Planning

Articles on financial planning for the month, the year, and major life goals. This section offers clear frameworks for preparing for purchases, seasonal expenses, and changes in income.

Retiree reviewing retirement big purchases and the tax cost with financial paperwork and calculator
Planning

Big Purchases in Retirement: Why the Real Cost Isn’t the Price Tag

A new car, a kitchen renovation, a long-awaited trip, a second home near the grandkids — these are the purchases many people save for their whole working lives to finally enjoy in retirement. But once the paycheck stops, a big purchase stops being a simple math problem of “can I afford this today” and becomes something more layered: a decision that touches your taxes, your monthly income, and the cushion you’ll have left if something goes wrong next year.

A retirement planning worksheet beside coins, a calculator, and labeled savings envelopes for cash and investments
Planning

Retirement Money, Sorted by Job: Cash, Investments, and the Accounts That Hold Them

A retired blogger who tracks every dividend and every trim of his portfolio recently updated his readers on how he and his wife hold their money: a mix of a defined-benefit pension he’s still deciding whether to keep, locked-in accounts, a corporation, non-registered stocks, RRSPs, and TFSAs, with roughly 90% in equities and 10% in cash across most buckets. It’s a detailed, personal snapshot — and it’s also a useful excuse to step back and ask a much simpler question: not “what should I own,” but “what job is each dollar doing?”

A senior reviewing retirement paperwork and a budget notebook, illustrating a solo retirement plan for one household
Planning

Rebuilding Your Retirement Plan for a Household of One

Retirement plans are usually drawn up with two names on the account statements — two incomes, two Social Security checks, two sets of shoulders to carry the what-ifs. When that changes, whether through divorce, the death of a spouse, or simply a life that unfolded differently than expected, the plan built for two people doesn’t automatically resize itself. About 28% of Americans age 65 and older live alone, and that number climbs with age, especially for women. If you’re joining that group, the smartest move isn’t just saving more. It’s rethinking the whole structure — budget, income, housing, paperwork, and support — so it fits one household instead of two.

A person reviewing a financial planning worksheet with a notebook, calculator, and simple budget charts on a desk
Planning

The Financial Plan That Works Isn’t One Plan — It’s Four Questions, Asked in Order

Most people don’t stall out on money because the math is hard. They stall out because they open a spreadsheet, a budgeting app, and three “must-read” articles at the same time, and none of them tell them which question to answer first. If that’s you — staring at your bank app with a low hum of dread, not sure whether you should be tracking coffee purchases or opening a retirement account — the problem probably isn’t your discipline. It’s that you’re trying to use one tool to answer five different questions.

A person reviewing a money plan and retirement savings after a raise, with documents and a laptop on the desk
Planning

When Your Paycheck Grows, Your Money Plan Should Too

Getting a raise feels like a reward. And it is. But if your financial habits stay exactly the same as they were when you earned less, that extra income tends to quietly disappear — into a bigger apartment, a nicer car, more subscriptions — without meaningfully improving your future. The good news is that rising income is also an invitation: a chance to rebuild your money plan from the ground up, in the right order.

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