Personal Wealth Susan Daley 4 Steps to Calculate Your Disability Coverage PWL Capital 2019-02-7T09:00:41 February 7, 2019 For millennials, long-term disability insurance might be the most important decision in their life. The average 25-year-old has $1.75 million in human capital to protect. Those that earn more than an average income of $43,700, have more human capital at risk. I outline the various sources of income you can receive if you become disabled and how to protect yourself by getting an appropriate amount of disability insurance coverage.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Disability Insurance for Millennials 101 2019-01-23T10:00:36 January 23, 2019 The average millennial office worker would lose $300,000 without disability insurance. Those that earn more than the average 25- to 34-year-old would be even worse off. We protect our homes and our cars without a second thought, but very few young professionals I talk to have thought about protecting their biggest asset, their ability to earn an income. I outline how disability works and why it is important in this Your Money, Your Choices episode.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Year End Financial Tips 2018-12-13T09:16:08 December 13, 2018 Another year is essentially over, but there is still time to get a couple financial items off your to do list before the year end. While there are lots of things to do when it comes to personal finance, there are a few that are time sensitive and have annual deadlines. Here are some items you’ll want to check off your list before December 31st.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Regular Actions to Take Control of Finances 2018-11-28T13:10:45 November 28, 2018 I discuss what I personally do on a regular basis to make sure I’ve got my financial house in order in honour of Financial Literacy Month’s theme “Take Control of your Finances”.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Using Budgeting & Tracking Your Spending to Make Informed Decisions 2018-11-15T09:04:36 November 15, 2018 November is Financial Literacy Month in Canada, with this week’s theme “Make Informed Decisions”. There are many ways you can make informed decisions, but I’ll focus on making informed decisions based on your personal spending. In this post, you’ll find the different ways to budget and the real reasons for budgeting.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley RESP Grants (Canada Education Savings Grants) 2018-10-31T10:46:15 October 31, 2018 The RESP is a powerful tool to save for your child’s post-secondary education. The power comes from the Canadian Education Savings Grant (CESG), which boosts your child’s education savings substantially. I outline how the CESG works and how you can maximize the grants your child receives.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Everything You Need to Know About RESPs 2018-10-17T12:44:51 October 17, 2018 Your child’s post-secondary education might be decades away, but planning ahead can make that expensive time in your lives much less stressful. One of the major ways to do that is through the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), which offers up to $7,200 in incentives for you to save for your child’s education over the long term.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley 4 Ways to Save for your Child’s Post-Secondary Education 2018-10-3T10:14:56 October 3, 2018 My first niece was born a couple of months ago and it got me thinking about her education savings. There are a number of savings options my sister can employ for my niece in the 18 years before she starts post-secondary school. I outline the various sources, and the pros and cons of each option below.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley 5 Ways to Pay for Post-Secondary Education 2018-09-19T09:59:22 September 19, 2018 If you’re looking to fund your own or your child’s education but haven’t regularly saved for several years towards those expenses, there are a number of options for paying for expensive tuition, housing and textbook costs. In today’s post, I’ll outline the 5 ways you can pay for education costs or put away short-term savings for it.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Student Loan Debt Repayment Case 2018-08-22T10:00:22 August 22, 2018 In this episode of Your Money, Your Choices, Susan uses a concrete example of a new graduate paying off student and car loans to show how small differences in your debt repayment strategy can add up over time and save you interest costs and reduce the time it takes to pay off debts.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley How to Build an Emergency Fund 2018-08-8T10:00:57 August 8, 2018 Financial planners and advisors across Canada suggest you should save 3 to 6 months worth of expenses in an emergency fund. You’ve figured out how much you are aiming for, using some of the guidelines from my last video perhaps.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Why You Need an Emergency Fund & How Much You Should Set Aside 2018-07-25T10:00:58 July 25, 2018 One of the most overlooked things in personal finance I see from young professionals is the emergency fund. Unfortunately, emergency funds aren’t exciting, so instead people want to focus on other things like buying a house and investing in the stock market.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Index Mutual Funds vs. ETFs 2018-07-11T10:00:20 July 11, 2018 Index mutual funds and their corresponding ETF’s are very similar in terms of their holdings. So how do you which one is best? Like most things in personal finance, the decision will ultimately come down to your personal situation and preferences.