The Quick Start RRSP
Maureen, age 20, figures she can save $400 each month; or she can keep frittering it away at the mall. She lives with her parents and they think she should save it. Dad says, “Put it into an RRSP and get a tax break as well.” Her friends think RRSPs are for old fogies and […]
Weighing the Cost of Your Retirement Dreams
We all know how easy it is to romanticize our retirement years. Many of us make lengthy lists of things we will do and experience in those golden years. We have little doubt about our ability to enjoy the perfect blend of leisure and excitement, which is what makes the very idea of retirement seem […]
Healthcare and Retirement
We are all familiar with the following perennial adage: “health is wealth”. Regardless of any financial circumstances you may have, optimum health allows you to enjoy long trips overseas, partake in your grandchildren’s life, physical activities such as golf as well as looking forward to your retirement years. No one wants to have to worry […]
Top Retirement Tips
Convert RRSPs to income – Roger and Sarah, retired for several years, have delayed taking income from their RRSPs so they could enjoy the tax deferred growth as long as possible. They must start an income from their RRSPs before the end of the year they turn age 71. Review investment portfolio – Joanne had […]
Retirement: The Promised Land or Crushing Boredom?
For years, you have been anticipating that last day at work. When it finally arrives, will it live up to your expectations? Retirement looks different in everyone’s imagination. For some, it means never wearing a tie again – for any reason. For others, it means traveling the world in designer clothes while attending fancy social […]
Redefining Retirement
Retirement used to mean a gold watch, a pension and spending time on hobbies or new pastimes. For some this may still be true, but times have changed and there are new realities that will affect how retirement will look in the future. The largest segment of the population in Canada today, the “Baby Boomers”, […]
Pay Down Debt or Retire in Comfort?
Increasingly consumers in major Canadian cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver or Toronto, are faced with a dilemma of how to best manage their cash flow in the face of record mortgage and consumer debt. A February poll by CIBC asked Canadians whether, if they had extra funds they would contribute to an RRSP or […]
Steps to Complete When Selling Your Home
Gordon and Anne lived in the same house for over 30 years. Now that their children are grown and it was becoming more difficult for them to manage the house, they decided to downsize. Here is what Gordon and Anne did to get the best price they could when they sold their home: De-cluttered – […]
The RRSP Conversation
With the RRSP contribution deadline of March 2nd fast approaching many people will reflexively make a deposit to their RRSP. Many will use online banking to throw money into the RRSP at the last minute vowing to figure out how to invest it later. But life gets in the way and later never happens and […]
Stretching Your Retirement Income
In this, the final installment of the series, Financial Strategies Simplified, we take a look at how to stretch your retirement income no matter how modest the starting balance. There is a common misconception amongst clients that the day they retire their approach to investing and managing their RRSPs etc. has to change. But the […]