Archive for January 2016
Target Date Funds: A Smart Solution For Your RESP?
If you think of saving for retirement as a marathon and not a sprint, investing in an RESP might then be best described as a middle-distance event. That’s because unlike RRSPs, where you hold onto your investments for three or four decades before withdrawing the money in retirement, the process for RESPs is much more condensed…
Read MoreFrom The Boomer & Echo Mailbag: CPP Benefits
I get a lot of questions about CPP benefits. Unfortunately, CPP uses complicated formulas to determine certain benefits and I’m sorry to have to answer “It depends.” Here are some general answers. To get accurate information about your own personal situation, I recommend signing in to My Service Canada Account , or speak to a…
Read MoreScholarships Can Pay For Expensive Education Costs
With the cost of post-secondary school education rising astronomically each year, it makes sense to pursue every avenue of financial aid. Yes, you’ve been saving in an RESP and there are student loans available, but don’t overlook scholarships, grants and bursaries. Millions of dollars are unclaimed each year because students don’t realize they exist. Scholarships are…
Read MoreIndexers Are Terrible At Indexing
Despite all of the evidence that low cost passive investing outperforms actively managed portfolios, many investors still cling to the belief that an active approach can help steer them through turbulent times in the market. Even investors who have taken the plunge into index funds and ETFs can’t help themselves when faced with uncertainty. Emotions…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Why Target Canada Failed Edition
I remember in school studying some of the most spectacular international business failures – think Eurodisney, Nestle in Africa, Walmart in Germany. Add ‘Target in Canada’ to the list for business students to dissect for the next few decades. Canadian Business published a terrific long-read of Target’s last days in Canada, explaining how the company went…
Read MoreFinancial Management By The Decade – The 50’s
Welcome to age 50. Are you prepared? Turning 50 is a milestone for many reasons. Children are grown, the big debts such as saving for university and the mortgage, should be making less of a dent, and you are reaching your peak earning years. You now realize that your target retirement age is in sight,…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Housing Buys, Booms, and Busts Edition
Check out this fantastic piece by Financial Post reporter Garry Marr on wild tales of buys, booms, and busts in the Canadian housing market – including a video interview with 100-year-old Ralph Etigson who discusses his housing purchases in Toronto over the last 75 years. Mr. Etigson bought a bungalow for $3,500 in 1945, sold it…
Read MoreGood Habits In Fitness And Finance
Recently I’ve become more aware about how often I sit throughout the day. Research even suggests that too much sitting can be worse for you than smoking. I sit a lot! Since I work in an office environment, I can be sitting at my desk for hours during the day and then come home and…
Read MoreDIY Investing: How Successful Are You?
Many of our readers are DIY investors and, with the multitude of financial blogs and online information available, there is obviously a huge growing interest in managing your own investment portfolios. Investment do-it-yourselfers generally fall into two categories: Investors aiming to reduce fees. Over the last several years the media reports of high and hidden…
Read MoreDeceptive and Misleading Advertisements
It drives me nuts when I see deceptive and misleading advertisements in the financial services and investment industry. Personal finance can be complicated enough without having to bring a lawyer and a magnifying glass with you to interpret the fine print of every deal. Worse, still, is that many consumers take the bait without fully…
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