A look at the best of the Internet, from an SPP point of view

After the saving comes the tricky part – turning savings into income

Writing in the Regina Leader-Post, noted financial commentator Jason Heath saves that while most people agree saving is a great idea, “how much to set aside and how to set your targets are up for debate.”

He notes that when RRSPs were first rolled out back in 1957, you were allowed to contribute up to 10 per cent of your earnings, to a maximum of $2,500, each tax year.

“The percentage limit was doubled to 20 per cent in 1972. In 1991, it was decreased to the current 18 per cent of annual earned income for the previous year, to a maximum of $26,500 for 2019. Unused RRSP room from previous years accumulates each year as well,” he explains in the article.

So, he asks, can we assume that the “right” level of savings is somewhere between the two RRSP limits of 10 and 20 per cent?

The argument for putting away 10 cents of every dollar you earn was most recently popularized by author David Chilton, Heath writes. But the World Economic Forum suggests we save “10 to 15 per cent” of earnings,” he notes.

Having a savings target – let’s say 15 per cent – is only half the battle, the article continues. When you’ve saved up all that money, how much should you be withdrawing each year as retirement income?

Heath notes that in 1994, financial planner William Bengen proposed the so-called “four per cent rule,” meaning that “four per cent was a sustainable withdrawal from a balanced investment portfolio for a 30-year retirement even if stock markets subsequently had a bad 30-year run,” Heath writes.

But a 2017 Morningstar paper suggests “three to 3.5 per cent may be more appropriate,” assuming high investment fees and today’s relatively low interest rates, both factors that weren’t the same 25 years ago.

“If you assume a 3.5-per-cent withdrawal rate, you can work backwards from retirement. For example, a 65-year-old who needs $35,000 per year of withdrawals indexed to inflation would need to save $1 million. And a 45-year-old starting from scratch to save towards that same $1-million target in 20 years would need to save about $25,000 per year indexed to inflation (assuming a return of four per cent and two-per-cent inflation),” Heath writes.

As Heath notes, the math here is somewhat head-spinning, but the concept for setting a savings target is actually fairly simple – how much income per year do you want to have? From there, do the math backwards and figure out how much to put away.

He goes to explain that there are other programs that can help. You have the newer option of saving for retirement in a tax-free savings account (TFSA), and most of us will receive money from the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and even the Guaranteed Income Supplement to top up the income we’ve created from savings.

When people roll out this sort of stuff, it’s somewhat akin to finding out that your “ideal” weight is 100 lbs less than what you are walking around with right now. A lot of times, knowing that you will need to put a lot of effort into fitness and diet is so daunting that you take yourself out for a cheeseburger and fries to dull the mental pain. But like anything else, a long-term journey can be achieved by making many small steps. It’s the same with retirement savings. Start small, gradually increase what you save, and in a few decades you’ll be happily surprised at your balance. But start – don’t suffer analysis paralysis.

And a great place to start the retirement savings journey is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. They have everything you need to set up your own plan, make regular contributions, and watch as they are professionally invested and grown. At gold-watch time, you can get them to start making regular, monthly payments – for life – to the account of your choosing! So if you’re on the sidelines and not quite ready to put your toe in the water of retirement savings, check out SPP – the water’s fine!

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

A recent Royal Bank of Canada survey on wealth management, conducted by Ipsos, found there were a few new obstacles that were impeding even wealthy Canadians’ efforts to build wealth.

Save with SPP reached out to RBC Wealth Management to probe a bit more about these obstacles, and to ask if the study’s authors found any other surprises in their research. Their answers are here:

Q. Did the study and its authors find higher levels of debt to be a part of the “cost of living barrier” to building wealth, given the high record of household debt? Helping kids is also mentioned.

