Amina and Sanjay are a young Canadian couple looking forward to buying their first home. They both have satisfying jobs and are financially savvy. Through Amina’s grandfather they were introduced to an advisor who told them about the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), and they think it’s a good way to save for a home.
Helpful Tips, Investments, Personal Finance
Canadians saving for their first home have another option—the First Home Savings Account (FHSA)—a registered plan that allows for tax deductible contributions along with tax-free growth and withdrawals¹ to buy or build your first home.2
An index fund is an investment fund that aims to provide returns similar to those of market benchmark. This is generally done by investing in the same securities (or a representative sample) as the target benchmark.
Although it can be tempting to put your investment goals aside to chase these returns, beware of FOMO, which can introduce an unreasonable level of risk in your portfolio.
Understanding the differences and similarities
Markets move in different directions at different times, generally called cycles. Different market cycles tend to favour one investment style over another. Understanding how growth and value investment styles differ and where they can work together will help demonstrate how they can both play an integral role in your equity portfolio construction.
For the average consumer, getting the unbiased facts about life insurance in Canada can be challenging. When Money Sense magazine decided to put together a series of articles answering some of the key questions Canadians should consider when looking for life insurance, one of the first people they turned to was Empire Life’s own Peter Wouters, Director of Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning.
In our last post in December, we talked about the idea of using insurance to protect the things you care about and value the most. Your good health just might be the most important thing you possess, and as we’ve seen during the pandemic, a public health emergency can turn the world on its head in an instant. The same holds true for families and individuals when a health crisis hits. This month we want to focus on the need to protect against the financial impacts of a serious health issue, and that’s where critical illness insurance comes in.
When looking at insuring the things that are most important to you and your family: your home, your health and your life are a few of the most obvious examples. Most people have at least one of those insured. While it may not be as obvious, your ability to meet your loan and other credit obligations is probably one of the most valuable things you possess. Do you have that insured?
As we saw last time, avoiding life insurance ownership pitfalls takes a bit of maintenance work. With something that is built to last for years, decades or even a lifetime, the ability to adapt to the changes that come with life’s ups and downs is valuable. With life insurance, that means making sure you know what the options are and how to make them work for you. Let’s take a look at a couple of overlooked pitfalls to avoid.
