10:52 am
December 12, 2015
See DUCA's website which describes the Flex 20 GIC as follows: "This cashable GIC combines high-interest with term flexibility. To get the highest possible rate, deposit your investment for the full term. Need access to your money earlier? No problem! You can cash out after the minimum term at a rate that's still better than most high interest savings accounts
20-month term2%
2% interest rate
Cashable between 12 -- 19 months at 1%
Cashable at 20 months (maturity) at the full interest rate of 2%
RRSP, TFSA, and RRIF eligible"
(Small print confirms rate is per annum)
Anyone see anything better?
2:54 pm
December 17, 2016
Outlook Financial has 5-year cashable GICs @ 2.35% - here's a link to their rules
6:06 pm
February 18, 2016
10:26 pm
October 21, 2013
It has to be available to QC for Saver-Mom. And, even if Hubert were available to QC, there is no guarantee that, one year from now, they would still be offering 2.05, for the second year. Earlier, they lowered it to 1.95%
If you want cashable for something in the 2 year range, you may not be able to do any better for QC.
Meridian CU has a 3 year Escalator, which averages out to 2%, but I think they probably aren't available to QC yet. It is cashable on each anniversary, presumably with no penalty except the fact that the worst rate is at the beginning and so on. The first year is 1.5%, and second is 1.75%, which is better than the DUCA deal for cashability.
4:56 am
December 12, 2015
5:36 am
December 17, 2016
Saver-Mom said
... not keen to lock in for 5 years at such abysmal rates. My ladder has been flat for some time already. Ugh
I'm no Carnac, but there ain't nothing on the horizon that points to higher interest rates. With household debt at current and ever building levels, neither the government or the B of C want to see the carnage that would result from increasing interest rates.
Savers lose at the expense of spenders.
1:49 pm
October 21, 2013
I have to reluctantly agree that there isn't much reason to think rates will go up in the foreseeable future. Inflation is starting to raise its ugly head, which is the only driver I see, and it will not help us in the long run as rates will just be in tandem with that and not give us any advantage.
If thre is a rise, it will be very slow, so that people with debt can adjust. Otherwise, everything falls apart, it seems to me.
The effort to curb mortgage lending was, in my view, fairly feeble. In Toronto, even most people with decent jobs can't find or afford a house unless they inherit a lot of money. And, if they do manage to get something, they are still massively in debt. There is little on the market, even at these very high prices.
Last week, because I like to keep tabs on things, I went to realtor.ca and searched "west toronto" at up to $1 million. (If I just put in "Toronto", I will usually get too many hits to display.) I got 79 hits - and that covered a huge swath of the city, not just the west end. This is a very low yield. Most of them were condos or in bad neighbourhoods &/or needed 100s of 1000s in repairs which would bring them well up over 1 million. And that's just the asking price. Anything worth having will typically sell for at least 100K over asking, and often several hundred thousand. Even the condos are doubtful. The ones that are for sale often come with problems. Wages are stagnant, and property taxes and utilities above CPI plus user fees and service cutbacks.
Where does it end? With a huge thud due to forces "beyond our control"?
Yesterday's news reported that a huge number of people don't even understand the financial impact of not paying off their credit card every month! How are we not to despair?
5:50 pm
February 24, 2015
Saver-Mom said
No one is trying too hard for our RRSP or TFSA dollars. Yes, I am limited to those in QC, and not keen to lock in for 5 years at such abysmal rates. My ladder has been flat for some time already. Ugh
I have this discussion with myself every time one of my GIC matures. Just biting the bullet and renewing for 5 years is the simple thing to do. If you are at the age where you need to withdraw from a RRIF within 5 years, then the GIC ladder makes some sense. On the other hand, if you don't need the income now or 5 years from now, it is reasonable to pursue other options, ie. equities.
Please write your comments in the forum.