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Starting Out on the Right Track

A wedding day can be a springboard into many new and exciting adventures. With all the excitement leading up to the big day, the new couple routinely focuses so much energy on planning the event that they seldom spend any time discussing other important life issues – like developing a

Read More...

As The World Improves

If your way of assessing the state of the world is only through stories gleaned from the regular media, then you are likely missing out on all the marvelous and wondrous advancements of human society over the previous years and decades.   With news reports during the final months of

Read More...

How to Achieve Financial Success

It is possible for just about everybody to achieve financial success. Getting there is usually not a matter of financial wizardry. By following some basic principles, you can make your financial dreams come true:   Set Objectives Goal setting is the foundation of achieving financial success. If you don’t have

Read More...

Putting You in the Picture

It is that time of year again when news broadcasters turn our thoughts to the how the world and the investment markets may run into trouble. There are special reports stating that markets are at record levels, interest rates are rising, Trump, Trump and more Trump, trade deals, China, the

Read More...

Financial Action Plan for Newlyweds

John and Jane had spent many months planning for their special day. They had also budgeted and spent many thousands of dollars to celebrate their wedding. Now what?   Since John and Jane have made a for richer or poorer commitment to each other, it’s time to do something about

Read More...

Daily Choices of Financial Freedom

Most people want financial freedom over financial servitude. Who doesn’t want to be financially independent, where their money is working for them rather than working for their money? The problem for most Canadians is that financial freedom can be a struggle of living paycheck-to-paycheck or where spending tends to win

Read More...

Avoid Financial Failure: Set Goals

Recent studies have shown that as many as 60% of Canadians will not have saved enough money in order to adequately provide for their retirement.1 The problem for most people is not that they plan to fail, they simply failed to plan, adequately. And, while many may have been conscientiously

Read More...

De-Dollarization and You – Part 1

There are many different types of global economic risks that financial advisors take into account when preparing a financial action plan for their clients. This is where advice and judgment come into play when working with you as a client. One area that is gaining increasing prominence is the role

Read More...

Are You Wearing Your Wealth?

We are being misled – seriously misled. No matter where you look, we are expected to believe that by buying lots of expensive, luxurious items, it signifies that we are wealthy. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s really just cash flow.   Television and movies portray people that

Read More...

Procrastination – Your Financial Dream Killer

Despite what many people think, the number one financial dream killer isn’t portfolio losses, or financial emergencies, or unemployment, and not even natural disasters. The number one reason people fail to reach their financial goals is procrastination – putting off the inevitable until the cost of your dreams or goals

Read More...

Four Financial Promises to Keep

We’ve had a few weeks to make and break our New Year’s resolutions. Now is a good time to make some promises to give your finances an extra boost in 2018 and help see you better off by year-end.   1. Promise to make the biggest RRSP contribution you can.

Read More...

How’s Your Net Worth?

His banker asked Trent what his net worth was for a loan he was applying for. He had trouble answering the question right away.   What is Net Worth? Quite simply, net worth is the difference between what you own and what you owe. But true net worth may not

Read More...

Era of Rising Interest Rates

The recent increases in the Bank of Canada and Federal Reserve prime rate in the past few months signal the end of historically low interest rates. According to a Bank of England study released in early 2016, current low interest rates are the lowest in 5000 years of recorded history*!

Read More...

Saving Up For The Adolescent Years

Have you considered putting aside extra funds for the teenage years?   If you have not thought about this, then you may want to if you have a child that is quickly headed towards the adolescent years. This can be a turbulent time, not just with the emotion and drama

Read More...

Back to Basics

What problems does the financial industry solve for Canadian consumers? Where is the value added for interacting with the financial industry and why use an Advisor versus doing it yourself online?   To address these questions, here is a refresher on why the financial industry exists in the first place.

Read More...

Remember Me!

