Wealth Management Companies in Canada 2023

wealth management companies

My article on the best financial advisors in Canada appears to have triggered a bit of a backlash from Canada’s wealth management companies.   If you’re not sure what exactly the difference is between a wealth management firm and a financial planning company – don’t worry – there isn’t one. The terms “financial planning,” “financial advisor,”…

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Best GIC Rates in Canada 2023

gic rates canada

The best GIC rates in Canada continue to trend upward in 2023. Finally, savers are being rewarded after years of low rates! The term GIC is short Guaranteed Investment Certificates, and they are the Canadian equivalent to the American Certificates of Deposit (CDs).   GICs are perfect for saving for short-term goals.  Below you can see our constantly…

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Qtrade Review 2023 – Canada’s Best Broker

qtrade new logo

What Is Qtrade Direct Investing? Is it Legit? Qtrade Direct Investing is part of Aviso Wealth, a national financial services company owned by the Credit Union Centrals, CUMIS and Desjardins. Aviso manages close to $105 billion in assets, and has major operations in Vancouver and Toronto, with regional offices across Canada. By again grabbing the…

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Best Financial Advisors in Canada

financial advisors canada

When looking for the best financial advisors in Canada (or best financial planners in Canada) you’re inevitably going to encounter a lot of confusion and too-slick sales pitches. There is a lot of money to be made from selling mutual funds to Canadians, and many wealth management firms specialize in this sort of “financial planning”. Unfortunately, it’s…

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The 11 Best Cash ETFs in Canada (Plus HISA ETFs and Money Market ETFs)

cash etfs canada

Given the realities of skyrocketing interest rates it’s no wonder that interest in Canada’s Best Cash ETFs, high interest savings account (HISA ETFs), and money market ETFs has significantly increased as well. While Cash ETFs aren’t exactly the same thing as money market ETFs, the two are very similar. The terms high interest savings account ETF…

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Neo Financial Mastercard Review 2023

neo financial logo

The new Neo Financial Mastercard or “Neo CardTM” is the next big thing in Canadian credit cards. We’ve seen tech companies disrupt everything from vehicles to space travel and investing. Now the new Neo credit card is coming for the old market standbys. Three massive advantages for the Neo Card immediately stand out to me: 1)…

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13 Top Tax Breaks for Seniors in Canada

canadian seniors tax breaks

With tax season hitting full stride, and our recent focus on retirement planning, I thought a look at the most used tax breaks for seniors and retirees might be just what the accountant ordered. Quick Note: The phrase “tax break for seniors” isn’t a technical term. Instead, it refers to a range of tax credits for…

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Working After Retirement in Canada

working in retirement

Over the last few months we’ve been looking at various aspects of retirement planning in Canada.  Specifically, we’ve went in-depth on: Today we’re going to look at the idea of doing some part-time work (at least in the first few years of your retirement) and how to fit that into your retirement plan. We’ll also answer…

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Questwealth Portfolios Review for 2023

Questrade Logo

What is Questwealth Portfolios? Questwealth Portfolios, formerly Portfolio IQ, provides a unique hybrid model of investing to customers that you won’t find elsewhere. They offer investors a passive way to invest, along with services such as automatic rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting. This is definitely appealing for investors who are looking to keep costs low all…

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motusbank Review 2023

Motusbank Logo

What is motusbank? Online banking has become the norm for younger Canadians, and motusbank, a part of Meridian Credit Union wants a piece of the action. While motusbank is a relatively new online bank, launching in 2019, it’s done well in offering a wide range of services and keeping interest rates high. It needs to…

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Tangerine vs EQ Bank Comparison 2023

tangerine vs eq bank

With interest yields on the rise in Canada, it’s a great time to start searching for the Best Online Bank in Canada in 2023. Online banks are currently offering interest rates as high as 5%, which is good news for those with cash to stash, especially as inflation rates are higher than they’ve been in…

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Life Insurance for Seniors in Canada

life insurance canada

Is whole life insurance good for Canadian seniors? Is permanent life insurance a good investment for Canadian retirees? Is term to 100 life insurance worth it for Canadian seniors? Long story short when it comes to life insurance for seniors in Canada: There is a 99% chance you don’t need it and can just ignore…

