Building Wealth

For the first 30 or so years of working, saving and investing, you’ll be first in the mode of getting out of the hole (paying down debt), and then building your net worth (that’s wealth accumulation.). But don’t forget, wealth accumulation isn’t the ultimate goal. Decumulation is! (a separate category here at the Hub).

Experts on how investors can use AI tools to invest and plan Retirement

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Below we canvassed more than 20 retirement experts and financial planners in both Canada and the United States about how they and their clients can use new AI Tools to help investors pick stocks or ETFs and plan their retirement.

These experts were gathered by Featured.com, which has been supplying Findependence Hub with quality content for several years now. It has changed its procedure so that editors like myself can request input on particular topics we think will interest our readership. The sources are all on LinkedIn, as you can see by clicking on their profiles below.

Here’s what we asked:

What is your top recommendation for using AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT to enhance the investing experience or financial planning process for retirement?

Their answers are below, which have been re-ordered by me and in some instances edited down, using an ellipsis (…) to indicate cut passages.

“AI doesn’t replace financial advisors: it elevates investors to think and plan like one.”

One of the most powerful ways investors and retirees can use AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT is to transform information overload into clear, actionable insight not just faster, but smarter. These tools allow individuals to run scenario-based retirement models, stress-test investment ideas against historical data, and translate complex financial language into plain English they can actually act on. What I recommend most is using AI as an always-available financial co-pilot a tool that helps you ask better questions, explore tax and withdrawal strategies, and stay disciplined when emotions run high. Of course, AI should enhance, not replace, professional advice; but when paired with fiduciary guidance, it becomes a force multiplier for better decision-making. The future of retirement planning is not just automated:  it’s augmented, where every person can access institutional-grade research and personalized planning at a fraction of the cost. — Justin Smith, CEO, Contractor+

Use AI for Grunt Work & Routine Analysis

I use AI to handle the grunt work for my finances. It’s great for automating my investment tracking and finding savings opportunities. For my SaaS business, I have ChatGPT audit expenses and run tax simulations. It catches small details I would definitely miss, but I always double-check with my accountant before making any big moves. — Cyrus Partow, CEO, ShipTheDeal

Running a fintech team, I use AI like Grok to track portfolios and summarize complex financial statements. I have it monitoring global trends that might affect Canadian retirement planning. Integrating these tools took some time, but the process is way less stressful now. My rule is to let AI handle the routine analysis while I double-check any critical decisions myself. — Sreekrishnaa Srikanthan, Head of Growth, Finofo

A good way to use AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT for investing and retirement planning is to treat them as helpful guides that explain financial topics, summarize current market information, and assist with planning choices. These tools can make complex financial ideas easier to understand, break down how different investment options work, and help create scenarios based on your retirement goals. You can ask questions to check your knowledge about topics like spreading your investments or tax rules related to retirement accounts, getting clear answers that fit your situation.

These AI tools also provide updated summaries of financial news and alert you to changes that could affect your retirement plans, like new laws or required withdrawals. While they do not replace a human financial advisor’s insight, they give you useful information that helps you talk to professionals with more confidence. Regular use helps keep you informed about your progress and reminds you of important details, making managing your retirement plan easier. — Richard Dalder, Business Development Manager, Tradervue

Use to summarize Market Trends

I work in tech marketing, so I’ve started using ChatGPT to research retirement investments. I’ll have it summarize market trends in telecom or healthcare IT, then cross-check with mainstream financial sources. This saves me hours of initial screening time. My advice is to never act on an AI’s take without fact-checking it first, but it’s a great way to get the lay of the land quickly.  — Andrew Dunn, Vice President of Marketing, Zentro Internet

Use AI as a Personalized Planning Engine

My top recommendation is to use AI as a personalized planning engine. Feed it your retirement goals, income range, expected timeline, and risk comfort. Ask it to build draft scenarios, compare tax-advantaged account strategies, summarize differences between contribution options, or outline the impact of shifting a portion of your portfolio into metals, equities, or fixed income. This gives you a structured starting point before you meet with a licensed advisor.

AI also helps people evaluate items of value they already own. Many Americans keep gold or silver tucked away because they are unsure where to start or who to trust. Ask AI to walk you through how precious metal markets move, how payouts are typically calculated, and what reputable U.S. buyers offer. When people understand what their gold is actually worth, they make smarter decisions about whether to sell, hold, or incorporate it into their retirement strategy.

