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 sensible and globally diversified portfolio.
I also see the proliferation of questionable online investing courses promoting day trading, option writing, life insurance, crypto, etc. and I want to help investors avoid all of that nonsense.
I write about this stuff all the time, but understanding that you should reduce your investment fees and diversify your portfolio is one thing – the challenge is turning that understanding into action with your own investments.
That’s where I come in. In my work as a fee-only financial planner I’ve helped hundreds of clients make the switch to successful DIY investor.
We book a video call and share a screen so I can walk them through exactly how to open an account, open the appropriate account types, fund the account with new and recurring contributions, how to transfer existing accounts to their new self-directed platform, and how to buy and sell ETFs.
As one client recently said,
“I feel better about the decisions I will make in the future based on your recommendations. You just cut through the muck and lay it out very clearly.”
Indeed, my clients find this so valuable that I decided to record a series of videos and take it to the masses.
DIY Investing Made Easy
In DIY Investing Made Easy, you’ll get an introductory series of three videos where I explain why investment fees matter, why investing has been solved with low cost index funds, and why investing complexity has been solved with all-in-one ETFs.
I explain how to determine the right asset allocation ETF to choose based on your risk tolerance. That’s because these all-in-one ETFs come in a variety of flavours, from a conservative mix of 20% stocks and 80% bonds, to an aggressive 100% global equity ETF (and everything in between).
Finally, I explain your discount brokerage platform options – including when it makes sense to stick with your big bank’s online brokerage arm versus going with a lower cost or no cost provider.
From there I’ve created platform specific videos where I take you through opening an account, funding an account, transferring an existing account, and buying an ETF.
It’s basically me, sitting in your living room with my laptop showing you exactly how to get started as a DIY investor.
Please note the platform specific videos available right now include RBC Direct Investing, TD Direct Investing, Questrade, and Wealthsimple Trade.
While I do expect to add more online brokerage tutorials in the future, the process should be similar enough across other platforms that you’ll be able to navigate your way through it.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been working on this investing course for the past six months and I’m so excited to finally share DIY Investing Made Easy with all of you.
To be 100% clear, this is a paid product. For $399 you get access to the complete video series, with platform specific demonstrations for RBC Direct Investing, TD Direct Investing, Questrade, and Wealthsimple Trade.
With this video series you’ll have everything you need to make a successful transition to DIY investor by using a single asset allocation ETF.
Matt and Hanna, clients of mine from Duncan, BC, recently got a sneak preview of the video series to help with their own DIY investing transition and Matt offered up this kind feedback:
“Rest assured, the videos do not suck! Quite the opposite in fact. It took me all 5 minutes to watch them and make my transfer. The explanations were very easy to understand, and the screen view of the platform was very helpful. I actually said to Hanna that WealthSimple should just put these videos directly on their website.”
This investing course is for long-time holders of a big bank balanced mutual fund who want to save up to 90% in fees by switching to a low cost balanced ETF.
It’s also for fledgling stock pickers looking to reform, or brand new investors who just want to start off on the right foot with a sensible, easy to manage investing solution.
If this sounds like you, then head over to my DIY Investing Made Easy page and let’s get started!
If you’ve ever tried to contact the CRA by phone and received a busy signal, or sat on hold interminably waiting for a service rep, as I did recently trying to change my address, you’ll be happy to know about CRA My Account for Individuals.
Online services offered by the banks and other financial institutions have made it easier to manage our financial affairs online and now the CRA My Account portal is no exception. This online account is the gateway to information and activity on your CRA tax account.
Registering for CRA My Account
There are two ways to register:
- With a sign-in partner. Use the sign in information you use for online banking, or other acceptable online service.
- CRA login. After registering you will receive a CRA user ID and password in the mail.
To get access, you will need the following information:
- Social Insurance Number
- Date of birth
- Your current postal code
- Your two most recent income tax returns. (An amount you entered on your return will be requested as a security feature, and will always vary.)
CRA My Account: What can you do?
Once you’ve registered and logged in to CRA My Account, you’ll be able to access a great deal of information.
Here’s where you can find out how much contribution room you have available in your RRSP and TFSA. It also keeps track of prior withdrawals.
Find details of your Home Buyers’ Plan and Life Long Learning Plan. You can also apply for child benefits.
Once you file your taxes, you can go here to check the status of your refund, view or change your return and check your benefit and credit payments.
If you are asked to submit an information slip such as a medical receipt, it can be scanned and uploaded into your CRA My Account.
You can change your address and set up or modify your direct deposit information.
You can also access:
- Your detailed Notice of Assessment
- Carry forward amounts, including capital gains and losses.
- Benefits and credits
- Instalment payments
and so on.
You can also make payments and register disputes.
Finally, you can toggle over to your My Service Canada Account to view and update your information on EI, CPP (Statement of Contribution), and OAS without having to log-in again.
Becoming a representative for another person
A representative is an individual who is involved the tax affairs of another person, such as a friend or family member, executor, Power of Attorney, or legal guardian.
Form T1013 (available to download online) must be completed to authorize a representative, and is sent in to the tax centre. The representative will then be able to access information with a RepID.
