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Author Archives: Brad Brain
Reckless debt is like playing with fire
“The use of debt is also simultaneously a wonderful and a terrible thing. And, like fire, it needs to be extinguished once it has served its purpose. The proper use of debt allows you to do what you want if life. Reckless use of debt, however, can bankrupt you.” Brad Brain_ Reckless debt is like…
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New COVID-19 resources for recovery
“The newest addition is the BC Recovery Benefit. One of the NDP election promises was to provide cash to British Columbians, and now we know what that looks like. The BC Recovery Benefit is a special one-time payment to eligible adults who live in BC. It will provide up to $1,000 to families and up…
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How much should I be saving?
“To prepare for the future, let’s start the conversation with saving 10% of your income for future consumption. In other words, if you are making $100,000 a year, you should be thinking about saving $10,000 a year. (…) I know that level of savings may sound unrealistic, but trust me on this. For most people,…
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Are precious metals still precious?
“Precious metals, especially gold, have a reputation for being a hedge against inflation. This reputation, however, is difficult to support. Gold has had a surge lately, and there is a tendency to take recent results and extrapolate them. But the reality is that gold has a 200-year history of abysmal long-term returns, briefly punctuated by…
Posted in All Columns, Investment Management, Risk Management
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Using the right tool for the job
“Sometimes people say to me, “I hate RRSPs.” Honestly, that statement does not make a lot of sense. A Registered Retirement Savings Plan is just a tool to get a job done. It would be like someone saying, “I hate hammers,” or “I hate needle nose pliers.” Usually when people tell me that they hate…
Posted in All Columns, Income Tax Planning, Retirement Planning
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The cycle of market emotions
“Buying low and selling high is intuitively rational. But, often, that’s not what people actually do. There’s overwhelming evidence that many people seem to be hardwired to do just the opposite: to buy an investment after it has already appreciated only to sell the same investment if it goes down in price. So why do…
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Why do inept people think they are actually doing great?
“It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect. It is a cognitive bias where people with limited skills are prone to dramatically overestimate their own abilities. You probably have seen something like this before. Here is a well-known example: 88% of drivers consider themselves to be above average. This is, of course, statistically impossible.” Brad Brain_ Why do…
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Invest as if…
“When Black Monday happened, the people that had a long enough time frame to wait it out until the recovery were probably fine. In fact, despite Black Monday, the American markets actually finished 1987 in positive territory. But anyone who held long-term investments with a short-term mindset might not have been able to stick around…
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Maximize your TFSA
“There are so many wonderful things that you can do with a TFSA that go beyond simply a savings account paying 2%. Invest in products with long-term returns that exceed inflation. Utilize a tax-free withdrawal strategy to preserve income-tested government benefits. Buy a blue chip stock with a 5% dividend and set up a dividend…
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Clean up your junk!
“So here is what I want you to do: I want you to make a list of all the things that you want people to know when you are not here to tell them: all the financial institutions that you have accounts at, where your will is located, where your passwords are stored, what kind…
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