3 ways to benefit now from historically low interest rates

There are those who think that interest rates are going lower. They may be right. But this column is for those other folks. The ones who feel that the only place for interest rates to go from here is up. While many of us follow the prime rate that is tied to a variable rate…

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Why giving your grown children an allowance may make financial sense

There is a saying “once your child, always your child.” For many seniors, the new saying is “once a dependent, always a dependent”. So does it ever end? With reports suggesting that today’s seniors are the richest in history, maybe it shouldn’t end. As the pile of cash for some wealthy seniors keeps growing, the…

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Four things you might not know about investment fees

Many mutual fund investors simply don’t know what they are paying or even that they are paying anything at all. A research study was done in 2013 by Environics of 1,004 Canadians over 25 years old and with more than $25,000 in investable assets. Of them, 25% said that they did not pay their advisor…

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Here’s why you should show your group pension plan some love

If your boss offered you a $5,000 raise for the same amount of work, would you say no? That fact is that many Canadians are turning this down by not taking advantage of their companies matching of RRSP contributions. The obvious reason is that money is tight for many people and the idea of having…

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1% in your pocket is better than 1% in the taxman’s pocket

We often tell clients that while you can’t always control investment returns, you can be tax smart in terms of how you invest. If you can add 1% after tax a year to whatever your investments happen to return, you will be much better off over time. Very roughly, if you are in Ontario and…

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