Hub Blogs contains fresh contributions written by Financial Independence Hub staff or contributors that have not appeared elsewhere first, or have been modified or customized for the Hub by the original blogger. In contrast, Top Blogs shows links to the best external financial blogs around the world.
On May 6th 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person in the world to run a sub-4 minute mile. At the time no one believed the human body was capable of going that fast and although many had tried none had succeeded up to that point. Then along came Roger Bannister, who ignored the nay-sayers and posted a mile of 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.
The interesting thing is that after the sub-4 minute mile limitation was broken many other athletes posted sub-4 minute times, starting almost immediately after Roger Bannister proved it could be done.
Liberal deputy leader Ralph Goodale (National Post.com)
The Financial Post ran an op-ed written by me today (A10), titled simply How to Max Out your TFSA. We’ve written on this topic before of course, but it specifically addresses an oft-repeated Liberal comment that few middle-class Canadians have “$10,000 lying around” for a TFSA contribution.
On the contrary, I argue, many middle-aged middle-class Canadians have hundreds of thousands of dollars in non-registered or “open” investment accounts, money that is subjected to annual rounds of tax on interest and dividends, and often capital gains, and which would love to find a tax-free home in a Tax Free Savings Account.
Similarly, many seniors already in retirement have large RRSPs or RRIFs that can also be a source of funds for a TFSA, once withdrawals are made and a one-time tax hit is sustained.
In fact, this weekend, I spent time with a 98 year old friend (a woman), who proudly informed me she recently put $10,000 into her TFSA and is saving up from her part-time job to put in another $5,000. Why? She felt she needed a bit of cushion in case some medical problem arises.
As the end of the FP piece notes, there are plenty of other potential sources too, including sale of a principal residence (perhaps in a downsizing situation), severance payments, life insurance proceeds, sale of a business, lottery wins and — this one’s for you, Justin — inheritance.
With the spring homebuying season in full swing, real estate is a hot topic of conversation and many Canadian homeowners may be thinking of making a move.
A recent TD survey of existing homeowners and those planning to own a home reveals that renovation is also on the minds of many Canadians. In fact, 56% of respondents have considered, or would consider, renovating their current home or buying a fixer-upper rather than buying a move-in-ready one.
Many people find themselves in the situation where they love their neighbourhood but their current home doesn’t have enough space or it is in need of upgrades. These can be motivating factors for many to choose between renovating and relocating; but given the cost and stress associated with moving, home renovation proves to be a popular choice amongst Canadians.
But renovation does not come worry free. When considering the choice to renovate, 61 per cent of survey respondents say that cost is their biggest concern. Continue Reading…
In the original piece, Cestnick floated a colourful parable that suggested the rich are more than paying their share, to the benefit of those less fortunate. But if those with the highest incomes are pushed too far beyond the 50% rate, they may be inclined to leave, making the circumstances of those further down the pyramid that much worse.
With 650 comments and counting, it’s no hyperbole in this case to say there’s a true debate that’s raging here. And with an election coming up this fall, it’s safe to say this topic won’t be going away any time soon. The new higher TFSA limits are certainly a major element of this debate. No surprise that we at the Hub favour the new higher limits and I’d be surprised if Tim Cestnick or any of his well-heeled clients feels any differently.
The Bond dilemma
Meanwhile, rich or not and highly taxed or not, it continues to be a struggle finding yield at today’s paltry levels of interest rates, which of course are fully taxed outside registered accounts. This was one of several themes I picked up at a recent ETF and mutual fund conference in Chicago. Here’s my column in Motley Fool Canada on this topic, titled Caution Ahead: Why Bonds May Soon Become Much Harder to Manage.
When you run web sites themed on financial independence, you pay close attention to search engines, particularly Google. Curious about whether the term “financial independence” was making any headway against the incumbent term, Retirement, I entered both phrases into Google.
The results were about what I’d expect: 258 million results for Retirement but a decent showing of 18 million for Financial Independence.
And what about our pet contraction for Financial Independence, or Findependence? You had to ask, didn’t you? 43,600 results but the good news there is most of these hits come directly from Yours Truly and related enterprises (books, ebooks, websites and references to the term in other media).
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