There may come a point during the year that you max out your registered Canadian investment accounts, or if you are living abroad, there might be certain restrictions on what you can contribute to tax-advantaged accounts. The great news is that no matter what your situation is, you can still open a non-registered tax efficient ETF portfolio. If you are living and earning an income abroad, or have maxed out your TFSA and RRSP, you may not be able to contribute to an RRSP or a TFSA. Read on to ...| Million Dollar Journey
I like the idea of owning real estate - but I don’t want the headaches of being a landlord. If that sounds like you, then you basically have two options: Invest in Canadian Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Or Invest in Canadian real estate stocks. Personally, I’m a massive fan of investing in Canadian bank stocks, and that gives me enough exposure to Canadian real estate - which is why I have three of the banks amongst my picks for best Canadian dividend stocks. Canadian Real Estat...| Million Dollar Journey
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
I’ve been writing about the “Dogs of the TSX” Canadian investing strategy for about twelve years now. I can’t claim that I was the creator of the idea though. In fact, no Canadian can really lay claim to the “Dogs’” principles. The Dogs of the TSX can trace its roots back to the “Dogs of the Dow” strategy in the USA. The first place that I saw the idea being applied to Canada was when MoneySaver magazine started writing about the BTTSX or Beating the TSX Dividend Stock Strat...| Million Dollar Journey
Long-term investing is one of the most powerful ways to grow your wealth. As the name implies, long-term investing means that an investor buys an asset with the intent to hold it for some time. The time frame can be years or even decades. Over time, long-term investing has the potential to produce excellent returns due to the magic of compound interest. While this strategy might not appeal to everyone, especially those with a high risk tolerance, it has historically proven to be an effectiv...| Million Dollar Journey
A Real Estate Trust (REIT) ETF is the most straightforward way to invest in real estate without becoming a landlord yourself or spending time researching the 30+ individual REITs on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This article will give you all the details about REIT ETFs: What they are and how they diversify your portfolio How they’re different from Real Estate Trusts (REITs) How to recognize good REIT ETFs Which Canadian REIT ETFs are the best picks for 2024 Top REIT ETFs in Canada: Quick...| Million Dollar Journey
If you’ve been following MDJ for a while, you will come to learn that I’m a fan of two investing strategies, index investing and investing for income through Canada’s best dividend stocks. I like index investing (also known as passive investing) for its ease, low cost, and ability to beat most active mutual fund returns over the long term. I use this strategy for: my spousal RRSP; the international portion of my RRSP; and, the education fund (RESP) that I set up for my two kids. Divid...| Million Dollar Journey
Should you worry about re-working your whole portfolio around the idea of choosing the best Canadian inflation stocks? Probably not. Of course that’s easier said than done as we proceed through stubborn inflation trends in 2023. When we started 2022, inflation was only being mumbled about by a very small cohort of market experts (shout out to Larry Summers). We then proceeded to see central banks fall further and further behind the inflation curve, before finally realizing that they had...| Million Dollar Journey
It is no secret that the Canadian stock market is not very well diversified by sector. Canada is largely financial, energy and materials, with all of that other stuff in between. By investing in Canadian retail stocks, investors can add some much-needed diversification. Canadian retail stocks can also help investors profit during times of economic strength and certain types of retail stocks can offer a nice hedge against periods of slow growth or recessions. A certain segment of Canadian ...| 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