Finance is Scary Financial matters tend to scare a lot of people away: “Finance is all about money and numbers. I don’t have enough of the former and I don’t understand the latter.” At least that is a common impression. The financial advice industry exists in...
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Recapping the Earlier Post Earlier this month (July 2020) I compared the one-year return of the Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio (VGRO) ending 2020-07-13 using a lump-sum investing approach versus a dollar-cost averaging approach. I invested a $60,000 inheritance in a TFSA in a single lump sum...
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The Situation A relative of yours has died. You have received an inheritance. With that money, you have paid off your mortgage and your car loan. You have topped up your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and you have set aside six months of living expenses...
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Sources for checking on an advisor’s registration and disciplinary history I am a big fan of the combination of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) investing with Advice-Only, Fee-for-Service financial planning. I think it can be a cost-effective combination for many. On the other hand, there are many people who...
Read MoreAn 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 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...
Read MoreInsurance and Risk Management – Part 7 What? There is a risk in living too long? Imagine you are 65 years old. You have been reasonably diligent in saving for retirement. Now is the time to cash in. You are about to start receiving your Canada Pension...
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An Introduction to Insurance and Risk Management – Part 1 Wouldn’t you love to be a risk manager? It sounds like a job for the man or woman who gets great joy from being a party pooper. I suppose that might be true in some circumstances,...
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An Introduction to Investment Planning – Part 8 Over the course of this series on investing, I have written about bonds and stocks and the ways they may be purchased, that is, individually or via funds, whether those are mutual funds or Exchange-Traded Funds. For now,...
Read MoreAn Introduction to Investment Planning – Part 7 In the world of investment funds, passive investments that track an index are relatively recent innovations. In the US, John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, launched a mutual fund in the 1970s that tracked the S&P 500 Index....
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