Hub Blogs

Hub Blogs contains fresh contributions written by Financial Independence Hub staff or contributors that have not appeared elsewhere first, or have been modified or customized for the Hub by the original blogger. In contrast, Top Blogs shows links to the best external financial blogs around the world.

Moving from Accumulation to Decumulation can be traumatic!

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Depositphotos_43929901_xsGood MoneySense blog today by fee-for-service planner Jason Heath. In Scared to spend your retirement savings?, Heath touches on a theme I suspect many baby boomers are going through as they prepare for the transition from full-time work to semi-retirement and ultimately full retirement.

I can relate to the anguish expressed by the subject of the piece, a single man now 56 who hopes to retire by 62 after a three-year transition phase of part-time work.

After 30 to 40 years of working, saving and investing — much of it tax-driven behaviour based on RRSP/IRA contributions and contributing to employer pensions — there’s a real paradigm shift involved in moving from the “Wealth accumulation” mindset to the “Decumulation” one.

That’s why Continue Reading…

Procrastinators get 5-day tax filing reprieve from the CRA

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Colored background with traditional elements for may 5th. Vector illustration
May 5 is the extended tax-filing deadline this year

Every once in a while, procrastinators catch a break. Such appears to be the case for the one in five Canadians who still had not filed their calendar-2014 taxes as of the weekend.

(See the Hub’s Procrastinator’s Guide posted on Sunday/Monday, which touched on an H&R Block survey on last-minute filing.)

As I tweeted earlier today, due to a communications mixup where it had accidentally said the filing deadline was May 5th, the CRA now says it will honour that statement and officially make this year’s deadline May 5th, which is next Tuesday. You can find the short statement here on its web site and we’ve reproduced it below: Continue Reading…

A post-budget TFSA primer

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Adrian
Adrian Mastracci, KCM Wealth

By Adrian Mastracci, KCM Wealth Management

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

“Measures from last week’s Federal Budget provided the TFSA a healthy shot in the arm.”

Many investors are wondering whether to pursue a TFSA or RRSP strategy. Quite simply, the TFSA, which started in 2009, complements the RRSP and RRIF.

It need not be an either/or approach.
Wise investors embrace the TFSA in pursuit of long term goals.

We present our TFSA primer:

How the TFSA works

Eligibility:

• Canadian residents, age 18 or older, who have a Social Insurance Number can open a TFSA.

Contributions:

• TFSA contributions can be made in cash or “in kind.” The deemed disposition rules for “in kind” contributions are the same as those for RRSPs.

• Maximum TFSA deposits are as follows: Continue Reading…

The 5 money secrets of happy retirees

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Mature couple sitting back to back on a sofa with laptop computers

My latest MoneySense column in the print edition of the magazine is now available online, entitled 5 Money Secrets to a Happy Retirement. Click on the link for the full column but note that Wes Moss is no stranger to the Financial Independence Hub.

Several of the books mentioned in the column, or books like them, have been featured here in the Hub’s Review section. They include (with links to the Hub reviews): Continue Reading…

A procrastinator’s guide to filing your taxes by the looming April 30th deadline: 1 in 5 still scrambling

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H&RBlockOne in five Canadians are scrambling to make this year’s tax-filing deadline, which is now just four days away.

You probably don’t need this site to remind you that the deadline is midnight this Thursday: April 30, 2015 is the last day for most Canadians to file their 2014 tax returns. (The American tax-filing deadline of April 15th has already come and gone).

According to an H&R Block survey, Canadians are master procrastinators when it comes to taxes. And the tax preparation firm is offering a free online solution to those same procrastinating filers.

3% won’t make the deadline

The survey revealed that one in five Canadians say they file just in time, with 3% saying they miss the deadline altogether. Who are the worst offenders? Continue Reading…