Not everything is, so make sure you claim the correct ones With year-end rapidly approaching, many investors have been going through their financial statements and slips to see what kind of investment or investment-related expenses they’ve paid through the year, and...
Act before Dec. 31 to get these tax benefits for 2017 The holiday season is fast approaching. And with the lights and festivities, investors and taxpayers will also have visions of year-end tax planning dancing in their heads. Well, maybe not, but there are certainly...
Robyn Thompson is regularly featured in The Toronto Star’s “Money Makeover” series by Deanne Gage. This month, Money Makeover takes a look at Angela and Roy, two primary school teachers who earn high incomes but are clueless about investments. They need to save for...
How to control spending and cut credit card balances November is Financial Literacy Month in Canada. And this year’s theme is “Take charge of your finances: It pays to know.” That little slogan was never more true than when dealing with personal debt, especially...
Key cyber-security principles to keep your money safe online October was Cyber Security Awareness Month in Canada. It’s traditionally the time industry experts and governments have set aside for talking up all things related to online security in your everyday life,...
Stock markets are setting records daily. Ignore it! “The market will fluctuate.” That old bit of market wisdom is ascribed to Gilded Age financier J.P. Morgan, and is as true today as it was a hundred years ago. The primal emotions of fear and greed are ultimately at...
Don’t wait until the last day of February! Typically, you’ll get the RRSP contribution song and dance starting somewhere in January and lasting until the end of February. It’s really just a marketing push by financial institutions to scare you into giving them money...
Tips for post-divorce financial planning The stress of a divorce, with its hearings over settlements and custody arrangements if there are children involved, can quickly eclipse any thoughts of financial planning for yourself. But it’s something you shouldn’t ignore,...
What’s a “covered call write” and how do managers use it? Portfolio managers increasingly use stock options to enhance income, using something called a “covered call writing” strategy. But to many investors this sounds mysterious and slightly risky. In fact, when used...
Individual Pension Plans a tax-efficient retirement savings tool Given the current effort by the federal government to clamp down on some of the income “splitting and sprinkling” tax benefits of Canadian-Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs), there’s definitely a...
How RESPs pay out for post-secondary expenses If you have kids going off to college or university this fall, you’ll be tapping into any savings you’ve made through a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). But those payments aren’t treated like a bank account. There...
Read Robyn’s advice on how to stop being broke Young singles are a special breed. Definitely independent, confident in their ability to fend for themselves. And with a career underway, they’re thinking about growing that nest-egg for their retirement years. But how...