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Canada Personal Pensions: Defined Benefit vs Defined Contribution Plans

pension plans canada

Now that we’ve covered OAS and CPP, it’s time to move on to the world of personal pensions in Canada.  Generally Canada’s personal pensions are broken down into two categories: While it’s true that most government employees enjoy defined benefit plans, and that many private sector employers have been choosing defined contribution plans, it’s not…

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How Much Do Canadians Spend In Retirement?

canadian spend in retirement

You’d think it’d be a relatively easy quest to answer the question: How much will a Canadian spend in retirement? I started looking into this quandary because I’ve recently become a bit obsessed with the idea of all the mistakes most Canadians are making when it comes to preparing for retirement. These mistakes are quietly killing…

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What To Do When the Stock Market Crashes

stock market crash

We’re getting a lot of semi-predictable questions via email and article comments that ask some version of: “Is the stock market crashing and what should I do after stocks or bonds crash?” Read a book. Watch a new TV series. Spend time with your family. Just don’t panic. Sure, if you’ve got a really strong…

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Vanguard Canada Index ETFs vs Mutual Funds

vanguard logo

When Vanguard Canada first approached me about doing an interview in regards to their two new mutual fund products, I have to admit that my response was: “Wait, Vanguard still has mutual funds? They’re introducing new ones? Are we sure that’s a good idea?” What followed was an interesting back and forth email interview with…

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Book Review – Balance: How to Invest and Spend for Happiness, Health, and Wealth

balance book review

Huh… this guy really gets it – I remember thinking to myself when I  picked up Andrew Hallam’s first book Millionaire Teacher back around 2011. I mean, it was never going to be a hard sell.   There’s preaching to the choir… …and then there’s one money-nerd personal finance teacher preaching to another money-nerd personal finance…

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Snag Your Free Canadian Expat eBook

laptop with cover

Want to get paid a tax-free salary while working in a place where you don’t need to own a jacket or winter boots? Here’s the nuts-and-bolts behind how my wife and I are enjoying deduction-free salaries, and watching our tax-free investment portfolios grow, while living in a world-class city. If you’re a longtime reader of…

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Insurance and Wills for Canadian Expats

Canadian Expats Category

When I talked to several non-resident tax and investment specialists during my Covid quarantine-induced expat research frenzy, the topic that kept coming up as “the most common mistake amongst expats” was insurance. As the least sexy topic in a field of study not known for being particularly sexy, insurance has long been the forgotten dance…

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Should You Bet Your House on Blackberry?

January 25th – 29th, 2021 is the week the stock market embraced full insanity – PhD theses will eventually be written about what just occurred in the stock market this week.  One day smart people will be able to explain to what degree various factors contributed to the illogically hilarious/fun/dangerous ride that stocks such as Gamestop (GME), Blackberry (BB), NOKIA (NOK), and AMC (AMC) took us on over the past few days

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PC Money Account Review – Loblaws Resurrects a New PC Financial No Fee Account

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Note: We’ll be updating our PC Money Account Review as the details get fleshed out and the introduction promo offer codes get created. For many years, the options for  no-fee chequing accounts in Canada were limited to two competitors: PC Financial and ING/Tangerine.  When Loblaws decided they didn’t want to worry about daily banking accounts…

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Legal Wills Review: Canada’s Best Online Will Kit

Legal Wills Logo

When I was asked if I wanted to write a Canadian Legal Wills review in exchange for a free trial of Canada’s best online will kit, I have to admit that I was embarrassed.

You see… until yesterday I didn’t have a will.

I know… statistics show that roughly half of Canadian adults don’t have a will, and only a third or so have one that is up to date.

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Is Hello Fresh Worth It?

is_hello_fresh_worth_it

Reviewing the Cost of Meal Kits During the Pandemic Over the last few weeks, several of my neighbors have been eyeing my weekly meal kit delivery service, and asking for my Hello Fresh Review.  This new trend makes sense given how many of us are cooking from home more these days – while trying to…

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