Happy New Year! I hope you get to celebrate the coming of 2011 the way you want, with the friends and family you most want to be with.
Do your best to savour all of the good things that have happened, and all of the progress you have made toward your long-term goals. Make a list [...]

Merry Christmas.
There, I’ve said it.  Even put it in writing.
I have turned over a new mistletoe leaf
Being a culturally sensitive, liberated kind of guy, I stopped myself from publicly saying “Merry Christmas,” in the 1960s.  It probably stemmed from making that mistake when I was 10 with my next door neighbours, the Marrs. My mother [...]

This column is about life.
And, inevitably, about death.
In the near future, we will provide more valuable financial advice, but today, though, I have to talk about grief and celebration.
The financial planning advice here is to put your affairs in order, no matter what your current age, so that your wishes are carried out and taxes, [...]

I want you to pay less tax in 2010.  Let’s see if we can accomplish that goal.
Claim those deductions
Investment expenses such as interest on loans taken out to invest in a business or an income-producing investment are deductible from taxable income.  Fees paid to an investment counsel or investment custodian, rent on a safety [...]

Most people in Canada receive their financial advice and direction from financial advisors, planners, and investment salespeople who are compensated by some form of commission paid by product manufacturers.
“Manufacturers” are mutual fund companies, life insurance companies and banks, supported by a retail sales network of investment dealers.
In some cases, it is the investment dealer who [...]

In January, 2007, Ralph invested $90,000 into a mutual fund at his favourite bank.  In March, 2009, after the stock market correction, the fund was worth $63,453.
Ralph wasn’t worried, as he assumed (incorrectly) that he had $100,000 of deposit insurance guarantee on that money, and asked the bank for his $90,000 back.
I won’t say they [...]