Archive for April 2014
Why Putting Off Retirement Savings Can Cost You
Current popular opinion is to put off retirement savings until later years when all debts are paid off and family responsibilities are reduced. Then, when you reach your prime earning years between ages 45 and 65 you can start seriously saving and catch up. What do you see in your crystal ball? The prime earning…
Read MoreWhy It’s Hard To Avoid Buying “Stuff”
We’re taught to value experiences over material things but unless you plan to never leave the house you’re going to need a whole lot of willpower to avoid buying stuff today. Have you been out window shopping lately? There are some seriously amazing products and innovations on the market – things that weren’t even around…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Speed Reading Edition
Whenever a new personal finance book comes out I’ll typically email the author or publisher and try to get a couple of free copies to review and then give away on this blog. So many books have come out lately that I have piles of books lying around the house that I need to read…
Read More8 Retirement Mistakes To Avoid
For many of us retirement means the transition from the day-to-day grind of working to days of leisure, kicking back or puttering around and, best of all, no more schedules or alarm clocks. The other important transition is from the final days of earning money through employment, to spending your money. Even smart people can…
Read MoreUsing A Synthetic DRIP To Simplify My Portfolio
I plan to put my RRSP on auto-pilot over the next few years as I start to run out of unused contribution room. One of the first steps to simplify my portfolio was to set up a synthetic DRIP or dividend reinvestment plan. This process allows you to reinvest your dividends commission free instead of…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Rob Carrick Hangout Edition
We’ve had some awesome guests lately on the Because Money hangout. If you’re not familiar with the format, we host a video podcast on Google+ Hangouts on Air every Wednesday night at 7:30pm MST (9:30pm EST). Last week we had Rob Carrick on the show to talk about Generation Y. We accepted the fact that…
Read MoreLeave A Legacy Before The Will Is Read
If you are fortunate enough to have earned – or inherited – more than you need to live out your definition of the “good life,” you’ll have the opportunity to decide where and how to direct the funds left unspent. It is common to leave an inheritance to family members with perhaps a portion going…
Read MoreBank Slogans And Taglines, Translated
One of the more memorable – or laughable – bank slogans was Scotiabank’s “you’re richer than you think”. The poorly timed ad campaign ran through the financial crisis of 2008-09, including commercials at Cineplex theatres across the country. The response was not kind – moviegoers heckled, swore, and tossed drinks as the tagline appeared on…
Read MoreFinding The Hidden Gold In Your Tax Return
While most people use a tax program to complete their tax return, the program is only limited to the information you enter and you may not be fully maximizing your tax refund. As an accountant, I come across plenty of small credits that are often overlooked by people because they aren’t aware they apply or…
Read MoreWhy You Should Eliminate Debt Before You Retire
Conventional wisdom – and a good rule of thumb – suggests you should not have any debt when you retire. However, a recent Globe and Mail article reports that people are more comfortable with carrying debt into their retirement years than past generations and that more than half of all retired Canadians are carrying some…
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