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Debt Repayment Strategies 2018-06-27T10:43:12 June 27, 2018 Paying off debt is a worthy goal and there are some key strategies to getting it paid off more quickly. I outline these strategies in my latest episode of Your Money, Your Choices.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley What You Need To Know About Debt 2018-06-13T10:41:04 June 13, 2018 Debt is an everyday fact of life for many. Whether it’s student loans, car loans, or mortgage debt, most of us have experienced it at some point in our life. One of the key things to reduce debt’s hold over you is to understand how it works so you can develop a plan to pay it off over time.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Implicit Fees in Investing 2018-05-30T10:38:29 May 30, 2018 I’ve come across many Canadians who don’t think they pay any fees to invest their money. Fortunately, the number of people that are under this impression is falling due to increase exposure. While you might not be swiping your credit card, there are a number of fees that get paid when you invest your money.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Explicit Investment Fees 2018-05-16T10:36:26 May 16, 2018 Even if you’re the most cost-conscious DIY investor, there are fees to pay when investing your money. Some are straightforward and transparent, others are less so. Today’s episode of Your Money, Your Choices focuses on the transparent and explicit fees you may pay to invest your money.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley What are ETF’s? 2018-05-2T10:00:27 May 2, 2018 ETF’s. It’s one of those common acronyms in the financial industry that gets thrown around a lot, but is rarely explained. ETF stands for an Exchange Traded Fund. It’s a single product that holds a basket of securities depending on the ETF’s investment mandate.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley What I Learned from a Year Long Shopping Ban 2018-04-18T10:00:00 April 18, 2018 Back in September of 2015, I completed a year-long shopping ban. I had been reading Carl Richard’s articles talking about values-based budgeting and completed his suggested exercise, where I sifted through my spending line-by-line to determine whether that was aligned with my values.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley How to Read a Fund Facts Document 2018-04-4T10:00:45 April 4, 2018 Canadians are getting ripped off! We pay some of the highest mutual fund fees in the world! The more you pay in fees on an ongoing basis, the less money you keep in your pocket and therefore the less you have available to fund your retirement or other financial goals.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Leaving a Job with a Defined Contribution Pension Plan 2018-03-21T10:00:41 March 21, 2018 Changing employers by force or by desire can make a huge impact on your financial life. Today I’ll be focusing on what to do with your Defined Contribution Pension Plan when you leave your current employer.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Leaving a Job with a Defined Benefit Pension Plan 2018-03-7T10:00:17 March 7, 2018 If you’re leaving a job that had a defined benefit pension plan, you’ll have to make a decision about what to do with that pension. The default route is to do nothing, and keep that pension with your current employer.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Switching Employers 2018-02-21T10:00:01 February 21, 2018 There are lots of moving parts in your finances if you choose, or are forced, to change employers. It can also be a stressful time worrying about finding a new job, making ends meet, and handling all of life’s other activities.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Spousal RRSP’s 2018-02-7T10:00:07 February 7, 2018 I have to say, Spousal RRSP’s are probably the least understood investment account. With today’s post, I hope to change that. I’ll be discussing what the Spousal RRSP is, how contributions and withdrawals work, and the various uses for this type of account over a regular RRSP.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Employer Pension Plans: Defined Contribution Plans 2018-01-26T16:20:28 January 26, 2018 If you’re fortunate to be one of the 1.1 million participants of a defined contribution pension plan, you might be curious how these plans work and what their benefits might be.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Employer Pension Plans: Defined Benefit Plans 2018-01-10T16:39:02 January 10, 2018 A defined benefit pension plan is a retirement savings plan offered through your employer. The big draw to defined benefit pension plans are just that. In retirement, you have a defined amount that you will receive each and every year.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley The Taxation of Investment Returns 2017-12-6T10:00:45 December 6, 2017 Taxation of your investments plays an important role in personal finance. In order to earn the highest return you can, you should reduce controllable costs, which includes taxes. In today’s episode, I’ll outline how various investments are taxed, and how you can use this information to make important investment decisions.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Mutual Fund Fees 2017-11-22T10:00:01 November 22, 2017 Canadians are getting ripped off! Thanks to increased exposure, investors are waking up to the fact that we pay some of the highest mutual fund fees in the world (see page 20 in attached report)!
