Short “Insights” Articles

What’s Important About Money to You?

Money: it impacts so many aspects of your life. How you handle it, save it, and spend it can say a lot about you. Ask yourself: “What’s important about money to me?” 1 Prefer an overview? Like videos? Like podcasts? Check out our whiteboard video, podcast episode, or read the full post below! I have…

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Pleased to be Featured on IdeaMensch!

I am thrilled that my recent interview by IdeaMensch is now featured on their site. They know what they are doing. Very insightful questions! What question leads to this answer? “Think outside the box. First understand the issues in-depth. Then think about what works. Very often, there is a better idea than the conventional method.”…

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When is the 4% Rule safe? Interview with Ed Rempel

Interesting interview by Sheryl Smolkin from the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Many financial planners use the 4% rule, which essentially says that you can withdraw $40,000 a year plus inflation for life from a $1 million portfolio. What do you think?          

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Why won’t Canadians pay for investment advice?

  Great article in Globe & Mail by Rob Carrick. The media has been heavily anti-advice for years. The focus has been mainly on low fees, rarely mentioning that the fees pay for advice or attempting to evaluate the cost/benefit of advice. Evidence shows this has been a disaster for Canadians. The comprehensive study by…

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Achieving 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…

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Tax 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…

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