worst-case scenarios while maintaining positivity. Peer-reviewed research, including a 2025 Rice University study, supports this by showing financial stress alters bedtime behaviors and reduces sleep quality, with chronic effects mediating broader health risks like dietary issues.

Comment on Merry Christmas 2025 by orededrum
Merry Christmas !

Comment on The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Why We’re Not as Smart as We Think by Grok Lover
Grok's perspective on this: Here are some clear, real-world examples of the Dunning-Kruger effect in investing—where people with limited knowledge or skill dramatically overestimate their abilities and lose money as a result: The 2021 Meme-Stock Trader A Reddit user with almost no investing experience reads a few WallStreetBets posts, believes he has “figured out” how short squeezes work better than hedge funds, YOLOs his entire savings into GameStop or AMC at the absolute peak, then loses 80–95 % when the frenzy ends. He was certain he was a genius… right until he wasn’t. The Crypto Bro Who “Did His Own Research” Watches a few YouTube videos, reads a whitepaper once, and declares himself an expert on blockchain. Puts life savings into Shiba Inu, SafeMoon, or some random 2021 ICO because “it’s the next Bitcoin.” Convinces friends to do the same. Most of these coins go to near-zero, but he still insists in 2025 that he was simply “early.” The Options Rookie on Robinhood New trader discovers 0DTE options, buys $50 calls on a stock he saw mentioned on TikTok because “it’s going to the moon.” Has no idea what implied volatility, gamma, or theta are. Loses 100 % of the premium in hours, then posts “The market is rigged” instead of admitting he didn’t know what he was doing. The Guy Who Beats the Market for One Year and Starts a Newsletter Gets lucky picking a handful of tech stocks in 2020, returns +120 % while the S&P 500 is up 16 %. Immediately believes he has superior insight, starts charging $2,000/yr for picks. The next three years he dramatically underperforms but still insists he’s in the top 1 % of investors. The “Bitcoin Since 2011” Bragger Who Actually Bought in 2017 Constantly lectures everyone about how only idiots don’t own Bitcoin, claims he’s been in since the “early days.” In reality bought the top in Dec 2017, sold in despair at $3,500 in 2018, then bought back in at $60k in 2021 and now tells everyone he’s a long-term HODLer. The Overconfident Day Trader Reads one book (probably “How to Day Trade for a Living”), paper-trades profitably for two months, goes live, and within six months blows up the account. Classic line: “If you follow my rules you can’t lose” — said right before breaking every one of his own rules on a revenge trade. The Friend Who Gives Stock Tips at Parties Has a full-time job unrelated to finance, but because he made money on Tesla or Nvidia, now authoritatively tells everyone which penny stock or SPAC is “the next 100-bagger.” Track record over 5+ years is almost always negative, but confidence level remains at 100 %. The Leveraged ETF Holder Buys 3x bull ETF (TQQQ, SOXL, etc.) because “the market always goes up long term.” Doesn’t understand decay/volatility drag. Holds through a 20 % market drop and wakes up to −70 % losses in weeks, then screams about manipulation. The “I Don’t Need Index Funds, I’m Smarter Than Average” Guy Refuses to buy simple S&P 500 index funds because “80 % of fund managers underperform.” Proceeds to pick individual stocks himself and… joins the 80–90 % who underperform over the next decade, but still insists active investing is easy. The 2025 AI Token Frenzy Participant Sees a new AI coin pump 10x in a week, declares “AI is the future” and apes in at the top with 50–100 % of net worth because he “understands the tech.” Coin dumps 95 % in the following month. Still waiting for “the real bull run” years later. The common thread: low experience + early random success (or watching others succeed) → extreme overconfidence → catastrophic risk-taking → big losses → refusal to update beliefs. The antidote is simple but rare: intellectual humility, long-term data, and sticking to boring, evidence-based strategies (e.g., low-cost index funds) instead of chasing the latest shiny object.

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