| Glossary of
Financial Terms |
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| What
Are Interest Rates? |
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| When we talk about interest rates,
what rate are we referring to or does it matter? For example, on the
Bank of Canada website, I see data on yields for Treasury Bills, Treasury
Bonds, Corporate Paper, Banker’s Acceptances, Mortgages, etc.
How are these different rates related?
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Losing
a family member provides an Inheritance
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| The stress caused by the death
of a loved one can be compounded by the financial decisions involved
in the ensuing inheritance. The emotions can be at times overwhelming,
and cloud a bereaved person's judgment. It is at these times that
you need the obvious support of family and friends, but also, a trusted
financial advisor, to make sure what your loved one intended for you
financially is put to the best use possible.
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| Be
aware of expiring or expired SINs |
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| Certain individuals who are either
working in Canada or legally admitted for some other authorized use
will require a Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN). In the case
where these individuals are not Canadian citizens or landed immigrants,
the SIN issued to them will begin with a "9". All SINS beginning
with a "9" now have an expiry date.
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| Debt
you say? |
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| Financial experts are high on
low interest rates and will remain so at least while rates stay low.
And, with home equity hitting new highs, consumers are quickly becoming
"paper" wealthy rather than "cash" rich. So how
do you turn your paper wealth into cash investments? |
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Still
coping with Christmas debt?
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| Facing up to the bills of 2003
can be a paralyzing experience for some. In her book Confessions of
a Shopaholic, Sophie Kinsella’s character Rebecca Bloomwood tries
to make peace with her overspending-self. It does make for humorous
reading but the similarities to real life make it sadly tragic. After
25 years in financial services, I’m afraid I have run into more
than my fair share of real life shopaholics.
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| Dealing
with divorce |
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| When divorce happens, finances
are one of the biggest considerations. It’s a good idea to educate
yourself about your finances now, and stave off any financial surprises
down the road. |
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| Focus
on the whole, not the parts |
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| Too often, investors focus on extremes.
The best-and worst-performing assets in a portfolio stand out, while
everything else goes more or less unnoticed. It's only natural: We
all want to be holding winners and avoiding losers. As a result, it's
easy to lose sight of the portfolio as a whole. |
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| Women
and finance: An ever-changing world |
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| Women
have special needs when it comes to financial planning. On average,
they earn less than men and are more likely to take time out of the
workforce to raise children or take care of elderly relatives. But
they also live longer, making the need to save even more important.
Your financial advisor should recognize these differences and understand
that every woman needs to have a financial plan. |
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| Revisit
your financial plan when you inherit |
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| If
you have received money as a result of an inheritance, you may have
mixed feeling about it. On one hand, you have money that you never
expected to receive; a windfall. On the other hand, you have lost
a loved one. This puts a burden on you to act responsibly with whatever
you have inherited. |
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| Financial
considerations when remarrying |
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| Money
can be an emotional issue and no two people have the same approach
to finances. But there are similar questions that both partners should
ask each other before they marry. |
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| Death,
disability and the family business |
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| An owner of a small family business is
often too preoccupied with day-to-day operations to make any formal
plans to address how that business would be handled if he/she dies
or becomes seriously disabled. |
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| Boomernomics:
How baby boomers' savings might boost financial assets |
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| Twenty-five years ago, Canadian baby
boomers born in the late 1940s and early 1950s began trading their
bell bottoms and love beads for business attire. They got jobs and
bought cars. They got married and had children. Then they bought houses
and furniture. And they borrowed...and borrowed...and borrowed. |
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| A tale
of two booms |
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| Up until recently, few Canadians concerned
themselves with population trends. While we all understood the term
"baby boom", not too many of us considered the impact that
this extraordinarily large number of people would have on the way
we will live in the future. |
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| Can you
afford to send your children to college? |
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| According to Statistics Canada, the cost
of university tuition in Canada increased by 152% between the years
1985 and 1995. If you have a youngster who is contemplating university,
tuition, rent, books and food could cost over $ 9,000 per year for
1998-99 (based on Canadian Federation of Students statistics for 1995-96
of $ 8,890 with annual inflation of 3.00%). |
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| Start
counting your paycheques |
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| Have you ever thought about the number
of paycheques you'll receive before you retire? If you haven't, here's
a sobering thought: A 25-year-old who plans to retire at age 65 has
960 paydays left. A 45-year-old has only 480. Assuming that you will
receive 24 paycheques a year for the rest of your working life, how
many do you have left? |
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| Substitute
Decisions Act |
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| Recently there has been a flurry of inaccurate
media coverage of the new Substitute Decisions Act. Lawyers and government
have received many anxious calls from people who have heard that they
must make a Power of Attorney before the legislation becomes effective,
otherwise the government will take over their affairs. This is simply
not so. Here, I will clarify the points. |
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| Myths
and misconceptions in Ontario Family Law |
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| In certain situations, living together
is "the same as" being married. For instance, the Canada
Pension Plan recognizes common-law spouses, as do many private pension
and benefit plans. As well, a common-law spouse can claim support
from his or her spouse if their relationship ends, as long as the
couple had lived together for three years. The couple must have lived
together for 1 year to be considered "spouses" for the purpose
of the Income Tax Act. |
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| The
cottage - Keeping it in your family |
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| The family cottage holds memories for
many families. Parents often wish to leave the family cottage to their
children, hoping that it will continue to be enjoyed by generations
to come. But what happens to the cottage if one of the children separates
from his or her spouse? Benefiting an ex-son or daughter-in-law is
not usually what the parents have in mind. It is prudent to give the
possibility of the separation or divorce of a child some consideration
when planning for the disposition of the family cottage. |
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