Good afternoon! Money has a funny way of dressing up danger as a favour and good news as a crisis. Today is about seeing past the costume before you make your next move.
On The Money Today:
Why a “free upgrade” call could become the costliest phone you never keep
The “safe” side of your retirement savings that may not be as safe as it looks
Why CPP’s 2027 shortfall headline sounds scarier than it really is
Let's dive in.
NEWS
The free phone upgrade call that could leave you owing $17,000
The caller says your carrier wants to reward your loyalty, and a brand-new phone really does show up at your door. That’s what makes this scheme so convincing, and how a Sudbury woman ended up with nearly $17,000 in charges for phones she never kept. If you’ve ever picked up a call offering an upgrade or a deal to stay with your provider, you need to know where this one turns.
Why it matters:
Carriers treat these as real orders on your real account, so the device financing stays on your bill and can follow you into collections. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre logged $19.5 million in service fraud losses in 2025, and Sudbury police alone have taken about 20 reports in recent weeks.
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INVESTING
Ray Dalio’s bond warning and what it means for your GICs and retirement funds
One of the world’s best-known investors just said the bond market has turned, and he doesn’t expect it to turn back anytime soon. If your retirement savings lean on bond funds or GICs, that call lands much closer to home than a CNBC soundbite. Not every safe-money holding reacts the same way, and knowing which one you own could shape your next move.
Why it matters:
Many retirees treat bond funds as the safe side of their portfolio, but unlike a GIC, a fund has no maturity date and no promise of returning what you put in. With GIC renewals and mortgage offers both tied to where yields go next, the choices you make in the coming months could lock in results for years.
MUST READ
Is your CPP pension safe? Its chief actuary says payouts will exceed contributions starting in 2027 — what it means
Starting in January, the Canada Pension Plan is projected to pay out more in benefits than it takes in from workers and employers. That projection comes straight from the government’s own pension actuaries, and it lands just as many Canadians are deciding when to start collecting. Before that number shapes your retirement timing, it’s worth understanding what’s really behind it.
Why it matters:
Taking CPP at 60 instead of 65 permanently cuts your monthly payment by up to 36%, so a decision made out of worry could follow you for decades. CPP is a core income source for most Canadian retirees, which makes the difference between a headline and a real threat to your cheque worth knowing now.
MONEY IQ
In what year did Canadian workers first start paying into the Canada Pension Plan?
ALSO MAKING THE ROUNDS TODAY
One celebrity post sent millions of strangers after a small shop, and what Canadian business owners can do when reviews get weaponized starts well before the first one-star rating
A 50% U.S. tariff on Canadian-built vehicles could land Jan. 1, and the trade pitch Pierre Poilievre took to CNN won’t change how you should plan your budget for it
An Ontario couple lost a $22K European river cruise to a last-minute route change, and the fine print that left them with credit instead of cash could be in your next booking too
Fake bank investigators are talking Canadians into buying gold for “safekeeping,” and the one red flag that exposes the script is easy to catch once you know it
MONEY IQ: HOW'D YOU DO?
Answer: B. The plan was enacted in 1965, and contributions began on Jan. 1, 1966.
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