How to go about securing the best savings strategy in Canada.
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RESP investing for busy parents + MORE Oct 17th
Saving for university isn’t always top of mind when you’re a busy new parent, knee-deep in diapers. Add the steep cost of daycare along with the stress of trying to juggle work and toddlerhood, and setting aside funds for your child’s post-secondary education can feel like an insurmountabl.... More »
Top 5 questions about family RESPs + MORE Dec 4th
If you’re saving up for a child’s post-secondary education, a registered education savings plan (RESP) can’t be beat as a savings tool. No other plan or account in Canada will give you access to thousands of dollars in government grants—free money for your kid’s future tuition and other ed.... More »
How should young Canadians invest in bonds? + MORE Apr 9th
For young investors who are building the fixed-income portion of their portfolio, it’s best they keep their approach simple and go for low-cost investment options, experts say.
“If they’re just starting out, they don’t need to maybe source out an individual bond right away. I think .... More »
Inflation: How It Affects Your Finances + MORE Jun 13th
Much of Canada’s economy has ground to a halt amid the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the effects of this has been a drop in prices for many items. Most notably, gas.
As a result of consumer prices dropping, Canada’s inflation rate went negative to -0.2% in April, according to Statistics Canada, whi.... More »
RRSPs: Your Essential Questions Answered + MORE Jan 18th
At this time of year, it seems like the financial world is awash with information on what is a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), the benefits of having one, and how to start one. But there are still a few planning points that Canadians either aren’t aware of or don’t know how to fully .... More »
Encana Corp. is exiting Louisiana through a proposed deal worth more than $1.3 billion US in cash and savings.
Business Highlights
– canadianbusiness.com
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Despite stock fall, financial health of many is still solid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans have just absorbed a financial beating — at least as measured by their stock holdings. It’s the kind of blow that can feed a sense of helplessness about retirement, college savings and higher-than-expected bills.
But take a look at other gauges of Americans’ financial health, and a more nuanced picture emerges:
Hiring and home values are up. Gas prices and mortgage rates are down. Inflation is low. The pace of layoffs has dwindled.
Add it up, and the evidence suggests that many Americans — though certainly not all — are doing comparatively well.
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US stocks extend losses as early rally fades
A rally in U.S. stocks evaporated in the minutes before the closing bell Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 200 points and extending Wall Street’s losing streak to six days.
For most of the day, it appeared that the market had shaken off some of its worries about the slowdown in China, and at one point the Dow was up by as much as 441…
Despite stock fall, financial health of many is still solid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans have just absorbed a financial beating — at least as measured by their stock holdings. It’s the kind of blow that can feed a sense of helplessness about retirement, college savings and higher-than-expected bills.
But take a look at other gauges of Americans’ financial health, and a more nuanced picture emerges:
Hiring and home values are up. Gas prices and mortgage rates are down. Inflation is low. The pace of layoffs has dwindled.
Add it up, and the evidence suggests that many Americans — though certainly not all — are doing comparatively well.
___
US stocks extend losses as early rally fades
A rally in U.S. stocks evaporated in the minutes before the closing bell Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 200 points and extending Wall Street’s losing streak to six days.
For most of the day, it appeared that the market had shaken off some of its worries about the slowdown in China, and at one point the Dow was up by as much as 441…
What investors should do when stock markets tank
– moneysense.ca
Some Canadian investors are worried about their portfolio’s performance given recent market turmoil—turmoil that started earlier this month when China devalued the yuan and culminated this Monday morning when the S&P/TSX Composite temporarily dropped 700 points.
This sudden shock comes after almost seven years of equity bull markets—and it’s a reminder of how vulnerable our savings are particularly when swimming in the stock market without those trusted lifeboats known as diversification and balanced portfolios.
But now is not the time to panic. At least not according to any of the experts we spoke to. Instead, it’s a time to re-assess and, if you’re lucky enough to be sitting on some cash, re-invest.
Get some perspective
In the last 100 years, the stock market has dropped by 40% only two times: once in 1929 and once in 2008. “In general, we all suffer from 2008-syndrome,” says Ted Rechtschaffen, president of discretionary fund managers TriDelta Financial. “We fear the next great 40% decline and as a result we bail out too quickly…
This sudden shock comes after almost seven years of equity bull markets—and it’s a reminder of how vulnerable our savings are particularly when swimming in the stock market without those trusted lifeboats known as diversification and balanced portfolios.
But now is not the time to panic. At least not according to any of the experts we spoke to. Instead, it’s a time to re-assess and, if you’re lucky enough to be sitting on some cash, re-invest.
Get some perspective
In the last 100 years, the stock market has dropped by 40% only two times: once in 1929 and once in 2008. “In general, we all suffer from 2008-syndrome,” says Ted Rechtschaffen, president of discretionary fund managers TriDelta Financial. “We fear the next great 40% decline and as a result we bail out too quickly…
West, East coasters top savers in Canada
– moneysense.ca
While Canadians in most provinces are dipping into their savings, residents of British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador are on average putting away more funds than the rest of the country, says a new study.
Canadians drew down an average of $2,901 per household in 2014, according to WealthScapes 2015 data.
In contrast, residents of B.C. put away $3,705 per household—the most in the entire country. The high savings rates were mostly seen in Vancouver, likely encouraged by the costly down-payments required to buy a home in the city’s hot real estate market.
Households in Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, enjoyed net savings of $1,075. This was likely caused by the 4.7% rise in household incomes—twice the national average—prompted by strong economic activity in the province’s flourishing mining, oil and gas sectors.
The rest of us can congratulate ourselves for one thing, however. Credit card debt only rose by 0.3% in 2014, which is 1.2% lower than the inflation rate. Canadians as a whole also shied away from borrowing from lines of credit, and saw balances actually decline by 1…
Canadians drew down an average of $2,901 per household in 2014, according to WealthScapes 2015 data.
In contrast, residents of B.C. put away $3,705 per household—the most in the entire country. The high savings rates were mostly seen in Vancouver, likely encouraged by the costly down-payments required to buy a home in the city’s hot real estate market.
Households in Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, enjoyed net savings of $1,075. This was likely caused by the 4.7% rise in household incomes—twice the national average—prompted by strong economic activity in the province’s flourishing mining, oil and gas sectors.
The rest of us can congratulate ourselves for one thing, however. Credit card debt only rose by 0.3% in 2014, which is 1.2% lower than the inflation rate. Canadians as a whole also shied away from borrowing from lines of credit, and saw balances actually decline by 1…
