Archive for February 2017
Millionaire Teacher (Second Edition): Book Review and Giveaway
The financial landscape can change a lot in a short period of time, which can make even the best personal finance book obsolete in just a few years. Ask David Chilton, who after 22 years brought The Wealthy Barber out of retirement and gave it a significant makeover in The Wealthy Barber Returns. That’s why I…
Read MoreAsking The Wrong Questions About Your Investing Strategy
If you’re anything like me you started investing because you wanted to make money and the stock market just happens to be the best place to achieve inflation-beating returns over the long term. Investors must accept, however, that greater returns come with greater risk, along with the possibility that your portfolio might suffer losses of…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Buffett’s Annual Shareholder Letter Edition
Warren Buffett is a living legend in the world of investing and each year he issues, on behalf of his company Berkshire Hathaway, a widely anticipated letter to shareholders. Berkshire stock was up 23 percent in 2016, more than double that of the S&P 500 index. The Oracle of Omaha has still got it! Buffett’s annual…
Read MoreFrom The Boomer & Echo Mailbag: I Don’t Make Enough To Save
Q. I know I should be saving 10% of my income, but I just don’t make enough money. My bills take up just about all my paycheque. I can’t afford to save. You can’t afford NOT to save. I find that the very people who believe they can’t save somehow manage to give the bank…
Read MoreBoost Your Retirement Income With Regular Income Streams
Most financial planning is based on the same basic premise – work for several decades while saving a pot of money, which you will spend once you reach retirement. Indeed, this is the path that the financial industry leads you to – all the while earning fees and commissions by managing your growing portfolio. I’m asked…
Read MoreLong Weekend Reading: Family Day Edition
Welcome to another edition of weekend reading. Monday is Family Day here in Alberta so we’re enjoying a long weekend and looking forward to some fun and affordable family entertainment. With that in mind, I don’t want to spend my entire Sunday morning writing, so let’s get on with the links. This long weekend reading edition…
Read MoreTax Tips From An Eager Tax Filer
Where’s my T4?!? I know it’s only mid-February but I’m eager to get started on my taxes so that I have the option to make an RRSP contribution before the deadline. But my employer has yet to issue our T4s and I can’t file my taxes if I’m missing such a key document. Surprisingly, many…
Read MoreCPP Survivor Benefits Not What You Would Expect
Enhancements to the CPP are always being suggested, largely to address the fact that fewer Canadians now have workplace pensions. The latest deal made by provincial Finance Ministers in June 2016 will boost CPP income from one quarter of pensionable earnings to one-third. The change will phase in slowly from 2019 to 2025 (when the…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Raising Retirement Age Edition
Maybe raising the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67 wasn’t such a bad idea after all? The Liberal federal government reversed a controversial decision made in 2012 by the Conservative-led feds and returned OAS eligibility to 65. But now an economic advisory council is recommending Ottawa raise the age of…
Read MoreThe Three Phases Of Retirement
Retirement is often referred to as a single lifetime event. You know, you work for forty or so years, have your retirement party, or other celebration, and then head off into retirement. But your whole retirement is not going to be the same. And, while the retirement you choose will be unique to you –…
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