The Unexpected Problem: Nature Risk Our home insurance renews at the end of January every year. In December, we received a document from our insurance broker informing us that the insurance company we had been using for the last several years was removing “overland water (flood)...
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The Problem: Sequence Risk Meets Longevity Risk David and Marie are a 65-year-old married couple preparing for retirement. With $1 million spread across Defined Contribution (DC) pensions, RRSPs, TFSAs, and non-registered accounts, they feel a quiet contentment about reaching this financial milestone. However, recent events have...
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The Lure of the Tax-Free Millionaire Dream Larry MacDonald of The Globe and Mail has highlighted remarkable success stories of investors turning their Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) into million-dollar windfalls. With $102,000 in cumulative TFSA contribution room as of January 1, 2025 (for those eligible since...
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Investing on your own can be rewarding, but it’s not without its difficulties. Adam Bornn, from Parallel Wealth, highlights eight challenges DIY investors often face in his YouTube video, "8 Hidden Challenges Every Investor Should Know." While Adam provides valuable insights, his perspective seems to assume...
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The Trouble The Overconfident Investor Andrew, 40 years old, single, and an always-in-demand skilled tradesman in the Greater Toronto Area, believes he has cracked the code for successful stock trading. Armed with flashy charts and tables as well as stories of success he’s read in the Facebook...
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Balancing Taxes, Investments, and Borrowing As Edi and Roy approached their retirement, they faced a common financial planning challenge: how to fund a $200,000 renovation to their home without derailing their carefully laid plans. With a healthy $3.5 million in assets split across joint non-registered accounts,...
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In the YouTube video A Day in the Life of a Financial Advisor – Funny or Truth, a woman sits down with a financial advisor, unknowingly burdened with misconceptions and a dose of naïveté about personal finance. Her questions and concerns provide a helpful reflection...
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The Income and Wealth Gap The Context An unattached Canadian is a person not in an “economic family,” that is, a person living either alone or with others to whom he or she is unrelated, such as roommates or a lodger. Unattached Canadians are a growing demographic...
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Matthew (Matt) is a 27-year-old social worker with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, which he completed three years ago. Currently working in the healthcare sector, Matt has seen firsthand how financial instability can cause stress and hardship. Whether due to inadequate insurance or...
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The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is often debated, with some Canadians feeling that it unfairly penalizes those who die before they can fully collect its benefits. Critics of CPP argue that mandatory contributions, when considering the possibility of early death, result in a system where...
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