Using AI this way puts you in control. It speeds up research, cuts through noise, and helps you prepare with confidence before talking to a financial professional. — Brandon Aversano, CEO, The Alloy Market

I work with AI and financial data, and here’s what I’ve found: nobody reads those static retirement planning sheets. We switched to interactive simulations using tools like ChatGPT, letting people play out different investment choices and actually see the results. Engagement went way up. If you’re planning retirement in the U.S. or Canada, this gives you a much better feel for your financial future than any document. — John Cheng, CEO, PlayAbly.AI

Use to plan Retirement and support Financial Literacy

AI tools like Grok and ChatGPT shine brightest in retirement planning when used to simplify complex financial decisions. One powerful approach is creating personalized scenario models: quick projections that show how small adjustments in savings, expenses, or timelines can change long-term outcomes. This turns retirement planning from an abstract, overwhelming challenge into a set of clear, data-driven choices.

Another strong use case is ongoing financial literacy support. AI assistants can distill dense market insights, tax rules, or investment updates into plain-language summaries tailored to an individual’s stage of life. From my experience building learning systems at Edstellar, the real value comes when AI acts as a translator: cutting through jargon and helping people understand the “why” behind decisions. That level of clarity dramatically improves confidence, especially for long-horizon goals like retirement. — Arvind Rongala, CEO, Edstellar

An on-demand Analytical Partner

In my opinion, the best use of AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT when it comes to retirement planning is to enlist it as a personalized, on-demand analytical partner. When you present an AI with your financial data (savings, trajectory, risk profile, retirement age), it has the ability to remit stress testing of your assumptions at a breadth and speed most people will never do for themselves. I have even gone a step further and even asked the AI model to create a variety of long term simulations: good markets, flat markets, inflationary periods, tax shifts, and a few unexpected life surprises here and there. This is when you will feel a much better understanding of what the reality will look like on your retirement path versus static projections.

Where I do think AI can take the planning to another level is the rigor of thinking it is going to force on you. It will find blind spots you didn’t even know to look for, it will challenge your assumptions, it will allow you to show up to your advisor meeting with the potential to be prepared. In the U.S. and Canada—complex situations in retirement planning to say the least, not to mention personal—AI will present a great utility. It won’t replace your financial professional, but it might very well allow you to ask better questions and gain confidence in your decision making. — Kevin Baragona, Founder, Deep AI

AI is NOT a financial advisor

Running a finance team, I’ve found AI like ChatGPT is great for the first pass at retirement planning. It can explain jargon or summarize options way faster than reading a 20-page PDF. But here’s the thing: it’s not a financial advisor. Use it to get the lay of the land, but always talk to a licensed professional before you put any real money in.  — Edward Piazza, President, Titan Funding

Treat AI tools as a Scenario Partner 

One of the most useful ways I’ve leveraged AI tools like ChatGPT and Grok in the investing and retirement-planning process is by treating them as a “scenario partner.” Not a financial advisor, not a spreadsheet replacement, but a way to explore the assumptions behind long-term decisions.

When I was first building Zapiy, I didn’t have the luxury of long planning sessions with advisors. I needed quick clarity on questions like how much I should be contributing, how aggressive my allocations should be, or how different timelines would reshape my retirement targets. What I found was that AI excels at helping you pressure-test your thinking before you make any commitments.

I’d feed ChatGPT a basic profile — income, savings rate, intended retirement age, preferred account types like a Roth IRA or TFSA — and ask it to model a few “what if” versions: what if I increase contributions by five percent, what if I shift to a more conservative allocation in my forties, what if I retire earlier but maintain the same lifestyle? The answers weren’t perfect, but they gave me a clearer sense of how small behavioral changes compound over time.

The real value is that this preparation makes every conversation with a human advisor more productive. You walk in understanding your own priorities, trade-offs, and risk tolerance instead of starting from zero. For many investors in the U.S. and Canada, this hybrid approach — AI for exploration, experts for validation — seems to strike the right balance.

If I had to give one recommendation, it would be this: use AI to sharpen your financial instincts, not to substitute professional judgment. Let it help you see the landscape more clearly so you can plan with confidence and ask better questions when it’s time to make real decisions. — Max Shak, Founder/CEO, Zapiy

Large-language models aren’t crystal balls

With new AI tools, the first impulse is always to ask for a prediction. People want to find the next winning stock or time the market perfectly. I’ve seen this happen for decades with every new wave of technology.

