Posts by Robb Engen
Easter Weekend Reading
Long weekends for most people are a time to rest and relax with loved ones, maybe get away for a couple of nights to a hotel or out to the cottage. I enjoy R&R as much as the next guy, but for me nothing beats a long weekend to work on my side hustle and make some…
Read MoreTop 3 Cash Back and Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2017
A credit card with a good travel rewards program can earn you big perks such as free flights and hotel stays, which is why Canadians tend to prefer travel rewards cards over their cash-back cousins. But last year’s Air Miles debacle left customers with a bad taste in their mouths. Sure, earning travel points was easy.…
Read MoreWhich Accounts To Tap First In Retirement?
Retirees, or those close to retirement, might have several buckets from which to withdraw income in retirement. There may be assets in RRSPs, taxable or non-registered investment accounts, TFSAs, and possibly corporate or small business assets. At retirement you need to consider which of these accounts to tap into first. To further complicate matters you might also…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Out Of Control Real Estate Edition
Toronto home prices soared a record 33 percent from a year ago, pushing the cost of an average home to $916,000 and a detached home in the downtown to almost $1.6 million. Now policymakers in the city of Toronto and province of Ontario are considering a new tax on foreign buyers or a tariff on vacant…
Read MoreA New Way To Look At Sustainable Investing
It’s not often we can equate green and sustainable business practices with the oil and gas sector but at a recent leadership summit I had the pleasure to hear Imaginea Energy founder Suzanne West share her ambitious vision to ‘green’ the oil business. Ms. West attended Richard Branson’s leadership gathering at Necker Island where she…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: What’s In A Name Edition
CBC Go Public is like a dog with a bone when it comes to going after Canada’s big banks. First it exposed the high pressure sales culture that has made its way down to the front-line – prompting bank tellers to open up about the aggressive tactics used to dupe customers into taking out new products or…
Read MoreWhy I Don’t Invest In A Taxable (Non-Registered) Account
Rumours of an increased capital gains tax were put to rest last week when the Liberals unveiled their second federal budget with no mention of a change to the inclusion rate. The scuttlebutt around capital gains, however, got me thinking about investing in a taxable or non-registered account. There are several scenarios where investing in…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Federal Budget Edition
It was much ado about nothing when the Liberals announced its second federal budget this week. Despite rumours of tax hikes and increases to the capital gains inclusion rate, the budget delivered none of that, and instead offered what amounts to long-range pledges to improve innovation, skills training and gender equality. For the record, Finance…
Read MoreTaking Out A Second Mortgage: A Cautionary Tale
Let me share a cautionary tale about taking out a second mortgage. I got into a lot of financial trouble in my early twenties. Even though I bought my first home on my own at 23, my finances were a mess and I was stuck in a big-time credit card debt trap. My only saviour…
Read MoreHow A ‘First 60 Days’ Assessment Saves Us Taxes Year Round
I filed my taxes last week and expect to see a $2,500 refund hit my account some time in the next few days. While normally a big tax refund is cause for celebration, I won’t be treating this one as a windfall. That’s because it turned out my wife owed around the same amount when…
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