The study didn’t specifically ask respondents about levels of debt. After the rising cost of living, the next reasons that ranked highest on the survey were:

• Unexpected expenses
• Cost of raising children (survey did not specify what “helping kids” meant)
• Home prices

Q. The survey says “traditional ways of building wealth” may not be doing the job like they used to. Is this referring to the volatile stock markets and the low-interest environment for fixed income? Are there any thoughts about new types of investment strategies/alternative categories that the study and its authors think could address this?

In the survey news release, Tony Maiorino, Head, RBC Wealth Management Services, says “regardless of income, many Canadians find themselves behind on their wealth goals as many of the traditional ways we build wealth have changed over the generations. With the added backdrop of market uncertainty, clients are voicing their concerns and looking for support using non-traditional methods of meeting their wealth goals.”

Howard Kabot, Vice-President, Financial Planning, RBC Wealth Management Services, elaborates, saying “things like tax strategies, insurance and retirement planning play a key role in building wealth today but I’m not surprised that so many respondents find them challenging. The financial landscape is always evolving and people have less time to research and learn about wealth management topics. Most clients need to explore a variety of tactics through a holistic lens to build and preserve wealth.”

The survey found that 81 per cent of Ontario respondents, 80 per cent of Albertans and 77 per cent of BC residents felt “building wealth now is more difficult than it was in previous generations.” Thirty-eight per cent of BC respondents (vs. 26 per cent for Ontarians and 20 per cent for Albertans) reported experiencing “poor investment performance.”

Q. Did the study indicate when respondents would use the services of a financial adviser like RBC? Did the study turn up any sense that people are having difficulty putting away as much as they would like for retirement, given the high cost of living, lower salaries, and maybe the lack of workplace pension plans?

The study found that three-quarters of higher-income Canadians were confident “they will reach their financial goals before retirement.” However, 41 per cent of the same group said they would “work with a financial expert to invest the money” if they experienced a windfall, such as an inheritance. Advisors might come in handy with things that “challenged” respondents, such as “staying on top of markets” (76 per cent) and “using… strategies to minimize taxes (71 per cent).”

The lack of a pension plan at work was cited by 20 per cent of those surveyed as one of the “unexpected expenses,” like the increased cost of living, raising children, lower salaries than expected and poor investment performance, that was a factor in respondents being less wealthy than they expected.

Q. Where there any other findings that surprised the authors?

The news release noted that it was surprising that respondents found it challenging to understand financial topics but still felt confident they would meet their financial goals.

The release noted that “of the 48 per cent of respondents who are not as wealthy as they thought they would be, almost three quarters (73 per cent) believe they will reach their financial goals before retirement.” This optimism seems to be at odds with their confidence when it comes to aspects of wealth management topics, with the majority agreeing the following topics are challenging:

• Knowing which information to trust (78 per cent)
• Staying on top of what’s happening in the financial markets (76 per cent)
• Using tax strategies to minimize taxes (71 per cent)
• Ensuring they don’t outlive their assets during retirement (70 per cent)
• Understanding the use of insurance in a financial plan (66 per cent)

If you lack a workplace pension, and need a do-it-yourself solution for retirement savings, consider membership in the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. You can start small and gear up your contributions over time. At retirement, the SPP can convert those savings into a lifetime income stream – you won’t be able to outlive your savings. Check them out today.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

A look at the best of the Internet, from an SPP point of view

Canadians “confused” about TFSA savings – poll

A new poll carried out for Royal Bank of Canada has found that Canadians “don’t know how to use a TFSA to generate wealth.”

The research, conducted for RBC by Ipsos, is reported on by the Baystreet blog.

It finds that “43 per cent of Canadians are misinformed about the funds, believing TFSAs are for savings and not for growing investments,” Baystreet reports, adding that a further 42 per cent of those surveyed use their TFSAs only for savings and cash. Just 28 per cent of those surveyed “hold mutual funds” in their TFSAs, along with 19 per cent for stocks, seven per cent for exchange-traded-funds, and six per cent for fixed income, the blog notes.