But these large language models aren’t crystal balls. They’re incredibly good at synthesizing information and finding patterns in past data, but they also have a tendency to invent things with absolute confidence.

The hardest part of long-term investing isn’t about finding more data. It’s about managing your own psychology, your biases, and the emotional urge to react to every bit of market noise. This is where AI’s real, and more subtle, value comes in.

My top recommendation is to stop treating these tools like an analyst and start using them as a sparring partner to challenge your own thinking. Instead of asking something simple like, “What are the best Canadian dividend stocks for 2025?”, give it a much more powerful prompt.

Try something like this: “Act as a skeptical financial advisor. My plan is to invest 30% of my retirement portfolio in Canadian dividend stocks for income. Poke holes in this strategy. What are the biggest risks I’m ignoring, what behavioral biases might be at play, and what alternative approaches should I consider?”

What this does is force the AI to act as a “red team” for your own ideas. It uses its vast knowledge of economic principles and market history to find the flaws in your logic before you commit real capital.

This reminds me of a brilliant young engineer I once mentored. He had designed this complex, theoretically perfect trading algorithm and was in love with its elegance. Instead of telling him it would fail, I just spent an hour asking questions.

What happens if this data source is delayed by two seconds? How does the model behave in a flash crash? What’s the single point of failure? He came back two days later and scrapped the whole thing, starting over with a simpler, more resilient design.

The AI can be that patient questioner for you. True financial security isn’t built on finding the perfect answer, but on developing the wisdom to question your own. — Mohammad Haqqani, Founder, Seekario AI Job Search

Use for Stress Testing Assumptions

My top recommendation for using AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT to enhance retirement planning is not to use them for advice, but for stress testing assumptions. Never take financial advice from a large language model. That is a path to financial ruin. Instead, use the AI to aggressively challenge the core numbers you are already getting from a human financial advisor.

The effective use is feeding the AI a series of complex, negative scenarios based on your existing US or Canadian retirement plan. Ask the AI: “If inflation averages 5% over the next ten years, and my portfolio only returns 4%, where does the system fail?” or “If I move to a high-tax state and health care costs double, how does the plan survive?”

This approach works because it turns the AI into a powerful, objective risk auditor. It exposes the hidden vulnerabilities in your human-designed plan without the emotional filter of your advisor. This is the only high-value application: using AI to force clear, honest conversations about competence and failure points in your retirement strategy, ensuring you have the strongest system possible. — Flavia Estrada, Business Owner, Co-Wear LLC

Use to get a head-start on when to retire

Use AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT to get a head start on how to retire. These services will evaluate the state of your finances and most can administer a wide array of retirement and other accounts then recommend investments that fit your criteria. They demystify complicated financial subjects. They can help you with budgeting, monitor progress and shift plans as markets change. Ask questions in a frame where hopefully will receive clear and good advice. Bots driven by AI help save you time, reduce mistakes and change the way you think about money. It makes retirement planning much simpler and more straightforward. — Keith Sant, Founder & CEO, Kind House Buyers Continue Reading…

Early Retirement Q&A with Dividend Daddy

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Image courtesy Tawcan/Unsplash

By Bob Lai, Tawcan

Special to Financial Independence Hub

The Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) community is a very supportive and tight-knit one. Because the community is made up of folks who have different backgrounds and different ages, it’s very diverse (not just Caucasian bros from high tech).

Earlier this year, after having been financially independent for a while, Dividend Daddy decided to step away from work to pursue other passions! Since stepping away from work, Dividend Daddy has been travelling around the globe and enjoying life.

I’m happy to have Dividend Daddy joining me today on the latest Early Retirement Q&A.

Q1: Welcome back Dividend Daddy. Congratulations on reaching FIRE and stepping away from full-time employment. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

 

I’m in my late 40s and Canadian. I worked in high pressure roles for my working career and this January, I pulled the plug on full-time work. With return to office mandates clashing with my desire for work location freedom, work was no longer tenable for me so I stepped away. As of July 2025, I’ve been retired for 7 months and travelling a ton.

Tawcan: Amazing stuff!

Q2: You and I utilize hybrid investing, a combination of individual dividend stocks and low-cost ETFs. What made you decide on utilizing hybrid investing in the first place? 