With spring just around the corner, many Canadians have young people in their lives who are graduating from university, professional schools or community colleges. When the excitement of Commencement wears off, they are faced with the challenge of finding their first full-time paid jobs.   The following are a couple

Read More...

It Doesn’t Pay to Procrastinate

Many people have no idea. Some people have a vague idea. A few people, a very few, have it all worked out. When it comes to retirement planning, many people do not take action until forced to by a mid-life event (career change, death of loved one) or by hearing

Read More...

‘Just-In-Time’ Living

Multiple media reports note that almost 50% of Canadians have no emergency savings and are unable to cover the cost of an unexpected expense of $500 – $1000, let alone deal with an unexpected job loss. Other reports from credit agencies such as Equifax state that even a 0.25% increase

Read More...

Saving for a Financial Emergency

It is next to impossible to know when you might be impacted by a financial emergency; therefore, it is important to be prepared for something unforeseen in the future. Most people have heard the saying about saving money for a “rainy day”. With the right forward planning, there is a

Read More...

The Predicament of Sudden Wealth

Imagine one of the following scenarios. Suppose you have suddenly come into a significant sum of money. For the interest of this example, we will imagine that it is one million dollars. This might have come to you by way of a lottery win, an estate inherited after the death

Read More...

The Question That Is Rarely Asked

After speaking with many clients and potential clients over the years, a pattern emerges in the direction that the interview takes. There is often a sense of give and take with the client wanting to get certain questions answered in their mind, giving out small bits of information, but withholding

Read More...

Assessing Your Debt

Many consumers find themselves falling into the traps offered by the appeal of easy credit opportunities. They are dazzled by payment plans for tech purchases, zero-percent loans on major purchases, credit card-funded vacations to faraway locations, and blowout sales that tout incredibly long delays before any payments are due. Before

Read More...

Money Saving Mortgage Strategies

Mortgages today are not like they were when our parents or grandparents bought their homes. As most of us don’t have the cash to buy a home outright, we need to borrow from a lender. There are a number of strategies you can use to get the best deal, pay

Read More...

Consumer Impact of Low Interest Rates

While the Bank of Canada publicly muses about adopting negative interest rates on Government Bonds as a policy tool to stimulate economic growth, the Bank of Japan recently cut its benchmark interest rate below zero, joining several others including the European Central Bank in the negative interest rate club. According

Read More...

Financial Plans and Marriage Breakdown

Statistics show that about half of marriages end in divorce. Ed and Liz are ending theirs and are concerned about changes that will have to be made to their financial and estate plans. Some considerations, also in common-law relationships, are:   Life Insurance – The first thing that needs to

Read More...

Millennial Money Mistakes

Investors who start saving at a young age automatically have one of the most powerful assets on their side: Time. To get ahead financially, young adults should beware of some of the most common pitfalls discussed below that can all too easily sabotage a financial success strategy.   Not Taking

Read More...

The Either / Or Financial Decision

When it comes to making financial decisions most people focus on eitheror scenarios; that is making a tactical decision that may or may not reflect a larger financial strategy or wealth accumulation context.   We often see these types of isolated, one-off decision choices in media articles that pose dilemmas

Read More...

Getting Serious About Savings & Investing

We are now well into 2015 and your New Year’s Resolution to do a better job of managing your money are already being forgotten. As the late Sir John Templeton famously stated, the best time to invest is when you have money! The challenge for many people, with many middle-class

Read More...

Basics For a Wise Financial Strategy

Before a sky scraper can reach for the clouds, it needs a very strong foundation. Once the building is complete, the foundation is virtually unseen. The same goes for our financial strategies. Following are the basics of a strong financial foundation:   Budget – Governments and businesses use budgets to

Read More...

Financial Strategies for the ‘University Years’

Many parents wrestle with the dilemma of how much financial support to provide their children attending post-secondary programs. The costs today are much greater than what the parents paid for similar schooling some thirty or more years ago.   Tuition costs alone have risen at least tenfold since the 1970’s

Read More...

