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
Are you curious about how investing taxes are calculated on capital gains, dividends, and interest in Canada? I’m not a tax expert, but with tax loss harvesting season coming out, I figured it might be a good time to review some of the basics between how Canadian investment returns are taxed in your RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered accounts. Investing Taxes in an RRSP Let’s start with RRSPs. As you probably know, RRSP contributions and investment growth are taxable only upon withdrawal. A...| Million Dollar Journey
There is a TON of investment advice out there. Some should only be taken into consideration after a thorough investigation and planning. Some - like contributing to a TFSA - is just sound advice that should be acted on quickly. The reason? Two words: tax free. That is not something you hear often, and that’s why we want to help you start contributing to your TFSA as quickly as possible to achieve maximum money saving and investment earning results. If you turned 18 on or before 2009...| Million Dollar Journey
I am a cautious investor given that I am in the semi-retirement stage. While I would acknowledge that growth is important for a retiree or near-retiree, I want most of our equity positions to be in the quality or high-quality camp so that I can sleep easy at night. That’s why a portfolio that invests in wide moat stocks such as grocers, railways, and utilities - plus a couple of semi-wide moat stocks - are a great fit (and one that I have a lot of confidence in). This low-risk mix has off...| 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
Canada’s best robo advisors are an excellent investing solution for the many folks who are intimidated by the thought of buying and selling shares on their own - but who don’t want to pay the outrageous mutual fund fees that come with the traditional investments recommended by banks and credit unions. There is incredible value in automatically taking a piece of your paycheque every month and automatically turning it into a diversified investment portfolio. Way too many of us hesitate to g...| Million Dollar Journey
The best free stock trading apps in Canada can help you cut fees to the bone, and DIY invest yourself to a substantial nest egg. That said, there is no such thing as a truly free stock trading in Canada. We’ll go into detail about what “free” really means when it comes to investing in Canada, and how to compare the various DIY investing platforms in Canada. Since trading apps like Robinhood came onto the scene, DIY investment has given investors control over how they invest, and how m...| 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
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