Leaps.com

I was surprised to learn today that  Ally.ca High Interest Savings Accounts will be terminated  as of April 30, 2013. They had been paying an attractive interest rate of 1.80%, which had CDIC insurance protecting the principal, but have since dropped it to only 1.20%. The Royal Bank of Canada acquired the deposit business of Ally.ca a few weeks ago, and it seems they don't want to pay the rates that drew many customers in the first place. Since  other financial institutions are paying more than 1.20% , I telephoned Ally.ca and asked that all of the funds I had deposited there be transferred out immediately, so that I can direct the funds elsewhere. The customer service representative, who was very polite and professional, did not seem surprised by my decision. It appears that I'm not the only person who moved all of their funds out of Ally.ca today. I hope that she and other staff at Ally.ca will not be laid off. Canada needs more options, not fewer ones, for savers ...

On Monday, the Royal Canadian Mint will  cease distribution of the penny  (1 cent coin), making the nickel (5 cent coin) the lowest issued coin in Canada. Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the penny over decades, so much so that it now costs more to produce a penny than its face value. Many people won't even bother to pick up a penny, although I still consider it good luck to do so! This also means that prices will start to be rounded to the nearest nickel when paying in cash . This won't affect me too much, as I use my credit card for most purchases. But, I think many skeptical folks will be upset when they see certain cash purchases rounded up, as they won't realize that it's balanced out in the long run  by purchases that are rounded down.