During this pandemic, money has become increasingly tighter for many people and now more than ever, every penny counts. But we've got some good news! There’s money out there for people. It might just take a little bit more resourcefulness, digging and determination to get it. But it’s worth it.Millions have lost their jobs or had their incomes greatly reduced during the pandemic. Even if you haven’t lost income, you should be looking for extra dollars to pad out your emergency fund or to take advantage of the sagging stock market to invest for the long haul. This is the time for us all to, literally and figuratively, start turning up our couch cushions to look for every last cent.Money expert Melissa Leong has tips to help us maximize our dollars and even access some hidden cash we may not have even known about.
UNCLAIMED MONEY
The Bank of Canada is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of unclaimed bank balances and Canada Savings Bonds. In 2016, there were 1.8 million unclaimed balances worth about $678-million. If 10 years goes by without account activity or contact between you and your financial institution, your bank will turn over the assets in your account to the Bank of Canada. You can visit the Bank of Canada’s website and search its unclaimed balances registry for your name.If you log into your My Account portal through the Canada Revenue Agency’s website, there’s a section of “uncashed cheques.” Check to see if you have any uncashed cheques either through tax refunds or GST payments that you’ve misplaced or forgot about.Online, people were saying they accessed money from years ago.Also, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit is a federal program, but you may have money available to you through provincial programs. For example, in Ontario, eligible families may apply to receive a one-time payment of $200 to $250. In B.C., they’re doing a one-time boost to the B.C. climate action tax credit; you just make sure you’ve filed your income tax return for 2019 to be eligible.[video_embed id='1962386']How to save and make money without leaving your couch[/video_embed]
GIFT CARDS AND LOYALTY POINTS
Now is the time to use those gift cards! Look through your drawers and the pockets of your purses to locate any forgotten gift cards. If you’re thinking, "I need cash, not new shopping items", there are services online such as CardSwap where you can sell your unwanted or unused gift cards for cash. A $100 gift card for a clothing store might get you about $80 in cash if you’re willing to take the loss. You just mail it in with a pre-paid shipping label.Another thing to consider is cashing in your loyalty points. If you have a travel credit card for example, while you’ll get more value from using your points for airfare and hotels — in the near future, it might be more valuable right now for you to get a gift card for groceries or other essentials. Just be mindful that there may be a wait of several weeks to get gift cards in the mail. Also, you can switch your preferences for some loyalty programs to collecting points to redeem for cash at checkout versus collecting travel miles.If you’re spending a lot of money on groceries, make sure you sign up for their loyalty program to collect points that you can use to offset future bills.
TAX WRITE OFFS
So there are some nuances here that should be mentioned first. To be able to write off “home office expenses” that your employer isn’t covering: Your home has to be your office “principally” in a calendar year, so at least six months of 2020. If this is you and you have an employer, you should get them to sign a form, called the Declaration of Conditions of Employment. Have this on file in case you get audited.Now, how much can you claim? This based on the square footage you actually use for work. So if 20% of your house is used as your office and includes your files, your computer and if you’ve only used it for six months, then you would claim 10 per cent of your yearly expenses.What are those expenses? This often varies depending on your work. The rules are different for self-employed people and those who have an employer. Employees can claim a percentage of utilities, repairs and cleaning materials. But you can’t deduct things such as mortgage interest, property taxes, home insurance unless you’re self-employed. So look into the eligible expenses that apply to your situation.
CREDIT CARDS
If for some reason you can’t pay your credit card bill, like if you lose your job, this insurance generally covers the minimum monthly payment or a small percentage of the balance owing. You pay a monthly premium to have this insurance. Now experts complain that this insurance is expensive and hard to claim.You should check with your credit card company to see if you have this insurance and if so, make a claim if you’ve lost your job. If you have it and you didn’t sign up for it, you should complain. There was a national news story that said some people contacted their bank to complain about this and got back thousands of dollars. So if you didn’t sign up for it, contact your financial institution; if you don’t have success, escalate the complaint to the manager, then to the bank’s internal ombudsman and finally to an external complaints body.The lesson here is that it’s important to look carefully at your credit card statement and review all of the charges.[video_embed id='1922616']How to handle your personal finances amid the COVID-19 outbreak[/video_embed]
TRAVEL VOUCHERS VS. REFUNDS
A lot of people are concerned about this very thing. Airlines are offering many passengers time-limited credits or vouchers instead of refunds. Tens of thousands of Canadians have signed petitions and consumer advocacy groups are actually asking the federal government to step in.When it comes to any scenario where you’re looking for a refund, if you don’t ask, you won’t get.Melissa's hack for dealing with customer service is that if you’re getting frustrated with the person and you feel like the conversation is ineffective, just hang up. Everyone’s under a lot of stress. Call back when you've had a breath and sometimes you'll get a different customer service agent who is more helpful.Finally, look into your rights as a consumer. If a merchant is refusing to refund your money and they’re not giving you a reasonable alternative, you may be able to file a dispute through your credit card company if you used it to pay. It’s called a chargeback. No one is going to advocate for your money better than you will. This is the time to take extra steps to get money back into your hands.[video_embed id='1966986']BEFORE YOU GO: Tyrone Edwards shares why he can no longer remain silent about racism[/video_embed]
