Recent Articles

On May 25, 2009 Finance Canada announced some proposed changes to how Canada Pension Plan will work.   If approved, the changes will take effect over a period of time from 2011 to 2016, so they will affect anyone planning to retire after 2010.   Below is a brief summary …

More Overlooked RRSP Tricks

More than 65% of Canadians have made deposits to Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). Many do so just for the tax savings, but here are some often overlooked tricks you should be aware of:   RRSP loans – Those who use investment funds for their RRSPs should be well aware …

Ralph and Louise have seen the TV commercials featuring Gordon Pape, the financial author, as the spokesman for Canadian Home Income Plan Corp. (CHIP) reverse mortgages. They were wondering if it would be a good way to go to help ease their current financial situation.   A reverse mortgage is …

Cooler heads will prevail

The newspaper headlines read: ‘Roller coaster stock markets have investors feeling queasy’ (The Globe and Mail; ‘The stock market crash: History repeating itself?’ (The Calgary Herald); ‘Uncertainty continues to pummel stock markets’ (Sudbury Star); ‘The next market boom may be a lifetime away’ (Financial Times). Interestingly enough, these headlines are …

Great Depression 2.0?

It’s been a long and volatile quarter in the financial world. Markets are taking most investors on a wild and sometimes frightening ride, the news about corporate failures and bailouts is confusing and the economic news is almost certainly disheartening.   As some in the media eagerly seek to assign …

A great new opportunity

The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) was introduced in the February 2008 Federal Budget and will be available January 1, 2009. It is touted by the Government of Canada as ‘the single most important personal savings vehicle since the introduction of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)’ in 1957. As always, …