If you prefer pictures and graphics over text, you may enjoy this visual guide to Tuesday’s federal Budget, prepared by Vancouver-based robo-advisers, Wealthbar.com.
Until we figure out how to embed it here at the Hub, we’ll just send you over to the graphic housed at Wealthbar’s site. Just click on the red link below:
http://blog.wealthbar.com/visual-guide-to-the-2015-canadian-federal-budget/
By Jonathan Chevreau
Feeling overwhelmed? Everywhere I look, long-time couples are falling apart.
So I entirely sympathize with single parents who feel overwhelmed both financially and emotionally by the twin burdens of raising kids alone and of still having to bring in money, not to mention re-entering the dating scene.
If you’re in this situation, a good place to look for support is Emma Johnson’s Wealthy Single Mommy blog, which I discovered right here under the Hub’s Best Blogs tag, flagged as one of five “Best-kept secret personal finance blogs.”
Most of Johnson’s blogs address these issues since she is in essence chronicling her own similar journey but the one that caught my attention was a video from February: Overwhelm is a Choice: How to get a grip and stop the constant stress.
No question living off just one income can be tough in the modern world. It wasn’t always that way, of course. Back in the Leave it to Beaver world of the 1950s, it was normal for one partner (usually the man back then) to bring home the bacon in the corporate world while the other played the role of Homemaker and raised the kids.
But those days are gone: it’s almost normal to have two salaries, which is why Continue Reading…
By Patricia Gass, CPA
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
This week’s skill-testing question:
What’s The One Expense In Retirement That Most People Get The Least Satisfaction Out Of Spending?
Hint:
I love a warm fire on a cold, snowy day. But that same fire, if not properly contained, can do damage to anything in it’s way. Kind of like taxes.
Perhaps extreme to compare a roaring fire to taxes, but hear me out. Whatever goes into the fireplace (or to the government), you will never see (or spend) again.
Fortunately, much can be done with a little knowledge and planning. It’s useful to think of taxes as yet another, substantial retirement expense that needs to be managed.
Revisit/Understand Your Overall Financial Situation
At least 10 years before retirement, do some critical thinking about your finances.
Where will your retirement income and (cash flow) come from and when? What is the breakdown between “tax-paid” and “tax-deferred” money? Will your retirement cash flow be enough to meet your needs (or too much … a nice problem to have!)? How likely are you to receive an inheritance (or other money) that could push you into a higher tax bracket? Would it make sense to retire early and withdraw some funds sooner at a lower tax rate?
Know (And Plan For) Your Tax Rate Continue Reading…
By Aman Raina, Sage Investors
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
One day as I was perusing the world wide web, I came across a posting about DRIP investments, which ran in the new blog by PWL Capital’s Justin Bender.
What caught my eye had nothing to do with DRIP investments but more about a comment made at the end of article that really got me thinking. It said:
“…Investors should be focusing their attention to more important investment decisions that are likely to have a bigger impact on overall success (such as savings rate, expenses, risk, fees, taxes, and behaviour)…”
Make no mistake, these are important factors in developing your investment ideology or strategy. However, these elements just get you into the game of investing; on their own they are not going to guarantee you will be successful. Continue Reading…
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