Posts by Robb Engen
Weekend Reading: Free CPP Calculator Edition
One of the biggest decisions retirees face is when to take their Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits. There’s a case to be made for deferring CPP until age 70, or taking CPP at 60, or somewhere in between (like the standard age 65). You can view your estimated monthly CPP benefits online using your My…
Read More4 Big Rip-Offs To Avoid
I’ve made my share of bad financial decisions over the years, but nothing feels worse than when a salesperson convinces you to buy something that’s not in your best interest. These kinds of rip-offs usually occur when one party has more or better information than the other. Think about the first time you bought a…
Read MoreRRSPs Are Not A Scam: A Guide For The Anti-RRSP Crowd
“I don’t invest in my RRSP anymore because I’ll have to pay tax on the withdrawals.” This type of thinking around RRSPs has become increasingly common since the TFSA was introduced in 2009. The anti-RRSP crowd must come from one of two schools of thought: They believe their tax rate will be higher in the…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: High Interest Savings War Edition
Savers rejoice! We’re in the midst of a high interest savings war. The battle for your business isn’t being fought by the big banks, but by upstart FinTech companies looking to build up deposits. Indeed, the big five have mostly ignored the high interest savings account market. Why bother, when they’re hauling in record profits…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Are We Due For A Correction Edition
2019 was a terrific year for stock market returns. This bull market has gone on for so long now that investors can’t help but wonder, are we due for a correction this year or in the near future? It’s a question I get a lot from my clients these days, especially the soon-to-be-retired and the…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Worst Financial Planning Fears Edition
What are your worst financial planning fears? Some answers may include longevity risk (outliving your money), sequence of returns risk (the impact that negative stock market returns has on your withdrawal strategy), or poor investment performance (earning a lower rate of return than you expected). A recent discussion on Twitter teased out more answers from…
Read MoreEQ Bank: Your New High-Interest No-Fee Banking Solution
What makes the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account so great? It starts with an amazing 1.70% everyday interest rate, plus zero everyday banking fees and cheap international money transfers. Read about the rest of the perks in this EQ Bank review: Over the last decade or more Canadian banking customers have had to accept two…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: 2020 Financial Goals Edition
Happy New Year and welcome back to the blog! With an unforgettable 2019 now in the rearview mirror we look ahead to 2020 and what’s to come. Goal setting is such a powerful motivator for me. This year, as I move to full-time blogger, freelancer, and fee-only advisor, it’s even more critical to map out…
Read MoreNet Worth Update: 2019 Year-End Review
I remember writing last year’s net worth recap and being disappointed that I didn’t reach my goal after the stock market tanked during the last three months of 2018. What a difference a year makes! My investments were up 20+ percent this year. We also reached all of our 2019 financial goals, including maxing out…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Benchmarking Your Returns Edition
How well did your investments perform in 2019? Investment performance is critical to achieving your retirement goals, yet it’s one of the most misunderstood concepts in personal finance. Why? Because we need to put our performance into proper context. In other words, we need to compare our returns to an appropriate benchmark. Investment managers are…
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