Articles

Financial planning should be celebrated as a useful process to help you achieve your lifetime goals. Behavioral economics shows us that if a person isn’t working toward something specific, they are more likely to over-spend on more immediate rewards, putting their future goals at risk. With a financial plan, you can formally review these goals, … Financial planning helps achieve lifetime goals

Interest rates in Canada are low. Rock bottom low. You might expect people to be ecstatic at being able to pay such historically low interest rates on household debt. This is not the case. The current day financial environment for Canadians can be summarized in one word. Worry. A September 4, 2019 survey by the … The effects of low interest rates

The first rule of investing is to do the math. Put simply, when you save your money and make investments, what you’re doing is constructing a simple puzzle. Each part of the puzzle fits together. The same is true for your long-term saving and investing efforts. Everything should fit together to achieve your financial objectives. … When investing, you need to do the math

The government of Canada will give parents money that can be used for their children’s or grandchildren’s post-secondary education. The plan is called the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and it works in conjunction with a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). The good news is the gift totals $7,200 per child. The bad news is … CESG helps with the expense of education

There is a problem in Canada that can negatively affect us all. The problem is housing. There are not enough affordable rental units available to those who have a lower earning ability. The Canadian economy depends on all segments of the population working in a coordinated effort to supply our high standard of living. From … Affordable rental housing shortage in Canada

A financial advisor’s role is to help clients work toward their financial goals. Finding a qualified advisor you feel comfortable with requires careful evaluation. Last week this column discussed hiring a financial advisor based on the services provided, and the cost of those services. Today we will consider some specific questions you might want to … Questions for a potential financial advisor