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Reflections Word Doc.

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This article is an explanation of the 21 different ways the new 2017 federal budget by the Liberals can affect you. Things such as increases the employer premium on EI, Canada Savings bonds being phased out, additional tax credits the Liberal party has created, new programs, a home relocation loan and increased taxes on certain things, such as cigarettes and a brand new tax on Ubers.

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1. Employment Income (EI) premiums are going up to $1.68 per $100 of insurable earnings from the current $1.63 per $100 of insurable earnings.

2. The tax credit for Public Transit Tax Credit on Passes will be eliminated effective July 1st.

3. Tighter rules on investment products you can and can't hold in your Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) and Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP). Strict investment rules had already been outlined for RRSPs and TFSAs. Make sure you're holding allowable investment products, otherwise the penalties are onerous.

4. The CRA will continue to receive more funding in 2017 to ensure every Canadian is playing by the tax rules and claiming all eligible taxable income. For 2017, the federal government will be spending an additional $523.9 million on top of the $400 million they spent last fall to track tax cheats and collect money from tax evaders both in Canada and around the world.

5. Excise duty rates on alcohol products are going up by 2 per cent effective well, right now. That means, if you spend $3,000 a year on wine and booze, that will increase by $60 to $3,060.

6. An excise tax increase on cigarettes will cost a bit more too. Look for a 2.5% increase, or about 53 cents on every 200 cigarettes. Tobacco sticks, if you're into them, are also going up.

7. Uber rides are also going up as ride-sharing services now have to charge GST/HST on your ride-13% in Ontario.

8. Canada Savings Bonds will be phased out and no longer available for sale starting this fall.

9. Extending who qualifies for the tuition tax credit to include occupational skills courses that are not at a post-secondary level. As long as the student is over age 16, any institution that provides added skills will qualify for the credit.

10. Those aiming to conceive children can claim in-vitro fertilization expenses. In the past you had to have a medical reason to do so. That's not necessary anymore.

11. Medical costs in regards to in-vitro fertilization expenses can now be claimed in any of the preceding 10 years to when they were received.

12. The new Caregiver tax credit will replace three tax credits now in place-the Infirm dependent credit, the caregiver credit and the family caregiver tax credit. The credit starts to be phased out when the dependent's income is over $16,163 net income and completely phased out at $23,046. The maximum tax credit amount is $6,883 for those caring for infirm dependents, and can include parents/grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, adult children, spouse or common-law partner. So if you look after your great-aunt, you can claim $6,883 as a credit on your taxes.

13. Nurse practitioners can now certify application forms for people applying for the disability tax credit.

14. There's a new Affordable Access Program that allows internet providers to offer low-cost home internet packages along with a refurbished computer to low-income families.

15. There's a total expenditure of $29.5 million starting in 2018 for Digital Literacy Exchange programs that teach basic digital skills, including internet safety to low-income Canadians, seniors and those living in northern and rural communities.

16. Expanding eligibility for Canada Student Loans and Grants for part-time students, as well as Canada Student Grants for Students with dependent children.

17. Proposes to create a new Employment Insurance caregiving benefit. This new benefit will give eligible caregivers up to 15 weeks of EI benefits while they are temporarily away from work to support or care for a critically ill or injured family member. (You only receive it now if a family member dying.)

18. A new Veterans' education and training benefit will be put in place. The new program begins in April 2018 for veterans honourably released on or after April 1, 2006. Veterans with 6 years of eligible service would be entitled to up to $40,000 of benefits, while veterans with 12 years of eligible service would be entitled to up to $80,000 of benefits.

19. To help adult learners pursue post-secondary education, the federal government is expanding eligibility for Canada Student Loans and Grants for part time students as well as student grants for those with dependent children

20. Eligible home relocation loans when an employee starts work at a new location more than 40 km away is eliminated.

21. Electronic T4 information slips are on track to be distributed for 2017, provided the employer has sufficient privacy safeguards. This means you can now check your computer for T4 tax slips (many won't come in the mail anymore). CRA is working towards easier tax filing as many tax slips will be able to be downloaded to your tax software for an easier time at tax time.

The bottom line: What can we say. It's a work-in-progress budget. There really wasn't much that was new or innovative for the average Canadian. Probably the best that can be said is that a lot of negative things that were expected to materialize didn't happen-no increase in the capital gains tax inclusion rate, no increase in marginal tax rates, no change in the dividend tax credit and no changes to pension splitting. So let's raise a glass to that... even though it will cost us a little more this year to do so.
Correction: an earlier version of this story said EI premiums will rise to $1.69 per $100 of insurable earnings. In fact, premiums will rise to $1.68. Also, only medical costs relating to in-vitro fertilization expenses can be claimed back 10 years. MoneySense regrets the error.

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21 ways federal budget 2017 will affect your finances

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1. Employment Income (EI) premiums are going up to $1.68 per $100 of insurable earnings from the current $1.63 per $100 of insurable earnings. 2. The tax credit for Public Transit Tax Credit on Passes will be eliminated effective July 1st. 3.

