Planning through salary swings + MORE Oct 19th

Q: My income fluctuates quite widely from year to year. How do I plan for this and how do I handle the tax implications of such income swings?
—David
A: Yours is the challenge of many a commissioned salesperson or business owner, David. The thought of a stable salary and defined benefit pension plan may be appealing to some, but others, like you – and me – prefer a little more control over destiny. That control doesn’t always mean stability, however.
For starters, I think everyone should have a reserve or emergency fund, particularly those whose jobs are riskier or whose income is variable. An emergency fund doesn’t necessarily mean having six months of expenses sitting in a savings account earning pennies in interest. It could mean a healthy TFSA balance that includes an allocation of conservative, liquid investments. It could mean a secured line of credit available with a low interest rate.
Ask a Planner: Leave your question for Jason Heath »
Having tens of thousands of dollars sitting idle for your whole life may be comforting, but it could usually be put to better use invested in an RRSP or TFSA or used to pay down debt…

RateSupermarket.ca’s Best of Finance awards recognizes the best credit cards and banking products in the Canadian personal finance industry.
From mortgages to credit cards to loans and lines of credit – there are hundreds of banking products on the market, and choosing just one can be overwhelming.
At RateSupermarket.ca, we strive to help every Canadian consumer find the credit card, bank account or investment product that best fits their lifestyle and budget. The Best of Finance Awards annually recognizes some of the top products in the personal finance industry, and helps you – the consumer – ultimately find your best match.
In selecting the top nominees for each category, we examined dozens of products and took various factors into consideration, such as points, miles, interest rates, balance transfer rates and annual fees. We then converted all figures into cash to see which products put the most money in your wallet. Each category contains two to three nominees, all of which we found performed exceptionally well for the Canadian consumer…

Setting up its second headquarters in the Greater Toronto Area would save Amazon $1.5 billion a year, the man heading up Ontario’s bid for the project said Wednesday, as the deadline loomed for cities in North America to make their pitch.
Ed Clark, a business adviser to Premier Kathleen Wynne, said the region offers highly trained talent at a savings when compared to most U.S. jurisdictions — a software programmer in Ontario costs 34 to 38 per cent less than in Boston or New York — and corporate taxes in the province are lower than south of the border.
“What is Ontario’s core advantage?” Clark said. “Great talent at a very competitive cost. That’s an edge the government is determined not only to maintain but to sharpen.”
Other reasons for the lower salaries include the employees’ access to social programs like universal health care, and a strong U.S. dollar compared to the loonie.
Immigration is another key advantage, Clark said, adding that the province could supplement its homegrown talent with a supply of skilled workers from other countries…

Q. I live in Manitoba and have about $600,000 invested in GICs at a local credit union. I am 63 years old, retired with a pension, no debt and no mortgage. However, I still worry about this money and it has been hard for me to find an unbiased view on its safety. Can you help?
—Glenda W.
A. I think you can relax, Glenda. Your money is safe. Credit unions in your province have the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba which provides unlimited guarantee of all deposits. GIC’s are covered, but not stocks or mutual funds. If you were with a Canadian bank, your deposits would be covered by CDIC insurance, which protects accounts up to $100,000.
Your investment personality is risk-averse, which is totally fine. But there is one risk that you may not be factoring into your assessment: Inflation risk. Prices for food, gas and almost everything else are on the rise, but your GIC probably isn’t earning much to account for that.
RELATED: The safe, unloved, amazing GIC
You are in the enviable position of no debt, no mortgage and a pension, mitigating your risk significantly…

Family celebrating a graduation. (Hero Images/Getty Images)
Most parents have barely taken their baby on their first stroller ride when they start to wonder how to pay for a university education. There’s a lot to figure out. Can they afford it? How much will they need to save? And what’s the proper way to invest their money now? With Canadian universities estimating that a single year of post-secondary expenses—including tuition, room and board, food, transportation and books—costs between $18,000 and $25,000, the price tag for four years can easily reach $80,000 or more. Further, recent studies by the Canadian University Survey Consortium show that Canadian post-secondary students leave university with an average debt load of $27,000. But don’t feel discouraged by the steep costs. Having a plan will make things feel far more manageable. “Life is so busy,” says Annie Kvick, a certified money coach in Vancouver. “It pays to put milestones in your calendar . . . when there may be a little extra money to put toward your child’s education savings, like when daycare costs are done, the mortgage is paid off or the stay-at-home spouse goes back to work…