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How to get your portfolio back on track
This 5-point annual review can reveal weak spots Your investment portfolio is the cornerstone of your wealth accumulation plan over the long term. Whether your investments are in non-registered trading accounts or in tax-sheltered plans like RRSPs and TFSAs, you...
Robyn on The Social: Beat the debt trap
Post-holiday debt blues got you down? Robyn recently joined hosts Melissa Grelo, Cynthia Loyst, Lainey Lui on CTV’s The Social with some tips on the psychology of debt and how to break the credit card...
Ten-point plan for financial fitness
Give your personal finances a workout Will there be a recession? Will inflation keep eroding our purchasing power? Will stock markets recover? Will rates keep climbing. We can make educated guesses, but the reality is that no one knows for sure. As individual...
Resolve to overcome three financial mental blocks
Your attitude to money may be holding you back Let’s face it. Money is stressful, and especially so at the beginning of the New Year, right after the holiday spending binge. Spending, saving, investing, statements, bills, budgets – for many, maybe most, people, it...
The seven sins of financial planning
How to stay virtuous and grow your wealth in 2023 The holiday season always seems to be a time of excess. Excessive eating, drinking, partying…and spending. For many people, it’s a time when the bonds of financial inhibition are loosened. Trouble is, the financial...
Year-end tax-cutting tips
Still time to save on 2022 taxes With year-end just around the corner, there’s still time for a few tax strategies that could cut this year’s tax bill. Here are some of my favorite year-end tax-saving tips. Contributions to registered plans Registered plans...
Robyn Thompson chosen for the 2022 5-Star Leading Women in Wealth Award
Robyn Thompson, CFP, founder and president of Castlemark Wealth Management has been chosen as a recipient of the 2022 5-Star Leading Women in Wealth Award by Wealth Professional Canada magazine. The award is given to 50 women who truly excelled in the wealth...
Black Friday binge, Red Monday remorse
How avoid that sinking (bank account) feeling “Red Monday Remorse” typically follows the Black Friday spending binge. It’s the day you realize you’ve changed the colour of your budget from black to red. The same thing happens in the weeks leading up to Christmas....
Avoiding cryptocurrency scams
How to dodge investment fraud and protect your money High-flying cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in early November. Billions of dollars are missing or unaccounted for according to reports, and the eventual financial ramifications of the FTX...
Inflation Investing
Some asset classes better than others as an inflation hedge When preparing your financial plan and setting target returns, make sure you discuss the effects of inflation with your advisor. Currently, inflation is at levels not seen in decades. In Canada, the...
Robyn on CTV’s The Social: Get a grip on rising interest rates
Inflation is raging, interest rates are soaring. How do you adjust your personal finances to cope? Robyn recently joined CTV’s The Social with some tips on managing your personal debt, mortgages, savings, and...
When creditors come calling
Options for relieving the personal debt burden Since 2020, when the pandemic and associated financial damage created by government lock-downs and mandates really began to hit hard, debt problems were pushed to the back burner. Many creditors temporarily held off...