In plainer terms, people don’t realize that you can hold all the same types of investments – stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds – in either a TFSA or an RRSP.

Yet, despite the fact that they tend to hold mostly cash in their TFSAs, the tax-free funds are more popular than RRSPs – 57 per cent of those surveyed said they had a TFSA, with only 52 per cent saying they have an RRSP, Baystreet notes.

The TFSA is a different savings vehicle from a registered savings vehicle, such as an RRSP. When you put money into a TFSA, there is no tax benefit for the deposit. However, the money in the TFSA grows tax-free, and there is no tax charged when you take money out.

With RRSPs (and registered pension plans) the contributions you make are tax-deductible, and the money grows tax-free while it is in the RRSP. However, taxes do apply when you take money out of the plan to use it as income.

While TFSAs are relatively new, some financial experts have suggested they might be well-suited for use as a retirement savings vehicle, reports Benefits Canada.

“While RRSPs have the advantage of deferring tax payments into the future, which TFSAs don’t do, the deferral may not be as important to low-income seniors, especially those who want to avoid clawbacks or maintain their eligibility for government benefits, like the GIS, after they retire,” explains the article.

A lower-income earner “might find it more advantageous to maximize their TFSA contributions, which is currently $6,000 annually and indexed to inflation going forward. Unlike funds withdrawn from RRSPs, funds withdrawn from TFSAs — including the investment growth component — aren’t taxable, and contribution room after withdrawals can be restored,” Benefits Canada reports. The article also talks about employers offering group TFSAs as well as group RRSPs.

Those taking money out of a RRIF might want to put the proceeds – minus the taxes they must pay – into a TFSA, where it be re-invested tax-free and where income from it is not taxable.

A key takeaway for all this is that you need to think about putting money away for retirement while you are working. The concept of paying yourself first is a good one, and one you will understand much better when you’re no longer showing up at the office and are depending on workplace pensions, government retirement programs, and personal savings for your income. No amount is too little. If you are just setting out on your savings journey, an excellent starting point is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Be sure to check them out today!

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

There’s a lot of meat in Pat Foran’s book The Smart Canadian’s Guide to Saving Money.

The CTV “On Your Side” reporter covers a lot of ground. He starts by asking the rich and the famous about their personal money tips. The late Alberta premier, Ralph Klein, states “never spend what you do not have. It is far better… to put off a purchase for three months until you can afford it than to spend the next six months paying it off.” Don’t, Klein notes in the book, “line the pockets of your bank… line your own!”

Noted financial author David Chilton tells Foran that “as corny as it sounds, what people have to do is stop caring so much about stuff.” He adds that as he gets older “the more I realize that good financial planning is less about the intricate knowledge of the stock market and forecasting future interest rates, and more and more about discipline and not wanting so much stuff.”

And Ben Franklin once said “the borrower is a slave to the lender… be industrious and free; be frugal and free.”

But how to get there?

Foran’s book covers all the bases. Everyone, he writes, needs to track their expenses. “The most important thing you can do is monitor the amount of money that is flowing in and out of your life every month,” he notes, providing a sample worksheet to get you started.

After looking at the importance of having a spouse who is your financial partner, he talks about tackling debt. Consolidation loans aren’t always the best approach, he warns. “Consolidating various high interest rate balances into one easy-to-handle payment is often just a quick fix to roll your `junk debt’ into a bigger pile,” he notes. He defines `junk debt’ as debt “that has been rolled around so many times you can’t remember what you originally went into debt to buy in the first place.”

So, he suggests, cut back on “bad spending habits,” such as smoking and excessive drinking. A case of beer a week costs you $1,872 each year, he writes. Even $4 a day spent at Timmy’s can add up to $1,460 per year, Foran writes. Other “money wasters” that make his list are dining out often, expensive clothes and jewellery, premium gas, dry cleaning clothes you could wash yourself, buying a brand-new car, flying first class, and so on. With all such expenses, he suggests, one should first ask “can I afford it.” If not, perhaps there are cheaper ways to go, he notes.