Replicating the Canadian stock market is super easy so I buy individual Canadian dividend stocks and get the dividend tax credit for doing so.

Internationally, in the U.S. and world, it’s very hard to do that yourself so buying an index fund like $VTI and an ETF like $XAW just makes sense.

Q3:What made you decide to finally pull the plug and step away from full-time employment? Walk me through your decision process.

It was a mix of mental burnout and circumstances at my job that led to my early retirement. Of course, I had done the “math” several times and early retirement was possible financially for me.

Being financially independent meant that I had the control to decide my future. If work arrangements no longer suited my needs, I could walk away from them. So, that’s what I did.

At this stage, I wanted time freedom more than I did the next pay cheque.

Tawcan: that makes a lot of sense. In some level I’m probably there too.

Q4: Tell me more about your plans for this new chapter of your life.

Right now, it’s all about travel. I’m doing a ton of it and I have to say, it’s great without having the stress of work or a job on your mind.

I’m not travelling with a laptop for the first time in a very long time. Just my smartphone. Being untethered from your job while travelling is so very freeing, mentally and physically. It’s wonderful.

Q5: Prior to stepping away from full-time employment, did you do a lot of soul-searching to determine what you plan to do in early retirement? Why is this an important process for early retirement? 

I did do some soul-searching and planning. Nothing rigorous, trusting myself to figure it out. Some planning is important because you suddenly have many more hours in a day and week to fill.

For me, I increased the amount of pickleball I play (when I’m at home), I cycled way more at home and abroad, increased the amount of time I spend at my second home in Mexico (to avoid those nasty Canadian winters), and have been travelling a ton more.

Q6: I know you were considering doing part-time work with your previous employer. Did that ever happen? Why or why not? 

I did not end up doing part-time work with my employer. Circumstances changed at my employer and that flexibility was no longer available.

I may end up doing some very limited consulting in the future but that’s not on the table for 2025 or 2026. I do miss aspects of my work.

Q7: Tell me a bit more about your portfolio withdrawal strategy. I believe you plan on withdrawing from non-registered (N) and registered (R), and leaving TFSA (T) untouched for as long as possible? Are you planning to collapse your RRSP early? Or do you envision converting RRSPs to RRIFs at some point?

Not sure completely yet on strategy but I’ve only been early retired for 7 months as of July 2025. I’m definitely spending dividends from my non-registered account with a cash reserve/bucket of $75,000.

I will reinvest most dividends from my RRSP and all of them from my TFSA. I will need to seek professional advice for what to do with my RRSP going forward and whether spending it down is advisable give tax planning purposes.

Q8: Why is it important to “learn” how to spend money and enjoy life a bit more in retirement rather than a “save-save-and-save-some-more” mentality so many FIRE seekers tend to have? 

Life is short. This hits you as you approach 50 years old. My parents’ generation is starting to pass on and I know I’m next in line (hopefully a long way off still). Continue Reading…

How much do they need to save and invest to retire with $110,000 annual income?

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By Dale Roberts, CutTheCrap Investing, Retirement Club

Special to Financial Independence Hub

A recent Globe & Mail article laid out a retirement and investment challenge? A couple in their mid-fifties had a combined million dollar portfolio. They wondered if they could retire at age 65, while maintaining their annual income. How much would they have to save and invest to allow for that income level in retirement? I read through the comment section of that post. It became apparent that many or most Canadians who are DIY (Do It Yourself) investors are not aware of the free tools available that will allow them to calculate their savings requirement and how to estimate their potential spend rate in retirement. Let’s take a look at how they might create $110,000 in annual income.

Here’s the link (subscription required) to the Globe & Mail article –

Is a million dollars enough for us if we maintain our current lifestyle?

Keep in mind that not many details were provided and the SunLife financial planner consulted for the article did not offer up any details on the required savings rate or how they would generate the income. This is the first reader comment you’ll see on the post …

That was the least helpful one of these types of articles that I have seen in a long time. No numbers and very little detail. “Try to save as much as you can in the most tax-efficient way now and for the future”. No mention of CPP amounts, OAS amounts, tax rates, withdrawal strategies, etc . The link to the SunLife infomercial was a low point.

That pretty much nails it. I was curious, so I thought I would take a quick run at it.

Here was the question submitted …

Is a million dollars enough for the two of us, both in our mid-50s, to retire on if we maintain our current lifestyle and work until we are 65? Our household income is currently $150,000. Is there a percentage of income you recommend as an annual savings goal until we reach that retirement age?

