Tired of Crappy Cell Phone Plans? Check This Out

So, it's no secret that the Big Three phone companies have horrible plans that they'll charge you an arm and a leg for. They can do this because lemmings sheep people really want that new fancy phone for free/cheap, and the only way for that to happen is to allow yourself to be gouged with a pathetic plan that you pay out the wazoo for.

So wake up folks, nothing is "free". You either pay for that phone up front (and then get a great plan for cheap) or you pay nothing/little up front, and get gouged with huge monthly plan fees for a sub-par plan. Learn to math folks, learn to math.

That being said, should you choose to join the ranks of the enlightened, I'll help you out.

First, go here and sign up for a really good plan. 

How good you ask?

For $48 + tax, you get the following:

-Unlimited Canada-Wide Calling
-Unlimited Worldwide Texting
-Unlimited Picture/Video Messaging
-5GB LTE-Advanced Data
-$10/GB Data overage
-Voicemail 10
-Caller ID
-Call Waiting and Conference Calling

Now, if you already have a phone, simply get it unlocked (many services, such as this one, can unlock your phone so it will work on pretty much any network). You are now all set up.

If you don't have a phone, or need a new one, you have a few choices available.

If you're comfortable using/buying from Kijiji, simply look for a phone there. For $300, you can get a brand-new Moto X Play, or a Galaxy S5 (still totally decent phones). Just make sure you check the IMEI of the phone here to make sure it hasn't been blacklisted.

If you don't feel comfortable buying from Kijiji, I'd suggest you buy yourself a brand-new OnePlus X. It will cost you $300 CAD (including tax and shipping), is brand-new straight from the factory, and is quite a nice device. It's about on par with a Galaxy S5 in terms of power, and comes with a screen protector already applied, a case and it ships unlocked. 

If you'd rather buy from a physical store, and don't mind a cheaper/less powerful phone, Costco sells the Samsung Galaxy J1, which costs around $140 (other stores sell it too). Or you can buy a Moto G outright for around $240 from most stores.

Bottom line is, for $300 you can get a really good smartphone these days, and combine that with a $48 monthly plan (which is one of the best plans you'll ever get) there's really no need/reason to lock yourself into a two year contract for $70+ per month for a shitty plan, just to get a cheap/"free" phone.

Give it some thought.

Canada Pension Plan Expansion

So the government recently announced an agreement to "enhance" the CPP going forward. This means your contribution rate will increase, but you'll get more money in retirement in exchange. These changes will be phased in quite slowly, so it will be many years (even decades) before any meaningful impact is felt, both in terms of less money in your pocket now and more money for your retirement.

But is this a good thing? Should we enhance the CPP? The answer depends on your point of view.

Much has been made about the returns the CPPIB (CPP Investment Board) has been earning on its investments, and truth be told they can be quite good certain years. But this is different from YOUR actual return on your contributions. In other words, is the pension you receive from the CPP a good return on the money you (and your employer) have contributed to it?

The answer to that question is "no". While estimates vary, the Fraser Institute estimates that our real return is around 2.1% (real return means it has taken into account the effects of inflation) going forward. You can read their paper on the matter here.

To put this return into perspective, the average annualized return for global stock markets (Canadian, US and international) since 1970 is around the 9.5% range. Taking into account inflation of 3.5% or so, you're looking at a 6% real rate of return. Compared to this, the 2.1% return the CPP gives you is pretty...dismal.

Now on the flip side, the CPP is forced savings. As I mentioned (very diplomatically, I might add) in one of my previous posts, the reason a lot of people don't have pensions/retirement savings is that they simply don't save. For all its faults (and the CPP has many) a forced savings plan that essentially saves people from their own laziness/ignorance/stupidity is a good thing, regardless of its poor returns.

However, for those with the discipline to save and invest their own money, the CPP is a pretty bad deal. But that's socialism for you - you gotta take the good with the bad.