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11. Image - Consumer Expenditure Breakdown

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11. Image - Consumer Expenditure Breakdown

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Unfortunately I couldn't find any Canada specific infographic, but this one about American consumers is good enough as our cultures and societies are pretty similar. What surprised me most about this cost breakdown is how "little" is actually spend per year on alcoholic beverages. I always believed it would have been much more.

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I've posted this chart of Toronto real estate prices because it's very relevant to making decisions on saving. On one hand, if you already own property in Toronto, you're sitting on a figurative goldmine. On the other, if you are looking to buy in Toronto, now's not the best time.

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Video explanation of what pension indexing is. "Indexing is inflation protection" which means that once every year, pension premiums are updated to fall more in line with the Consumer Price Index and cost of living expenses. Almost everyone is eligible for pension indexing, with how drastic the indexing is depending on how long you've held your pension and your age.

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I agree that it was time to update the Canada Pension Plan, and I think this new option doesn't seem so bad. It was about time that the CPP contribution rate was raised, it's been the same for far too long. What I'm unsure about is where the new proposed system says "each generation of workers pays for its own retirement" which sounds well and dandy, but governments are not good at long term planning (especially over a lifetime) and I have little faith that the money I put in now to the CPP will still be there and available when I'm a senior and need it.

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VANCOUVER - Finance Minister Bill Morneau met his provincial and territorial counterparts in Vancouver on Monday and reached an agreement with most of them to expand the Canada Pension Plan. Here is what you need to know about CPP and the proposed deal:

[np_storybar title="The dirty secret of a bigger CPP is that it's to help bail out public-sector pension plans" link=" http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/philip-cross-the-dirty-secret-of-a-bigger-cpp-is-that-its-to-help-bail-out-public-sector-pension-plans"%5D
Philip Cross: The key issues surrounding public-service pension-plan benefits are mostly unspoken, both to their members and to taxpayers. Read on

[/np_storybar]

1) The system is designed so that each generation of workers pays for its own retirement. That makes it different from two other income replacement programs for seniors and retirees: old age security (OAS) and the guaranteed income supplement (GIS). Those measures are covered through general tax revenues, meaning that workers today pay taxes to raise the incomes of poorer seniors.

2) CPP contribution rates have only been raised once in the last 20 years. In 1997, finance ministers agreed to a phased-in increase in contribution rates to ensure one generation of workers wasn't paying for another generation's retirement. The argument today is that the CPP should pay more in benefits and help those who aren't saving enough for retirement. The argument against raising contribution rates is that it would hit workers' wallets at a time when governments keep saying the economy is fragile.
3)Crunching the numbers
Increasing the income replacement rate to one-third from one-quarter, meaning the maximum CPP benefit will be about $17,478 instead of about $13,000.
- Increasing premiums on employers and employees by one per cent, meaning an extra $408 a year coming off paycheques.
- Increased premiums will be phased in over seven years, starting in 2019.
- Increasing by 14 per cent to $82,700 the maximum amount of income subject to CPP.
- Expanding the refundable tax credit known as the federal working income tax benefit, to help low-income Canadians offset the increase in premiums.

4) Not every province has to have the CPP. Quebec has its own version. Saskatchewan has its own pension plan, but the payments are voluntary, acting more like a RRSP. Along with Quebec, Manitoba didn't sign onto the deal on Monday.

5) Ontario had planned to launch its own pension plan if changes weren't made to CPP, but with Monday's agreement-in-principle Canada's most populous province said it will back away.
And from BMO chief economist Douglas Porter:
6) Small business owners are against it. Mandatory matching contributions will also mean a jump in payroll expenses for employers, which the Canadian Federation of Independent Business condemned Tuesday as "a devastating move for Canadian workers and the economy in general."
The CFIB says 71 per cent of small business owners oppose a mandatory premium hike
67 say it would increase pressure to freeze or cut salaries
46 per cent say they would reduce investment in their business
35 per cent say it would force them to lay off employees

As Ottawa notes, someone at the $55,000 income level will see their premiums rise by just $7/month in 2019. But, keep in mind that will increase to $34/month by 2023 when the contribution rate increase is fully implemented, while those with higher incomes will see premiums rise quite a bit more when the coverage level expands between 2023 and 2025. One immediate impact of this change is that Ontario's proposed pension plan is now effectively scraped, so we finally have some clarity on that front.

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What you need to know about changes coming to Canada Pension Plan, and Canadian wallets

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VANCOUVER - Finance Minister Bill Morneau met his provincial and territorial counterparts in Vancouver on Monday and reached an agreement with most of them to expand the Canada Pension Plan.

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This is a video overview of the savings plans available to Canadians and how to take advantage of them, as well as some general financial tips.  For my current stage of life, the TFSA's are the most useful savings plan because I'm not close to retirement, I'm almost done my education, and I'm not disabled. in fact, TFSA's are really the only thing worth contributing to for me.

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Showcase of Canada Savings Bonds, what their advantages are and what their disadvantages are. It also explains the risk and background knowledge of savings bonds. Though I found out later in this research topic that savings bonds are actually going to be phased out and no longer available to purchase after this fall.

