Posts by Robb Engen
Income Splitting 101: Tips On Keeping It In The Family
South of the border, the heads of U.S. households can elect to file joint income tax returns, pooling their income and deductions. This option brings considerable tax savings to families in which one spouse has a significantly higher income than the other; their joint tax bracket will likely be lower than it would be otherwise.…
Read MoreMy Loyalty Never Got Me A Free 42″ TV
Anyone in marketing can tell you that it costs a company more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. That’s because few of us like change, particularly the type of change that can disrupt our day-to-day lives. It’s a hassle to switch banks, or internet and cable providers, so…
Read MoreWhen Being A Landlord Can Pay Dividends
To me, the idea of becoming a landlord and owning a real estate empire sounds better in theory than practice. I can barely look after my own home maintenance, let alone having to manage another property. There’s also a major lack of diversification when you put all your eggs in the real estate basket –…
Read MoreHow The Behavior Gap Affects Investor Returns
The key to successful investing is not the investment performance but the investor performance. Many of us believe that our goal as investors is to search for the investment that is better than average. But it turns out that searching for this so-called best investment leads to behavior that ends up costing us money. The…
Read MoreHow To Save On Foreign Currency Fees When Travelling
Look closely at your credit card statement after a trip out of the country and you’ll notice that your credit card company did you a favour by converting all of your foreign transactions into Canadian dollars. While the conversion is done for you at the market rate, the credit card issuer then tacks on another…
Read MoreWhat Does Pasta Have To Do With RRSPs?
Canadian financial speaker and author Talbot Stevens has written a new book called, The Smart Debt Coach, which hit the shelves this week. In it he explains a key concept that gets overlooked by most investors: when you’re saving for retirement, you should never put dry pasta in your RRSP. Related: 5 common RRSP myths…
Read MoreTD e-Series Funds: Not Just For Beginners
In a recent Carrick Talks Money video series on the Globe and Mail, Rob Carrick discussed the “I’m finally ready to invest” portfolio for young adults. He asked Canadian Couch Potato blogger Dan Bortolotti, and PWL Capital wealth manager Justin Bender to come up with a portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs) for the young…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: A Two-Book Giveaway Edition
Last week I reviewed two personal finance books: Stop Over-Thinking Your Money! by Preet Banerjee, and The Moolala Guide To Rockin’ Your RRSP by Bruce Sellery. The authors were kind enough to each provide a copy of their book to give away to a lucky Boomer & Echo reader. We had over 80 entries to…
Read MoreStop Over Thinking Your Money, and Start Rockin’ Your RRSP
Two prominent Canadian personal finance experts have released new books this year that focus on how to simplify and improve your finances. Preet Banerjee’s Stop Over-Thinking Your Money, and Bruce Sellery’s The Moolala Guide To Rockin’ Your RRSP, offer smart and straightforward advice on how to manage your money, with each author breaking down their…
Read MoreMy Advice To Switch Out Of Mutual Funds Draws Ire Of Industry Group
In a recent Toronto Star column, I wrote that mutual fund fees in Canada are some of the highest in the world and because of these fees the vast majority of actively-managed funds lag behind the market. I said that switching to low-cost index mutual funds or ETFs will cut your investment fees to the…
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