UPotential is a fee-for-service financial planner – meaning that our compensation is based on a transparent, pre-established rate agreed upon before our engagements begin. We do not receive any compensation from, and do not offer, the sale of any investment or insurance related products/services. As a UPotential customer you will be under no obligation to utilize any particular investment or insurance product/service to action any of the plans we create. If you wish to engage the services of ETF Capital Management – a registered portfolio manager – you should be aware (and will be made aware at the time) that UPotential is under common ownership. Our goal is to help you get the most out of your money – so we will act always in the best interests of our clients, with full transparency, and in a manner which aligns our interests accordingly.
No Frills Just Launched an Entire Comic Character Universe
Despite coursework that is entirely online this term, my son opted to return to his university campus for the second year of his degree. He is sharing a “house” (read: glorified slum) with 3 other boys and 4 more young people live in the completely separate, second story unit. This year’s education in cleaning, cooking and basically keeping himself alive may actually be more useful than the coursework itself. Among the skills that he has had to acquire is budgeting for groceries etc. I shared this article with him and it appealed to his young sensibilities. He also enjoyed the ad campaign from The Real Canadian Superstore with the tagline, “Shop Like a Mother” (source: Canadian Grocer) although that one was arguably more targeted to my generation with its Heart-inspired guitar riff and it’s spotlight on every bad shopping habit that I have.
Click here to read the full article on Daily Hive
No Money Down: New Financing Companies are Transforming Online Shopping…
I have only purchased one item using a “buy now, pay later” offer. It was a book-case for a television and I was on maternity leave with my son. Money was tight. What was tighter was the feeling in my chest that if I missed the deadline to repay, interest would be charged back to the date of purchase. I decided then and there that it wasn’t worth the bother.
This article provides valuable context in light of the strain that the pandemic has placed on many household’s cash flow. Newer deferred payment options have cropped up and the research sited in the article shows that consumers are spending more if they can pay by instalments over several months. Furthermore some of the retailers that are offering these plans likely have younger client bases who might lack the discipline to repay on time – costing them interest and the integrity of their credit rating.
Click here to read the full article on The Globe and Mail
One of Kamala Harris’ Most Vocal Supporters Is Her Husband’s Ex-Wife
I love to learn about families that have successfully separated and reinvented themselves. This article highlights the key aspect of successful separation: keeping the children’s interests top-of-mind. While not all ex-spouses will spread love and accolades about a new wife, this article shows that when the children and civility are the highest priority, Family 2.0 doesn’t have to be wrought in conflict and contempt.
Click here to read the full article on Distractify
Want to Give Well This Giving Season? Here’s Canada’s Highest Rated Charities
Charitable giving has been important to me since my days at The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation in Toronto. The Foundation offered me my first taste of tax-effective charitable giving and estate planning. Working with colleagues and clients who share my love of philanthropy is one of the greatest pleasures of my career. I am privileged to have clients on both sides of the fence: donors and fundraisers. The pandemic has had a very powerful effect on the charitable sector as donations have either dropped considerably (and understandably as a result of job losses and instability) or been diverted to the health-care sector (again, profoundly understandably). With the holiday season quickly approaching, it will be interesting to see whether donors will be as generous and diversified as they have been in the past. This article is an interesting reminder of some of the metrics that can help us to direct our charitable giving.
Click here to read the full article on The Financial Post
Reasons to Stop Worrying the Pandemic Will Be Followed By a Plague of Tax Increases
I attended the 2020 CIFPs National Conference last week. With no budget to discuss, the conference focussed on discussions of the US Federal election and the manners in which the Canadian government will pay for COVID-related stimulus. Before making strategy decisions to ward off possible increases in the capital gains inclusion rate (the portion of a capital gain that is taxable), GST increases and the elimination of the principal residence exemption, consider the argument put forth in this article. The article suggests that as long as interest rates are low, and the government is the primary purchaser of domestic bonds, funding stimulus on borrowed money will help the economy to grow its way out of this very deep and pervasive recession.