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley How are Mutual Funds Invested? 2017-11-8T10:00:34 November 8, 2017 In my first video of a many part series, I outlined what mutual funds are, discussed why they are popular, and give you an idea of how a portfolio manager decides what to invest in. Today’s video outlines in more detail how mutual funds are invested.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley What is a Mutual Fund? 2017-10-25T10:00:42 October 25, 2017 A mutual fund is an investment vehicle that pools contributions from investors and invests that money into a variety of securities. So what does that mean to you and why might you want to use, or stay away from mutual funds when you’re investing your money?
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley 10 Tax Tips for Millennials 2017-10-11T10:00:20 October 11, 2017 There are many advantages to getting ahead start, your tax preparation included. Planning ahead, keeping receipts, and having some money available at the end of the year can allow you to take advantage of a number of tax savings opportunities.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Diversification – The Only Free Lunch in Investing 2017-09-27T10:00:42 September 27, 2017 In economics, there is a saying that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This means that while you might not be paying for your lunch on any given day, it’s not truly free. Someone, somewhere is paying for that lunch. In the investment world though, they say diversification is deemed the only free lunch in investing.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley The Investment Process 2017-09-13T10:00:33 September 13, 2017 There are a number of items I believe you should look at before considering investing, which I outline in this post: What Stock Should I Buy? But once you’ve mastered those personal finance items, you might be ready to invest your savings. Most individuals think that this is where they need to go out and find the next Google and invest in it.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Investing is Risky – A Primer on (Some) Risks Associated with Investing 2017-08-30T10:00:24 August 30, 2017 Investing is all about managing risks. While I talk about how not investing is a risky proposition in a previous video, today I outline some of the risks associated with investing your money in the stock and bond market. While there are risks associated with investing, knowing what those risks are and how to manage or mitigate some of the losses associated with those risks will allow you to be a smart, successful investor.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Investing in Stocks: Earning a Return on Equities 2017-08-16T10:00:30 August 16, 2017 My latest video outlined how fixed income or bond investments work, and how specifically you make money investing in those. My topic for today is how you really make money buying stocks.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Build Wealth Canada Podcast: How Much Do You Need to Retire? 2017-08-8T10:00:47 August 8, 2017 I was interviewed on the Build Wealth Canada Show to discuss how to pull off early retirement, what to look out for, and some of the most common mistakes that Canadians make when trying to plan this out.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Investing in Bonds: How Do I Make Money Buying Bonds? 2017-08-2T10:00:29 August 2, 2017 f you’ve seen my previous videos, you’ll know that individual investors can earn a return on their money by making it available for companies and other organizations to use to provide products and services. Investors expect companies to earn a profit with this cash, which enables the companies to provide an investment return investor’s money.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Not Investing Is Risky 2017-07-19T10:00:24 July 19, 2017 According to a BlackRock survey, Canadians hold 60% of their portfolios in cash, and 45% of Canadians planned to add more money to their cash deposits and savings.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Isn’t Investing Just Gambling 2017-07-5T10:00:56 July 5, 2017 According to a study produced in 2015 by Blackrock Canada, 51% of Canadians agree that investing is like gambling. I explain what investing really is, and outline the two things necessary to be an investor rather than a gambler in this video.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley How I Turned a Car Accident into a Better Credit Score 2017-06-21T10:00:14 June 21, 2017 Talk about a silver lining. In March 2016, my poor Ford Focus was totaled on HWY 401. What was a somewhat traumatic experience turned out to be a good thing financially. Since I was rear-ended, my insurance company almost immediately paid out the full value of my current car to me in cash.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley RRSP Deduction Limit vs. Contribution Room 2017-06-7T10:00:07 June 7, 2017 Now that the dust has settled around tax season, you can start strategically planning your RRSP contributions for next year! As a result of those tax returns you recently completed, you can find out your available RRSP Contribution Room, an important piece of information if you’re looking to maximize your savings.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley What to Do with your Tax Refund 2017-05-24T10:00:27 May 24, 2017 You’ve likely already deposited any tax refund you received for your 2016 income taxes by now. Don’t buy that big screen TV just yet! In a previous post, I outlined that any contributions to your RRSP should also incorporate any tax breaks you receive as a result of your contribution.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Withdrawing from the RRSP – How and Why? 2017-05-10T10:00:32 May 10, 2017 You’ve probably been told that setting aside money in an RRSP is a good idea for your future. But how can you get money out of this account when you need it, or if you made a mistake and contributed too much?
