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 MoreShortly after I turned 25, and was newly married, I discovered I had a chronic kidney disease that would almost certainly lead to kidney failure. Somehow kidney failure was delayed a lot longer than the prognosis originally indicated, but in 2014 my kidney function got...
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For some households, an inheritance can make a significant difference in their financial lives. Finally, a home can be purchased, or a mortgage or other debts paid off, or woefully inadequate RRSPs and other accounts for retirement can be fully funded. Married couples manage their finances...
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As a member of the Financial Planning Association of Canada (FPAC), our overarching goal is to professionalize financial services in Canada. One way in which we seek to get the word out about FPAC’s mission is by providing a regular column, Qualified Advice, for MoneySense,...
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Do you mean asset allocation? If you have read anything about setting up an investment portfolio, you have probably come across the term asset allocation. This term has to do with how you mix the various investment options at your disposal. For example, if you scan...
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Everybody wants to be in on the ground floor of THE NEXT BIG THING. They want to be an employee of the next Amazon, Apple, or Microsoft, when those companies were in their start-up phase, and be granted stock options that will grow from zero...
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In a few days, my oldest child will get married. There are at least two consequences of this impending event: 1. I will take a break from writing a blog post next week. 2. This blog post. There are certainly more consequences that are much more...
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You are the right age to retire. You have the right amount of money. Is that it, though? What are you retiring into? Has that even been part of your thinking? What other aspects of retirement do you need to get into place? Emotional Issues in...
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I like to think that most investment advisors seek to do what they think is best for their clients. However, there are advisors who do the wrong thing, sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes due to poor supervision, and sometimes because they are predators, only in...
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