Posts by Boomer
7 Income Splitting Strategies For Families
Our Canadian tax system has graduated tax brackets that result in people with earnings in higher tax brackets paying a greater amount of tax. Income splitting is a tax planning technique designed to shift income from a high-income earning taxpayer to a family member at a lower tax rate. The Income Tax Act has clear…
Read MoreJanuary Is A Good Month To Do These Four Things
January rings in the New Year, a sign of optimism, and the annual promise of something new: adopting resolutions, setting goals and looking ahead. It’s also a time to reflect on the previous year. Making resolutions is common for many, but less than 40% will actually achieve what they set out to do. Nevertheless, for…
Read MoreHow To Be Energy Efficient This Winter
According to Environment Canada, our coldest months are generally December, January and February, in various orders. Likely one of the biggest home expenses is heating your home in the winter. Now is the time of year to be thinking about your heating and energy costs. An energy efficient furnace will lower your costs, and adding…
Read MoreHow Will The New CPP Changes Affect You?
The Federal and Provincial finance ministers met again earlier this week to pursue their ongoing discussions on how to improve the Canada Pension Plan. The majority of the provinces agreed to make the following changes to CPP: New CPP Changes Explained 1. “Drop-out” becomes “drop-in” Currently, CPP recipients can drop years of lower earnings from…
Read MoreComparing Your Investment Returns With Benchmark Indexes
Many investors base the success of their portfolio solely on their annual rate of return, but you should also compare your return to a specific benchmark index. What is an index? An index is a statistical tool designed to measure performance over time. Financial service companies create benchmark indexes then license them to investment…
Read MoreBuilding Your Wealth: Investing in Stocks Part II – Evaluating Potential Stocks
One of the biggest challenges investors can face is coming up with possible stocks to invest in. A slogan I have heard is the five-stock principle: for every five stocks you analyze properly and purchase, three will do about what you predict, one will do far worse, and one will do far better. I don’t…
Read MoreFrom The Boomer & Echo Mailbag: Should I Sell My Bond Fund?
Q. The Bank of Canada has raised its interest rate a couple of times so far and there may be more hikes in the near future. I own a bond mutual fund in my RRSP and I had been told I should dump it before interest rates go up, but I’ve held on so far.…
Read MoreYour Year-End Financial Planning Checklist
December often zooms by when you’re busy buying gifts, baking cookies, attending parties, and shovelling snow. It may be tempting to just enjoy the holiday season, but the last month of the year is also a good time to think about year-end financial planning. Luckily, you have plenty of time between now and the end…
Read MoreHow To Leverage Technology Into Good Financial Habits
Being able to manage money well is a necessary life skill, and the keystone for good financial planning. If you don’t have a handle on your cash flow, where your money is spent and how much to save, it will be harder to not only pay your bills on time each month, but to realize…
Read MoreRRSP Strategies: Beyond The Basics
RRSPs are a valuable tool for many taxpayers, which is why they are the backbone of many retirement plans. Getting the most out of your RRSP often involves thinking several years ahead, rather than just when the contribution deadline is looming. Here are five RRSP strategies to get you thinking beyond the basics: Claiming RRSP…
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