Boomer and Echo
38 FOLLOWERS
I'm Robb Engen, the founder, and head writer. Boomer and Echo is a Canadian personal finance blog with smart ideas on how to save, invest and reach financial freedom.
Boomer and Echo
2w ago
The future is always uncertain, but at this time last year my crystal ball was as murky as ever. We were in the middle of building a new house and still needed to sell our existing home. Stocks and bonds were down double digits, and interest rates were still on the rise. Investors were piling ..read more
Boomer and Echo
2w ago
Financial planners need to use assumptions about the future to paint a realistic picture for their clients. Since we don’t have a crystal ball, most rely on the projection and assumption guidelines put forward annually by FP Canada. These assumptions include estimates about inflation, investment returns, life expectancy, wage growth, borrowing costs, etc. Note that ..read more
Boomer and Echo
1M ago
The federal government uses the inflation data for the 12-month period between October 1 to September 30 to determine a number of figures for the following calendar year. September’s inflation rate was announced earlier this month, so we now have the entire data set needed to calculate the indexing rate for 2024, which gives us ..read more
Boomer and Echo
1M ago
A few months ago I wrote about some changes I plan to make to our kids’ RESP portfolio. We’ve used TD’s e-Series funds for this account, but will switch to an ETF portfolio using Justin Bender’s excellent RESP strategy. Along with this portfolio reboot, I’ll also change how we fund the account (annually versus monthly ..read more
Boomer and Echo
2M ago
They say life insurance is a product that’s sold, not bought. This decades-old maxim was shamefully brought to light when the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) looked into troubling sales practices in the life insurance industry. Troubling, indeed. FSRA examined life insurance agents at three firms – World Financial Group, Greatway Financial Inc ..read more
Boomer and Echo
2M ago
Canada is in a full blown housing crisis. While much of the housing conversation centres around sky high prices in Toronto and Vancouver, affordability issues stretch across the entire country. The average home price in Canada was $650,140 as of August 2023. This is especially problematic for single Canadians. Canada’s single population has increased steadily ..read more
Boomer and Echo
3M ago
Investors often look to rules of thumb or mental shortcuts to help guide their decision making. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good rules of thumb that can help determine how much you will spend in retirement. The 4% safe withdrawal rule, while a decent starting point, is not particularly useful. For one, investors don’t just have ..read more
Boomer and Echo
4M ago
Some of my younger clients are concerned they might be over-saving. I think they might be onto something. I have the unique perspective of having written hundreds of retirement plans over the last eight years. One common theme is that retirees who had a high savings rate throughout their careers are rarely able to flip ..read more
Boomer and Echo
5M ago
Some Canadians will go to great lengths to avoid probate fees and to reduce taxes applied to their estate. Indeed, estate planning strategies such as adding an adult child to the title of primary residence or a cottage, or as a joint owner of a non-registered account, can unknowingly expose you or your child to ..read more
Boomer and Echo
5M ago
What a difference a year makes! At this time last year we owned an empty lot and had cashed out our TFSAs to help fund our new house build. Stocks were also down pretty significantly in mid-2022. Our finances were still in flux at the end of 2022 because we didn’t have a possession date ..read more