How to go about securing the best savings strategy in Canada.
Latest News
Best FHSAs in Canada: Where to get the new first home savings account + MORE May 8th
First home savings account (FHSA) highlights
The FHSA is a type of registered account that allows you to contribute up to $8,000 annually, up to a lifetime limit of $40,000, to save for the purchase of your first home.FHSAs became available on April 1, 2023. However, availability is currently limite.... More »
How to change a past tax return + MORE Apr 9th
Ask MoneySense
I have non-registered investment management fees from 2021 and 2022 that were not claimed on my returns for those years. Can they be deducted on my 2023 return? If not, is there another way to utilize those deductions now?
—Ian
How to change a tax filing to claim investment m.... More »
What Canadians living in the U.S. need to know about TFSAs + MORE May 9th
Q. I moved from Vancouver to San Francisco about nine months ago, and still have two Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) in Canada. One TFSA has $11,000 in it (and has an unrealized loss of $6,000) and is held at a local bank. The second has $23,000 in it and is held through a robo-advisor.
However, .... More »
10 things you can do to save money and eliminate debt + MORE Nov 22nd
1. Set a goal
If you’re serious about saving you need to set a goal so you know what you’re saving for. Whether it’s a trip to Japan you hope to take in a few months or saving for retirement, having a very specific goal will help you stay motivated and on track.
2. Track your dollars
The .... More »
Personal Income Tax Guide: The deadline for filing your 2021 return, tax brackets and more + MORE Dec 12th
The year 2021 has been a year about money, from the latest crypto to inflation to housing prices to taxes. While money trends can go up and down—or up and up for certain matters—taxes can be more predictable, if you’re prepared. This year’s MoneySense income tax guide includes the things you.... 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…
