By Anne Marie Thomas

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

If you install winter tires and live in Ontario, you’re in for some savings next time you renew your car insurance policy or shop around for coverage.

Ontario recently announced that auto insurers must offer drivers who change their tires seasonally a Winter Tire discount come January 1, 2016. To qualify for the discount, you typically have to install a set of four winter tires (with the three-peak mountain snowflake logo) and have the tires on your vehicle between November and April.

The Winter Tire discount, however, is not new. Many insurance providers already offer the discount to policyholders who usually end up saving around 5 per cent off their premiums. The companies that did not offer the discount in the past, must now do so to the benefit of their policyholders who swap out their all-season tires for winter wheels.

This isn’t the first discount to be made mandatory in Ontario. A while back (about 15 to 20 years ago) insurers were required to offer a Retiree discount too. Aside from these two mandated discounts, there are many others that can help you lower your premiums.

Although discounts vary by insurance provider (and sometimes province) they’re a great way for drivers to keep their auto insurance rates in check, but sometimes it’s simply a matter of knowing about them.

Multi-line discount

Probably the most well-known discount is the Multi-line discount. Continue Reading…

By David Rotfleisch

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Want to pay less tax? The year-end brings with it legitimate, allowable opportunities for tax planning that can lower your taxes payable to CRA.

1.) Timing of Expenses

Taxpayers in business should accelerate expenses to make purchases that can be deducted this year rather than waiting for 2016. Employees are entitled to write off depreciation on cars, planes, and musical instruments. Tradespersons and apprentices are permitted to deduct the cost of their tools up to a prescribed limit. Individuals planning on purchases should do so late in the year, to enjoy the benefit of depreciation claims this year.

Plan to purchase any capital property before the tax year-end to be able to claim CRA deductions (at 50% of full rate) this year. Furthermore, until Dec 31, all manufacturing and processing (M&P) equipment qualifies for a 50% straight line depreciation rate which allows for faster write off then the normal declining balance that will kick in on Jan 1.

2.) RRSPs

RRSPs are a key tool for tax planning and allow Canadians to receive a deduction for the amount contributed, while also allowing the capital to accumulate tax-free until retirement. Continue Reading…

By Randy Cass

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Let’s start with a question: what is good investing?

I define good investing as a means to an end. You figure out your current financial situation, look at your life goals, think about your time horizon and ability to tolerate risk and then you create a solution that fits you specifically.

With this definition in mind, let’s look at three myths about good investing.

Myth #1: Only the rich can afford good financial advice.

 The good news is that it’s now possible for the average Canadian investor to get the type of service that used to only be available to people with millions of dollars. The combination of smarter technology and low-cost products, such as ETFs alongside with new companies like Nest Wealth – who advocate that every investor deserves a high level of service, not just those with millions of dollars – means we’re well on our way to solving this problem.

Continue Reading…

By Adrian Mastracci, KCM Wealth

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

“Each of us has a distinct investment personality. Hopefully, it resembles our comfortable tolerance for risk. Especially during market jitters like today.”

One of the significant guidelines that I use in designing investment portfolios is the client’s investment personality.

Let’s understand those personalities, also known as investor profiles, by summarizing the six I have adopted.

1.) Preservation

These are investors with virtually no tolerance for unpredictability in annual returns. They generally invest in guaranteed interest vehicles, which are stable investments having predictable income and no fluctuation in capital value. Typical asset mix is 20% in stock investments.

2.)  Income

Investors with low tolerance for variation in annual returns. These investors usually desire stability with fairly predictable growth and relatively little fluctuation in capital value. Typical asset mix is 40% in stock investments.

3.)  Balanced

Continue Reading…

The latest FWB TV video has been posted at FWBSecurities.com and Findependence.TV. It’s entitled What are ETFs and why are they so popular?

It’s a three-minute primer on ETFs (Exchange-traded funds), featuring Hector McNeil of WisdomTree Europe. He says ETFs are growing exponentially and while they are currently just 12% of the mutual fund industry at just under US$3 trillion it won’t be long before they pass the US$10 trillion mark and gather assets that will be between 30% and 50% of the mutual fund industry.

That said, he issues three caveats: that you shouldn’t assume all ETFs are low-cost, and you still need to consider the issues of diversification and trading costs.

Here’s what Financial Wealth Builders president Paul Philip says about the segment: “I have heard many people confuse Index Funds with ETFs but they are not the same thing at all. Some think they are a one-size-fits-all solution but they are definitely not that. At the end of the day, it can still be active management, which has inherent risks and costs associated with it.”