Credit cards, write Foran, need to be paid off and cancelled. “Once you have paid off a credit card, you must let it rest in peace! You have to call your credit card company and say… please cancel my credit card.”

After mastering debt, you need to look at saving, and the power it has. If you were to save $20 a week for 50 years, you’d have $1.4 million in your pocket. “Imagine saving your own jackpot…. Even a small amount, just $20 a week, can become a fortune over time,” he explains.

Other good advice in this book – those saving via mutual funds or other investment vehicles need to take note of the fees charged. A $10,000 investment in a mutual fund with a high “management expense ratio” of 3.1 per cent would cost you $1,029 over three years – three times more than a similar fund with a one per cent fee, he notes. “That’s a huge difference,” Foran warns.

If you are saving in an RRSP or similar vehicle, Foran suggests you should “reinvest your tax refund, which most of us don’t.” RRSPs and debt reduction are both part of a “well balanced retirement plan,” he writes.

This is a great, easy-to-understand book that covers so many bases we don’t have room to explore them all here.

If, like Pat Foran suggests, you are looking for a low-fee retirement savings vehicle, be sure to check out the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. SPP will grow your money and the fee is typically only 100 basis points, or about one per cent. Check them out today.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

A look at the best of the Internet, from an SPP point of view

High housing costs are throwing a wrench in peoples’ retirement savings plans

In the good and now gone old days, people finished paying for their mortgages, hit age 65, and then collected their workplace pensions. They also got Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security – bonus!

But those days appear to be gone.

Research from the Toronto Board of Trade, reported on in the Toronto Star, suggests the old way of doing things is no longer working, especially for big-city dwellers.

The story says that 83 per cent of those surveyed by the Board of Trade believe “the high cost of housing in the (Toronto) area was impeding their ability to save for retirement.”

The story quotes Claire Pfeiffer, a Toronto resident, as saying that she bought her home for $430,000 in October 2007, and it is now worth more than $1 million. But the $1,800 monthly mortgage over the last 12 years has taken up over half of her take-home pay in the period, the article says, leaving her with no money to save for retirement. This, the article says, occasionally keeps her up at night.

There are other factors at play, the story says. “Financial experts say the impact of the region’s affordability challenge extends all the way to the relatively well-off and better-pensioned baby boomers, who are hanging on to big houses longer and sometimes risking their own financial well-being to help their kids,” the article says.

As well, the article notes, “high house costs are set against a backdrop of declining defined benefit pensions, a rising gig economy and record household debt.”

The article notes that only about 25 per cent of today’s workers have a workplace defined benefit pension, “the kind that offers an employer-guaranteed payout,” down from 36 per cent from “10 years earlier.” Coupled with the reality that pension benefits at work are less common is the reality of today’s high debt levels. Quoted in the article, Jacqueline Porter of Carte Wealth Management states “more and more Canadians are retiring with a mortgage, which 30 years ago would have been unheard of. People are retiring with debt, with a mortgage, because they just didn’t plan very well.”

She concludes by saying the notion of “Freedom 55… is out the window.”

Michael Nicin of the National Institute on Ageing states in the article that while debt and high housing costs are definitely restrictors for retirement savings, human behavior needs to change. He thinks automatic savings programs are an answer, the article notes.

“Most people in general don’t consider their future selves multiple decades in advance. They’re more concerned about current priorities — getting ahead, staying ahead, buying a home, going through school, daycare, kids’ education,” he states.

The takeaway here is quite simple – you’ve got to factor retirement savings into your budget, and the earlier you start, the better. Any amount saved and invested today will multiply in the future, and will augment the income you get from any workplace or government program. You need to pay yourself first, and a great tool in this important work is membership in the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. You can start small, and SPP will help grow your savings into a future income stream. Be sure to check them out.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

It’s a sure sign of winter.

