Financial Planning Wisdom
“Your Home is the Best Investment” – True or False?
Many people believe that growth of the value of their home has been phenomenal over the last few decades. The common belief is that growth is similar to the stock market and much less risky. Is this actually true? This is important, because believing a home is the best investment leads you to: Feel you…
Read MoreThe One Gigantic Mistake You (and Your Advisor) Keep Making
You review your investments and notice that one is not doing well. You sell and buy a different investment that has been doing well for a few years. You heard favourable news in the media, internet or from your advisor related to the new investment. That’s it! That is the gigantic mistake you keep…
Read MoreWhy Paying Off Your Student Loan is the Worst Thing to Do
Have you heard the story of the “Frustrated Student Loan Payer”? I have seen this story 100 times in real life. A smart kid goes to university and graduates with a large student loan. She spends several years working to pay off the loan. While paying off the loan: She delays becoming independent and stays…
Read MoreHow Come I’m Not Rich?
“90% of putts that are short don’t go in.” – Yogi Berra Why are some people able to become wealthy relatively easily, when most people struggle with their finances? In Canada, about 1 person in 50 is a millionaire and in the US about 1 person in 13 is millionaire* – which is probably a…
Read MoreAchieving Peace of Mind
Worried about debts? Do you know when or even if you can retire? Most Canadians do not feel secure financially because they look for security in all the wrong places. The conventional wisdom is to focus on paying off debts & buying “safe” investments, while not knowing if either of these strategies will pay off…
Read MoreTax Refund is NOT a Benefit of RRSPs
Getting a tax refund is one of the main motivators for contributing to RRSPs. However, there are two main benefits of RRSPs and the tax refund is not one of them. The benefits of RRSPs are: Tax-free growth (same as the TFSA). Tax gain or loss depending on your post-retirement tax bracket when you withdraw…
Read MoreSmith Manoeuvre – Convert your mortgage to tax deductible interest
This article was written for The TaxLetter, a subscription newsletter for accountants and tax specialists. It discusses the tax implications of the Smith Manoeuvre strategy in depth. Read more… TTL_Maximize Tax Savings_2013 06
Read MoreCase Study: Figuring Out Your Optimal RRSP/TFSA Contribution
In the last article, Ed Rempel discussed the steps to creating your optimal RRSP/TFSA contribution. Here is a case study to help put the steps into practice. Case Study: Optimal RRSP/TFSA Contributions for John and Mary Smith To understand the interplay between these six factors, lets look at an example. John Mary Income $100,000 $60,000 Marginal…
Read More7 Steps to Determine Your Optimal RRSP/TFSA Contribution Strategy
Put all the pieces together to create your optimal RRSP/TFSA strategy to determine the optimal contributions for you to make this year and in future years.
Read MoreThe Optimal RRSP Contribution
In RRSP season, you may wonder “How much should I contribute to my RRSP?” The proper way to figure this out is to identify your “optimal RRSP/TFSA contribution”. Understanding how to figure out the very best RRSP contribution to make is a vital concept. It is a key factor in every retirement plan. This article was…
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