Around the Blogosphere

This message is brought to you by BMO Wealth Management Starting over can be difficult. You’ve spent most of your adult life building relationships, a career, a place to call home and maybe a family. If you are widowed or divorced and suddenly find yourself starting over again, it can be intimidating looking at your…

This message is brought to you by BMO Wealth Management Your parents took care of you – they put a roof over your head, fed and clothed you, and taught you the things that made you the person you are today. It’s difficult to imagine that one day the people who have always been there,…

This message is brought to you by BMO Wealth Management Are your kids moving back home because of high debt, a tough job market or maybe they’re just not ready to break out on their own? It’s a situation many parents face. The ‘boomerang generation’, so called for returning home after only a brief time…

I went to Seattle this week for a work-related conference. We stayed at the beautiful Grand Hyatt downtown and had plenty of time to explore the city over the three days, including the famous Pike Place Market where we ate at Lowell’s overlooking the Olympic Mountains and Port of Seattle. I also went to my first major…

I mentioned last month that my passport had expired several years ago and that I wanted to renew it with the expectation of more family travel in the near future. As it turns out, I have the opportunity to attend a conference in Seattle next week and so I needed to expedite my passport application so…

Last year, online investing platforms – often called robo-advisors – set up shop in Canada to try and revolutionize the way we invest. Now, online marketplace lending has arrived with hopes to change the way we bank and borrow money. Marketplace lending, which has been growing in popularity in the United States for nearly a…

The federal government delivered a package of goodies for seniors and middle-class families in its 2015 budget this week. The TFSA contribution limit was increased to $10,000 – fulfilling an election promise from 2011 – however it will no longer be indexed to inflation. Changes were made to the RRIF withdrawal schedule – effective immediately a 71-year-old…

My wife and I first got passports prior to our wedding and honeymoon in 2006. I last travelled to the U.S. in 2011 when I attended a conference in Orlando, Florida, just a few months before the five-year passport expired. Since then, changes to Canada’s passport program include the new e-Passport, along with the option to apply for…

The federal budget will be unveiled April 21st and one of the hot-button issues is whether the conservatives will follow-through on an election promise to double the TFSA contribution limits. In a confidential letter leaked to the media this week, finance minister Joe Oliver indicated the government would honour that promise and increase TFSA limits to…

It’s been a bad year for retail stores in Canada. Last week, Future Shop joined the ranks of Target, Sony Corp, Radio Shack, Mexx, and Smart Set, by abruptly closing 66 of its 131 stores (with plans to convert the remainder into Best Buy locations). The “Amazon effect” is partly to blame, according to researchers, as Canadians…