Around the Blogosphere

The Canadian Financial Summit is back for its seventh year and I’m really excited about this year’s line-up of speakers. This year’s conference takes place from October 18th to 21st. You can grab your free ticket here. A reminder for those of you new to the Summit – it’s a virtual (and free!) personal finance…

Investors often look to rules of thumb or mental shortcuts to help guide their decision making. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good rules of thumb that can help determine how much you will spend in retirement. The 4% safe withdrawal rule, while a decent starting point, is not particularly useful. For one, investors don’t just have…

Some of my younger clients are concerned they might be over-saving. I think they might be onto something.  I have the unique perspective of having written hundreds of retirement plans over the last eight years. One common theme is that retirees who had a high savings rate throughout their careers are rarely able to flip…

Happy Father’s Day! Today seems like a good day to talk about the changes I plan on making to reboot our kids’ RESP portfolio. For years, I’ve invested our RESP contributions into TD’s e-Series funds – contributing $416.66 per month and then buying one of four e-Series funds (Canadian, US, or International equities, plus Canadian…

I work with a lot of young families who are trying to juggle the enormous pressures of paying off debt, saving for a house down payment, possible income disruption from taking a parental leave, moving, or changing careers, plus dealing with temporary but costly expenses like childcare, paying off a vehicle, or renovating a home.…

We’ve finally moved into our new home and received the proceeds from the sale of our previous home. To recap, last year we entered into a purchase agreement to build a new house. We arranged our financing so that we didn’t have to sell the home we were living in to qualify for a new…

Ever since inflation began its persistent climb two years ago investors have been nervous about the market and how it would react to rising interest rates and, presumably, falling corporate earnings. Indeed, we’ve been talking about an imminent recession for the past two years and many investors want to know how to position (or re-position)…

No, I’m not talking about investing in dividend paying stocks. Been there, done that, not going back. I’m referring to paying myself non-eligible dividends from my corporation instead of paying myself a salary. A quick explanation: My wife and I incorporated our online business back in 2012, while I was still working a 9-to-5 job…

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…

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…