Gordon Powers, investing, saving, debt, RRSP, retirement, TFSA, tax free savings account

While asset allocation is a crucial investment decision, how to spread your money among different accounts can be equally important.

Many people look forward to retirement. But, without a plan to replace their work identity and stay socially connected, they could be in trouble.

Undecided whether you should buy or rent? Here's how the math might play out.

Overspending in retirement can be a real problem, particularly for many middle-income families.

Canadians approaching retirement are unclear about how much they can expect to see from the Canada Pension Plan.

While retirement can be a precarious time for many women, it’s not necessarily something to be feared.

Establishing ground rules when grown children move home is never easy. But it will save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Investors relying on the "4% rule" as the template for their retirement income planning could be disappointed, a recent study suggests.

Many MSN readers admit to being confused about when and how best to tap into the Canada Pension Plan.

While you can expect some money from the Canada Pension Plan, the survivor benefits may not be as generous as you might have thought.

A strong loonie and discounted Sun Belt home prices have Canadians lining up to purchase U.S. vacation properties. But should you be one of them?

People with relatively high IQs typically hold more diversified portfolios and do better over the long term, research suggests.

When it comes to retirement, the elephant in the room is frequently not how much money you’ve been able to put aside.

Paying down the loan with the highest interest rate is the most efficient way to get out of debt. But that’s not what many people do.

Outliving the assets you’ve put aside over a lifetime is every retiree's nightmare. Here’s one possible alternative.

When is the best time to have ‘the talk’ with your parents about what needs to be addressed?

Retirement can be fraught with uncertainty for those who unexpectedly find themselves facing it alone.

Many Canadians are still unsure about what it will take to maintain their desired lifestyle in retirement.

Raiding your retirement savings to cover day-to-day living expenses is generally a poor choice.

Model makes building a retirement investment strategy less a secret sauce and more a process.

It was once unthinkable to carry a mortgage in retirement. But many people now seem to be doing just that.

If you’re planning to retire soon, waiting a couple of years may have more of an impact than your investment choices.

Even though interest rates are low, some retirees may be better off ignoring bonds in favour of annuities.

It’s important to remember that there’s more to retirement than just paying for it.

When to start collecting a Canada Pension Plan pension is all about balancing potential longevity versus financial need.

The Canada Pension Plan is often the first pension that people collect and the one they understand the least.

The key to a successful retirement means being satisfied with what you have or making adjustments until you are.

A new report’s assumptions might not make sense for today’s young workers.

Some active fund mangers charge too much to simply parallel broad market indexes, according to a recent report.

More often than not, investors put more money into funds that perform better, suggests a new study.

Women are building and inheriting more wealth than men, but most still remain dissatisfied with the financial industry.

Figuring out the best way to access their money in retirement is a major source of anxiety for many Canadians.

Every financial decision has costs and offers benefits. But emphasizing one over the other can be expensive.

Young people tend to push financial issues off into the future. But small steps early on can lead to big results over time.

If you lack the ability to perform quick mental calculations, use these tools to help improve your financial situation.

Many Canadians are on track to run out of money before they run out of years to live. You don’t want to be one of them.

When it comes to financial affairs, it’s better to be ignorant than to believe that you’re still on top of things.

Many investors approaching retirement see little need for annuities — that is until they take a closer look at their future.

Most young people should make getting out of debt their top financial priority.

Avoiding a discussion about your finances won’t keep your adult kids from thinking about it.

Since they’re likely to have worked fewer years and earned less than men, retirement can be a precarious time for many women.

For many people these days, making retirement work means working in retirement. Are you one of them?

Forget the published numbers on inflation. If you really want to know what’s going to happen to your own standard of living, simply look around you.

Every additional year you can work improves the chances that you’ll be financially secure in retirement. But things don’t always go as planned.

Heading off to university in the fall? When tallying your expenses, be sure to factor in all those unseen costs as well.

It’s retiring boomers’ biggest concern: How to generate a reliable income from their savings that will last the rest of their lives.

Most Canadian workers are subject to decisions made at much higher levels. But retirement changes all that.

Retirement is not a single phase of your life, but a series of stages. And your spending pattern should reflect that.

Pension costs are becoming an albatross for many large companies, prompting some to offload more of the risk on to employees.

How you actually feel about money can have a significant impact on how you save, spend and plan for your financial future.

Much has been made about the great intergenerational wealth transfer, but many people will likely miss out on it.

