😠😠 Switching bank accounts is so tedious

A reminder that your banking information can be revealed at any time.

Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

There was a security breach and my chequing account information was accidentally circulated to a bunch of strangers. The person who released the information was very apologetic and said that they trusted the people wouldn’t leverage the information but

1. I don’t know them.

2. Who’s to say that they secure their computer from prying eyes or from their partners?

3. I wasn’t willing to take that risk.

I called my bank to have a note put on my account in case of any suspicious activity. They’re the ones who told me to change my account so after nearly 20 years, I had to close the account and open up a new one.

*Sighs*

So far I have spent four hours dealing with the process. That includes going to the bank to open a new chequing account while keeping my current account open. (I stressed the need to keep my current account open because I had so many pre-authorized payments and deposits attached to it.)

Then I had to make a list of pre-authorized debits and when. I knew most of them but still reviewed the last two months to make sure I captured all of them in my shiny Google Sheets file.

Turns out I have eight companies who pay me directly, six that I pay directly, (mortgage, maintenance, home, disability and critical illness insurance, and hydro) and three pre-authorized deposits to my retirement, property tax and special assessment account.

On top of that, I had to change the account on other accounts because I have specific accounts dedicated to things like gifts, travel, and my emergency account.

I am mostly done but I’m waiting for a few things. I can’t automatically switch my maintenance payments. I had to fill out a form, send it with a void cheque, and wait for confirmation. The same with my critical illness and disability insurance: I’m waiting for my agent to send me the form. By the time you read this, I’ll have followed up with him.

And I need to find my latest home insurance renewal forms to change it.

On the plus side, my clients have been great about making the switch, so thank you all.

What I’ve learned so far:

• I am not as organized as I thought I was. I’m not too bad but I had to hunt down a few documents to make the switch.

• Face-to-face is best when you have to do something like this. I talked to someone at my bank and explained the situation. He opened a new account and waived the monthly fee for the new account for a month until I could switch everything.

• It’s really aggravating. Banks don’t really offer this service as I wrote here three years ago. Which, dammit, I forgot an institution. So that’s nine companies who pay me directly. Argh but wow, glad I wrote that even though I thought I would never use it. 😂😂😂

• I don’t like having to rely on other people to send me stuff or to make changes. That’s a me thing.

• It takes longer than you think it will. You’re working and trying to live your life while trying to clean this up.

• Accidents happen but that doesn’t make you feel better.

I’m hoping this will be done soon. Between this and a client whose accounts payable made a significant financial mistake that cost me money, I am generally annoyed that I’m left having to fix stuff due to their mistakes.

Anyway, keep your documents organized and have a list of payees on hand. You never know when you’ll need it.

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My mild irritation at PC Optimum points

Now I’m not a points expert but I collect PC Optimum points. I used to like them because it was easy to collect and then redeem them for something nice or for gifts as I’m wont to do this time of year.

Ever since Loblaws bought Shoppers and merged the points plans, it has become more difficult to collect points. You have to buy at least two of something to get them. That encourages over-purchasing of an item and we already buy too much. If you’re going to use it, great but buying more of one item to get the points isn’t worth it for me. What about you?

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This week’s readings:

And there are a lot. We start with mine because yes and also, timely.

Relevant. How to tell friends and family you’re doing “no gifts” this year (MoneySense)

Also relevant. Should you donate to a charity that’s flush with cash? (Canadian Family Offices)

The high cost of road rage — and one simple thing you can do to protect yourself from a big financial hit (Toronto Star)

The 2023 Fall Economic Statement from the Canadian government.

Interesting. The myth of the Great Boomer Wealth Transfer (Business Insider)

If you aren’t using all your housing enough. Feds propose underused housing tax relief (Advisor.ca)

This was such an interesting read. I couldn’t handle the stress. Would you do something like this? Inside the strange, secretive rise of the 'overemployed' (Business Insider)

Canadians, the TFSA limit has increased to $7,000 for 2024. (Advisor.ca)

Federal government clamps down on Airbnb, VRBO hosts with new tax measure (Toronto Star)

3 tax changes in the fiscal update you may have missed (Financial Post)

Most Americans are better off financially now than before the pandemic (Stay-At-Home Macro)

Open banking might actually be coming. 'Long overdue': Frustrated tech leaders call for progress on open banking to increase competition (Financial Post)