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Video About Canada Savings Bond Make an animated explainer video for free at: http://www.rawshorts.com Now you create your own explainer videos and animated presentations for free. Raw Shorts is a free cloud based video builder that allows you to make awesome explanation videos for your business, website, startup video, pitch video, product launch, video resume, landing page video or anything else you could use an animated explainer video.

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This is a flowchart for Canadian savings priorities. The flowchart shows (and suggests) how and when to pay for which things, in order of importance.

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3. Site - High School Financial Competency

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3. Site - High School Financial Competency

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I have always been a proponent of teaching more financial skills in high school math. I have yet to use calculus in the real world, but there were a number of simple financial functions and ideas that I have to do every day of my life, and I wish I would have learned about those in class, though its better late than never. Hopefully this pilot program succeeds and this is rolled out to all Ontario High Schools.

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Ontario is rolling out pilot projects at 28 high schools aimed at revamping the Grade 10 careers course and laying the groundwork for financial literacy to become part of the curriculum.

About 700 students will be involved in the pilots, running until June, and their feedback along with teacher input, will be instrumental in redesigning the new course, expected to be in place for the fall of 2018.

Education Minister Mitzie Hunter stresses the importance of teaching financial literacy to students. (Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star File Photo)

Prakash Amarasooriya, a member of the City of Toronto Youth Cabinet who has been pushing to get financial literacy into the Grade 10 curriculum, says Ontario's new pilot project is "good first step." (Vince Talotta / Toronto Star File Photo)

While financial skills are a centrepiece, students will also learn entrepreneurship and digital literacy in addition to career and life planning.

The plan, to be announced Thursday by Education Minister Mitzie Hunter, comes after repeated calls for mandatory money skills to be taught in high school, including a campaign last year by the Toronto Youth Cabinet which stressed that teens are sorely lacking knowledge about everything from credit cards to filing tax returns.

The pilots represent "the first step in modernizing our careers curriculum," and will make it more relevant by linking students' goals for post-secondary school and the workplace with money skills like budgeting, planning and saving that will help them get there, Hunter told the Star.

They will cost the ministry $142,000.

"We want to make financial literacy relatable to students, and to their experience," says Hunter, noting she's heard from many youth who wished they'd learned more practical information in the mandatory careers course, which is accompanied by a half-course in civics.

"This is a good first step," says Prakash Amarasooriya, who led the Toronto Youth Cabinet initiative and petition pushing for financial literacy in high school.

But he notes there's still a lot of work to be done to ensure teens leave school with the basic money knowledge they need.

Amarasooriya, 24, says his own lack of money sense added a lot of stress to his teen years after both parents lost their jobs and, fearing for the future, he took on five part-time jobs. He currently works in a bank and meets young clients who don't know the difference between a chequing account and a savings account.

Financial literacy should be part of an equitable education system, he says, because not all families have the wherewithal to teach it adequately to their children.

Both money skills and digital literacy are critical tools for high school kids and subjects they're eager to learn about, says Kimia Kamarhie, who teaches careers at Thornhill Secondary School and is part of the pilots.

"Those two modules being tested right now by us are a great advantage because these are life skills students will carry forward even after high school," says Kamarhie, who took two days of teacher training last month and has started to develop the lesson plans she will begin using in April.

Teachers working on the pilots, which include eight GTA schools, will get an additional two days training in May and are already comparing notes and sharing strategies through a virtual learning network.

The opportunity to provide real-life, relevant learning and boost financial literacy "can only produce good results," says Thornhill Secondary principal David McAdam, adding that's why the school applied to be part of the pilot.

He applauds the process for giving students input into designing the course and a voice in what material should be included and effective ways to learn it.

Toronto financial literacy expert Tricia Barry welcomed the move, saying it's long overdue.

But she argues that mandated financial literacy lessons need to be introduced much earlier, by Grade 6, including incorporating the concepts into math class.

"Elementary students should not be left behind," says Barry, executive director of Money School Canada, which runs workshops for children, youth and parents.

In 2011, the province announced that financial literacy would be embedded in subjects taught in grades 4 through 12 such as math, social studies and world studies.

But a study Barry co-authored and released last fall concluded the result has been "haphazard, inconsistent" learning for elementary kids, and a lack of content dealing with core money management concepts or vocabulary.

The gaps "are enormous" between what expert task forces have called for over the years, and what the ministry has put in place, says Barry.

Amarasooriya agrees that earlier is better but says getting financial literacy into Grade 10 careers was a logical fit and seemed to be "the path of least resistance" for making long-overdue changes quickly.

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Ontario launches plan to teach high school kids financial skills | The Star

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Ontario is rolling out pilot projects at 28 high schools aimed at revamping the Grade 10 careers course and laying the groundwork for financial literacy to become part of the curriculum. About 700 students will be involved in the pilots, running until June, and their feedback along with teacher input, will be instrumental in redesigning the new course, expected to be in place for the fall of 2018.

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Today I'll be covering "Savings, Factors used to evaluate various savings plans."

I'll be covering this topic using a variety of media, Video, Images and third party websites.

You can expect to learn about factors affecting Canadian savings plans.

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Hello, My name is Nathan Beals. I am a 21 year old college student at Durham College taking Computer programming. This assignment is for the GNED - Money Matters course.