Financial Planning Simplified
I’m Robb — the guy behind Boomer & Echo. I’ve been a personal finance blogger since 2010 and an advice-only financial planner since 2015. I help regular Canadians with regular problems make smarter decisions about their money — without selling them a thing.
My philosophy is simple: Money shouldn’t be complicated.
You don’t need 17 bank accounts, 12 ETFs, or a side hustle to retire comfortably. You just need a good plan, grounded in what really matters to you.
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New Articles from Robb
Weekend Reading: Why “Alternatives” Are a Trap Edition
Robb Engen | September 20, 2025 |
A major Canadian bank brokerage recently said that it wants 25 percent of client portfolios in “alts” within five years. Translation: high-fee, hard-to-leave products. What “Alts” Really Are Advisors use “alts” as shorthand for alternative investments, anything outside plain-vanilla stocks, bonds, or cash. Think private mortgage pools, private apartment funds, private credit deals, hedge funds,…
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Don’t Wait Until 70: The Costly Retirement Planning Trap
Robb Engen | September 12, 2025 |
A recent Financial Post Family Finance column profiled a 71-year-old woman who found herself in a financial mess. She owned two rental properties, was forced into mandatory RRIF withdrawals, and was receiving CPP and OAS. The result? A giant tax bill and a lot of frustration. Her mistake was waiting until her 70s to get…
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Finding Financial Clarity After Losing a Spouse
Robb Engen | September 9, 2025 |
Mary was 62 when her husband passed away suddenly. He had always been the “CFO” of the household, the one who dealt with their investments, pensions, and taxes. Mary was left with a folder of account statements she didn’t understand and an advisor she barely knew. When Mary asked that advisor about withdrawing money to…
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So You’re About to Retire: The First-Year Financial Timeline (With Real Numbers)
Robb Engen | September 4, 2025 |
You’ve handed in your notice and circled your retirement date on the calendar. Congratulations! Now what? The three months or so before retirement and the first six to nine months after are packed with decisions: pension paperwork, government benefit start dates, converting accounts, setting withdrawals, and making sure taxes are handled properly so your new…
Reframing the CPP Enhancement: A 122% Increase In Benefits
Robb Engen | September 2, 2025 |
Whenever I write about the timing of Canada Pension Plan benefits, the response is enormous. It’s one of the most popular and polarizing retirement planning topics out there. The usual way this conversation gets framed is around age 65. That’s considered the “normal” starting point, so you’ll often hear people say, “If you wait until…
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Weekend Reading: Stop Paying 2% For Mediocre Returns Edition
Robb Engen | August 30, 2025 |
I’m going to let you in on an investing secret that has eluded millions of Canadians for years. A secret that will save you literally thousands of dollars a year in fees and deliver stronger investment performance. A secret that does not require you to transform into a superstar stock picker or professional asset allocator….
