Loc Showdown

[ISeeFire]

Hello all,

 

I'm just in the process of figuring out my applications for a line of credit. Currently, I have narrowed down my selection essentially to CIBC (my home bank) and MD Financial. However, I had a few questions.

 

From what I gather, MD Financial requires that you are a member of the CMA. But then the CMA requires that you are also a member of the OMA. Is it appropriate to register a membership with the OMA/CMA at this time in order to pursue a possible LOC with MD Financial?

 

Otherwise, would it be possible to do my LOC with CIBC, but then additionally seek the financial planning services of MD?

 

Any replies to these queries plus any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you.

[thatonekid]

There's some great discussions on choosing an LOC bank on these forums, in terms of additional benefits, etc. You may want to read over those threads.

 

But to answer your questions, if you want to go with MD Financial/National Bank, then yes, you can get your OMA/CMA membership. It's like $22 for students. If you go with another bank, you can still get financial planning help from MD Financial.

[ISeeFire]

Hi thatonekid,

 

Thank you, I actually did consult quite a number of the forum threads on an LOC! However, I couldn't quite find much info on the exact nature of the services provided by MD (or really, much info at all on MD), hence my post!

 

But I am happy to know that I can still get the financial planning help from MD. That was probably my major concern - and if there are no compelling reasons to prefer the MD LOC over the CIBC LOC, I might just choose the latter and then take advantage of the planning from MD.

 

Also, I am quite content with my one existing credit card and don't see myself taking out a mortage anytime soon - so I'm not sure I qualify as needing any extra perks!

 

Thanks again!

[Bambi]

For what its worth, I originally went with Banque National and 2 years later they gave me problems, so I switched to RBC and have found them to be great. Because of issues with CIBC that were unnecessary, I would never go with them.

[rmorelan]

With a rather low cost for the CMA/OMA membership (and often member discounts that are worth more than the 22 a year - hello cell phone plan) you may end up with that anyway.

 

Focus on a LOC at works for you with someone you actually can deal with from a service point of view.

 

The basics that MD Financial may help you with during residency you (in my opinion) need to learn for yourself anyway and you will have opportunities to do exactly that. May be new to you, may be a bit scary even but basic financial planning knowledge is just something everyone needs to get down (never, ever fully trust this to anyone else in your life - you have to know what is going on. Side note - the MORE they tell you to trust them, your instinct should be to trust them LESS - I am looking at you MD Financial hehe.).

 

It isn't that hard and when you learn the basics (which takes only a couple of hours) it is actually kind of fun. Why we don't teach this in high school is something I will never fully understand or agree with.

[toxscreen]

It isn't that hard and when you learn the basics (which takes only a couple of hours) it is actually kind of fun. Why we don't teach this in high school is something I will never fully understand or agree with.

 

Any particularly good resources that you'd recommend for a novice?

[thatonekid]

 Why we don't teach this in high school is something I will never fully understand or agree with.

 

Yes, totally agree. Financial planning and good money management are tools everyone should have. While there are some great financial planning resources available to us, you should (hopefully) know some basicis before taking on things like a LOC.

[rmorelan]

Yes, totally agree. Financial planning and good money management are tools everyone should have. While there are some great financial planning resources available to us, you should (hopefully) know some basicis before taking on things like a LOC.

 

Of course we all need to know trigonometry and the quadratic formula more.....

 

ha, and this is coming form a person that loves math and a degree in computer science related to it. Just that I know we would need financial knowledge/skills extremely regularly but those other forms of math rarely if at all (I in the real world have used Calculus twice, and both times simply because I could. But have taken advanced Calculus courses at Waterloo - so I can say I have spend 100s upon 100s of hours learning something that I will never use really for anything).

[Birdy]

I'm already benefitting from my OMA and CMA memberships. It cost me $22 and the UpToDate discount alone made it more than worth it. Plus the OMA cellphone plan and there's even an agreement with a moving company that may well save us quite a bit of money. And the car insurance. About 30% cheaper than the lowest quote I got elsewhere.

 

It's certainly appropriate to join the CMA and OMA right now. I asked. I have a meeting with an advisor at MD next week, though I'm already refreshing my knowledge about the stuff I plan to speak with her about since, as rmorelan points out, you should make sure you aren't trusting your future entirely to someone besides yourself.

[schmitty]

Off topic, but OMA/CMA membership gives you Dynamed access for free (with mobile app) that I find just as good as UpToDate. I generally use both (U of T gives access to UpToDate to all students, not sure about Mac), but would never pay for UpToDate while I have other just as good free options.

 

I'm already benefitting from my OMA and CMA memberships. It cost me $22 and the UpToDate discount alone made it more than worth it. Plus the OMA cellphone plan and there's even an agreement with a moving company that may well save us quite a bit of money. And the car insurance. About 30% cheaper than the lowest quote I got elsewhere.

It's certainly appropriate to join the CMA and OMA right now. I asked. I have a meeting with an advisor at MD next week, though I'm already refreshing my knowledge about the stuff I plan to speak with her about since, as rmorelan points out, you should make sure you aren't trusting your future entirely to someone besides yourself.

[Birdy]

Off topic, but OMA/CMA membership gives you Dynamed access for free (with mobile app) that I find just as good as UpToDate. I generally use both (U of T gives access to UpToDate to all students, not sure about Mac), but would never pay for UpToDate while I have other just as good free options.

 

Oh I'm planning to use both. I'm already fairly familiar with UpToDate, so that was a factor, but it's true that it's hard to beat free. 

[bearded frog]

We get uptodate on campus only

[amichel]

We get uptodate on campus only

Can't you login through your library website? That's how it works here.

