The holiday season is a time for connection and giving, but it can also be costly. According to PwC Canada’s 2019 Holiday Outlook report1, Canadians spent an average of $1593 on holiday shopping last year. As this year’s present buying season begins, here are some helpful tips that could help

Money has long been the number one stressor for many Canadians, and there’s no doubt that COVID has magnified this reality. It has upended jobs, security, health and financial stability for people across the country. Millions of Canadians are struggling to cover their bills. In March of 2020, 49% of

Buying a house is usually the most significant investment decision anyone ever makes. Owning a house also tends to have an outsized impact on a person’s overall financial strategy during their lifetime. Buying wisely and choosing the right debt strategy can get you mortgage-free faster. By just following a few

A job change is no longer just about higher pay or a better title. It can also be about achieving a healthier life balance or simply trying something new. In many cases, a new job includes relocating to a new community. A new opportunity can be very exciting, but even

The term ’empty nest’ evokes different feelings for everyone. It may have happened way too fast or maybe it took far too long, but with all your children almost grown and out of the house, a new phase of your life is about to begin. As with every stage of

When pondering the financial impacts of the Covid-19 quarantine and the resulting global economic shutdown, it helps to visualize dropping a pebble in a pool of water. As any child knows, the ripples start moving away from the point of impact until they disappear across the pond and finally dissipate,

The fastest market correction in history, that started in the last week of February and bottomed in late March, led to the fastest bounce back over a five-week period, since about 1987 1. However, at the time of this writing, most of the major market indexes are still below their

Much of what we do today is to improve our future financial position. As with anything, we can get better results by following a plan. This is why both an Estate Plan and a Financial Strategy are important for those who want to ensure better tomorrows for ourselves and our

Over the past several weeks, provinces across Canada have relaxed social distancing rules and begun the process of “re-opening” for business. Looking back over the past three months, while there have been many moments of stress and anxiety, there have also been moments to be thankful. What is there to

If you were going to recommend a treatment plan for a loved one suffering with alcoholism, would you prescribe more alcohol as the best course of action to help them to recover or otherwise improve? Now put this question aside for the moment.   Let us look at the personal

A fire breaks out in a movie theatre. You’re there with your spouse and children, as are several local merchants. Who do you save first? The butcher? The banker? The hardware store owner? Their families? Or your family and yourself?   A ridiculous question. Of course you would save your

Clients often call when markets are looking a bit shaky, or newspaper articles are predicting the next market correction, recession, bubble, etc.   The challenge with reacting to such events or news is that the external circumstances rarely have anything to do with your specific situation and plan. Your mission,

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

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

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

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

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

The use of debt in your financial affairs is akin to a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is very useful to assist you in buying and owning assets using “other people’s money (OPM)” such as a home or other financial asset. On the other hand, it can be

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

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