In late November, normally right after American Thanksgiving, a noticeable number of our Canadian seniors start packing up to head out. Their goal – avoiding the icy temperatures, daunting snowbanks and dark days of a Canadian winter.

Save with SPP will admit to a bit of envy here. Surely there is a health benefit to being a hardy Canuck and toughing out a Canadian winter? Isn’t there? Let’s see.

Au contraire, writes the Retire Fabulously blog. “Cold weather can be harder to endure as we get older,” the blog advises. “A slip on the ice could be more likely to result in injury for older folks, and shovelling show can become too physically taxing.”

The Travelers Country Club blog is definitive on the question, saying snowbirds are definitely healthier than those who tough out the winter.

“According to a 2010 study, enduring cold weather puts people at a greater risk of heart attack. Older people and those with previous coronary heart disease are more vulnerable to the effects of cold temperatures. Bundling up and cranking up the heat in your home can help but it’s not a long-term solution and it can be costly. Snowbirds live in warmer climates all year round, reducing their risk of weather-related heart issues,” the blog notes.

The Cranky Fitness blog sees benefits simply from the increase in outdoor activity snowbirds can enjoy.

“A two to three-fold greater volume of walking for pleasure, the most prevalent type of activity for both men and women, was reported in spring-summer-fall seasons, compared with winter,” the blog reports. As well, data from the Canadian Community Health Survey of 2004 found that the number of respondents who reported they were inactive “increased from 49 per cent in summer to 64 per cent in winter,” the blog reports.

So having less winter means having more spring and summer activities, the blog concludes.

Getting away from winter chores and icy sidewalks is one thing, but the Aging Horizons blog sees other advantages. Citing research from North Dakota State University, the blog says “researchers found seasonal migration provided snowbirds with a change in lifestyle and an extended network of friends, which boosted their quality of life.”

The Ingle International website says that while Canadians travelling abroad – mostly to the U.S. – will enjoy the warmer weather, they have to think about medical coverage while there. “Once you leave your province and enter another country, your medicare benefits stay behind and you become responsible for paying for your own medical costs. You will be lucky if your provincial medicare pays 10 cents on the dollar of any foreign hospital bills you generate,” the site warns.

As well, the blog notes, be sure to check with the federal government’s website on rules on how long you can live outside Canada.

From what we’ve seen here, it sounds like getting away from the winter may indeed make life last a little longer, if only through the boost in activity and less exposure to the toils and travails of winter. If you’re thinking of being a snowbird one day, you may want to put away a little cash today for future travels tomorrow. A wonderful opportunity to turn savings into retirement income is available to all Canadians by opening up a Saskatchewan Pension Plan account – be sure to browse on over today.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

A look at the best of the Internet, from an SPP point of view

Three things we can all do to boost our savings: Motley Fool

If you’re just getting on the Retirement Savings train – or if you’re packing up your desk for the last time and getting ready for the main event of retirement – the Motley Fool Canada offers three tips on how you can improve your retirement savings.

According to an article posted on Yahoo! Finance Canada, the tips are billed as something “every single Canadian can do to help prepare themselves for a smarter, happier, and richer life in retirement.”

The writers at Motley Fool point out a fact that many of us tend to ignore – “the only way to consistently save money is by spending less, on average, compared to what you earn.” So if you are, for instance, earning $2,500 a month but spending (thanks to credit cards or lines of credit) $3,000 a month, you are in trouble.

The article says that the best way to ensure you are running your ship of state in the black is by preparing a budget, and sticking to it. The budget should not only include your usual repeat monthly items like rent, light, heat, gas, and other bills, but should factor in money for your vacation and other one-time events, the article says.

With budget in hand, the article recommends, you can follow savings tip number one – to “set aside at least 10 per cent to pay yourself at the end of every month or after each paycheque.”

