Posts by Robb Engen

The federal government unveiled its 2024 federal budget with a proposed $53B in new spending over five years, including an ambitious $8.5B plan to tackle the housing crisis. The feds also proposed an increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, from 50% to 66% on gains in excess of $250,000 (personally) and from 50% to…

When is the best time of year to retire? For retirement projections 10-20 years out we might use a random date like your birthday, your pension’s normal retirement date, or the end of the year. Once you get closer to retirement, the details matter. For instance, you might consider timing your retirement date just after…

“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” – John Maynard Keynes (maybe) As a long-time mortgage holder, I’ve been adamant about a mortgage renewal strategy that goes something like this: Go variable when the 5-year variable rate is offered at a steep discount off of prime rate (prime minus…

Asset allocation ETFs revolutionized investing for do-it-yourself investors when they were first introduced by Vanguard in 2018. Prior to the existence of these multi-asset ETFs, passive investors might have opted to follow one of the Canadian Couch Potato’s model portfolios to build their own multi-ETF portfolio (remember the 10-ETF Über-Tuber portfolio?).  That’s why I say…

Author Fred Schwed gave us his cynical take-down of Wall Street back in 1940 with the hilariously written, Where Are the Customers’ Yachts?. The book amazingly still holds up today in a world where investment advisors get rich while their customers, well, not so much. “The title refers to a story about a visitor to…

The price of bitcoin is surging again and recently surpassed all-time highs. That has brought all of the ‘crypto bros’ out of hibernation to gloat about bitcoin taking over the financial system (or whatever they think happens next). Shares of NVIDIA Corp are also soaring to new heights. The semi-conductor company recently surpassed $2 trillion…

We spent a few years building up a massive bank of travel points before our first trip to the U.K. in 2019. Indeed, we put nearly 1 million travel points to work booking flights and hotels for a 32-day trip to Scotland and Ireland. Then we went back to work replenishing travel points for our…

One chief concern for retirees and the soon-to-be retired is when to convert their RRSP to a RRIF. A common misperception is that this conversion has to take place in the year you turn 71. While it’s true that your RRSP must be closed by December 31st of the year you turn 71 and the…

Over the holidays I made a spending and savings plan for the new year. I reviewed our previous year’s finances and incorporated our new financial goals for the year. My wife and I discussed our “rich life” vision – what we want to do more of, what we what to do less of, what new…