Click here to read the full article on The Globe and Mail
Inside the Mind of Elite Athletes Who Become Outstanding Business Leaders
Even phenomenal wealth can be squandered. For example, Michael Jackson – who was arguably the most successful recording artist of all time – died insolvent. An of course, the fact that lotteries are won and lost is the stuff of popular reality television programs.
But once in a while, we learn of a celebrity, industry leader or politician who’s wealth and influence lasts far beyond his or her initial successes. For example, did you know that McDonald’s built is vast share value on the real estate holdings upon which the restaurants are built? Similarly, did you know that the recently departed Eddie Van Halen – guitar impresario – has a very successful line of amplifiers and other specialized equipment? If you have ever wondered what makes some people survive – outwit, outplay and outlast others well beyond their retirements, this article provides some interesting insight.
Click here to read the full article on Forbes
What You Can Do Right Now to Make 2021 Your Best Tax Year Ever
When the government of Canada offered retirees the opportunity to reduce their minimum RRIF withdrawal because of investment markets’ reaction to the pandemic, you might recall that I suggested keeping the withdrawal at its usual level. My reasoning was that taking out the same dollar amount requires deregistering more units of a depreciated mutual fund or ETFs which could allow you to reinvest the proceeds in a TFSA or non-registered account. In this strategy, you are essentially pre-paying the tax at a lower rate because of the prevailing market softness.
This article expands on that strategy for small business owners who probably have seen revenues decline or drop off as a result of the pandemic. If your business revenue has suffered in 2020, you may wish to draw out income from other sources (additional dividends from a private corporation or RRSP withdrawals, for example) at a time when your salary is artificially low.
Click here to read the full article on Entrepreneur
Planning a home renovation? Here’s how to make sure you profit from it
Many home-owners – especially young ones – still think that they can make money by buying homes, renovating and trading up periodically. There continue to be many arguments for and against this strategy. In support of this strategy is the concern about the future of the principal residence exemption – the rule that exempts the appreciation of one personally-occupied residence per household from capital gains taxes. Home renovations could increase the adjusted cost base of the property in some cases; meaning that renovations could reduce capital gains taxes if the principal residence exemption is changed or rescinded.
Contrary to this renovation strategy is the oft-forgotten yet inevitable costs of selling a home which can be estimated at roughly 10% of the value of the home. These costs of sale typically include: realtor fees (5 – 6% of the home’s value), legal and other fees as well as the actual costs of moving. Historically, home values have increased with inflation despite the perception that home prices outpace inflation. At the current inflation rate of 2% per year, it would take just under 5 years to recoup the costs of selling the home; threatening the utility of this buy, renovate and trade-up strategy.
Click here to read the full article on The Star
For investors sidelined with cash, market surge presents painful dilemma
As a fee-for-service financial planner, I have luxury of looking at investment portfolios in an unbiased manner. In so doing, it becomes easier – but by no means “easy” – to see when assets are over-concentrated in a portfolio. However, commenting on the over-concentration of an investment is one thing; convincing a client to act upon it is quite another. I wonder how many clients I spoke with last year (prior to the pandemic meltdown and economically-unsupported rebound) are still sitting on huge swaths of employer stock holdings, cash, real estate and other often over-concentrated positions.
Click here to read the full article on The Globe and Mail
The Motherhood Recession
This wonderful article describes the difficulties faced by working mothers in the US who are trying to “balance” the needs of isolated children and a work-from-home ideal. It also offers some interesting suggestions to help us manage through this time.
Closer to home, FP Canada recently published a study of COVID-related financial stress which also identified a gender gap in the pressures felt by men and women. In their study, women are 17% more likely to say that their level of financial stress has been impacted by COVID-19. Furthermore, unlike the recessions of the past – which disproportionately affect male-dominated fields such as manufacturing and construction – COVID-19 has devastated mostly female-dominated fields such as education, childcare and the service industry.
Click here to read the full article on Entrepreneur