Seniors Targeted by Scammers
Victor’s nightmare began with a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, informing him he owed thousands in unpaid taxes. If he didn’t pay immediately, he would be arrested. Victor was too embarrassed to ask his daughter for help. Had he messed up that badly? The scammer picked up on […]
The Changing Business Cycle
Business, investing and life in general follow predictable ebbs and flows. The Business Cycle is no exception. This is the cycle whereby the economy goes through strong growth periods, weaker growth periods and everything in between. Governments and the Central Banks try to manage this cycle and prevent any enduring excesses from building up, while […]
Dollar Cost Averaging
Let us imagine that you have a plan to be a wise investor and use your funds to make strategic deposits into your various investment funds. You’ve heard about the investment strategy of buying any time the market is low with the plan of selling when the market turns upward. This might seem like it’s […]
Preparing for Wealth Transfer
By 2026, an estimated $1 trillion in personal wealth will be transferred from one generation to the next in Canada1, the largest transfer of wealth in our country’s history. This transition involves financial complexities for both benefactors and their heirs. Without planning and clarity, wealth transfer can lead to confusion and misunderstandings. If you are […]
The Shifting Economic Winds
There will likely be many impacts on the global economy resulting from the Russia-Ukraine War. The biggest casualty will most likely be the end of the “business as usual” mindset that most Canadians have lived by since at least 1980, if not since the end of World War Two. Just like the nostalgic desire to […]
When Interest Rates Rise
One way to curb rising inflation is to increase interest rates, and that is what the Bank of Canada (BoC) is expected to do incrementally – over the next year. As interest rates begin to tick upward, it is an ideal time to look at your financial position, including your debt and savings strategies. Rates […]
Estate Planning Tips and Traps
Julia wants to make sure that her estate passes to her heirs with as little hassle and cost as possible when she dies. She knows she needs a will and decides to buy a do-it-yourself will kit. When she opened it, she soon discovered some serious shortcomings. Advertised as a ‘legal will kit,’ she learned […]
An Approach to Financial Decision Making
How you approach financial decision making on a day-to-day basis is likely to be the most important ingredient in your life and financial success. The key is to be focused and methodical about how you allocate money to each of your life’s goals on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. This does not take great […]
Inflation & Your Financial Strategy
In a December 2021 poll, 87% of Canadians surveyed reported that the rising price of everyday goods was their top source of anxiety1. The last period that caused this level of financial concern for Canadians was the 1990s2, when inflation reached a high of 5.5%. Today, it sits at about 4.8%, primarily due to transportation […]
Where’s the Money?
When Dora died on August 1, 2018, most of her assets passed by Will to her adult children and were therefore subject to probate. $250,000 was in GICs and a fairly rapid transfer of this money to her heirs was expected. But that was not the case. They had to wait until March 2020 for […]