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Withdrawing Money from the RRSP through the Lifelong Learning Plan 2017-04-26T10:00:17 April 26, 2017 There are specific rules when it comes to pulling money out of your RRSP. In general, these withdrawals are taxed at your marginal rate. However, there are a few exceptions. One exception is withdrawing cash from your RRSP in order to pay for post-secondary education through the Lifelong Learning Plan.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Withdrawing Money from the RRSP through the Home Buyers Plan 2017-04-12T10:00:51 April 12, 2017 There are lots of reasons why you might want to use money currently sitting in your RRSP. There are some rules around pulling money out of this type of account that are useful to know if you have an RRSP or plan on using one in the future.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Are you Spending More on Coffee than your Retirement? 2017-03-29T10:00:52 March 29, 2017 A recent study by the company Acorns, suggested that 40% of millennials are spending more money on coffee than they are on their retirement savings. CTV wanted to get my take on the matter as a millennial who can relate (sort of – I don’t really drink coffee), but also whose job it is to encourage my clients to save for their big and sometime very distant goals, like retirement.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Applying the Pareto Principle to Investing 2017-03-15T10:00:18 March 15, 2017 Analysis paralysis occurs when you over-analyze a situation with many options that no decision or action is taken. This was summed up nicely by a famous study on jam. Psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper conducted a study where they displayed an array of jams to sample. If you sampled a jam, you got a coupon that could be used on any of the jams.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley The Basics of the Canadian Tax System 2017-03-1T10:00:37 March 1, 2017 Welcome to tax season! Every year we have to complete our tax returns which calculates how much federal and provincial tax we have to pay. Some years we might have paid too much through employer deductions and withholding taxes, so we receive a tax refund; other years we might owe tax come April.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Where should my Investments Go: RRSP or TFSA? 2017-02-14T10:00:09 February 14, 2017 Now that we know the basics of how RRSP’s (Registered Retirement Savings Plans) and TFSA’s (Tax Free Savings Accounts) work from a tax and investment standpoint, there is an important decision to make prior to selecting any investments. Should you contribute to an RRSP or TFSA?
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Rethinking Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP’s) 2017-02-1T10:00:02 February 1, 2017 The Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is an account recognized by the Canadian government to have special tax treatment. Contributions from the RRSP can be made with pre-tax dollars (i.e. you aren’t taxed on income that you contribute to the RRSP) and any growth within the account is not taxed.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley What is a TFSA? 2017-01-18T10:00:25 January 18, 2017 The Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a gift that was given to us by the government in 2009. You can contribute after-tax dollars (i.e. your take-home pay after you’ve had taxes taken off by your employer) up to your contribution limit, which carries forward each year.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley How Much Should I Save? 2017-01-4T10:00:45 January 4, 2017 If you find yourself with no money left over to save at the end of each month, even after making attempts to set up a budget, this video is for you. In 2016, there were a few notable stories of people saving aggressively to meet their goals. The first was Sean Cooper, who paid off his mortgage in 3 years by the age of 30!
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley What Should I Spend Each Month? 2016-12-7T10:00:42 December 7, 2016 Do you find yourself having too much month at the end of the money? It’s all too common, believe me. Perhaps you’ve just finished school, you’re starting to earn a decent income, maybe you’ve moved out of your parents’ house, or you’ve been at this for a while but your monthly finances are just not working.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Improving Your Credit Score without Existing Debt 2016-11-23T10:00:39 November 23, 2016 Wait a minute…you’ve never been in debt? That’s amazing! Congratulations! High five! But…before you move on. Here is something that may shock you. Even though you have no debt, your credit score may still suffer!Don’t believe me? Do you know what your credit score is?
