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Posts from the ‘Retirement Planning’ Category

Nov 26

The Perm / Term Squirm: Deciding Between Permanent and Term Life Insurance Policies Part 1 – Term Life Insurance

Just so you know, I’m a big fan of life insurance, both permanent (“perm”) and temporary (“term”) policies. On the other hand, it is also important to pick the right policy for the report; sometimes a perm policy with lots of bells and whistles is the perfect solution but in others, buying a simple, inexpensive term policy is the way to go. In the end, it’s about figuring out what policy fits your needs and budget, rather than your advisor’s. Just don’t automatically assume that your insurance agent is on the take if she sings the praises of universal life or he extolls the merits of a participating whole life policy.

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Sep 16

What To Do When You Do It Yourself

One of the great questions in life (other than why someone first decided to taste coffee beans sourced from monkey excrement) is deciding what we can do ourselves and when it is time to ask for a helping hand. In most areas, it depends on the issue and the person. Financial planning is no different; some of us have the time, knowledge and experience to handle many of our own financial affairs while others are probably better off bringing in hired help, especially if it’s not something we enjoy in the first place. In reality, I suspect that most of us are somewhere in the middle; we can carry part of the load ourselves but like to bring in help for some of the heavy lifting.

On the other hand, even if you have a cadre of crackerjack trained professionals on your team keeping you on the straight and narrow, I still a strong advocate of self-empowerment. In my view, taking the time to learn at least some of the ropes is almost always a good idea. My reasons are as follows:

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Mar 17

You, Me and the CPP – Part 2

Although the CPP retirement pension is usually the centre of attention, it is not the only way you may collect CPP benefits. Although I do want to focus on retirement benefits and things to consider when deciding when to claim them, the lapsed Catholic in me would feel guilty if I didn’t spend some time explaining some of the other ways to get paid by the CPP.

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