All posts by Financial Independence Hub

Pokemon Go/Augmented Reality revolutionizing small business marketing

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | August 6, 2016

By Kollin Lore, Hub Staff

We are entering a new era in technology with Pokemon Go kick-starting the permeation of Augmented Reality. There are many sceptics who scoff at the mobile game, claiming it’s just a fad and Pokemon Go may very well be just that.

However, the bigger picture, what matters, is that Pokemon GO is the start of a revolution – augmented reality that is here to stay.

There is much discussion to be had regarding the mobile game, but one crucial and interesting point to raise is the effect it has on small businesses.

Down at a little known restaurant called Nova Ristorante in Scarborough, I noticed a big sign out front as I pulled in: “Rare Pokemon Inside!”

I was not aware at the time that there are many businesses across the country that are implementing the same tactic to draw in customers. Quite suddenly, a new strategy in small business marketing has risen, one that businesses, if you haven’t already, should strongly consider as this craze evolves.

How does it work?

Slap Shot: How pro athletes can (legally) “skate by” high tax rates

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | August 5, 2016

By Trevor R. Parry, M.A., LL.B,LL.M (Tax), TEP

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

For many Canadians, the state of our beloved national game reached a nadir when none of the seven NHL franchises qualified for last year’s playoffs. This wholesale failure has given rise to the over-analysis and questioning that only a nation of amateur general managers could produce.

What’s the armchair consensus about the source of Canada’s poor performance? Some would-be GMs decry economic maladies they believe are unique to the Canadian franchises, while others bemoan the current lacklustre state of the Canadian dollar — while still others point to punitive rates of taxation introduced by federal and provincial governments in recent years.

While the first two factors may be the likely cause in the delay in awarding an expansion franchise to Québec City — which, as a Habs fan, I am particularly distressed by as we await the return of our primordial enemy — the latter factor, whilst a reality, can largely be eliminated through recourse to a financial strategy that has now existed for fully 30 years.

Introducing the RCA

In 1986 the federal government amended the Income Tax Act to include the Retirement Compensation Arrangement rules. Better known as an “RCA,” this is the only structure available in Canada that allows supplemental retirement benefits to be funded on a tax-deductible basis. Continue Reading…

Investing is a Marathon, not a Sprint

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | August 4, 2016

By Fraser Willson

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The 2016 Summer Olympics is just getting under way in Rio de Janeiro. One of the most compelling events is the marathon, a 42-kilometre endurance contest with roots dating back to ancient Greece. It may be that we’ve kept our interest in the marathon because it can teach us much about life – and it certainly has lessons for investors.

In fact, if you were to compare investing to an Olympic sport, it would be much closer to a marathon than a sprint. Here’s why:

Long-term perspective

Sprinters are unquestionably great athletes, and they work hard to get better. Yet their events are over with quickly. But marathoners know they have a long way to go before their race is done, so they have to visualize the end point. And successful investors, too, know that investing is a long-term endeavor, and that they must picture their end results – such as a comfortable retirement – to keep themselves motivated.

Steady pacing

Financial planning for Retirement: uncertainty is certain

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | August 3, 2016

By Sandi Martin

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

If you’re planning for retirement and make the mistake of scrolling through any finance section in a slow news week, you have to ask yourself: what kind of questions are they asking to produce breathless headlines like these?

Half of Canadians don’t think they’ll be able to retire comfortably: poll
Many Canadians believe they will run out of money 10 years into retirement, poll finds
Retiring Canadians will see ‘steep decline in living standards’: CIBC

If a friendly pollster called you in the middle of dinner and asked “Have you saved enough for retirement?,” how would you answer if you were only given the choice between “yes,” “no,” and “I don’t know” and wanted to get off the phone and back to your family?

I doubt that the statisticians or infographic designers would be happy if “it depends on what you mean by ‘enough’” were added as a fourth option, but I’d bet a lot of money that it would be the single most frequent response if were presented as an option.

Leaving aside that most of these studies and polls are commissioned by banks and mutual fund shops whenever their managed asset levels get lower than they’d like, let’s talk about how silly it is to frame retirement planning around the concept of “enough,” as if “enough” was something we could universally, quantitatively measure.

What people mean when they talk about “having enough for retirement”

How to win a real estate bidding war

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | July 27, 2016

By Sheila O’Hearn, Zoocasa

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The real estate industry has a popular saying: “All’s fair in love, war and real estate.”

Nothing could be applied more significantly when it comes to today’s bidding wars on the home of your dreams. Like it or lump it, bidding wars show no signs of waning anytime soon.

Toronto real estate and Vancouver real estate exemplify two of the world’s most sizzling markets that are leading in bidding war trends. Statistics show that sales of existing homes rose by 8% in February, compared to the previous February, and the national average home-price climbed by 17 per cent.

In Toronto, the average price of a detached house capped $1.2-million in February 2016, and house prices rose 15.7 per cent in May 2016, compared to May of last year. In Vancouver, the average selling price of a single-detached home rose to $1.8-million in January, a 40 per cent increase from prices in 2015.

It’s a seller’s ideal market! As a potential buyer, arm yourself with these three pearls of wisdom: