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Humans are not robots.  They don’t always make rational decisions.  If you don’t believe this then you probably believe that the federal government’s plan to boost Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions and payouts doesn’t make sense.  In a perfectly rational world, Canadians will simply reduce their savings elsewhere to balance out the extra contributions they and their employers will make. […]

I’ve already blogged that the key to a comfortable retirement is more about staying gainfully employed for as long as possible. If you can do this until age 65, at a job you enjoy even if that job isn’t the highest paying job, and save 6% of your income, you will go a long way to achieving a good quality […]

What to do with your retirement savings: Rule #4: Invest your savings in low cost stock and bond index funds: As hard as it is to believe, you can have the same standard of living in retirement with only 50% of your pre retirement income. Your goal now is to save enough money to hit your target retirement balance before […]

One day you’re a carefree college student and, suddenly you’re not. You wake up one morning to find that you are a homeowner, a spouse, a parent, and poor. Not really poor, but you feel like you can’t seem to pay the bills, pay off the mortgage and still have a bit of a life and save for retirement. There’s […]

A financial advisor provides you with advice on investments, taxes, and retirement spending.   My experience speaking to advisors and their customers has generally been positive.  Most customers believe they can trust their advisor to provide sound financial advice. The problem with financial advisors is the price they charge for this advice.  In two words:  REALLY EXPENSIVE. If you are buying […]

Investing articles can be long and boring.  Why don’t I read the article for you and provide the important message for DIY investing success. Here it is. Larry Swedroe is an excellent commentator and expert on investing. He writes articles for etf.com. He’s also a big believer in index fund investing. He recently published an article discussing how poorly hedge […]

Aside from the actuaries I’ve highlighted in this blog (Malcolm Hamilton and Fred Vettese – our All Stars actuaries), this is the first time I’ve read an actual money manager admit that Canadians do not need 70 or 80 or even 100% of their working income to live well in retirement. And by living well, I mean the same standard […]

From William Bernstein, author of “The Four Pillars of Investing. Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio” and “The Investor’s Manifesto. Preparing for Prosperity, Armageddon, and Everything in Between”. A simple chart that should help you decide how much of your savings you should be willing to invest in stocks. The younger you are, the more time you have to make […]

I’ve met several people over the years who can’t imagine working until they are 65 years old.  Their job is stressful, the hours are long but the pay is good.  It’s a pretty much unavoidable fact that the more money you make, the more demanding the job is.  Most people put up with these work demands because of their lifestyle […]

Investing articles can be long and boring. How about I read the article and provide you with the important information for DIY investing success. Here it is. First, from Warren’s Buffett’s 2018 Letter to Shareholders: If an investor paid 1% in fees for 77 years (the length of time since Mr. Buffett bought his first shares), they would have lost […]