Conclusion
CRA My Account is intended to allow individuals to access and manage their own personal income tax and benefits information. It’s not only convenient and easy to use, transactions are processed immediately and the most up-to-date information is displayed so, for example, you will see the details of your Notice of Assessment before you receive it in the mail.
If you still want to talk to a real person, try the main CRA inquiry number at 1-800-959-8281.
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 markets, not a bug.
The truth is, I haven’t done a net worth calculation this year because our finances are in a state of flux.
We’re in the process of building a house that doesn’t quite have a final price tag yet. It’s only about 40% complete. We’ve paid two out of five total deposits.
Meanwhile, our house went up for sale this week – but until we accept an offer we won’t know exactly how much it’s worth. We also have planned but unknown expenses due this year, such as realtor commissions, moving expenses, blinds, some furnishings, and landscaping.
A net worth statement is supposed to be a snapshot in time, but our current picture is distorted. Do we own 1.4 houses? Do we use the estimated price of our new house and our existing house, minus the soon-to-be new mortgage? What if our house doesn’t sell for a while?
My expectation is that the picture will clear up in a few months. We’ll move into our new house, sell our existing house, use some of the sales proceeds to cover those planned but unknown expenses, maybe put some money back into our TFSAs, and then assume our new mortgage.
For that reason, I’m putting off the net worth update for year-end 2022 and will post a regular mid-year update at the end of June 2023. By then, we’ll have settled into our new normal and I can give a clearer picture of our financial position.
So, to all of the financial voyeurs out there I say just hang tight for a few more months 🙂
This Week’s Recap:
The Engens got a puppy over the holidays!
This little rascal of a golden retriever is one of the big reasons I haven’t posted here very often over the past three weeks. It’s like having a newborn / toddler all over again!
I did manage to update my beginner’s guide to RRSPs.
And at the start of the year I gave you three investing headlines to ignore in 2023.
Finally, I updated my investing and trading activity for 2022.
DIY Investing Course Coming Soon:
I’ve been talking about this course for months but it’s almost ready to launch (for real!).
I’ve helped hundreds of clients make a successful switch to DIY investing – leaving their expensive mutual funds behind and moving to a self-directed portfolio using a single, risk appropriate asset allocation ETF.
In this video series I explain why you’d want to do that, how to pick the right asset mix, how to pick the right asset allocation ETF, and how to choose a discount brokerage platform.
From there I have platform specific videos for Questrade, Wealthsimple Trade, RBC Direct Investing, and TD Direct Investing (that’s all for now) that take you through opening an account and the appropriate account types, funding the account with new and recurring contributions, how to transfer over your existing accounts to your new self-directed account (without having to break-up with your advisor), and how to buy an ETF.
It’s like me sitting in your living room sharing my laptop screen and walking you through each of these steps in a short, easy-to-follow series of videos.
This just might be a game-changing course for long-time mutual fund investors who understand they’re paying too much for their investment fees but can’t work up the courage to switch to a low cost ETF portfolio.
It’s also good for new investors who want to get started the right way without getting trapped in high fee mutual funds at a bank, or falling for some day-trading, option writing, crypto-pumping, meme-stock trading scam on TikTok.
You’ll be the first to read about the launch of my investing course – so stay tuned!
Weekend Reading:
As we all wait patiently for interest rates to peak and inflation to fall, it seemed inevitable that the global economy was headed for a recession. But unemployment remains historically low and consumers are still spending on goods and services. What if there’s no recession and we get that soft landing after all?
Above average or below? How good of an investor are you?
Between a TFSA and non-registered accounts, what is the most tax-effective way to withdraw to fund retirement?
A double-shot from Ben Carlson. First up, why invest in stocks when bond yields are higher?
And, is it realistic to have 100% of your portfolio in stocks?
Justin Bender updated his model portfolio returns for 2022, including the asset allocation ETFs from Vanguard, iShares, BMO, and Mackenzie:
Andrew Hallam shares what we can learn from the best and worst-performing bond funds of 2022 (plus a look at his own investments).
Michael James on Money updated his 2022 investment returns.
David Booth, founder and chairman of Dimensional Funds, says people have memories, markets don’t. And that’s a good thing.
Mr. Booth also wrote that the poor results of 2022 has been a test on developing a financial plan you can stick with:
“I don’t make predictions, but I do believe in the power of human ingenuity to fix problems big and small, innovating the whole way. What has stayed constant throughout my life is the power of people to make progress in the face of challenges.”
A great post by Andrew Hallam: Like a dose of sugar, the high of buying something ‘better’ soon wears off. Here’s how to actually boost your life satisfaction.
Retired actuary and author Fred Vettese says the best asset mix for retirees has a slightly higher dose of equities at 60% stocks and 40% bonds (subs).
My Own Advisor blogger Mark Seed reflects on income needs and wants in retirement.
Do retirees need to pay for private health insurance? This question is high on the list for many of my retired clients (subs).
Finally, welcome to un-retirement. A year of travelling, volunteering, and – yes – working.
Have a great weekend, everyone!