If you owe money to CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), you’re not a happy camper but if you have a tax refund coming to you…you are likely smiling!  Essentially it’s money you’ve paid to the government in one form or another but after reconciling your 2014 income and deductions with what you truly owe, you didn’t […]

Quite a lot – I think. No one likes them and neither one is the ticket to success. That’s the first question – How are you defining success? The key is to define your goal using SMART elements (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely). You may begin by saying that you want to lose 10 […]

It’s like taking your car in for a scheduled service in that you dread the phone call if they find anything to fix. But isn’t that better than being stuck on the side of the road in the pouring rain with a broken car? Or worse, in an accident caused by a mechanical failure? The […]

If a client asked me that question, how would I respond? That’s easy – I’d suggest they check their plan! Our plan has 4 key objectives: RSP and RESP Savings Extra Mortgage Payments Big Trip Savings Other Big Item Savings The majority of RSP and RESP savings is achieved through regular monthly savings incorporated into […]

We went grocery shopping a couple weeks ago and came away with what looked like a medium sized turkey. It was ‘free’ because we spent more than $250 at the store – not hard to do when it’s a big shop day. I’ve made only 1 roast turkey before so I pulled out my battered […]

It’s not even the end of March and already I find myself making summer camp plans for the kids! It seems early to me but the upside is that I’ll have it organized sooner. It also leads me to take a look at our summer budget and since child care is such a large component […]

Spring Break is 2 whole weeks!! We have 2 children and so we have a few options (the estimated cost is beside each option): Take vacation time and take a vacation ($5,000) Take vacation and plan a ‘staycation’ ($300) Find Spring Break camps ($1,000) A combination of the above (??) We opted for the combination […]

The March 2nd deadline is fast approaching – have you saved for your retirement? The March 2nd deadline only applies to those wanting to use their RSP contribution towards their 2014 tax year however it does serve to light a fire under those who procrastinate year round! If you plan to complete a 2014 RSP […]

The weather in Vancouver was gorgeous today and spring flowers have been popping up everywhere. You may wonder what on earth that has to do with money – in fact working on your finances might be the last thing you thought of dealing with today! The parallel is this – planting seeds today means beautiful […]

A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is a program under which you can save for your child’s education. As parents we try very hard to give our children every opportunity and one of the foundational bricks of many paths in life is education. The cost of post-secondary education increases each year and who knows what […]