All posts by Jonathan Chevreau

Is the Retirement grass greener in the United States or Canada?

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Depositphotos_40901151_xsBy Jonathan Chevreau

The Financial Independence Hub attempts to be a North American portal running content that may interest readers on either side of the 49th parallel.

This isn’t always easy; sometimes we run blogs from people like Roger Wohlner, The Chicago Financial Planner and perforce the content (like this blog he adapted for the Hub) will be mostly US-specific: touching on topics like IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth IRAs and all the rest of it.

By the same token, our Canadian contributors often write about things like the TFSA or Tax Free Savings Account, which is the equivalent of America’s Roth IRAs and variants of same.

As fate would have it, the Financial Post (my former employer until 2012), asked me to contribute an article comparing the tax and retirement systems of the two countries. You can find it here under the headline Canada vs. the US: Whose Retirement grass is greener?

Findependence is legitimate cross-border topic

I was happy to take the assignment because I’ve been grappling with US/Canadian tax and retirement issues ever since I wrote the book that spawned this and other web sites. The original edition of my 2008 financial novel, Findependence Day, was meant to be a transborder financial love story, covering the tax and retirement topics of both countries through the eyes of characters residing in both countries.

My feeling was then and remains that when you get right down to it, the main lessons of Financial Independence are pretty similar in the two countries. Continue Reading…

The Growing Power of the TFSA

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Canadian Tax-Free Savings Account concept word cloud

By Jonathan Chevreau

The Financial Post has just published an online version of my piece, entitled The Rising Power of the TFSA. Are RRSPs even relevant any more? Click on the link to read the full article.

In a nutshell, of course RRSPs are still relevant for most of us, and we’d hate to discourage people from topping up their RRSPs before the imminent Mar. 2nd deadline this year. My point really is that while there are certain people who should not RRSP if they have only enough money to fund a Tax-Free Saving Account, it’s not quite the same in reverse.

I really can’t think of a reason why anyone age 18 or over, anyone approaching advanced old age, and the rest of us between those extremes, shouldn’t max out their TFSAs. It’s the gift that keeps on giving — tax-free income, that is. (An aside for any American readers: Canada’s TFSA is the equivalent of the Roth IRA).

patmckeoughWe have run several pieces on TFSAs here at the Hub, the most recent one being a joint collaboration between myself and TSI Network.ca’s Patrick McKeough. (TSI is one of his flagship newsletters, The Successful Investor).

In the piece 5 low-risk investments for your TFSA, Continue Reading…

Long term care options for seniors: How much will you pay?

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SherylSmolkin
Sheryl Smolkin (SherylSmolkin.com)

By Sheryl Smolkin,

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Whether you are considering a move to an assisted living facility for yourself or an elderly member of the family, the options available and how much they cost may come as a surprise to you.

The rules vary considerably across Canada, but a series of informative bulletin from Sun Life Financial covering each province and territory describe the three main alternatives, how much they cost and the level of government subsidy, if any. In this blog I refer to the situation in Ontario, because that’s where I live. Generally care for seniors can take place in one of three settings:

  • At home
  • Retirement homes
  • Nursing homes

Home care

Continue Reading…

Three views of Putin’s Russia: one fiction, two reality

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9780374533106_day-of-the-oprichnikBy Jonathan Chevreau

Day of the Oprichnik is a futuristic Russian novel has little to do with Financial Independence but with that disclosed, let me add that I think investors need to keep a close eye on what remains the United States’ biggest nuclear rival.

This week’s issue of The Economist is a good place to start, with a cover story on Vladimir Putin:  Putin’s War on the West, as well as this in-depth feature on What Russia Wants.

As we noted in an earlier Hub review of a trio of books on Putin’s Russia, when you add in the geopolitics of plunging oil prices and the perpetual skirmishes with the Chetchens  and the escalating brinkmanship in the Ukraine, it might be useful for investors to keep tabs on this rogue Capitalist state.

As so often is the case, art sometimes imitates life and sometimes anticipates it. Day of the Oprichnik was published nine years ago and is looking more and more prescient. Vladimir Sorokin, born in 1955, is a prize-winning novelist based in Moscow and also wrote The Ice Trilogy. Day of the Oprichnik was published in Russia in 2006 and the first American translation was only in 2012.

Below, we also look at two more recent non-fiction books on Putin’s Russia: 2013’s Fragile Kingdom and the just-published (2015) Red Notice.

Destined for Silver Screen?

But first, back to the novel. To sum it up in a sentence, I’d say Day of the Oprichnik is a combination of A Clockwork Orange and Fahrenheit 401, Continue Reading…

Weekly wrap: Valentines tips, money stress for couples and why budgets are “stupid”

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Photo J. Chevreau

If you’re looking for last-minute Valentines shopping ideas that can save money to boot, check out this blog from financial blogger Tom Drake.

You can find more on the same theme here at Financial Highway, where the writer goes beyond the beaten path with his suggestion of writing a love letter. Or a “personal gift card” providing various future services to be rendered. (around the house, of course!)

Try the Everything Store

If you’re really stuck for ideas, try Amazon.com, which has set up a whole page of Valentine gift suggestions, including an Amazon gift card.

 Financial Tips for Couples Continue Reading…