A degree remains a good lifetime investment, but for today’s graduates it comes with an unprecedented financial burden.

While a number of mature workers may be putting off full retirement, few see themselves staying at work more than a few years.

How to work together as a couple to realize your financial goals.

Managing your assets like a pension plan, particularly if you don’t actually have one, is the path to a successful retirement, according to a new report.

While the idea of merging households may seem attractive, make sure you’re on the same page financially before moving in together.

Once you’ve accumulated some assets, you have to decide where to put them — a decision that’s not as obvious as one might think.

Learning to wait for what you want is a valuable lesson, at any age. But it’s never too late to start.

There’s lots of information around about what makes a good advisor. But what about being a good client?

Looking to mutual funds to anchor your financial plan? Cheaper offerings tend to beat their more expensive counterparts time and time again.

Concerned about the stock market and fed up with paltry returns on term deposits, fewer Canadians contributed to their RRSPs this year. That’s likely a short-sighted decision.

Home prices in the U.S. Sunbelt have dropped sharply. But most Canadian buyers should still think twice before they jump in.

The Tax-Free Savings Account is now a little more than three years old but most investors still aren't taking advantage of its potential.

When it comes to retirement, when you make your money can make just as much difference as how.

The quality of life you want in the future will depend on how well you plan for your retirement now.

As baby boomers approach retirement, the cost to government of providing public pensions is set to skyrocket. And that means changes are afoot.

Too often, women delegate their financial security to a spouse or significant other only to have divorce or death drive them into poverty.

Exchange traded funds can be a great addition to your portfolio but some investors may be using them incorrectly.

Rather than worry about a magic number to save for retirement, workers may be better off knowing how much monthly income their nest egg might produce.

Behavioural finance attempts to explain why people make financial decisions that are often contrary to their own interests.

Parents who want to help their children buy their first home should think twice about how they provide financial support.

Interested in being better off? Getting married, or at least living together as partners or significant others, seems like the sensible thing to do.

While your 2011 taxes aren't due for another four months, there are only a few days left for you to save on taxes before year-end.

For most Canadians, the equity in their home represents a significant part of their wealth. But depending on it to carry you in retirement can be costly.

Most Canadians face a large 'preparedness gap' when it comes to matching their retirement hopes and their actual plans. And that's largely because they don't have all the facts.

If you’re already near retirement, capital preservation is paramount. But if you’re not there yet, being too cautious may hurt you.

The thought of running out of money worries many retirees but there are several steps you can take to reduce the risk.

While the Occupy movement may fade from the headlines, the questions it provoked likely won’t.

The federal government has introduced legislation to overhaul how some Canadians save for their retirements.

The current tax rules on retirement savings have created an unfair disparity between members in guaranteed pension plans and those struggling to save on their own.

Carrying a mortgage in retirement can be a bit of a burden but what if homeowners can receive a better return by investing the money elsewhere?

More companies are paying dividends than in the past and income-hungry investors are looking for the best way to get on board.

If all your advisor does is provide investment advice, then you’re probably paying too much for too little.

Unless you plan ahead, high cottage values can lead to succession challenges and surprisingly large tax bills.

Shared memories at the lake are priceless. But poor succession planning when it comes to cottages can still lead to bitter family quarrels.

Many Canadians believe investing skill increases with age, but studies show otherwise.

Measuring your ability to handle the ups and downs of the stock market is tricky. But one researcher thinks the financial industry could be doing a better job.

Stocks markets have produced some real gut-wrenching swings in recent weeks. Are things different this time around?

Changing jobs? Don’t be too quick to cash in those pension plan savings. They may be worth more than you realize.

While it’s generally more expensive to lease a car than to buy one, lots of Canadians are signing up anyway. But are they driving a ‘nicer’ car than they can really afford?

As life expectancy rises, more and more Canadians will face declining cognitive abilities. What will this mean for the quality of their financial decisions?

Worried about life after work? What if funding your future isn’t actually that difficult?

Spending money you don’t have isn’t usually a wise move, but it can work to your benefit on occasion.

Planning on living on just dividends in retirement? Good luck with that.

Market timing systems based on the stock market’s 200-day moving average may have worked in the past but not so much in recent years.

Retirement used to signal the end of a productive life for workers, but it’s really a transition point for the start of a new phase in your life.

Canada’s banks and insurance companies square off in fight to decide who should provide aging boomers with ‘guaranteed’ retirement income.