Retirement planning getting you down? There are always smart ways to plan the financial aspects of your retirement.
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Making sense of the markets: Looking at 2025 + MORE Jan 3rd
Kyle Prevost, creator of 4 Steps to a Worry-Free Retirement, Canada’s DIY retirement planning course, shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors.
Can we make sense of the 2025 markets?
Stock market predictions rarely age well. (As you can read from our look at 2024..... More »
How foreign withholding taxes affect returns + MORE Jul 29th
In our newly revised white paper, Justin Bender and I explain the hidden cost of foreign withholding taxes on U.S. and international equity ETFs. I gave an overview of the most important points in my previous blog post. Now let’s look at one of the more subtle ideas: how those taxes affect your pe.... More »
When to consider extra RRIF withdrawals Apr 4th
I am in my 91st year and for my age, in reasonably good health. I drew down a significant extra sum in 2025 from my RRIF. Fortunately, due to some good earlier decisions, my RRIF remains with a very strong market value. I use this drawdown for two purposes: to reinvest in my non-registered accounts.... More »
Divorce over 50: managing your finances if you find yourself single in the run-up to retirement Aug 3rd
Divorce is certainly not new—but what’s emerging as a trend is the choice to split later in life. Dubbed grey divorce, these marital splits, happening close to or in retirement, are reportedly on the rise, and they can have a significant financial impact.
Married couples are generally subject .... More »
Tax write-offs that Canadians often get wrong Apr 18th
I come across frequent questions from taxpayers about expenses they think they can claim as a tax deduction or credit. Often, they cannot be claimed, or there are strict criteria that apply.
Safety deposit box
Back in the olden days, investors sometimes kept stock certificates in their safety .... More »
When smart people do dumb things with money
– moneysense.ca
Investors can a learn a lot from pension funds, particularly when it comes to diversification, risk management and long-term thinking. But it seems professional money managers are not immune from the behavioural challenges that plague retail investors.
Doug Cronk, who writes a useful blog called Institutional Investing for Individual Investors, recently pointed me to a couple of industry articles that make it clear the pros are just as human as the rest of us. (I interviewed Doug last fall for an article called “Invest like a pension fund manager” in Canadian Business.)
In a February article in Pensions & Investments, a strategist explains that many pension funds have an investment plan that calls for them to increase their allocation to bonds when their plan is well funded. This is what investors might call “taking risk off the table”: the idea is that if equity markets have been strong and you believe you’re comfortably on track to meet your goals, you can afford to reduce the risk in your portfolio…
Doug Cronk, who writes a useful blog called Institutional Investing for Individual Investors, recently pointed me to a couple of industry articles that make it clear the pros are just as human as the rest of us. (I interviewed Doug last fall for an article called “Invest like a pension fund manager” in Canadian Business.)
In a February article in Pensions & Investments, a strategist explains that many pension funds have an investment plan that calls for them to increase their allocation to bonds when their plan is well funded. This is what investors might call “taking risk off the table”: the idea is that if equity markets have been strong and you believe you’re comfortably on track to meet your goals, you can afford to reduce the risk in your portfolio…
Tax-free Savings Accounts Offer Multiple Advantages for Canadians
– rhondasherwood.com
Tax-free Savings Accounts (TSFAs) offer flexibility to Canadian savers. While a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is designed to put aside funds for retirement, a TFSA is a vehicle which can be used to put money aside for any purpose. If you are looking for a way to put money aside for a big ticket item like a special vacation, a car, home or a cottage, depositing funds into a TFSA can be a great choice.The types of things that a person may want to save money for will vary, depending on his or her own personal goals. As of January 1, 2013, a taxpayer can contribute up to $5,500 per year into a TFSA. Any unused contribution room is carried forward, which means that someone who has more income in later years can make higher contributions to his or her TFSA without incurring a penalty.
Withdrawing Funds from Tax-free Savings Accounts
Funds which are withdrawn from the plan can be replaced later without having an impact on a person’s allowable contribution room.
Here’s an example of how this provision works: Laura contributes $5,500 per year for 10 years into a TFSA and earns investment income on the money held in the plan…
