Here is the dilemma – there are many Canadians who are going to be in financial trouble if they keep spending more than they are making, but if we all stop spending at once, the economy will fall into recession.
Consumer spending is absolutely necessary to keep Canada’s – and the world’s – economies growing and [...]

So, you have sat down to update your chosen vision for your future, you have distilled that vision down into specific goals for the coming year, and now it’s time to refine the specific steps needed to reach those goals and move toward that vision.
Using a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) may be one of [...]

What’s the most dangerous thing about the TFSA?
It has no contribution deadline.
What I mean is that if you miss this year’s contribution, there’s no problem. Your unused room simply carries forward to the next year. And so on, and so on…which can encourage people to be complacent about their saving programs and missing out on [...]

Happy New Year!
I hope you hear that phrase many times over the next few days.  It is a sincere hope that good health and good fortune will visit you this year.
However, it is also a reminder to go out and make it a great year, by choice. Dream big, set specific, measurable goals, develop a [...]

With yesterday being the shortest day of the year, why have all the days this week seemed so long?  It’s a busy time of the year.  Ironically, a person would hope to be slowing down and taking time to reflect as the year draws to a close.  That seems to get harder each year, don’t [...]

Once again, I am worrying about the financial future of Canadians.
I’m not referring to the European debt crises, the weakening world economies, the prospects for slow growth and the volatile stock markets. These are all very real sources of concern, but I’m thinking more of things that we can control.
Recently, study after study has shown [...]

Let’s reduce your taxes for 2011
As another tumultuous year draws to a close, let’s try to save you some tax money for 2011.
December 31 is the deadline for deductible business expenses, which mostly relates to commission salespeople and to business owners.  Corporate tax rates are going down in 2012, so it makes sense to accelerate [...]

Good news for Americans living in Canada
It appears that the IRS may have blinked, in the face of pressure from the Canadian government and the estimated 2 million American citizens living in Canada.
According to a Globe and Mail article published December 2, 2011, the American ambassador to Canada has said that the IRS will announce [...]

Two weeks after Conservative MP James Rajotte, chairman of the House of Commons Finance Committee, introduced a private member’s motion calling on the government to implement recommendations of its Financial Literacy Task Force, the government has done just that.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, the Hon. Jim Flaherty, introduced the Financial Literacy Leader Act, which [...]