RBC Business Cash Back MasterCard Review

No Fee 1% Cash Back Card

First Published Date: February 5, 2017

If you are a small business owner and looking for a no-frills credit card, look no further than the RBC Business Cash Back MasterCard. This card may not provide a lot of benefits, but it’s still good for those who aren’t looking for anything from a plain vanilla business credit card.

Sometimes you just want to have a business credit card to keep an active credit card under your business name. And that’s exactly why I have this credit card, although I don’t really use it. For a No Annual Fee credit card, the RBC Business Cash Back MasterCard offers the following features:

– Promotional 2 percent cash back for the first three months

– 1 percent cash back across the board thereafter

– Get cash back whenever you accumulate $25 or once a year in January

– Purchase security guarantee for 90 days

– Extended warranty for one additional year

As you can see, it’s not really a feature-rich credit card, but for no fee getting 1 percent back on everything is not bad either.

Business owners may need to separate their business transactions on credit cards, hence the need for a separate credit card solely for business. I charge my all business transactions on my regular personal credit cards that offer rich rewards and still keep a couple of no-fee business credit card accounts active for my business credit file.

If you are looking for better rewards on your business transactions, there are other annual fee credit cards you can go for. But for those who are not willing to pay annual fee, the RBC Business Cash Back MasterCard does the job and still provides 1 percent return.

New Canadian Prepaid Credit Card Rules

Federal Government Tightens Prepaid Credit Card Rules

First Published Date: February 7, 2017

The Canadian government unveils new prepaid credit card regulations to protect consumers today. Here are some changes that will take place starting May 1, 2014.

– There will not be any more expiration dates on prepaid cards.

– There will not be any maintenance or dormancy fess for at least one year once you activate the card.

– The outside packaging or box will clearly show fees user friendly way.

– Information such as how long you can use it, terms and conditions, a toll-free number, etc must be clearly displayed.

While prepaid credit cards are relatively new, you can find them in grocery stores and supermarkets, and they are becoming very popular.

Rethink Your Retirement

Smart Retirement Moves

First Published Date: February 12, 2017

If you are planning to retire soon or in the near future, you will need to always look out for options and strategies to make your retirement years comfortable and smooth, as retirement conception is always changing. Today, I will talk about a few things that you can consider that would be unthinkable in the past.

Changing Country – Although there is a dark side to retiring abroad, it is possible to find your piece of heaven in foreign lands. Moving to a different country is a reality now and people are already doing it. The main reason people do it because of the extra power your hard-earned money gets when you move to a low-cost country. There are tools and help available online to research on this further, including some articles I have written here in the A Dawn Journal Retirement Section. Always research well and visit the country you plan to move to first before your final decision. Search online by putting these keywords to start research: “International retirement”, “low-cost retirement countries”, “best countries to retire abroad”, etc.

Not Retiring Is The New Normal – As technology is making us live longer and healthier, it is becoming a norm not to retire at all. This can mean different things for different people. Some people would love to reduce work hours after a certain age, while some may choose to do something totally different than what they have been doing at work; some want to open a small coffee shop somewhere they find peaceful, or some of us would like to start travelling full time. The point is that retirement does not have to be sitting at home, doing nothing, and counting the minutes. Find out things that really matter to you and redirect your passion or new career towards navigating that path. It will open up new vistas and not only you will be happy, but it is also possible to make income out of some of these new passions.

RRSP or TFSA? Go For TFSA When You Can’t Decide

TFSA: You Can’t Go Wrong

First Published Date: February 18, 2017

This time of the year, when the RRSP deadline is fast approaching, it’s hard not to notice an article about TFSA or RRSP in Canadian newspapers or magazines. However, if you get confused after reading so many of these articles and can’t decide, going for a TFSA is not a bad option at all.

In the past, I wrote about TFSA. As far as I can remember, that was the only time I wrote about TFSA, as after seeing so many articles about TFSA and RRSP again and again and writing about the same stuff I decided not do discuss it anymore. And that is a good change for someone who is trying to sort out TFSA and RRSP will only be more confused after bombarded with too much information.

If you are confused about these two and still not sure, the best thing to do is park your money in a TFSA, rather than in an RRSP. The reason is very simple: TFSA lets you able to take out your money any time without paying back withholding taxes, unlike an RRSP. One thing you need to keep in mind is that the money you are taking out from your TFSA will create equal contribution room next year, not in the same year.

And what should you do if you want to get some clear grasp of TFSA? Talk to a qualified financial professional face to face. And yes, don’t forget to write down all your questions and concerns before meeting

Canada Is One of The World’s Best Countries to Grow Old In

Canada Stays in Top 5 Countries to Grow Old In

First Published Date: Oct 13, 2013

Rcent study co-sponsored by the UN created Global AgeWatch Index by looking at 91 countries covering 89% of the world’s older citizens. The Index ranks older population in terms of social and economic well-being and is the first of its kind. Canada ranks high on this index, staying on 5th place. Sweden is on top of the list and Afghanistan on the bottom. Let’s look at the top ten countries:

1.   Sweden

2.   Norway

3.   Germany

4.   Netherlands

5.   Canada

6.   Switzerland

7.   New Zealand

8.   United States

9.   Iceland

10.   Japan

Here are some other facts from the report:

– The world’s envy, Canada’s universal health care system, generous old age benefits, and long life expectancy helped to achieve its 5th position.

– Countries like Sri Lanka, Bolivia, and Mauritius stay relatively high on the list, while countries like India, Pakistan, Russia stay on the lower side.

– Population ageing is happening faster in the poor developing countries. Two-thirds of the older population live in poor countries.

– South Korea, one of the richest and technologically advanced countries in Asia, surprisingly stays low on the index at 67.

– Bangladesh, a model for one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, is not on the list due to lack of old age data.

– By 2050, older population (older than 60) will outnumber younger population (younger than 15).