Posts Tagged ‘retirement planning’
National Post article: Should a couple in their 40s buy or rent in Toronto to afford retirement?
Should you buy a home, keep renting, or invest the difference? A couple in their 40s recently moved from Calgary to the GTA. They own three rental properties in Calgary and are trying to decide which path will give them the most comfortable retirement. In my latest National Post financial planning case study, I compare…
Read MoreBuilding Wealth Through Your Workplace: The Complete Guide to Group RRSPs, DPSPs & Employer Contributions in Canada
How to make the most of workplace retirement savings – without treating your employer plan as your entire financial plan. For Canadian employees who want to understand what their employer is contributing, what they need to contribute, and how the workplace plan fits with the rest of their financial life. Core idea Your workplace retirement…
Read MoreHave You Thought of Turning the Doom Off? How Doomerism Is Quietly Wrecking Your Retirement
Have you thought of turning the doom off? That’s the question the awesome song Nothing Went Foom by Bright Mirror keeps asking. And it’s the right question — because doomerism has a track record, and the track record is that nothing went foom. Not the nuclear winter. Not the population bomb. Not Y2K. Not the…
Read MoreUnderstanding Your Full Compensation Package: It’s More Than Just Your Salary
Your salary is only the starting point. The real value is everything working around it. When I sit down with clients and we start talking about income, almost everyone leads with one number: their salary. And that makes sense. It is the most visible part of what you earn. But once we look a little…
Read MoreYour FREE Tickets to the 2026 Canadian Financial Summit – Watch My 3 Talks
The online Canadian Financial Summit is coming up October 21–24, 2026. It’s Canada’s top personal finance event of the year! As a reader of the Unconventional Wisdom blog, here are your FREE tickets to the Summit. With your FREE ticket, you can watch talks from some of Canada’s leading personal finance and investing experts, with…
Read MoreNational Post article: Could an RRSP/RRIF meltdown reduce Liam’s GIS clawback without triggering a big tax bill?
Liam thinks he is in a 19% tax bracket. He isn’t. He is effectively in a 50% tax bracket because he pays 0% income tax, but loses 50% of additional taxable income through the GIS clawback. His situation is interesting because: In my latest article for the National Post, I look at why withdrawing more…
Read MoreNational Post article: Can Tom afford to retire by 63 with a $1.16 million portfolio?
Having enough money to retire is one thing. Knowing how to use it wisely is another. Tom and Judy are in a strong financial position. With a $1.16 million investment portfolio and a valuable defined benefit pension, the bigger question isn’t whether Tom can afford to retire at 63 — it’s how they should make…
Read MoreRetiring at an All-Time High: What History Actually Shows
I get this question a lot. Is a retirement plan safe if you retire when the markets are at an all-time high? Can you reasonably still expect good performance in the future? The Conventional Wisdom About Retirement Risk The conventional wisdom here is 3 things: All the questions I get about sequence of returns risk…
Read MoreNational Post article: Everything changed when Kevin’s wife died. He now wants to retire next year, at 54, but can he afford to?
My latest article for the National Post looks at Kevin, 53, who is considering retiring next year after the death of his wife changed how he thinks about work, family and how he wants to spend his time. He has nearly $1 million invested, a $1.5 million debt-free home and an employer pension, but he…
Read MoreSecure Your Future Together: The Power of Trust Planning for Couples
Beyond the Will: How Canadian Couples Can Use Trusts to Protect Each Other A guide to achieve continuity, clarity, tax efficiency, and family harmony. Beyond the Will: How Canadian Couples Can Use Trusts to Protect Each Other Most Canadian couples believe their estate plan is complete once they have wills, powers of attorney, and beneficiary…
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