Robyn Thompson is regularly featured in The Toronto Star’s “Money Makeover” series by Deanne Gage. Money Makeover takes a look at how Mike and Constance can juggle their dreams for a home, a family and the...
New reporting rules for advisors on the way You may have recently seen references in the media to something called “CRM2” for financial advisors. It’s basically a set of regulations designed to provide investors with more information on investment advisory costs...
“Pensionize” your retirement income Will you outlive your money? That’s the big question a lot of pre-retirees are asking. I am a firm believer in “pensioning your retirement income,” which means creating a secure stream of income from a variety of sources that...
How to withdraw funds for post-secondary expenses If you have kids going off to college or university this fall, and you’ve accumulated substantial savings in a Registered Education Savings Plan, now’s the time to tap into those funds. But you won’t be able to use...
First-time home buyers can use RRSP funds to top up their down payment Now that the Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.5%, it looks like mortgage rates will also fall. But the government may try to head off a real estate market bubble by...
A mortgage rate hike could put you in a cash crunch If you currently have a fairly large variable-rate mortgage on your home, it’s probably set at a very low rate, which makes your monthly payments affordable. But with interest rates apparently ready to rise, is...
Robyn Thompson is featured in the Globe and Mail, in an Investment article by Joel Schlesinger. In this article, Robyn recommends a strong strategy in order to effectively draw income from retirement...
Making the most of the sweet spot in your financial life Graduation from college or university is an exciting time. But it can also be unsettling. If you have student loans, you’ll need to start paying those off. You can’t pay them off by, say, “travelling” for a...
It’s not too late, provided you follow five basic rules Q – My husband and I are in our mid-40s, with two teenage children. We now own our home free and clear. Because we’ve been diligent about paying off our mortgage, with bi-weekly payments and annual...
Financial advisory fees don’t always add up to good value Trailing commissions, loads, transaction fees, administration fees. If your investment account statement looks like your advisor is shopping for a new Porsche, it might be time to revisit the whole issue of...
How to stop the bad guys from robbing you blind Q – A friend recently asked me whether I’d be interested in a private investment that he said returns over 12% a month. He explained that an advisor he knows had told him it was some sort of syndicated offshore real...
How to resist the urge to splurge Do you spend every single last dime of what you make – and then some? Don’t know? You’re not alone. In these days of easy credit, it’s all too easy to blur that line between your income and your expenses. This becomes a real...