Debt is not a fun topic. Well, maybe it is if you like engaging in stories like those of the Four Yorkshiremen, later popularized by Monty Python, who sought to outdo each other with their personal histories of poverty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAdlkunflRs Poverty and debt are not, of course,...
Read MoreYou are looking for someone who can provide you with professional financial advice. Where do you begin? Perhaps you search the internet for investment advice. A list immediately comes up with several advisors from one of the major bank-owned investment firms. A common designation among...
Read MoreAs I write this at the end of May 2022, we are now about a month past the standard tax-filing deadline in Canada. Depending on the results of your return and your stage in life, you may have been contributing to or withdrawing from any...
Read More
I will admit to some trepidation in writing this blog post. Gordon Pape is one of the grand old men of investing in Canada. He has written a column for the Globe and Mail for more years than I can recall right now. However, like...
Read More“Don’t even think about it.” That’s what I would like to say to anybody who is drawn to these funds due to their prodigious tax-saving opportunities. When I was working at a discount brokerage, there seemed to be regular inquiries about these products from people who...
Read MoreAffordable housing is a huge issue in household finance these days. Prices have increased to ridiculous levels. Governments are under pressure to address this situation, even though they are being pulled in two directions. On one hand, the real estate industry is a major part...
Read More
While avoiding direct military engagement with Russian military forces, governments around the world have enacted a variety of sanctions that have significantly harmed Russia’s economic circumstances. Russia’s stock market has been closed since February 25, 2022. Russia has generally been included in emerging markets indices....
Read More
In my student days, I remember an ethics professor saying something to the effect of, “That which is not prohibited is permitted.” Of course, one pithy sentence does not exactly provide the full range of nuance that was elaborated on over the semesters that I...
Read MoreIn years gone by, many people sought a job that would provide the proverbial “gold-plated” pension plan, by which was meant a defined benefit pension, what one might refer to as a “true” pension. That is, once you retired, you would get guaranteed, possibly inflation-protected,...
Read More
As sure as the snow will inevitably melt away in the spring, so will a portion of our income as it is paid to the Canada Revenue Agency. Many employed people will have overpaid their income taxes in the course of the year and are...
Read More