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The Five Steps to Investment Planning

An investment advisor can help you figure out what the right investment choices are for you.
The five steps to investment planning are:
• Meeting your investment advisor
• Determining your goals and expectations
• Developing your investment plan
• Implementing your investment plan
• Monitoring the plan
The sooner you start planning for retirement, the sooner you can get there! An investment advisor can help you get there quicker.

Why Should I Review My Life Insurance?

It’s important to review your life insurance regularly to ensure your policy is up-to-date and see if you require any coverage changes. Here are some reasons you may need to update your life insurance:
• You’ve gotten married or divorced or had a baby.
• You’ve changed jobs.
• You’ve taken on some debt.
• You’re supporting additional family members.
• You’ve bought a new home.
• A loved one has a change in their health.

“Final Pivot” – COVID-19 Emergency Benefits expire October 23rd, replaced by targeted supports

On Thursday, October 22nd, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the “final pivot in delivering the support needed to deliver a robust recovery.” This “Final Pivot” means several existing pandemic support programs for individuals and businesses will expire on October 23rd, 2021:

–  Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) 
–  Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) 
–  Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) 

When should I buy life insurance?

Life insurance is something you can use at any age. Whether you’re in your 20s or approaching retirement, you can benefit from having life insurance. Our article, “When should I buy life insurance”? can help you understand:
• What the two main types of life insurance are – term and permanent
• When term insurance is better for you and when permanent insurance is
• How life insurance can benefit you at different ages
• What costs life insurance can help your loved ones’ cover

Life Insurance after 60- is it necessary?

You may have had life insurance for as long as you can remember. You knew it was important to make sure that your family would be taken care of and be able to pay their bills if anything happened to you.

But now that you’re over 60, your children are grown, and your mortgage is paid off, you may feel you don’t need life insurance anymore. However, there are some circumstances under which it may still make sense for you to have life insurance:

• You still have substantial debt.
• You have dependent children or grandchildren.
• You want to be able to leave a financial legacy.

Estate Freeze

No business owner likes to think about handing over their business they’ve built from the ground up. But the fact of the matter is, you will have to do it eventually. Even more concerning, what if you were to become ill or incapacitated? Making a decision of this magnitude during trying times would not be ideal.

For the business owner, an estate freeze can be an integral part of your estate planning strategy. The purpose of an estate freeze is to lock-in (freeze) the value of the business, freeing the successor from the tax liability that may arise should the business’ value increase.

Federal Budget 2021 Highlights

On April 19, 2021, the Federal Government released their 2021 budget. Our article contains highlights of the various financial measures in this budget, divided into three different sections:

• Business Highlights, including an extension to COVID-19 Emergency Business Supports, new programs to support job creation, and a change in interest deductibility limits.

• Individual Highlights, including details on the tax treatment and repayment of personal COVID-19 benefits (such as CERB), eligibility changes to the Disability Tax Credit, an increase in OAS for those 75 and up, and support for job skills retraining.

• Additional Highlights, including a proposed federal minimum wage of $15, changes to the GST New Housing Rebate conditions, and new or increased taxes in areas such as luxury goods, tobacco, and Canadian housing owned by non-resident foreign owners.