When I was a young boy living on the more rural outskirts of Chilliwack, BC, my brother and I would often go over to our cousin’s place just up the road and sleep outside overnight. This was in the summertime, of course. We would look...
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Managing our personal finances involves a few mathematical calculations. When we buy a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC), we are told, for example, that we will receive 5% per year, compounded over five years. If we deposit $5,000 into that GIC, how much will we receive?...
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Are you looking for New Years Resolutions? If your ideas involve financial concerns, you have come to the right place. Below are nine different options to consider for 2023. All will require a bit of work to accomplish, but equally, all will leave you in...
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If you have worked in Canada, you will have contributed to the Canada (or Quebec) Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) and will be eligible to receive regular monthly payments from the plan as early as age 60. If you have been a resident of Canada for at...
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Each year the month of November is designated as Financial Literacy Month. I like to think that each blog post that I write adds to the financial literacy of my readers, but there is something to be said for a special focus on bringing up...
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The word “wealth” may throw off the average Canadian. Sure, many Canadians want to become rich, by which they mean, they want to have a lot of money. However, I think that most Canadians have more modest expectations. Something like, “I want to afford a...
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If you are nearing retirement, you may be wondering about when to begin receiving the Canada Pension Plan. There is a common idea that you should take it as soon as possible, at age 60, just in case you don’t live long enough to make...
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American financial planning guru, Michael Kitces, observes that many retirees, after accumulating a substantial portfolio of assets to cover their retirement spending, wind up continuing to grow their assets throughout most of their retirement. There is an element of prudence in this practice because the...
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Dividends and Dates When I worked at a discount brokerage, I routinely fielded questions about dividends, in particular, the record date and the ex-dividend date (often abbreviated as “ex-date”). Investors would often get confused by these two dates and the impact they would have on their...
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The bucket strategy divides your investment assets into three categories. The Immediate or Short-Term Bucket This bucket covers a period lasting between two to five years. Money in this category is typically held in savings accounts, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), and Short-Term Fixed-Income (Bond) Funds. Assets in...
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