About things which matter!

Earning a $100,000 annual salary in Canada is a fantastic milestone, but it also brings a noticeable shift in your finances: tax brackets start to bite harder . At this income level, you cross out of the lower tiers and find yourself facing a combined federal and provincial marginal tax rate of roughly 30.5% to 40% (depending on your province). This means that for every extra dollar you earn over the threshold, up to 40 cents goes straight to taxes. However, it also means that every dollar you deduct from your income saves you up to 40 cents . By strategically utilizing registered accounts, an average Canadian earning $100k can legally wipe thousands of dollars off their annual tax bill. Use our interactive calculator below to see how adjusting your contributions to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and a First Home Savings Account (FHSA) can lower your estimated tax due in real time: Tax Savings Calculator ($100k Salary) Adjust the sliders to see how r...

The biggest cost of relocation is loss of social connections and friendship we have made in a particular place. Humans, being social animals, will always crave for people around them to share, validate and connect with. Same feeling I had when I relocated to Vancouver from Bangalore in 2023, where I faced same challenges when I moved from Noida to Bangalore in 2011. The largest set of likeminded people you get is your work place with whom you spend almost 1/3 of your time. So I thought to bring in not just employees but their families together. An apt moment was lurking around in the form of Christmas and new year. Office was shutting down, kids holidays was starting so availability was not an issue. But no one has done it and folks were skeptical about holding any such get together. I started the discussion in a small group where suggestions came to arrange the party as someone's house where we can have food ordered and rest pf things taken care. But I was sure that the size of ...

Vancouver and it's nearby areas have quite a good amount of Indian population. This makes us Indians a good market and all big grocery stores have Indian products in their shelf. You can go to a Walmart or Real Canadian Superstore or Safeway, each of them will have basic Indian staples. I am staying near Coquitlam/Burnaby so Walmart is nearest to me and next is Real Canadian Superstore which has everything from Rice to Atta to Besan to Toor daal to Mustard oils and Haldiram products and many of Indian spices. One thing I observed that same product will have different price at different shops. So check the price online and go to store which is nearer and having better price. I use an online grocery delivery app called Instakart which shows products and their cost in respective store. Also you can download Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore and Safeway apps.  While generic vegetables like potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, carrot, Cilantro, chilli, bell peppers, spinach and f...

So this was something which I was not waiting for but had done some preparation. Ofcourse you should be coming with a travel insurance as you enter Canada, preferably 100000 CAD or above. Then till the time you get enrolled to Medical Support Program (MSP) which is 3 Months from date of entry, you should either have an employer provided insurance or self provided. Once you have applied for MSP ok online, you will get a PHN Public Health Number which you can use to access Canada Free Health System.  I got the taste of this when my wife developed some complications and she needed to see a doctor. Ideal case you should be registered with a Family doctor whom you can contact in such cases. But due to lack of enough doctors, waiting period to get a Family doctor is long and we didn't have a family doctor. I checked if some online tele consultation can happen and called 811, which is medical care number, just like 911 which is for fatal emergencies ( you should dial 911 for life threaten...

1. You Must Accept Imperfection and Flaws The point of life is progress and not perfection 2. You Must Take Responsibility For Your Problems You can only fix your own imperfections and not the imperfections of others. So you may as well get to work on them.   3. You Must Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway Bravery is not the absence of fear. Bravery is feeling the fear, the doubt , the insecurity , and deciding that something else is more important .    4. You Must Find a Deeper Purpose to Your Actions You must choose what is motivating you. Is it something superficial and external or something deeper and more meaningful?   5. You Must Be Willing to Fail and Be Embarrassed You cannot be a powerful life-changing presence to some people without being a complete joke and embarrassment to others   Source : https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-hidden-costs-of-happiness  

Relationship (the ones we make consciously) , I feel, is quite similar to this graph depicting the life cycle of a product. The initial phase of introduction and knowing each other is a bit slow... Trust takes time to build afterall... The growth phase depicts the level of attraction between 2 individuals... High, intense, secluded from future... Both the individuals put in their best efforts to keep each other happy in every manner... Now comes a point when they become the apple of each other's eyes and cannot think of anyone else apart from their beloved... The peak of attraction aka love... Soon, things change. We get so engrossed in our daily lives to gather the basic amenities for living, that there comes a situation when innovation and Improvements are ignored... Partly because individuals think that the other person loves him / her too much to leave and partly because he / she is unable to live upto the expectations of each individual dependant on him / her. As a resu...