Our financial world is ever-changing and my goal is to provide insight to Canadians of all ages on topics that I believe to be important for financial literacy
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Latest Articles
Improve Your Life By Spending With Intention
One of the most powerful financial concepts has nothing to do with stock picking, market timing, or complex strategies. It’s simply understanding what today’s spending could become if it were invested and allowed to compound and grow over time. This isn’t about guilt or deprivation, it’s about awareness and intentionality. You should choose to spend money on things that truly improve your own life, while minimizing spending on things that don’t.…
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Guiding Through Life’s Transitions: Announcing My CFDS Designation
Divorce is one of life’s most difficult transitions — emotionally, personally, and financially. Having guided families through life’s many milestones, I’ve often seen how uncertainty about the financial impact of separation can add an extra layer of stress during an already challenging time. That’s why I’m proud to share that I’ve earned the Chartered Financial Divorce Specialist (CFDS) designation through the Academy of Financial Divorce Specialists…
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Your Role as a River Keeper : Responsible Stewardship of Your Family’s Wealth
How do you think of your wealth? Do you see it as a dollar value on a screen or something alive and evolving over time.…
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From Panic to Euphoria : Where Are You On the Investing Roller Coaster of Emotions?
Markets are once again flirting with all-time highs. For some investors, it feels like the thrilling climb of a roller coaster. For others—especially those still recovering from recent dips—it feels like that slow, anxiety-inducing ascent before the next big drop.…
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Finding Calm in Market Storms : The Power of Shinrin-Yoku
When market volatility leaves you feeling anxious, it might be time to step away from the screens and into the trees. The Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, or “forest bathing,” is a simple yet powerful way to destress and reset your mind.…
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What Just Happened? Breaking Down The Last Week.
Markets took a hit after President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements on April 2. The S&P 500 dropped more than 10% over two days, wiping out over $5 trillion in market value.…
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Strategies for Canadians Amid U.S. Tariff Changes
Another week, another round of tariff talk between the U.S. and its trading partners. If you’re wondering what that actually means for your wallet, your car, or your job—let’s break it down.…
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Market Bubbles : Why We Get Caught Up and How to Stay Smart
Ever heard the saying, “What goes up must come down”? That’s exactly what happens in market bubbles. Prices of stocks or other investments skyrocket, everyone rushes to buy, and then—boom—the bubble bursts, and prices crash. The tricky part? People rarely see it coming. But what is a bubble, and why do they happen?…
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Are You Living Too Frugally?
Many people assume that financial security is purely about numbers—having a stable income, a well-funded retirement plan, and an emergency cushion. But in reality, financial well-being is just as much about mindset as it is about money.…
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Uncertainty Around Proposed Capital Gains Tax Changes in Canada
Earlier in 2024, the Liberal government proposed significant changes to Canada’s capital gains tax rules. The plan aimed to increase the capital gains inclusion rate from 50% to 66.67% for corporations and trusts and introduce a higher inclusion rate for individuals on annual capital gains exceeding $250,000.…
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Riding Market Waves : A Surfer’s Guide to Investing
Investing is like surfing. You don’t control the waves, but you can position yourself to catch them. Patience, preparation, and staying calm in turbulent waters are essential. It’s also about understanding that waves come in cycles, and missing one doesn’t mean you’ve missed your chance entirely.…
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Raising Financially Literate Children: A Lifelong Journey
As parents, one of our most impactful roles is preparing our children for the realities of adulthood, and financial literacy is a cornerstone of that preparation.…
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Exploring Alternatives to Income Tax : Paths to a More Modern, Balanced, and Equitable Tax System in Canada
Income Tax has become a staple of modern society, with the proceeds helping to fund essential services and infrastructure. Its roots stretch back centuries but, in Canada’s case, it was only implemented in 1917 as a temporary wartime initiative.…
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Turning Dreams into Reality
From buying a vacation home to retiring abroad, your dreams start with the creation of a solid plan. A well-crafted financial plan not only sets clear goals but also creates actionable savings, investment, and tax strategies to help you reach them.…
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The Hidden Pitfalls of Estate Planning & Things to Keep in Mind If You are Named as an Executor
Surprisingly, a 2022 report from the National Institute on Aging revealed that only 48% of Canadians have a will. So, in other words, more than half of all Canadians would prefer to have the government allocate their financial assets and heirlooms to their heirs.…
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![Don’t Believe the [Negative] Hype](https://financerx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/negative-thoughts-e1652181659956.png?w=600&h=450&crop=1)
Don’t Believe the [Negative] Hype
As humans, we have ancient mental traits that helped us survive a millennia ago but now these same traits often just get in the way.…
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![Spring 2022 : Hibernation Ends for the Bear [Market]](https://financerx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/custom_024d3118-1387-477b-97bc-ade46c6b3dba-e1655245276351.jpg?w=800&h=600&crop=1)
Spring 2022 : Hibernation Ends for the Bear [Market]
The S&P500 had a value of 4,796 on January 3, 2022, which marks the highest value achieved by this index. It took until June 13, or 161 days, for the bears to overtake the bulls and pull the market down over the -20% mark (or a value of 3,837).…
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High Inflation & the Argument for Delaying the Payment of “Good” Debt
Unless you have been living under a rock in 2022, you will have first-hand experience dealing with the level of inflation that is plaguing many developed nations. Canada’s inflation rate, currently 6.8% based on April’s metrics, is the highest level since January 1991.…
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Markets Take the Stairs Up & the Elevator Down
The S&P500 has declined for seven straight weeks, a streak not broken since the early 2000’s.…
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Staying Warm When the Market is Cold
These days it is not easy being a retail investor. No matter where you look there seems to be negative news everywhere but do not let short-term thinking cloud your long-term judgement.…
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“Let’s Wait to Invest”
This comment comes up sometimes when I discuss a client’s cash reserves that are not flagged for something specific in the short-term.…
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Always Have a Plan but Plan for Change Too
Our lives are rarely static for long periods of time. Change can occur due to outside forces that we can not control or it can occur from a direct choice that we have made so if you continually expect change to occur frequently in your life then it will be less surprising when it occurs.…
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Who Will You Choose to Have in Your Corner?