By paying yourself first, you will grow your savings quickly and efficiently, the Motley Fool observes.

The second tip on offer is to “use Canada’s tax-incentivized savings programs to your benefit,” the article states.

The article cites the availability of the RRSP program, pointing out that contributions to such programs are tax-deductible. As well, money within an RRSP grows tax-free until that future time when you crack into it for retirement.

The article also notes the existence of TFSAs. While you don’t get a tax break on money you put into these savings vehicles, there’s no tax on investment returns and growth, “including capital gains and dividend or interest income,” the writers note.

The last tip from the Motley Fool Canada is a good one for those of us who invest in stocks.

“By investing in the stocks of high-quality businesses in which you possess a firm understanding — those run by experienced and competent management teams that companies that consistently pay their shareholders a regular monthly or quarterly dividend — investors can go a long way toward avoiding the mistakes that so often challenge those just starting out,” the article states.

Recapping the article, it’s important to include a strong commitment to savings in your budget, to take advantage of tax-sheltered savings programs, and to keep quality in mind when investing for the long term.

A nice addition to your retirement toolkit would be a Saskatchewan Pension Plan account. The contributions you make are, just like RRSP contributions, tax-deductible. You can “pay yourself first” by setting up automatic contributions that go from your account directly to SPP. And the money you earmark for savings is invested at a low fee by a highly competent plan with a strong track record of growth. Win-win-win.

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

These days, Canadians share two unrelated traits – very few of us, the vast majority, aren’t savers. And as well, nearly all of us, a majority, have a smart phone.

Could one attribute help fix the other? Save with SPP had a look around to see if there are any money-saving apps out there, and whether people think they work.

According to Global News, a great app for those who love to clip coupons is Checkout 51. With this app, Global explains, you don’t present coupons at the cash. Instead, you scan your receipt using the app and get money back via cheque.

“After you purchase items on the list you photograph and upload your receipt via the app. The receipt gets checked and once approved (usually within 48 hours) the money you earned gets added to your account. Once you hit $20 a cheque is mailed out to you,” the article explains.

Global also recommends an app called Gas Buddy which tells you where the cheapest gas prices are in your area, using GPS.

Over at the Maple Money blog, among the apps recommended for us Canucks is Mint, which “helps you track your spending, and also alerts you to when you’ve spend too much (or if you get charged a fee for something). In addition to those things, Mint also offers a bunch of money saving tips to help you manage your money better,” the article states.

They also like Flipp which alerts you to flyers for your area after you enter your postal code.

The CBC likes a number of these apps, and also E-bates which is now known as Rakuten. With E-bates, the network notes, you are basically being paid to shop.” Every time you make a purchase through one of their verified vendors, E-bates will send you a cheque. That’s cash back on top of the regular sales your favorite stores are having – and bonus, the app rounds all the deals up for you as well. E-bates earns a commission every time you make a purchase through their website, and instead of keeping it, they pass it on to you,” the network suggests.

Save with SPP can’t vouch for any of these except for E-bates; we have used it for years and yes, when you accumulate enough savings they’ll send you a cheque. It’s sort of like using a cash back card. We will give some of these other ones a try.

Let’s face it – the cost of living never seems to go down, so any app that offers a chance to save you some cash is probably worth at least trying out.

That extra cash, money that you didn’t earn and is thus “free,” can be used for any number of good things. Saving for retirement seems near the top of the list – perhaps the newfound cash can find its way into your Saskatchewan Pension Plan account, where it will grow into future retirement income. And maybe it all starts with a few clicks on an app!

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

A fear one has when picking up a financial self-help book is that the advice it contains will be so confusing and complex that you’ll feel less financially literate than before.

That’s not the case with A Canadian’s Guide to Money-Smart Living, by Kelley Keehn. In fact, her book – a slender volume – is designed to break down big ideas into small, digestible ones. And once you’re done, you feel that maybe yes, you will go out and follow some of the things you’ve learned.

