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...
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...
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...
Stock market rout not the time for wholesale portfolio changes The rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus (also known as the coronavirus), has hit global markets hard over the past few weeks as investors worry about the impact of the spreading contagion on global trade...
Robyn Thompson is featured in The Globe and Mail’s “Financial Facelift” series by Diane Maley. At 53, with his house paid off and more than $1 million in savings, Randy was cruising to a comfortable retirement. But his plans were turned upside down when he was...
Escape the shackles of the savings account trap You may as well face facts: You can’t “save” a million dollars. A recent survey of the market showed that the highest rate paid in a standard, plain-vanilla deposit savings account (the kind that most banks and large...
Cents and sensibility Valentine’s Day can be gushingly romantic, stressful, and exciting all at the same time. For many couples, it can often lead to proposals of marriage or other forms of co-habitation. If you find yourself in that happy situation,...
Powerful tax-deferred retirement savings plan Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) are still the best retirement saving and tax-deferral opportunity available for most Canadians. Trouble is, many of us just don’t use RRSPs to their full advantage. Unused...