1. Contributing to RRSPs

Has your financial advisor been coaching you to add regular amounts to your RRSP? This little nugget of wisdom not only helps you save for the day when you are no longer earning a pay-cheque, but also helps you defer paying taxes on that money today, as well as grow that money tax deferred. This tends to be one of the single most impactful tricks to reducing your tax liability for most tax payers.

2. Claiming all eligible medical expenses

If you have read the news lately, you can’t avoid the constant headlines about the recent interest rate cut and the value of the loonie falling in lockstep. A number of my clients have asked me why they should care and what it means to them. Here were some of my answers:

If there is one thing I love to do, it is to dream big. Looking back on this past year, it is clear that I am not alone. In 2014, Apple unveiled its smart watch, we saw the first prototype of a pacemaker made from a 3D printer and learned that nanobots have the capability of killing cancer cells. Wow!! These are all examples of somebody’s big dream to change the way we traditionally understand our world.

Can you believe that in 1987, Fran and I felt lucky when we got our first mortgage at 10% interest! Wow; it was only in the early 1980’s that some people were renewing their mortgages at more than 20% interest. Imagine! It doesn’t seem to make any sense that today you can get a 5-year mortgage for about 3% interest.

There are several reasons why interest rates fluctuate so much; I’ll leave that for the economists to provide you with the boring details.

I bet almost everybody has heard the real estate industry talk about it being a buyer’s market or a seller’s market in real estate. But what does this actually mean?

Simply put, if there are lots of people who need/want to buy a home but fewer people interested in selling their homes there ends up being not enough homes available, so prices start to increase. This favours the sellers and therefore, this is what is called a seller’s market. Of course, there are always more factors involved, but for the most part it is a simple supply/demand formula.

With my very own wedding just around the corner, I realized I have some financial insights to share:

Everyday Finances

You thought taking care of your own finances was hard enough. Now try adding personality dynamics and the need for proper communication into the picture. Before committing to marriage, you should talk to your partner early and often about what money means to them. Just ask any marriage councillor and they will tell you that money is one key issue that can put major stress on a marriage.

Prenuptial agreements?

There is currently a debate happening at the Federal and Provincial Level involving retirement affordability. Some politicians are suggesting an overhaul to the Canada Pension Plan; still others are having discussions on new Provincial Pension Programs. All roads lead to the possibility of increased pension benefits within these proposals. So who doesn’t want a bigger pension?

A woman was nearly run over last week, as I waited to cross the road at a busy intersection in downtown Toronto. She got impatient as the bustling pedestrians of Toronto waited for the walk signal at the corner of Yonge and Bloor street. A man turned to me and quietly said, “some people need to understand the importance of patience.” I gave him a glance of acknowledgement at our bewilderment for what we just saw.