Starting Out on the Right Track

A wedding day can be a springboard into many new and exciting adventures. With all the excitement leading up to the big day, the new couple routinely focuses so much energy on planning the event that they seldom spend any time discussing other important life issues – like developing a

Read More...

As The World Improves

If your way of assessing the state of the world is only through stories gleaned from the regular media, then you are likely missing out on all the marvelous and wondrous advancements of human society over the previous years and decades.   With news reports during the final months of

Read More...

How to Achieve Financial Success

It is possible for just about everybody to achieve financial success. Getting there is usually not a matter of financial wizardry. By following some basic principles, you can make your financial dreams come true:   Set Objectives Goal setting is the foundation of achieving financial success. If you don’t have

Read More...

Putting You in the Picture

It is that time of year again when news broadcasters turn our thoughts to the how the world and the investment markets may run into trouble. There are special reports stating that markets are at record levels, interest rates are rising, Trump, Trump and more Trump, trade deals, China, the

Read More...

Financial Action Plan for Newlyweds

John and Jane had spent many months planning for their special day. They had also budgeted and spent many thousands of dollars to celebrate their wedding. Now what?   Since John and Jane have made a for richer or poorer commitment to each other, it’s time to do something about

Read More...

Daily Choices of Financial Freedom

Most people want financial freedom over financial servitude. Who doesn’t want to be financially independent, where their money is working for them rather than working for their money? The problem for most Canadians is that financial freedom can be a struggle of living paycheck-to-paycheck or where spending tends to win

Read More...

Avoid Financial Failure: Set Goals

Recent studies have shown that as many as 60% of Canadians will not have saved enough money in order to adequately provide for their retirement.1 The problem for most people is not that they plan to fail, they simply failed to plan, adequately. And, while many may have been conscientiously

Read More...

De-Dollarization and You – Part 1

There are many different types of global economic risks that financial advisors take into account when preparing a financial action plan for their clients. This is where advice and judgment come into play when working with you as a client. One area that is gaining increasing prominence is the role

Read More...

Are You Wearing Your Wealth?

We are being misled – seriously misled. No matter where you look, we are expected to believe that by buying lots of expensive, luxurious items, it signifies that we are wealthy. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s really just cash flow.   Television and movies portray people that

Read More...

Procrastination – Your Financial Dream Killer

Despite what many people think, the number one financial dream killer isn’t portfolio losses, or financial emergencies, or unemployment, and not even natural disasters. The number one reason people fail to reach their financial goals is procrastination – putting off the inevitable until the cost of your dreams or goals

Read More...

Four Financial Promises to Keep

We’ve had a few weeks to make and break our New Year’s resolutions. Now is a good time to make some promises to give your finances an extra boost in 2018 and help see you better off by year-end.   1. Promise to make the biggest RRSP contribution you can.

Read More...

How’s Your Net Worth?

His banker asked Trent what his net worth was for a loan he was applying for. He had trouble answering the question right away.   What is Net Worth? Quite simply, net worth is the difference between what you own and what you owe. But true net worth may not

Read More...

Era of Rising Interest Rates

The recent increases in the Bank of Canada and Federal Reserve prime rate in the past few months signal the end of historically low interest rates. According to a Bank of England study released in early 2016, current low interest rates are the lowest in 5000 years of recorded history*!

Read More...

Saving Up For The Adolescent Years

Have you considered putting aside extra funds for the teenage years?   If you have not thought about this, then you may want to if you have a child that is quickly headed towards the adolescent years. This can be a turbulent time, not just with the emotion and drama

Read More...

Back to Basics

What problems does the financial industry solve for Canadian consumers? Where is the value added for interacting with the financial industry and why use an Advisor versus doing it yourself online?   To address these questions, here is a refresher on why the financial industry exists in the first place.

Read More...

Remember Me!