[bearded frog]

Nope, we can for every other textbook etc. but the licence for uptodate is limited to on-campus access. There are alternatives to uptodate avaliable... theres a study somewhere that showed that uptodate was only 70% actually up to date In terms of Mac's curiculum, it isn't very helpful, as you should be working from the biology up to physiology and pathology in a manner that requires the detail of a medical textbook, as opposed to top down from disease to underlying path/bio. It might be worthwile in clerkship/practice when using it for intention to treat.

[rmorelan]

Nope, we can for every other textbook etc. but the licence for uptodate is limited to on-campus access. There are alternatives to uptodate avaliable... theres a study somewhere that showed that uptodate was only 70% actually up to date In terms of Mac's curiculum, it isn't very helpful, as you should be working from the biology up to physiology and pathology in a manner that requires the detail of a medical textbook, as opposed to top down from disease to underlying path/bio. It might be worthwile in clerkship/practice when using it for intention to treat.

 

that is where uptodate mostly came into play. I mean you can derive whatever you want from first principles but at the end of the day if you need to know the oral dose of a drug for a renal impaired patient you are going to have to look that up

[ploughboy]

It isn't that hard and when you learn the basics (which takes only a couple of hours) it is actually kind of fun. Why we don't teach this in high school is something I will never fully understand or agree with.

 

 

Highschool?  Heck, public school.  I distinctly remember being about 9 years old and one of my grandparents buying me a $100 Canada Savings Bond.  This was back in the days of double-digit interest rates, and my mother showed me how to calculate compound interest.  I remember doing the math over and over again, longhand mind you, completely astounded at how much money I was going to have when the bond matured (mom left wisely left the topic of inflation for a later lesson).  No reason a properly motivated middle school child shouldn't be learning about these things, especially if (s)he is working or doing chores and earning money of his/her own.

 

Re: calculus.  Although I haven't done an integral with pencil and paper since Calculus IV, I do use the concepts occasionally in my clinical work.  But I have machines to do the math for me...

[amichel]

Highschool?  Heck, public school.  I distinctly remember being about 9 years old and one of my grandparents buying me a $100 Canada Savings Bond.  This was back in the days of double-digit interest rates, and my mother showed me how to calculate compound interest.  I remember doing the math over and over again, longhand mind you, completely astounded at how much money I was going to have when the bond matured (mom left wisely left the topic of inflation for a later lesson).  No reason a properly motivated middle school child shouldn't be learning about these things, especially if (s)he is working or doing chores and earning money of his/her own.

 

Re: calculus.  Although I haven't done an integral with pencil and paper since Calculus IV, I do use the concepts occasionally in my clinical work.  But I have machines to do the math for me...

 

Last time I checked high school is public school for most people, haha. Did you mean middle school? 

[ploughboy]

Last time I checked high school is public school for most people, haha. Did you mean middle school? 

 

Must be a terminology thing.  Where I'm from, "public school" = K-8 and "high school" = 9-12.

[snacks]

Must be a terminology thing.  Where I'm from, "public school" = K-8 and "high school" = 9-12.

 

Same, my crowd uses "public" and "elementary" to refer to K-8 !

[rmorelan]

Highschool?  Heck, public school.  I distinctly remember being about 9 years old and one of my grandparents buying me a $100 Canada Savings Bond.  This was back in the days of double-digit interest rates, and my mother showed me how to calculate compound interest.  I remember doing the math over and over again, longhand mind you, completely astounded at how much money I was going to have when the bond matured (mom left wisely left the topic of inflation for a later lesson).  No reason a properly motivated middle school child shouldn't be learning about these things, especially if (s)he is working or doing chores and earning money of his/her own.

 

Re: calculus.  Although I haven't done an integral with pencil and paper since Calculus IV, I do use the concepts occasionally in my clinical work.  But I have machines to do the math for me...

 

factor it into the regular math lessons at what ever age appropriate level we are at. Probably just take a twist on the regular math problem ("let x represent...."), ha

[ploughboy]

Same, my crowd uses "public" and "elementary" to refer to K-8 !

 

Maybe it's a Southern Ontario thing?

[snacks]

Maybe it's a Southern Ontario thing?

 

Yeah. I don't know many people who went to a "middle school"

[Bambi]

Any particularly good resources that you'd recommend for a novice?

Look at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/6-free-online-personal-finance-120015557.html

[amichel]

Must be a terminology thing. Where I'm from, "public school" = K-8 and "high school" = 9-12.

Huh. Interesting.

[kbinners]

I'm already benefitting from my OMA and CMA memberships. It cost me $22 and the UpToDate discount alone made it more than worth it. Plus the OMA cellphone plan and there's even an agreement with a moving company that may well save us quite a bit of money. And the car insurance. About 30% cheaper than the lowest quote I got elsewhere.

 

It's certainly appropriate to join the CMA and OMA right now. I asked. I have a meeting with an advisor at MD next week, though I'm already refreshing my knowledge about the stuff I plan to speak with her about since, as rmorelan points out, you should make sure you aren't trusting your future entirely to someone besides yourself.

 

Who knew the OMA had so many services?? Not me anyway, but I'm excited about it! I will definitely be looking into this cell phone business and the car insurance.

 

I was just looking into joining the CMA earlier today, and I'm very pleased to see students recommending signing up asap. I was hesitating on it, because in the theatre world (where I come from), there are serious draw-backs to joining professional organizations too early (eg if you get signed to an Equity contract too young without experience you may never get work again...)

 

Honestly I'm so tickled to be able to actually join the Canadian Medical Association   (dorky-dork-dork) I've watched some of their conferences in the past online, but of course only the sections open to non-members.