After toiling away in your cubicle for most of the day, you decided that wasn’t the life for you. So you started your own business. Most likely, it was more complicated than you ever imagined. While you may not have a boss, you now have customers you need to satisfy.
Running your own business can be very rewarding, but calling it hard work is an understatement. You will face problems you never encountered before. Your financial plan and strategy will require a makeover.
In the aftermath of the US housing market bust and the ensuing financial meltdown that led to global stock market declines of 2008, people are getting back to the basics as far as their retirement planning goes. Although the stock market has recovered, many pre-retirees have lost a lot of ground in their retirement accounts and are facing a new reality. Retirement may not be what they had originally envisioned; but with some retirement income 101 basics, most people should be able to get back on track.
Investors are becoming increasingly exhausted trying to follow the seemingly never-ending bad global economic news. Overseas markets have put a strain on Canada even though we are more stable, economically, than most other countries in the world.
Crystal balls are in short supply resulting in increased skepticism and general feeling of Is this downturn ever going to end?' The uncertainty has investors reeling - leading them to make judgements with their portfolios that they wouldn't normally exercise.
Give your finances a boost this new year. Here is a list of financial resolutions to help you become better off at the end of the coming twelve months:
Eliminate personal debt. - Brad and Angie had fallen into the very common habit of buying lots of 'stuff' with their credit cards and soon were carrying a balance from month to month. At 19.9%, it is very expensive to live this kind of lifestyle. And any new purchases attract the same financing charge from date of purchase.
Front lawns across Canada are sprouting For Sale signs. That this annual phenomena occurs at about the same time as the tax refund season may be purely coincidental. Understanding the financial incentives for home ownership available in the Income Tax Act may save you thousands when buying a home.
Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) were introduced in 2009 and they seem to be struggling to catch on. Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), however, have been around for over fifty years and attract billions of dollars of deposits each year. If you are serious about saving for your future, it is important to know the differences between the two.
While RRSPs and TFSAs seem to be very similar on the surface, they are really apples and kumquats apart. The only similarity is that, within limitations, earnings inside either plan are allowed to grow without current taxation.
With so many doom & gloom news headlines, it is refreshing to know Canadians can still get very low fixed rate mortgages. A recent Financial Post article (March 9, 2012) explains that with big banks competing strongly for new mortgage business, now is a great time for Canadians to refinance their mortgages to improve personal cash flow.
Some financial decisions get made without enough thought given to the long term consequences. Here are some financial mistakes you can avoid:
Mortgage amortized too long:
With lenders offering 30 year amortization periods, it may look attractive to go with a smaller monthly payment to get into a larger house, but the extra interest charges only benefit the lender.
In a 2010 report to the Minister of Finance, it was found that approximately 160,000 Canadian seniors were not aware of the full range of benefits they were entitled to in their retirement years. In fact, nearly $1 billion in retirement benefits from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) have not been paid out to eligible recipients.
According to the Service Canada website, seniors may qualify for a number of income supplement programs that would help them make ends meet, including:
The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) was introduced in the February 2008 Federal Budget and became available January 1, 2009. It is touted by the Government of Canada as 'the single most important personal savings vehicle since the introduction of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).'
