Around the Blogosphere

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…

I work with a lot of young families who are trying to juggle the enormous pressures of paying off debt, saving for a house down payment, possible income disruption from taking a parental leave, moving, or changing careers, plus dealing with temporary but costly expenses like childcare, paying off a vehicle, or renovating a home.…

We’ve finally moved into our new home and received the proceeds from the sale of our previous home. To recap, last year we entered into a purchase agreement to build a new house. We arranged our financing so that we didn’t have to sell the home we were living in to qualify for a new…

Ever since inflation began its persistent climb two years ago investors have been nervous about the market and how it would react to rising interest rates and, presumably, falling corporate earnings. Indeed, we’ve been talking about an imminent recession for the past two years and many investors want to know how to position (or re-position)…

No, I’m not talking about investing in dividend paying stocks. Been there, done that, not going back. I’m referring to paying myself non-eligible dividends from my corporation instead of paying myself a salary. A quick explanation: My wife and I incorporated our online business back in 2012, while I was still working a 9-to-5 job…