Loonies And Lexicons

I've been perusing the Google Analytics reports for my site over the past few weeks, and have found some interesting facts:

• I average 8 unique visitors per day


• 79% of visits are from referring sites


• 58% of visits are from Firefox users


• I am far too eager to draw inferences on my little blog's tiny readership

Another little tidbit I discovered is that 30% of my visits are from the United States. Since I'm sure that my own "check the locks" visits are artificially inflating my Canadian readership (currently at 50%), this means that a significant proportion of my readers are coming from outside the country. With this in mind, I thought I'd throw together a brief lexicon for Americans looking to make sense of my more Canada-centric posts.

Canadian-to-American Personal Finance Lexicon

Loonie

Canada's $1 coin, named for the loon engraved on the back of the coin. The loon was actually not the original design for the coin, but the original dies were lost en route to the mint, and an alternate design had to be used

Toonie

Younger sibling to the Loonie, this is our $2 coin. This coin is known for having "the Queen with the Bear Behind"

Cheque

Canadians write cheques and use chequing accounts, but we check our e-mail. Clear as mud?

CRA

Canada Revenue Agency. This is the equivalent of the IRS in the USA. This agency is pretty flighty with its naming. A few years ago, it was simply called "Revenue Canada", which became "Canada Customs and Revenue Agency", and then finally settled on the current moniker. The funny thing is, though, the signs outside the CRA office in Ottawa (our nation's capitol) all still say "Canada Customs and Revenue Agency". I guess they didn't get the memo...

RRSP

Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Also referred to as an RSP, this is equivalent to a traditional IRA in the US. Contributions to this plan can be used as deductions on your tax return. A big difference between the RRSP and the IRA is that RRSPs often have much higher annual contribution limits

GIC

Guaranteed Invesment Certificate. This is equivalent to CDs in the US

HBP / LLP

Home Buyer's Plan / Lifelong Learning Plan. Plans that allow the annuitant of an RRSP to withdraw retirement savings pre-retirement, without paying a tax penalty. Withdrawals must meet certain criteria (eg. valid student status), and must be paid back over time, or else they will be treated as taxable income

CDIC

Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. This is equivalent to the FDIC in the US. CDIC generally covers up to $100,000 in Canadian-currency savings at member financial institutions

CMHC

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This is the agency that insures high-ratio mortgages against default. I believe this is roughly equivalent to PMI in the US. If you have a down payment of less than 25% when purchasing a home, then you pay a premium (usually 2-3% of mortgage amount). This premium is added to the mortgage, and generally takes about one year's worth of mortgage payments to pay off

For the most part, Canadian financial "rules" are pretty much equivalent to their American counterparts; names, limits and percentages may be different, but the fundamental concept is the same. However, there are some key differences between our countries:

• Mortgage interest is not tax-deductible in Canada


• Lottery winnings are not taxable in Canada


• In Canada, online savings accounts do not have a government-mandated maximum on the number of withdrawals per month

What else have I missed? What are the other PF-related differences between Canada and the US? Help me out in the comments.