While Ottawa makes noises about boosting financial literacy, it’s curious that this country’s 289,000 financial advisors seldom talk about debt. The industry thinks it’s OK that 40% of Canadians now retire with some debt, with many going deeper into hock once they stop working. Little wonder that a thousand or [ Read More → ]

Q. I have $27,600 left in my IRA. On my quarterly statement it looks like I received 96 cents in interest. This is in a money market account. I just can’t leave this money and receive only 96 cents in a quarterly statement. This is all the money I have. [ Read More → ]

In suburban Toronto, a couple we’ll call Wayne, 34, and Julia, 35, are raising their two children, ages four and six. Julia hasn’t worked for years and doesn’t want to return to a job. They want to save for the kids’ education, move up from their $600,000 house to one [ Read More → ]

In this on-again, off-again economic recovery, some unemployed mid- or late-career professionals are tapping their retirement nest eggs just to survive financially in the here and now. The question is, what happens once they actually reach retirement age? Even with no savings or company pensions, Canadians do have a basic safety [ Read More → ]

NEW YORK — If you had hoped to do a midyear checkup on your personal finances, there’s still time to make sure you’re ready for the rest of the year. Here are five places to start: 1. Spending — Take a look at your spending plan from the beginning of the [ Read More → ]

SITUATION Affluent couple wants cash for big spending plans STRATEGY Structure investments for less future risk SOLUTION Reduced income volatility, smoother cash flow — In Toronto, a couple we’ll call Jonas, 44, and Anna, 41, have achieved material success. Jonas, a real estate broker, and Anna, a corporate manager, have combined take home pay [ Read More → ]

Don’t feel like clipping coupons? Unwilling to sacrifice lifestyle to save a buck? Unmotivated to budget? No problem. Tap into the world of lazy savings, set-it-and-forget-it ways to keep more cash in your pocket without depriving yourself: Get dining rewards: Register your credit and debit cards at iDine.com for free and [ Read More → ]

Listen to top investment strategists, and you’d think it’s almost certain that investors have set themselves up for a fall by flocking into bonds. Although traditionally considered a safe haven, bonds aren’t without risk. Yet any fixed-income fizzle won’t be as painful as the late 2008 crash for stocks, the thinking [ Read More → ]

Kiwibank chief executive Sam Knowles. Photo / Mark Mitchell The boss of state-owned Kiwibank wants people to be compelled to join KiwiSaver, with individual contributions rising gradually over the next decade or two to reach 10 per cent of income. With employers also providing 10 per cent, it would take savings to [ Read More → ]

It would be the height of foolishness to load up on debt now, right?Just look at the news these days. Homeowners are being foreclosed on at a record clip. Governments around the world are lurching toward insolvency. Job growth in the U.S. remains feeble at best. And at the center [ Read More → ]