Archive for January 2018
TFSA Interest Rate Comparison
A Tax Free Savings Account is an excellent savings vehicle. You can now qualify for up to $57,500 in TFSA contribution room (2018), making it more worthwhile to consider using it for a long-term investment strategy. Financial institutions still promote TFSAs as strictly for savings. There’s nothing wrong with that, although if you have only…
Read MoreReady to Join The ETF Movement? Here Are 4 Tips To Get Started
2017 was a good year for the Canadian ETF market, with total assets reaching nearly $146 billion at year-end. While a far cry from the $1.48 trillion that Canadian investors held in mutual funds, it still represents 28 percent growth for ETFs in Canada. BlackRock’s iShares dominates the Canadian ETF market, boasting a 40 percent…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Crypto Crazy Edition
This time is different – the four most dangerous words when it comes to investing. We’ve seen it time and time again. From Tulip Bulb Mania to the Dot Com Era, and the U.S. Housing Boom, exuberant market behaviour drives asset prices higher and higher until demand reaches levels that can no longer be sustained,…
Read MoreCredit Cards With No Foreign Currency Conversion Fees. What Are My Options?
Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and Marriott Rewards Premier Visa cardholders recently received a letter from their card issuer, Chase Canada, advising that these cards will be deactivated as of March 15th, 2018. It’s a disappointing, but not surprising exit for Chase, which sold its Sears MasterCard portfolio and related credit card operations; including a call centre,…
Read MoreFinding Patterns To Predict The Stock Market?
We all know about the economic cycle, the natural fluctuation of the economy going from growth, peak, contraction and trough. It looks like the bell curve you’re familiar with from school. Apart from that, millions of investors are still trying to discover a formula for timing the stock market by finding patterns. But, in any…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Bank of Canada Hikes Rates (Again) Edition
The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate again this week, marking the third time since last summer that they’ve increased the benchmark lending rate. It now sits at 1.25 percent, while Canada’s big banks all moved their prime ending rate to 3.45 percent. The move has financial experts warning of the impact on…
Read MoreBuilding Your Wealth: Alternative Investments
Most investments are grouped into the three traditional asset classes of stocks, bonds, and cash or cash equivalents. There are also alternative investments such as real estate, commodities, collectibles, art, and antiques which operate far differently and require more investigation, expertise and each has specific risks. Building Your Wealth with Alternative Investments Real estate Real…
Read MoreTaking Advantage Of Member Benefits And Discounts
My mom phoned me in a big panic the other day because she lost her eyeglasses. After ransacking her apartment and questioning her with the same thoroughness of a homicide cop interrogating a suspect, we ended up going to her optometrist (with IRIS) for replacements. The glasses specialist mentioned that CARP members have a $150…
Read MoreLearn How To Budget (And Download A Free Budgeting Spreadsheet)
I learned how to budget and got my finances under control back in 2009. Up until then I was like most working Canadians; my paycheque would come in, I’d pay some bills, go grocery shopping, maybe transfer some money into savings, and then (over)spend the rest on whatever. A budget not only helped track my…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Couch Potato Edition
Canadian Couch Potato godfather Dan Bortolotti recently posted the returns for his three model portfolios. Like my two-ETF portfolio, which returned 14.06 percent, Dan’s model portfolios had a banner year in 2017. Here are the results for the most aggressive versions of each portfolio: Tangerine’s Balanced Growth Portfolio – 9.5 percent TD’s e-Series Funds –…
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