With spring just around the corner, many Canadians have young people in their lives who are graduating from university, professional schools or community colleges. When the excitement of Commencement wears off, they are faced with the challenge of finding their first full-time paid jobs.   The following are a couple

Read More...

It Doesn’t Pay to Procrastinate

Many people have no idea. Some people have a vague idea. A few people, a very few, have it all worked out. When it comes to retirement planning, many people do not take action until forced to by a mid-life event (career change, death of loved one) or by hearing

Read More...

‘Just-In-Time’ Living

Multiple media reports note that almost 50% of Canadians have no emergency savings and are unable to cover the cost of an unexpected expense of $500 – $1000, let alone deal with an unexpected job loss. Other reports from credit agencies such as Equifax state that even a 0.25% increase

Read More...

Saving for a Financial Emergency

It is next to impossible to know when you might be impacted by a financial emergency; therefore, it is important to be prepared for something unforeseen in the future. Most people have heard the saying about saving money for a “rainy day”. With the right forward planning, there is a

Read More...

The Predicament of Sudden Wealth

Imagine one of the following scenarios. Suppose you have suddenly come into a significant sum of money. For the interest of this example, we will imagine that it is one million dollars. This might have come to you by way of a lottery win, an estate inherited after the death

Read More...

The Question That Is Rarely Asked

After speaking with many clients and potential clients over the years, a pattern emerges in the direction that the interview takes. There is often a sense of give and take with the client wanting to get certain questions answered in their mind, giving out small bits of information, but withholding

Read More...

Assessing Your Debt

Many consumers find themselves falling into the traps offered by the appeal of easy credit opportunities. They are dazzled by payment plans for tech purchases, zero-percent loans on major purchases, credit card-funded vacations to faraway locations, and blowout sales that tout incredibly long delays before any payments are due. Before

Read More...

Money Saving Mortgage Strategies

Mortgages today are not like they were when our parents or grandparents bought their homes. As most of us don’t have the cash to buy a home outright, we need to borrow from a lender. There are a number of strategies you can use to get the best deal, pay

Read More...

Consumer Impact of Low Interest Rates

While the Bank of Canada publicly muses about adopting negative interest rates on Government Bonds as a policy tool to stimulate economic growth, the Bank of Japan recently cut its benchmark interest rate below zero, joining several others including the European Central Bank in the negative interest rate club. According

Read More...

Financial Plans and Marriage Breakdown

Statistics show that about half of marriages end in divorce. Ed and Liz are ending theirs and are concerned about changes that will have to be made to their financial and estate plans. Some considerations, also in common-law relationships, are:   Life Insurance – The first thing that needs to

Read More...

Millennial Money Mistakes

Investors who start saving at a young age automatically have one of the most powerful assets on their side: Time. To get ahead financially, young adults should beware of some of the most common pitfalls discussed below that can all too easily sabotage a financial success strategy.   Not Taking

Read More...

The Either / Or Financial Decision

When it comes to making financial decisions most people focus on eitheror scenarios; that is making a tactical decision that may or may not reflect a larger financial strategy or wealth accumulation context.   We often see these types of isolated, one-off decision choices in media articles that pose dilemmas

Read More...

Getting Serious About Savings & Investing

We are now well into 2015 and your New Year’s Resolution to do a better job of managing your money are already being forgotten. As the late Sir John Templeton famously stated, the best time to invest is when you have money! The challenge for many people, with many middle-class

Read More...

Basics For a Wise Financial Strategy

Before a sky scraper can reach for the clouds, it needs a very strong foundation. Once the building is complete, the foundation is virtually unseen. The same goes for our financial strategies. Following are the basics of a strong financial foundation:   Budget – Governments and businesses use budgets to

Read More...

Financial Strategies for the ‘University Years’

Many parents wrestle with the dilemma of how much financial support to provide their children attending post-secondary programs. The costs today are much greater than what the parents paid for similar schooling some thirty or more years ago.   Tuition costs alone have risen at least tenfold since the 1970’s

Read More...