How do you calculate your required savings rate?

From the article, it is likely that the couple has a combined $150,000 in annual income before taxes. To make things more interesting and challenging, I’ll crunch some numbers to generate $150,000 in after tax income. I’ll use Ontario for a tax rate and tax treatment.

To estimate the required savings rate I will use testfolio and a simple savings calculator.

I will run the Retirement Cash Flow Plan using MayRetire.

Both are free-use calculators that we cover and demonstrate at Retirement Club for Canadians. Check out that link if you want to learn more, or if you’re looking to sign up. We are starting a new group, now.

While you can use a ‘full ‘and very robust retirement calculator such as Optiml or Adviice for estimating the savings needs, you can certainly find your number by way of using a basic savings calculator or investment calculator, such as Portfolio Visualizer and testfolio. I found Optiml very difficult to use.

That said, you will first need to discover the portfolio value required to generate that desired income level.

How much do you need to create $150,000 income?

Canadians will typically generate retirement around these 3 pillars.

Retirement Club

For our scenario, we’ll assume there are no employer pensions in the mix. We will give the couple very generous Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) amounts. A Canadian couple can generate over $50,000 of annual income from those government sources. And at age 65, taxes might not start to bite until after the first $54,000. That is a wonderful ‘tax free’ head start. We can call that our pensionable earnings. It is guaranteed income that is inflation-adjusted. Certainly, one can argue that OAS may be at risk due to the costs to the federal balance sheet. We might get some more clues this week when the current government delivers their first budget. That said, most of the calls are for reducing OAS benefits for “wealthy” seniors.

To maximize those government benefits Canadian retirees might look to the RRSP / RRIF meltdown strategy.

The RRSP / RRIF meltdown. A Canadian retiree’s greatest hack?

With the meltdown strategy we delay CPP and OAS to allow for the much greater payments. The strategy can also allow for greater tax efficiency, and it might allow you to manage any OAS claw back. If we make too much, we can lose all or some of those OAS payments.

Creating $150,000 in annual after-tax income

MayRetire revealed that the couple would need about $2.8 million to $3 million to create $150,000 in annual after tax income. Of course we have to account for inflation when estimating the savings rate and the spending rate in retirement. You can set your Province for tax treatment, of course.

MayRetire is very intuitive and quite easy to use. You enter your investment assets for yourself, or yourself and your spouse (if with spouse) and set your CPP and OAS amounts and start dates, enter any employer pensions, real estate income and any special income. You’ll enter your plan end date, rate of return, inflation rate and desired income. You can adjust your RRSP / RRIF meltdown rate using 5 presets. If you need to tailor your meltdown their is a custom strategy feature.

You press Calculate to run your model.

It is not that difficult to enter portfolio amounts and desired income to quickly get a sense of the portfolio level required. And be sure to click on that Simulate button that will stress test your portfolio model (Monte Carlo simulations). For example, when I tested a $2,000,000 portfolio looking to generate $150,000 of annual income. There was only a 2% success rate. We want to get into the 80% success rate and beyond. The simulations are quite ‘bearish’ according to MayRetire creator Boris Rozinov, so 80% and beyond is a good starting point.

Here’s a must read with “THE” chart on spend rates – Creating retirement income from your portfolio

I simply added greater portfolio asset amounts (while somewhat optimizing the RRSP / RRIF meltdown strategy and CPP and OAS dates) until I reached a favourable success rate.

Of course for those new to retirement calculators it will take several hours to even get a basic feel for how the calculator works and how retirement cash flow plans take shape. But it is a wonderful and more than interesting experience. Learning how to optimize and match your cash flow plan to your life plan will take more time, indeed. But it is all more than time well spent for the DIY retiree. It is essential that we run a cash flow calculator. You might ‘find’ hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional retirement income.

At Retirement Club we’re showing members how to use MayRetire and other calculators.

Check out the Retirement Club Overview

If you’re not up for learning the retirement cash flow ropes you might consider an advice-only planner who is a retirement specialist. You’ll get conflict-free advice from planners who are not attached to any investment products. aka – they are not selling.

Let me know if you want a few names to consider.

