Financial planning for divorce during lockdown The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have added to the stress of couples undergoing separation or divorce. And with court services limited to very urgent cases involving custody of children, options for settlement...
Get a fix on your true level of risk tolerance Until very recently, things had been looking up in the U.S. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 11.1% in June, as millions of Americans began returning to work. That helped lift...
Don’t let pandemic woes infect your bank balance The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown many families’ financial plans into disarray. And while restrictions are gradually being lifted, activity is still far from normal. And, if the experts are right, there’s still the...
Paying down debt, building savings, emergency benefits This year has been particularly challenging for new graduates of post-secondary schools. Because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the last semester for most students was likely done online, as were exams and other...
How to cut the capital gains tax hit Thinking about selling the cottage, cabin, or lakeside getaway? Plenty of people are, especially those of the Baby Boom generation who are finding that maintaining two properties is increasingly time-consuming, tiresome, and...
The big come-on from dodgy vaccine-makers, fake gold mines The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many unpleasant consequences to our economy and social structure through emergency lockdowns and self-isolation. One of these is the proliferation of fraudulent investment...
June 1 tax-filing deadline With all the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, you might have taken advantage of the one-month extension of the tax-filing deadline to June 1. Payment of any tax owing has been extended to Sept. 1, but you must still file a return...
Rebalancing for recovery The March market meltdown, bond market gyrations, repricing of assets, and the flight to safety over the past couple of months has thrown many portfolios into disarray, particularly those of the do-it-yourself variety. The turmoil is likely...
Coping with withdrawal risks and benefiting from RRIF rule changes The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown many retirement plans into disarray. The collapse of the stock market in March, volatility in bond prices, the crash of energy markets, and the shutdown...
Federal government’s CERB program up and running Effective April 6, the federal government’s Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) provides eligible employed and self-employed Canadians whose employment has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic a defined amount...
Peace of mind in the pandemic year Financial planning is all about preparing for the future. That covers a lot of ground, of course, from retirement planning to estate planning. Even in the best of times, it’s prudent to have a solid estate plan in place, so that...
Why the urgent need for “safety” can lead investors astray These days, we’re reading a lot about the “flight to safety” in markets and investments. It’s understandable, of course, as the COVID-19 virus pandemic spreads fear and panic through global financial...