Financial Success Strategy for Small Business Owners
Business owners have to contend with many facets of financial management, business accounting, cash-flow management, and capital acquisition. The one area of financial management that often goes unheeded or is placed on the back-burner is their personal financial strategy, yet it is the one aspect of a business owner’s financial picture that, if not soundly […]
It’s Up to You to Know the Consequences
The news has been full of stories lately of surging real estate prices in the United States. Many Canadian visitors to such places as Florida, Arizona and Hawaii are seeing real estate promoters from these and other states running seminars about US real estate investing. Many Canadians are viewing this as an opportunity to buy […]
New Energy Landscape
Bill Nye the Science Guy met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa earlier this year to promote the use of alternative energy fuels in our economy. He is a strong advocate of moving away from carbon-based fuels. Yet, Nye admitted, in a Toronto radio interview some days later, that the economy will likely transition […]
Bad Excuses for Putting Off Investing
Recent college or university graduates with their first career job have an understandable itch to spend money after years of living on Kraft Dinner. The last thing they want to think about is saving money and building assets. Yet this is the ideal time in life to start developing the correct habits that will lead […]
How Much Will I Need to Retire?
Good question. Many retirement income planning tools use a percentage of income to determine an income need in retirement and then calculate an amount needed to provide that income. People with similar incomes often have different spending and lifestyle habits. This can affect their income needs in retirement. It is still important to calculate what […]
Understanding Market Volatility – Part 2
Our previous article looked at the increase in market volatility in 2018 in historical terms to put it in perspective. The other factor to consider is where are we in the market cycle and what this might mean for you personally in terms of your own long-term financial strategy. Many market commentators suggest that we […]
Financial Action Plan for Newlyweds
John and Jane had spent many months planning for their special day. They had also budgeted and spent many thousands of dollars to celebrate their wedding. Now what? Since John and Jane have made a for richer or poorer commitment to each other, it’s time to do something about it; and they need to start […]
How to Make Your Heirs Hate You
Your death will create problems. There will be three types – emotional, legal and financial. You can do certain things now, while you’re alive, to reduce or increase these problems and make your heirs either love you or hate you. Emotional Problems You can increase the emotional upset after your death by leaving your affairs […]
Understanding Market Volatility – Part 1
This year began with some market turbulence resulting in a correction in the S&P Index in late January of about 10%, and about 7% for the TSX during the same period. You would have thought the world was ending with all the hand-wringing and hysteria stirred up by media reports at the time. More importantly, […]
Daily Choices of Financial Freedom
Most people want financial freedom over financial servitude. Who doesn’t want to be financially independent, where their money is working for them rather than working for their money? The problem for most Canadians is that financial freedom can be a struggle of living paycheck-to-paycheck or where spending tends to win out over savings. Ultimately, financial […]