There’s wide consensus that the term emergency fund must go. In a recent Carrick on Money poll, two-thirds of the 674 respondents said the term does not work for them.
In a moment, I will ask you to vote for your favourite of the many suggested replacements. But first, my thanks to the people who provided such smart, apt, outrageous and even funny responses.
Close to 20 ideas for replacing the term emergency fund involved the F-word, as in f-off fund. I get it – it’s all about self-reliance. But that term’s not quite ready for prime time. Other suggestions that made me laugh: The CAKE Fund – Contingency and Kept for Emergency; The GOK Fund – God Only Knows; The Face Punch Fund; The DIGI$TA Fund – Damn, I’m Glad I Set This Aside; The Humpty Dumpty Fund; Domesday Dollars; The Stash; the NMBH Fund – Not Moving Back Home; and, the S**t-show Fund.
Now for the finalists. Please choose your favourite:
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
Best tax software, plus free options
The always Savvy New Canadians blog picks the best tax software program – its TurboTax. Best free software – a basic version of TurboTax.
Family fraud
A case study on the fraud risk from family members from the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments. There’s also a lesson here on keeping your PIN safely protected, even from family members.
Don’t just cavalierly toss out your banana peels
First, dust your plants with them. There, I doubled the value you get from your banana spending.
Did CERB save the day?
A look at how young adults have fared financially in the pandemic – not too badly – and the role played by the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Solid reporting here by the Young & Thrifty blog.
Ask Rob
Q: A few months ago, you suggested in one of your articles that, due to the pandemic, debt has lost a lot of its stigma. I was wondering if you could speak about debt stigma more broadly, but also about why you think recent events have reduced it.
A: In a newsletter back in April, I said the pandemic has ended the debt shame game. What I meant was that in the pandemic, people have run into debt difficulties through no fault of them own. The debt load that was manageable a year ago may have become crushing as a result of job losses or reduced income. The current state of the economy makes it too simplistic to blame people for their debt problems, as if there’s no more to the story than excessive spending. Actually, I think the stigmatization of debt began years ago, when household debt levels rose as use of home equity lines of credit increased. Debt is normal now.
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 and clarity.
Today’s financial tool
A compilation of financial frauds related to the pandemic. Beware these crooks.
The money-free zone
I have Spotify running a lot of the time I’m working and just now I’m finding albums a better listen than song lists. Here are two cool collections of albums past and present to check out – one of them with a work-at-home theme and another focusing on albums best enjoyed from start to finish. David Bowie to The Wu-Tang Clan.
Video of the week
A helpful video produced by securities regulators on how to understand your investment account performance.
In case you missed these personal finance stories
- Canadian ETFs: A look at December’s launches and terminations - and how the industry grew in 2020
- Retailers are changing their COVID-19 return policies: ‘This is truly customer-beware territory’
- Know the income-splitting rules before commuting your pension (for Globe Unlimited subscribers)
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify. For more money stories, follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and join the discussion on my Facebook page. Millennial readers, join our Gen Y Money Facebook group.
Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
- 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: How to survive the gig economy • How to get out of debt • Is now the right time to buy a house? • Crisis-proof your finances • Does investing change during a pandemic? • Can you afford to live downtown? • The cost of kids • Should you move back in with your parents?
- ✔️ A 10-point pandemic personal finance checklist: Create a "wartime" family budget; stop worrying about bank deposits; clean out your big-bank savings account; get relief on car payments; get preapproved for a mortgage; WFH? Save $1,000 a month; save, save, save; build resilience by not anxiety-buying; consider the cost of mortgage deferrals; get ready for the second wave of financial distress.
- 📈 Investing: The case for a tight portfolio of big blue chips dividend stocks; robo-advisers beat human advisors (and they’re thriving), why online banks that are better than the branch; is it time to invest your 2020 TFSA; don’t get your mortgage at a bank; why it’s so hard to invest in preferred shares; stock up on stocks to retire early; and are you following the 10-year rule with your investments?
- 💰 Saving: Food waste is wasted money; why you might regret that SUV and find out if CAA is worth it; juice your PC Optimum points; how an ex-Bay Street lawyer got out of debt; blindly easy tweak to your retirement investments to survive economic downturn; should you buy that latte?
Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Carrick on Money here.
Rob Carrick