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Improving Your Credit Score with Existing Debt 2016-11-9T10:00:40 November 9, 2016 Do you know your credit score? When it comes to adulting, a good credit score is the key to entering the grown-up kingdom.It can affect all sorts of things like landing a job, getting an apartment, home insurance premiums,rates for mortgages, car loans,lines of credit, and even getting a cell phone plan.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Introducing Your Money, Your Choices: a Video Series about all Things Personal Finance 2016-10-26T10:00:30 October 26, 2016 Personal finance can be confusing. And with all the (sometimes contradicting) information out there, it can be hard to narrow it down to what’s important to you. While there are many strategies that can be useful for most people, I believe that everyone is different so the exact same strategy won’t work for everyone.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley What Stock Should I Buy? 2016-10-26T10:00:07 October 26, 2016 It’s almost inevitable. Pretty much every time I meet people for the first time and they find out that I’m an Associate Portfolio Manager, they ask:
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley TFSA or RRSP: Where Should your Down Payment Fund and Retirement Savings Go? 2016-05-30T10:00:24 May 30, 2016 Many young professionals are simultaneously saving for two major goals: buying a home and starting to save for their future (a.k.a. retirement or financial independence). In my recent blog post, I outlined the various accounts that can be used for a variety of savings goals.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley You’ve Started Saving Money, Now What? 2016-01-25T10:00:41 January 25, 2016 Continuing with my guide for young professionals, the next step is to determine where to put your money. You’ve figured out your budget (or not), and are starting to accumulate savings. Often many young professionals start accumulating cash in their bank accounts, but don’t know what to do with it, especially as it gets larger.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley The Importance of Planning 2015-11-3T10:00:26 November 3, 2015 We all have an idea about what our future looks like. Planning is the exercise of making those ideas a reality. It’s about avoiding the regret of “why did I spend so much money on X rather than saving it for something that truly matters to me”. The first step of planning is determining your values.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Debt Repayment Strategies: A Case Study 2015-08-20T10:00:17 August 20, 2015 Following my previous post on the fundamentals of debt, I provide a concrete example of how one can implement some of the strategies for repaying debt.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Fundamentals of Debt 2015-07-28T10:00:04 July 28, 2015 People borrow to bring forward expenditure. Conversely, people save to defer expenditure. Bringing forward expenditure comes at a cost, interest, while saving is rewarded by investment returns. How much debt costs depends on the risk that the borrower may default (i.e. not pay the loan back), which is called credit risk, and the borrowing period (also known as term risk).
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley 10 Tax Tips for Young Professionals 2015-03-27T10:00:04 March 27, 2015 As tax season is fast approaching, it is important to start gathering your information to complete your returns. For single, young professionals, here are a few of the most common tax savings opportunities
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Saving and Budgeting 2015-01-27T10:00:05 January 27, 2015 Saving and budgeting can often be overwhelming and scary topics. But if you don’t know where you are spending your money and find you don’t have any money left over to save, you won’t be able to achieve your goals. Keeping it simple and easy to follow will help you stick with it.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Why save? 2015-01-26T10:00:48 January 26, 2015 I have no idea what’s in store for me, I don’t know when or if I’ll get married or have kids. Right now, I want an awesome kitchen, so that’s my present motivation to save.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Basic Financial Terminology Explained 2014-11-17T10:00:22 November 17, 2014 Like many industries, the finance industry has its own vocabulary. All the acronyms and jargon can get confusing for investors, especially if you’re just starting out. In my last post, I outlined my intent to create a series of blogs that address financial issues facing young professionals. The following gives a very brief overview of some of the basic terms I will refer to in future posts in this series.
Starting Out PWL Capital Susan Daley Straight to the Point: Personal Finance Guide for Young Professionals 2014-09-26T10:00:01 September 26, 2014 Having recently graduated from university with a finance degree and entering the financial industry, I have learned a lot in the last two years. As an investment advisor, I’ve met many young people that get confused and overwhelmed when it comes to figuring out their finances. I don’t blame them.
PWL News & Events PWL Capital Susan Daley Introducing NBIN MyPortfolio+ 2014-05-30T10:00:19 May 30, 2014 One key benefit of MyPortfolio+ is the ability to access trade confirmation slips and prospectuses online, in addition to regular monthly statements. This is a bonus for clients who want to be able to access all their information online in one place at any time.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley Tax Tip: Do I Need to File a T1135? 2014-03-28T10:00:06 March 28, 2014 New reporting requirements and a commitment to heavier enforcement of penalties have brought the T1135 form into the light. Do you need to be filing one? The T1135, or Foreign Income Verification Statement, is a form to disclose all “specified foreign property” held by Canadians in non-registered accounts.
Personal Wealth PWL Capital Susan Daley How Much Do You Need to Retire? 2014-02-26T10:00:24 February 26, 2014 Have you ever opened your RRSP account statement and thought “Great, I have more money than last month, but what does that mean for my retirement?” or “My account value has gone down, should I be worried that I can’t retire when I want to”? Like any ship, most of us know where our destination is: a comfortable retirement. The water might be choppy and momentarily steer you off course, but as long as you have a map that can show where you are compared to where you want to be, you should reach your destination.