Posts by Robb Engen
Weekend Reading: Retiring With Purpose Edition
Much has been written about the financial side of retirement – do you have enough saved, how much can you spend, will your money last a lifetime? But retirement is part financial and part psychological. More than just a number in your bank account, retirement is also how you feel about moving on to the…
Read MoreBuild If/Then Statements Into Your Financial Plan
Anyone familiar with Microsoft Excel knows how useful “if/then” statements can be to make comparisons under certain conditions. An IF statement can either be true or false. An if/then statement can be extremely useful in financial planning. Here are three examples of how to build “if/then” statements into your financial plan. When your income is…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Tax Change Speculation Edition
The federal budget plan is set to be delivered on March 28th, and that means it’s time for pundits to speculate about potential tax changes. We already know that the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) will be introduced and available at financial institutions some time this year. This account combines the best traits of the…
Read MoreVanguard’s Asset Allocation ETFs – Five Years Later
It has been five years since Vanguard introduced the first asset allocation or “all-in-one” ETFs in Canada. Simply put, these one-ticket solutions have been an absolute game-changer for do-it-yourself investors. I’m on record to say that if investing has been solved with low-cost index funds, then investing complexity has been solved by using a single…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Investors Fighting The Last Battle Edition
I’ve been looking for a phrase that captures the odd behaviour that investors exhibit when they change strategies based on current market conditions. Ben Carlson at A Wealth of Common Sense neatly summed up this behaviour as investors always fighting the last battle. It’s perfect: “Not every investor does this but there is a tendency…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Best Uses For Your TFSA Edition
Sometimes I think I’m the poster child for what not to do with your TFSA. I opened an account immediately when the TFSA launched in 2009 and contributed the maximum annual amount for three years, investing those funds in a couple of dividend paying stocks. I cashed out in 2011 (with a tidy $4,500 profit)…
Read MoreTax Deductions and Tax Credits: What’s The Difference?
Canadian taxpayers have until May 1st, 2023 to file their 2022 taxes (April 30th falls on a Sunday). However, as the calendar turns over to a new year many Canadians want to know how best to maximize their tax refund or minimize what they owe the government. Related: How a “first 60 days’ assessment saves…
Read MoreSo You’ve Made Your RRSP Contribution: Now What?
It’s a classic mistake I’ve seen time and time again. You scramble to make your RRSP contribution before the deadline and then give yourself a giant pat on the back. But wait a minute. You’re not done yet. Not if your RRSP contribution is just sitting idly in cash. You need to put that RRSP…
Read MoreIntroducing A New DIY Investing Course
It’s finally here. A do-it-yourself investing course for regular people who want to save on fees and complexity by using a low cost, all-in-one, automatically rebalancing ETF. I want to help investors move on from paying 2% MER for a balanced mutual fund at their bank. I want to help new investors set up a…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Finances in Flux Edition
Regular readers know that I update and post my net worth twice a year, including a year-end summary. They should also know that I didn’t post an update at the end of 2022. It’s not because I’m embarrassed that my portfolio suffered losses for the first time in recent memory. That’s a feature of financial…
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