Choosing the correct key people in your life is a big decision and is one that you should not take lightly. I’m talking about the person (or persons) that will make sure that your affairs continue to remain in order in the event of incapacitation and thereafter.…
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Are Your Beneficiaries Per Stirpes or Per Capita?
The creation of an efficient estate plan requires some thought and should be reviewed approximately every five years to ensure that no changes need to be made. I’ve found that most clients did not know that there are two different options when it comes to how estate assets and registered accounts are dispersed, Per Stirpes and Per Capita.…
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Adding Adult Children to Real Estate
It is very common for people to believe that they are making the best decision by adding their children as joint owners onto their real estate to potentially save some money and help streamline their estate.…
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Does That Asset Pass Through a Will?
Part 1 of my Estate Planning series will go over the types of assets that pass through a Will and which assets do not have to pass through a Will.…
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Will War Result in Trouble for your Investments?
Many of us are glued to the headlines that are being released regarding the Russian invasion on Ukraine, which started on Thursday, February 24. The world has seen many battles, wars, and occupations but this invasion seems to hit us all closer to home.…
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Slam the Scam : Protecting Yourself Against Online Fraud
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, a total of 67,000 Canadians were victims of fraud in 2021 and collectively lost around $380 million.…
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Are You Ready for the Next Wave of Retirement, and I Don’t Mean Your Own…
The Baby Boomer generation, classified as anyone born between 1946 and 1964, will be as old as 76 and as young as 58 years old in 2022. According to Statistics Canada, about 5,000 baby boomers are retiring every week and this is going to mean big changes for Canada’s labour market but what does this mean for the key professionals in your life?…
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Will High Inflation Lead to a Real Estate Crash?
After a decade in different banking careers, I’ve heard many stories from older clients that lived through a long forgotten time of high inflation and high interest rates in Canada. Everyone seems to remember a story of someone that could not afford their mortgage payments, which resulted in them leaving their keys under the doormat…
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It’s Time-In, Not Timing.
The year has just started and Mr. Market did not take long to remind us about the level of volatility that we should expect when it comes to investing in the great companies of the world.…
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Are You Smarter Than a Hedge Fund Manager?
We are living through a period of time that there is unfathomable amounts of data at our fingertips and most people in the western world have instant access to this data through a computer or a smart phone. This data can be incredible helpful in certain areas of our lives but it also can hinder.…
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New Year Checklist
As the calendar flips over another year, it should signify a time to do a quick financial & estate check.…
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Deferring Property Tax in British Columbia
During the Christmas break, every homeowner across BC would have received their new property assessment for 2022. Everyone that I have spoken with is awestruck by the enormous gains that they have experienced (on paper), which will only increase their upcoming property tax bill in July.…
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The Grass isn’t Greener
We see it all the time . . . people’s lives through the lens of Instagram or other social media platforms and we believe that it is a direct view of their lives.…
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Forecasts & Fortune Tellers
With the end of the year fast approaching every analyst, research, and investment firm is rushing to get their 2022 Outlooks into the hands of advisors and investors.…
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Is Your Wallet Shrinking?
If you have watched or read the news lately then you will have heard about the “unprecedented” inflation as of late and I wanted to break this down a little.…
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Investing & the Game of Pool
When it comes to discussing retirement with clients I always like to utilize real world examples. One example that came to mind recently is how investing in retirement is like a game of pool.…
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The Bank of Mom & Dad : Open For Business?
Housing affordability in Canada is always a debated topic. On…
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It’s Not a Matter of If, It’s When…
We are getting closer to the end of 2021 and the S&P500 index has put on an impressive year-to-date run of about 25%.…
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Don’t Be An Ostrich
It’s actually a fallacy that ostrich’s bury their head in the ground but have you ever had a problem in your life that you try to avoid at all costs so you just choose to ignore it?…
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Fall Back to your Budget
This past Sunday marked the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST) so everyone’s clock reverted by one hour and you got an extra hour of sleep. It’s funny that we are even still participating in this semi-annual chaos on our internal body clock.…
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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like …. End of Year Planning
Well, it is officially November, which means that the weather is changing and you are probably thinking about travelling to a beach somewhere. November also means that you should start to think about things that need to be completed before the year is over or early next year.…
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The Invisible Thief
We’re all living longer and we can thank technology, medical, and public health advancements but are you ready for it?…
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R.E.S.P
No, I’m not starting to sing Aretha Franklin’s hit song, RESPECT, but I have to admit, even as a financial planning professional, RESPs are one of the most confusing investment products in Canada.…
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There’s No Place Like Home
This is how a lot of Canadians think when it comes to their investment portfolios, even if it is complete instinct.…
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Let’s Play a Game
You have two choices, I’ll give you $1,000,000 today or I’ll give you a magic penny that doubles in value every day for one month.…
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CPP / OAS : To Delay or Not to Delay – That is the Question
The Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) is one of the retirement income cornerstones for many Canadians.…
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Bank Fees & Why You Should Care
The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) released a new report titled, “Focus: Banks and Consumers,” on September 7, 2021 that advised a greater proportion of Canadians are paying less (or nothing) in bank account service fees than ever before.…
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