The $150,000 retirement income plan

Here’s what the spending plan looked like. Keep in mind this is ‘back of napkin’ initial projections. The cash flow plan will match your life plan and greater financial plan that includes your estate planning. Your longevity projections will factor in. You may decide to spend heavily in the early go-go years, and then decrease spending in the slow-go years. You might need an income boost in the late-stage years. We’d call that a U-shaped spending plan, or you-shaped. You might also have special items that factor in such as a home or cottage sale, business sale, inheritance and more. You will factor that into your retirement cash flow plan. At MayRetire you can enter special items for income and spending. Those special items can be set for a period as well; 15 years for the go-go years, for example, 10 years for the no-go years.

I ran the plan to age 95. When a couple both reach age 65 there is a 30% chance that one of them will live to age 95.

The red and turquoise bars represent the couples RRSP / RRIF accounts, the purple bar is combined TFSA income creation. We see the CPP (Orange) and OAS (Blue) kick in at age 70. The tax rate is above 22%, but will drop to a very low level at age 87 when the TFSA does the heavy lifting, topping up the CPP and OAS amounts.

Here’s how the accounts will ‘spend down’ in retirement. Yes, there is a massive TFSA shown, remaining at age 95. This is the funding ‘math’ when you run returns in linear fashion without market stress. That TFSA could be greatly decreased by a considerable recession and market correction(s). That said, the possible spend rate could also be higher.

Call this a buffer. Remember, your spending plan will be variable due to life events and market returns. And it’s wise to embrace a variable send rate. We might be prepared to spend less if we run into a period of market stress. MayRetire allows you to test that strategy.

Given the massive $3 million portfolio requirement (in inflation adjusted dollars) the required savings rate would be considerable, and likely not doable for a couple with $150,000 gross income. The savings projection was based on balanced to balanced growth portfolio returns of 6%-8%. Given that, let’s move on to creating a more modest after tax income goal – $110,000. That would be closer to what our $150,000 gross income couple takes home.

Longevity Stuff

You’ll find more on longevity in the Purpose Longevity Pension Fund post, and here’s a chart on probabilities of reaching age 90 and longer, from Fred Vettese.

Creating $110,000 retirement income after tax

MayRetire shows that a $1,500,000 portfolio, working in concert with CPP and OAS could deliver $110,000 in after tax income. The retirees each have $600,000 in an RRSP account and $150,000 in a TFSA. Continue Reading…

How to navigate a market bubble

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Image: Pexels courtesy MyOwnAdvisor

 

By Mark Seed, myownadvisor

Special to Financial Independence Hub

Inspiration for this headline this week came from a Globe and Mail article.

For those without the subscription like I have, here are the key ways to navigate any stock market bubble that might be forming.

Curious to get your thoughts on what you are thinking about and doing as we head into 2026 …

 

 

1.) Cut back on dividend reinvestment plans/DRIPs. In doing so, you are raising your cash/cash equivalents pile. (I have been doing that since 2024.) From the article: “Rather than purchase more shares at these possibly elevated prices, I will accumulate some cash and deploy as opportunities present themselves,” one reader said.”

2.) Trim individual stock holdings. While holding individual stocks can be amazing for income and growth, I know they also expose me to some concentration risks: company or sector risks. So, to avoid that, I can trim individual holdings and simply index invest: instead. From the article: “I have felt a U.S. equity bubble has been forming for over a year now. In January, I decided to sell all my individual U.S. stock holdings and move the funds into my S&P 500 ETF,” one reader said.” (Yup, see link below, what I have done.)

3.) Hold more cash. Aligned to #1, and have done this as well. We’re about 90% equities and 10% cash/cash equivalents entering retirement in spring 2026. I may even increase my cash allocation from here since almost all DRIPs are turned off for cashflow now…

What approaches are you taking? Other steps? Happy to read and learn more…

Surviving a Recession

These tips are not unlike surviving a recession, if one were to say, happen, in 2026.

Some sensible advice in this MoneySense article on moving your RRSP to a RRIF. I already used these basics years ago when establishing my parents RRIFs for them.

  1. Consider “bucketing” to manage withdrawals:  Set a portion of your RRIF aside in something with no or very little risk that can be used for withdrawals. That way, the advisor suggests “…if the overall market takes a downturn, clients aren’t forced to sell investments at a loss because they need the cash.”
  2. Consider funding the TFSA with unspent money:  “Just because you are taking the money out of a RRIF account doesn’t mean you have to spend it.”  Yes, correct. This is why I set up my parents’ RRIF withdrawals, annually, early in the year: so whatever they don’t need to spend from their RRIF each year can go directly to their TFSAs, where money can continue to grow tax-free for any longevity spending or other emergency needs down the line.

