Four Ways to Make Saving for Retirement Easier

Planning for retirement is never easy. Thankfully, the good people at the Globe And Mail did this handy piece on 4 ways to make retirement easier.

If there’s one thing to know about planning your retirement savings this year it’s this: it’s not getting any easier.

Apparently that’s what a growing majority of Canadians think. New surveys from both the Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal show that a dwindling percentage of people plan to put anything at all this year into their Registered Retirement Savings Plans.

With RRSP investment season now under way and the March 3 deadline looming for 2013 tax filing and to get potential refunds, the Scotiabank survey finds that just 31 per cent of Canadians plan to contribute this year, compared with 39 per cent last year. BMO’s survey found that 43 per cent plan to contribute, but this, too, is down from 50 per cent in 2013.

Top 3 Money Mistakes Couples Make

Now money mistakes happen. Have you committed one of the big three?

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/video/top-3-money-mistakes-couples-212620429.html

Update: The embedded video kept breaking so I replaced it with a link.

Thanks to Yahoo Finance and their #MoneyMinute, even though its actually 3 minutes.

Source: http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/video/top-3-money-mistakes-couples-212620429.html

Highlights From Finance Minister Flaherty’s 2014 Federal Budget

 Hey everyone! Courtesy of the Canadian Press here are some highlights from Canada’s 2014 budget announcement by Jim Flaherty! I bolded some areas of interest at the civilian level!

Not listed: Commitment to 5mbps internet speeds across Canada. Good news for all you members of rural Canada and people with lower end internet packages!

Some highlights from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s 2014 federal budget

OTTAWA – Some highlights of the federal budget delivered Tuesday by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty:

— The budget is close to balance, with a $2.9-billion deficit and a $3-billion contingency fund.

— Flaherty forecasts revenues of $276.3 billion and expenditures of $279.2 billion.

— The government makes clear it will balance the budget next year by cutting program spending and reining in public service compensation costs.

— The budget proposes to make retired federal public servants pay half the costs of their health-care plan, up from a quarter now. This would raise annual payments for a retired individual to $550 from $261.

Should You Skip the RRSP Contribution and Pay Off Your Mortgage First?

There are more than a few ways to get yourself to retirement. RRSP’s are a great investment, but so is clearing your debt before you stop earning a regular income. So what should you focus on? Thankfully The Globe and Mail has a great article to help you decide.

The big push is on to convince Canadians to load their extra cash into registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) investments before the Mar. 3 deadline. But though it may seem as though contributing is the only option when it comes time to decide what to do with the money, it’s not.

Many financial planners, accountants and other experts suggest there’s an even better way to work toward a well-heeled retirement down the road: Pay off the mortgage first. And do it as fast as you comfortably can.

That’s exactly what Rock Lefebvre, vice-president of research and standards for the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, in Ottawa, did when he was younger. Rather than invest in stocks, bonds or mutual funds, he developed a financial strategy that meant paying off his mortgage early. To this day he still advises that most people eliminate consumer debt and then go on to tackle mortgage debt before investing.

He Debt, She Debt

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Men and women both say debt repayment is a top priority, but when you dig a little deeper there are some differences.