An Introduction to Retirement Planning – Part 2 “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” – Danish proverb Imagine you and your spouse are 35 years old. You hope to retire at 65. There is an almost 25 percent chance that one of you...
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An Introduction to Retirement Planning – Part 1 In the middle of this extraordinary COVID-19 pandemic, many of us may feel like we have been forcibly retired. Our governments have shut down large swaths of the economy in order to enable the physical distancing that, we...
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An Introduction to Tax Planning – Part 5 The numbers of people who are applying for Employment Insurance (EI) and the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and other supports that the government has rolled out in recent weeks are just staggering. Perhaps, like me, the figures...
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An Introduction to Tax Planning – Part 4 You think of yourself and your spouse along with your two children as an average family. Like me you are a resident of London, Ontario. Between the two of you, you earn about $80,000 per year or about...
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AN INTRODUCTION TO TAX PLANNING – PART 3 In a world where governments are scrambling to address the impact of the novel coronavirus on our society, the topic of this post may seem rather mundane or even unnecessary. However, there is applicability. Let’s assume a married...
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What to do? It almost feels like there is nowhere to hide. Major stock indices in Canada (S&P/TSX), the US (S&P 500) and the developed world outside of North America (MSCI EAFE) are down 25 to 30 percent in the space of a month. Bonds, which...
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An Introduction to Tax Planning – Part 2 “Oh, man! What is this guy talking about? He’s calling people losers and then he is suggesting a way to take advantage of them!” Let me explain. First of all, I am not calling *people* losers. Second, this...
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An Introduction to Tax Planning – Part 1 Financial Planning and Taxation As much as we might like to deny it, taxation is an integral part of financial planning. Indeed, taxation can often be a Canadian household’s biggest single expense. Think about all the areas in life...
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AN INTRODUCTION TO INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT – PART 8.3 “Wouldn’t it be nice” … no, I’m not quoting a Beach Boys song. But, wouldn’t it be nice if we could insure our investments against potential losses? The news as I write this is that the...
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An Introduction to Insurance and Risk Management – Part 8.2 In my last post, I wrote about Assuris, a body that insures you against the insolvency of a life insurance company. This post has to do with insuring against the insolvency of banks and credit unions. CANADA...
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