Personal Finance in the News – January 2022: Welcome to Money News – January 2022, and Happy New Year! This month we look at a variety of personal finance related stories, including increasing CPP (Canada Pension Plan) premiums, tax changes for 2022, new BC real estate assessment data, skipping home inspections, and CEBA (Canada Emergency Business Account) loan extensions. Read:…
Tag: tax
Welcome to tags! Here you will find all the relevant blog posts and content tagged with or discussing the term “tax”.
How do I Beat Inflation?
How do I beat inflation? Everyone wants to know these days, with the quickly increasing costs of food, energy, rent, used cars, and consumer goods front and centre in our minds. Add on weather-related disasters, supply chain disruptions, and record money printing and deficit spending by governments, and inflationary pressures look downright scary. Since the middle of 2020, living costs…
Money News – November 2021
Personal Finance in the News – November 2021: Welcome to Money News – November 2021! This month we look at rising inflation, its impact on taxes, and further extensions to Canada’s Covid benefits. Read and Watch: Inflation continues to run hot in the US and Canada, where the rates of inflation have hit 6.2% and 4.7% respectively. This is the…
Money News – August 2021
Personal Finance in the News – August 2021: Welcome to Money News – August 2021! Noteworthy news this month includes an overview of how each political party plans to address housing affordability if elected. Plus articles on zero cost trading commissions coming to Canada, and the stock market experiencing its fastest rally ever. Read: Canada’s elections are in full swing,…
Money News – July 2021
Personal Finance in the News – July 2021: Welcome to Money News – July 2021! Noteworthy news this month includes record low variable mortgage rates, tax efficient giving to adult children, and Canada’s expanded workers benefits. Read: Just when you thought mortgage rates couldn’t get any lower, they go ahead and do just that. Earlier this month, Ratehub.ca reported the…
Money News – April 2021
Personal Finance in the News – April 2021: Welcome to Money News – April 2021! I have three noteworthy news topics for you this month. We’ll cover Canada’s new taxes, inflation, and the upcoming April 2021 tax deadline. Read: The Federal Government has released its first budget in two years. This budget proposes a host of new taxes. Jamie…
Money News – December 2020
Personal Finance in the News – December 2020: Welcome to Money News – December 2020! I have four noteworthy topics for you this month. Read: The era of low interest rates and high real estate prices continues. This month, HSBC offered a mortgage rate below 1%. This is a first in Canada, and a record low. Though rates could still…
Annual Financial Review and Goal Setting
As the year draws to a close, I have started my annual financial review and goal setting process for the year ahead. This is an important step in any financial planning. For me, the exercise helps me determine where my family’s finances stand and if adjustments are needed. It also gives me a clear picture of our current accounts and…
Money News – November 2020
Personal Finance in the News – November 2020: Welcome to Money News – November 2020! I have five noteworthy topics for you this month. Read & Watch: Not all is doom and gloom out there in this Coronavirus pandemic. Canadians are sitting on a record $90 billion in cash according to this BNN-Bloomberg article. The Household Savings Rate has also…
Make the Most of Your Investments
Introduction How do you make the most of your investments? Once you’ve mastered the basics, this is the next big question. In my experience, there are four main areas to consider to maximize your investments. This is true regardless of whether you’re a DIY investor or working with a financial advisor. In this article, we’ll take a look at all…
Writing a Will
Writing a will can be overwhelming, but it is an important foundation of good financial planning. In this article, we’ll take a look at why it is so important, how to get started, and what to consider when writing it. What is a will? A “last will and testament” is a legal document that explains how to divide your assets…
Money News – July 2020
Personal Finance in the News – July 2020: Here’s a summary of Money News – July 2020: Read & Watch: Last month I wrote about a nationwide coin shortage in America. Turns out the Americans are not alone! Here at home, there is a shortage of $50 bills as Canadians hoard them. This may not be a bad thing though…
Investing for Beginners
Intro Investing is a broad and far-reaching topic, and one that can be completely overwhelming for beginners. Over the years, I’ve had so many friends and family members ask me how to get started. In this piece, I’ll try to break it down for you, and share the steps that I went through myself. What follows is a summary of…
Money News – May 2020
Personal Finance in the News – May 2020: Here is a summary of May 2020’s Money News. This time around, topics that grabbed my attention included mortgage deferrals, COVID-19 scams, and changes in consumer behaviour. Read & Watch: Canadians are falling victim to a variety of new COVID-19 scams. These articles by BNN-Bloomberg, CBC, and Richmond News detail the common…
How to Live on Less
Are you wondering how to live on less? A lot of people are these days. COVID-19 has resulted in record unemployment claims, and the economy is facing an ugly recession. Whether you’ve lost your job, had your hours reduced, or are just uncertain regarding your future finances, it never hurts to think about how to live on less. Below are…
Money News – March 2020
Personal Finance in the News – March 2020: March 2020’s Money News is here! As the global health crisis goes from bad to worse, the economic costs are piling up and spilling over into significant financial hardship. Read: The US and Canada have reported their largest weekly initial unemployment claims ever at 3,280,000 and 929,000 respectively. For perspective, the previous…
Money News – February 2020
Personal Finance in the News – February 2020: February’s Money News has been a rough month for financial markets as the COVID-19 virus continues to spread. Though this outbreak has understandably dominated headlines and may have widespread financial impacts, there were many other interesting personal finance stories this month: Read & Watch: These articles by the Globe and BNN discusses…
Money Saving Strategies
Money saving strategies are important, but it’s not always easy to know where to start. On top of that, in these days of information overload it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with complicated schemes that are tough to stick to long-term. As an easy antidote, to help jump-start any strategy, here’s a list of my favorite saving habits. These are simple…
Money News – January 2020
Personal Finance in the News – January 2020: Welcome to January’s Money News, and a brand-new decade! Here are a few personal finance focused news articles that grabbed my attention this January: Read: In this article, Jamie Golombek at the Financial Post explains how the CRA has redesigned the T1 Personal Income Tax form for the coming tax year. Are…
Seven Financial Rules I Live By
Personal finance can be complicated. For me, I’ve found that simplicity serves me best. Here are some of the basic financial rules I use with my money: 1. Budget & Track Your Spending No matter what your finances are like today, they’ll probably be better if you start tracking spending each month and building a budget. This will let you…