Simple concepts that can also apply to RRSP withdrawals too for any early retirees… Continue Reading…

Personal Financial Goals vs. Market Benchmarks: Why your Investment Strategy needs a Different Scorecard

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The only investment benchmark that truly matters is whether you’re on track to meet your financial goals

Canva Custom Creation: Lowrie Financial

By Steve Lowrie, CFA

Special to Financial Independence Hub

We all like to know how we’re doing. It’s human nature. Whether it’s checking your golf handicap, your step count, or your investment portfolio, we’re wired to compare.

When it comes to investing, though, comparing can quietly pull you off course.

A client once asked me, “How’s my portfolio doing compared to the market?” It’s a fair question. But the real question is: how do you define the market?

In my experience, that definition changes over time. When one area of the world is outperforming, that’s suddenly what everyone calls “the market.” Over the last decade or so, U.S. stocks have led the way, so many people now define the market as broad U.S. stock indices like the S&P 500, or even narrower ones such as the NASDAQ, which is largely a measure of technology stocks. But in the decade before that, Canadian stocks did significantly better than U.S. stocks, so back then “the market” meant the TSX Index.

So, the idea of “the market” shifts with whatever happens to be doing best lately. That’s a moving target, and it makes for a poor benchmark.

Here’s the truth: unless your goals, timeline, and tolerance for risk are the same as that shifting version of “the market,” the comparison doesn’t tell you very much. In fact, it can distract you from what truly matters.

The Problem with Traditional Investment Benchmarks

Every night, the financial news tells us how some financial market did that day. The TSX was up. The S&P 500 hit a record. Bonds bounced back.

It’s easy to wonder, “Am I keeping up?”

But those numbers have nothing to do with your life. They’re designed to measure markets, not people. They don’t know when you want to retire, how much income you will need, or how much you can save. The list goes on.

When you start judging your progress against those numbers, you’re borrowing someone else’s scoreboard. It might look objective, but it’s not built for your personal situation.

That’s what we call tracking-error regret: the uneasy feeling that your portfolio is “falling behind” when it isn’t mirroring a benchmark or your friend or neighbour’s latest success story. That feeling often leads investors to make changes that feel smart in the moment but work against their long-term goals.

Setting Personal Investment Benchmarks that actually matter

There’s nothing wrong with measuring performance. The key is to measure what matters.

Ask yourself questions like:

  • Am I on track to retire when I plan to?
  • Can I fund the life experiences that matter most to me?
  • Do I have the financial flexibility to enjoy life without worrying about every headline?

If the answer is yes, you’re succeeding. That’s your true benchmark.

Remember, you can beat an index, or outperform a family member, friend, or colleague, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll meet your financial goals.

It’s not about beating an index. It’s about building the life you want and staying on the path that gets you there.

A Road Trip worth taking: Planning your Financial Journey

Imagine you’ve always dreamed of doing a ski road trip through Western Canada. You plan a route from Calgary to Vancouver, hitting some of the best slopes along the way: Banff, Revelstoke, Big White, Whistler.

It’s not the fastest or cheapest way to get from point A to point B. You could fly to Vancouver in a couple of hours for a fraction of the cost.

But that’s not the point, is it?

The goal of your trip isn’t efficiency. It’s the experience itself: the mountain views, the fresh snow, the time with friends.

That’s exactly how a good investment plan works. It’s designed around your goals, not someone else’s shortcut (which, over time, may end up as a long cut). Your journey might look different from someone else’s, but if it takes you where you want to go, it’s the right route.

The Dangers of Portfolio Comparison and Tracking-Error Regret

When you compare your portfolio to an index or to what someone else is doing, you are like the skier who keeps checking flight prices mid-trip. You will always find a cheaper, faster, or flashier option. But constantly changing direction will make it impossible to finish the journey you started.

Comparison is powerful. It plays on our emotions, especially when markets are volatile or when others seem to be “winning.” But most of the time, those comparisons leave us feeling anxious rather than informed.

Any five- or six-year-old can look at two numbers and tell you which one is bigger. In fact, they will tell you that in a second. That is the easy part. The harder part, the adult part in an investing context, is not only spotting the bigger number, but understanding why one number is bigger than another. Continue Reading…