Money Bag: CAGE, Cash Wedges, and Net Worth Calculations
Welcome to the Money Bag, where I answer questions and address comments from readers on a wide range of money topics, myths, and perceptions about money. No question is off limits, so hit me up in the comments section or send me an email about any money topic that’s on your mind. Today, I’m answering reader questions about…
Read MoreHow to Estimate Your Taxes So You’re Never Surprised
Every spring, two groups of Canadians are equally confused. The first group gets a big tax refund and feels great about it. The second group gets a surprise tax bill and feels terrible. Neither group planned for what happened. A big tax refund means you overpaid taxes throughout the year and handed the government an…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: What Happens to Your Health Benefits When You Retire?
One of the top questions I hear from soon-to-be-retired clients is some version of: “What do I do about health coverage when I leave my employer plan?” The anxiety is real. For decades, benefits were just… there. Dental cleanings, prescriptions, massage, physio – it felt like free money. Now they’re staring down retirement wondering how…
Read MoreThis Is a Retirement Plan (Are We There Yet… or Not?)
Like many soon-to-be retirees, Patricia and Charles are feeling that familiar tension as they approach the finish line. They’ve done a lot right. They’ve built up more than $1.2 million in investments, kept their spending reasonable, and stayed consistent savers throughout their careers. But that doesn’t necessarily translate into confidence. Patricia, as the higher earner,…
Read MoreWaiting for a Better Time to Invest
Hannah reached out last week to say she inherited $350,000 almost a year ago and hasn’t invested a dollar of it. It’s been sitting in cash since last April. And to be fair, April didn’t exactly feel like a great time to invest. Liberation Day tariffs had just been announced, markets were sliding, and suddenly…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Your TFSA Contribution Room Edition
If you contribute regularly to your TFSA you already know this, but it’s worth repeating. Your My CRA Account is not a live tracker of your TFSA contribution room. In fact, it can be frustratingly slow to update. The reason is straightforward. Financial institutions have until the end of February each year to report your…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Investing Is Not Speculating Edition
Every time markets get shaky I get some version of the same message. “Hey, are we getting nervous about VEQT? Anything we should be doing differently, or just let it ride?” It’s a fair question. Market declines and a barrage of bad news can certainly make some investors uncomfortable. But it also reveals something important.…
Read MoreThis Is a Retirement Plan (For a Single Woman in Her 50s)
Cynthia is 56 years old, single, and lives in Winnipeg. She rents a two-bedroom apartment for $1,600 a month, likes her place, likes her landlord, and has never felt particularly drawn to homeownership just because it’s what people are supposed to do. She works in healthcare after switching careers later in life, earns about $118,000…
Read MoreInvestors – Stop Living in the Past
One of the most common investing mistakes has nothing to do with picking the wrong fund or missing the bottom of the market. It comes down to how we talk about investing decisions in the first place. We tend to describe past market moves as if they’re still happening. The market is falling, what should…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: The Retirement Consumption Puzzle Edition
One of the strangest things about retirement is that it’s often not about whether you’ll have enough money to last a lifetime, but whether you’ll feel comfortable spending it. Economists call this the retirement consumption puzzle. In theory, retirees should draw down their savings over time and enjoy the money they spent decades accumulating. In…
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