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Many life decisions can be difficult, but when they involve a financial component, input from your lawyer, accountant or advisor could help in some way. Here are a few scenarios to illustrate how such input can make a difference. Caring for a parent Aila and Mark are a couple in their 50s, both working full-time. Aila’s mother, a widow, can … Read More

College and university students may encounter credit card sales representatives on campus. Students can get their own card at age 18 in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island, and at 19 in other provinces. If your child follows these guidelines, hopefully the card won’t be seen as free money. The do’s Aim to limit purchases to what … Read More

Today’s youth may prefer to pick up information online, but when it comes to learning about financial life, parents still have some influence. Here are a few teaching moments. Younger ages One day your children believe money comes from the tooth fairy, and later discover they’ve got to earn it. Quite a journey, and you’re the guide. Lessons from allowance. … Read More

When your home represents a sizeable portion of your net worth, you might wonder if downsizing would give you a more comfortable retirement. It’s a decision that not only involves financial planning, but practical and psychological factors as well. Retirement planning versus estate planning If downsizing your home generates a large- enough net gain, you could travel more during retirement, … Read More

Your portfolio represents your future, so it’s only natural to want to monitor how your investments are doing. How often you need to check largely depends on the type of investor you are. Active investors who constantly buy and sell individual stocks will monitor performance frequently, perhaps daily. But individuals with well-diversified managed portfolios investing for the long term have … Read More

For several decades as an investor, there was always a silver lining to a market downturn. That’s when investment managers purchased stocks at value prices so you could enjoy higher returns when the market rebounded. But that all changes when you’re close to retirement and once you’re retired. Just before retirement, a plummeting market can severely reduce a nest egg’s … Read More

Here’s a strategy especially effective during a period when one spouse has little or no earned income. For several years, the spouse earning the higher income contributes the maximum allowable amount to the spousal RRSP. Then the higher-income spouse stops these contributions and begins contributing to his or her own RRSP for two calendar years after the year of the … Read More

You can’t escape paying tax on income, but you may be able to split some of your income with your spouse. And if your spouse is in a lower tax bracket, you’ll pay less tax as a couple. Here are three scenarios that illustrate some of the tax-saving strategies available through income splitting. Kim and Henry Kim, an executive at … Read More

If a parent bases post-secondary education savings on average costs, the amount needed for tuition would be $6,838 for each academic year, based on the 2018/2019 average for Canadian universities.1 But what if the child decides to pursue dentistry? The average annual tuition for dentistry programs in Canada is $23,474.1 Or perhaps a parent isn’t up to date on campus … Read More

Imagine a couple who have opposite approaches on how to build a nest egg. One spouse believes in investing conservatively so the couple can live their lives without worrying about the markets, even though it means saving more each year to invest. The other spouse believes in investing aggressively, trusting that a portfolio heavily weighted in stocks will deliver higher … Read More