When I first wrote about the Smith Manoeuvre (18 years ago!) - a method to transform your mortgage into a tax-deductible loan - I never imagined it would become one of our most popular topics, racking up hundreds of comments. Even though I kicked off my own Smith Manoeuvre at practically the worst time in the last half-century (back in 2007), it still turned out pretty well for me. As we move into 2025, it’s becoming clear that high mortgages might be coming down a bit, the days of ultra-lo...| Million Dollar Journey
After writing a deep dive article on whether the 4% safe withdrawal rate still works for retirement at various ages, I received a lot of questions basically asking: “Ok, so 4% is a good rule of thumb, but when I actually go to withdraw money from my various investment accounts, to put into my chequing account & high interest savings account in order to pay for day-to-day expenses, what is the best way to avoid taxes?” Upon reading many of these types of questions, I realized that I wasn...| Million Dollar Journey
When I initially wrote this article about building RRSP wealth in your 30s, 40s, and 50s, my goal was to create an easy visual that illustrates just how much you would have to begin saving today if you wanted to be a millionaire “tomorrow” (when you retired). Five years later, the data stands up pretty well. I’m happy to say that my personal RRSP is well on the way to million-dollar status! Now, the more relevant question might be, do you actually need a million dollar RRSP to retire? W...| Million Dollar Journey
Most Canadians never stop to consider when low risk investments are the most appropriate use of savings versus when higher-risk long-term investments are the better route. The truth is that most Canadians choose their investment by “gut feel.” You likely don’t need me to tell you, that’s not an ideal process. When choosing between higher risk and low risk investments, it’s important to consider your personal goals and risk tolerance. Personally, I think that if you need your money i...| Million Dollar Journey
You’d think it’d be a relatively easy quest to answer the question: How much will a Canadian spend in retirement? When I set out to create the first retirement course for Canadians looking to retire in the next 25 years (or in the early stages of retirement) I figured that determining how much the average Canadians spent in retirement would be pretty straightforward. You can check out what that course has to offer by clicking here. I also knew that it was quite important to get this infor...| Million Dollar Journey
The concept of a safe withdrawal rate (and the 4% rule) is a key planning tool for Canadians of all ages. After all, if you don’t have a general withdrawal plan, how can you know how much you need to save in the first place? If you have been reading MDJ for years, you already have an idea of how to use a Canadian online broker account to DIY-invest your way to a solid nest egg. Now you’re planning for retirement (whether it’s 20+ years away or next year) and you’re wondering how to ...| Million Dollar Journey
You likely already know that investing in an RRSP is one of the best, most tax efficient ways to save for retirement. The good news is that if you or your common-law partner or spouse have unequal incomes, you can open and contribute to a spousal RRSP account. In doing so, you can maximize the benefits of an RRSP account for you and your spouse, no matter if one of you is not earning an income or earning much less. Read on to learn more about how a spousal RRSP account works, what the tax i...| Million Dollar Journey
I recently received an email from a reader with a bright financial future. They have a maxed out TFSA and has recently maxed out her RRSP as well. Here’s a snippet of the email below (edited for brevity). First of all, thank you for sharing your wisdom and financial journey. I love reading your blog and I learn so much from it! I was wondering if you could give some advice on where to put my money after maxing out my RRSP and TFSA contributions. I saw on MDJ that you like all-in-one ET...| Million Dollar Journey
Most Canadians know the Canada Pension Plan as a government account they pay money into every month when they are working, and then when they retire, CPP means a cheque or automated deposit that arrives every month. Sounds simple enough right? Well… There are many layers to CPP! It’s one of those topics in Canadian personal finance where you might be just fine with the broad outline for now, and then come back to you when you need specific details. When I first set out to write about...| Million Dollar Journey
When looking for the best financial advisors in Canada (or best financial planners in Canada) you’re going to run into a lot of slick salespeople who are really good at using confusing language and scaring you into the financial products that pay them best. Canada’s mutual funds and insurance products are amongst the most expensive in the world, and there is a massive amount of money to be made by selling them to you - even if they’re a really bad fit for your situation. Many people thi...| Million Dollar Journey
Income splitting is a tax-saving strategy that divides a stream of income between family members (usually two spouses). The goal is to apportion as much of the higher-earning family member’s income to other family members, in an effort to get that higher-earning spouse into a lower tax bracket. Some economists and policy wonks have made the argument that income taxation should be applied to the family unit as a whole, and thus negate the need for fancy income splitting accounting altogether...| Million Dollar Journey
Old Age Security - better known as OAS - is one of the least understood aspects of Canadian retirement planning that I’ve come across. In order to full wrap your head around OAS and how you can get the most out of it for your particular situation, this deep dive is going to cover: (use the table of contents below to jump to the section that pertains to you) OAS Eligibility (Who gets full or partial OAS) What is the OAS Clawback? (How Do I Keep My Whole OAS Cheque?) How Much OAS Will I Get? ...| Million Dollar Journey
When I first started writing about Canadian personal finance twenty years ago, my list of the best ETFs in Canada could fit on a napkin. There were no Canadian all-in-one ETFs, no catchy tickers, and definitely no slick marketing campaigns. ETFs were basically niche tools used by hardcore index investors and a handful of spreadsheet-loving DIY types. Fast-forward to today, and the landscape has completely changed. While I still hold a solid chunk of Canadian dividend stocks in my portfolio, l...| Million Dollar Journey
As a former teacher you might think I’d be the last person who would want to learn more about investing in annuities in Canada. But with Rob Carrick over at the Globe and Mail writing about how right now might be the best time to buy Canadian annuities for several years (maybe a decade-plus), I thought it would be be a good time to update our Ultimate Canadian Annuity Guide. Now, it’s common knowledge that teachers enjoy a solid stream of pension income when they reach retirement. In ...| Million Dollar Journey
Is now the time to lock in Canada’s Best GIC Rates? With the Bank of Canada suggesting a potential rate cuts in 2025, and with Trump’s tariffs knocking on the door, the best GIC rates in Canada may be hovering at their peak -which could mean now’s a great time to snag something above 3.3%. A Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) is essentially the Canadian counterpart to an American CD (Certificate of Deposit), offering a stable way to grow your money. GICs shine when you’re aiming ...| Million Dollar Journey
Current Qtrade New Customer Promotion Qtrade currently has the best cash-back offer on the market in an effort to get you to try their platform. In brief - they want to pay you $150 to open an account with them. Details: Amount in New Qtrade AccountCash Back$1,000-$9,999$50$10,000-$24,999$100$25,000+$150 In order to get your cash back, the minimum you have to invest is $1,000. The good news though is that your amount of “new net assets” can be spread out amongst multiple accounts. In o...| Million Dollar Journey
As we look ahead to summer and the second half of 2025, it’s time for an updated look at the Best Online Brokerages in Canada. With RRSP season in the rearview mirror – and what might be shaping up to be another round of “tariff season” drama ahead – now’s the time to lock in the easy DIY investing wins. I’ve been writing about Canadian online brokers for nearly 20 years, and the changes in the space have been massive. Fees have plunged, platforms are smoother than ever, and com...| Million Dollar Journey
Picking the best Canadian Dividend Stocks for 2025 isn’t an easy task! After such a stellar year in North American equities in 2025, there is much more room to move down than up. That said, my dividend stocks portfolio is all about long-term cash-flowing companies with large financial moats to protect them. Each month I take a look at the stocks that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and I focus on the following key dividend stock comparison points: Dividend Yield Dividend Growth ...| Million Dollar Journey