Around the Blogosphere

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…

Last year was one of the worst ever for a 60/40 balanced portfolio. Stocks and bonds were both down double digits and investors were understandably nervous about an impending recession. I can’t tell you how many conversations I had with clients who wanted to abandon their perfectly sensible portfolios in favour of GICs paying 4-5%.…

The future is always uncertain, but at this time last year my crystal ball was as murky as ever. We were in the middle of building a new house and still needed to sell our existing home. Stocks and bonds were down double digits, and interest rates were still on the rise. Investors were piling…

The federal government uses the inflation data for the 12-month period between October 1 to September 30 to determine a number of figures for the following calendar year. September’s inflation rate was announced earlier this month, so we now have the entire data set needed to calculate the indexing rate for 2024, which gives us…

A few months ago I wrote about some changes I plan to make to our kids’ RESP portfolio. We’ve used TD’s e-Series funds for this account, but will switch to an ETF portfolio using Justin Bender’s excellent RESP strategy. Along with this portfolio reboot, I’ll also change how we fund the account (annually versus monthly).…

The Canadian Financial Summit is back for its seventh year and I’m really excited about this year’s line-up of speakers. This year’s conference takes place from October 18th to 21st. You can grab your free ticket here. A reminder for those of you new to the Summit – it’s a virtual (and free!) personal finance…

Investors often look to rules of thumb or mental shortcuts to help guide their decision making. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good rules of thumb that can help determine how much you will spend in retirement. The 4% safe withdrawal rule, while a decent starting point, is not particularly useful. For one, investors don’t just have…

Some of my younger clients are concerned they might be over-saving. I think they might be onto something.  I have the unique perspective of having written hundreds of retirement plans over the last eight years. One common theme is that retirees who had a high savings rate throughout their careers are rarely able to flip…

Happy Father’s Day! Today seems like a good day to talk about the changes I plan on making to reboot our kids’ RESP portfolio. For years, I’ve invested our RESP contributions into TD’s e-Series funds – contributing $416.66 per month and then buying one of four e-Series funds (Canadian, US, or International equities, plus Canadian…