Keehn begins by saying her mission is “to make Canadians feel good about money.” She says her mom, who as a single parent was an excellent manager of money, would probably change her view that “money doesn’t grow on trees” to “money doesn’t grow in plastic.” Keehn says her mom saw credit cards as being for emergencies – and that they should be paid off in full, every month.

Yet, Keehn writes, even though someone making $51,000 a year will see, in his or her life, “over $2 million past through (their) hands,” why are so many Canadians “living from paycheque to paycheque… burdened with excessive debt… and not better off when it comes to retirement?”

Keehn’s advice is simple. We need to take control of our finances by spending less than we earn, and by paying ourselves first – saving before you spend. “Do not look upon savings as something left over after you’ve spent everything else. Save first, live and budget within the net amount.”

Your goal, she writes, should be “a comfortable life.”

“I’m not talking about applying some complex budget plan to your paycheque that requires you to watch every penny in order to squeeze out something at the end of the month to be put away and called `savings.’ I’m talking about setting aside something from every paycheque before you do your spending,” she writes. The goal should be 10 per cent of your gross earnings, she advises.

You and your partner also need to do a little goal-setting to get on the same page, she writes. Define your goals, establish a “needs and wants” list, check your progress, talk about next steps, make changes, and “take action and get help,” she recommends.

The book reviews major spending categories and offers specific tips to manage each. In the mortgage chapter, her advice is to “seriously consider your options to speed up the mortgage amortization,” so that your biggest expense is paid off as quickly as possible.

In the chapter on credit cards, she notes that most Canadians have a “household debt to disposable income” ratio of around 170 per cent. She cuts to the chase here, recommending people carry no more than three credit cards, and to avoid department store cards that carry higher interest and “are a temptation you should resist.”

Interestingly, she says debit cards can be expensive “unless you have a no-fee arrangement with your institution,” so consider carrying cash to avoid debit card fees.

With any type of consumer debt, remember that when interest rates go up on a loan or line of credit, so do your payments – and you still “have to pay back the entire principal.”

There’s a chapter on retirement savings that walks you through the rules of RRSPs and RRIFs. For RRIFs, she says when you withdraw money each year, it “doesn’t mean you have to spend it, all you have to do is report it as taxable income.” So that money could be reinvested in a TFSA or non-registered account, she says. She explains Old Age Security, noting that depending on your income in retirement, you may have to pay back some or all of the OAS payments you receive. (A good reason to bank it until tax time.)

This is a great book that makes you feel energetic about winning back control of your wallet. It’s a highly recommended addition to your retirement planning library. And a great destination for the money you save is a Saskatchewan Pension Plan account!

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22

A look at the best of the Internet, from an SPP point of view

A new snag for retiring boomers – helping the kids buy a house

Troubles for the poor old boomers continue to mount.

Not only are they carrying more debt into retirement than ever before, prompting some to work longer than they planned, but they also want to help their kids. A new survey carried out by the Leger group for FP Canada finds that nearly half of boomers with kids under 18 intend to help them buy a home, even if it postpones their retirement.

The survey is covered in a recent Advisor’s Edge article. The Housing Affordability Survey found that “48 per cent of these parents intend to help their children buy a home, up from 43 per cent of parents surveyed in 2017,” Advisor’s Edge reports.

As well, 39 per cent of those surveyed “expect to postpone their retirement to help their kids buy a home,” which is up from 27 per cent two years ago, the article notes.

The reason for a delayed retirement may be that 30 per cent of respondents planned to dip into their retirement savings to help the kids, up from 21 per cent in 2017. As well, 26 per cent said they would tap into their own home equity to aid the children, up from 23 per cent a couple of years ago.

Thirty-four per cent, the article notes, report that “the financial strain of helping their children” is creating problems with their ability to pay down debt. That’s up from 22 per cent in 2017.

“Even though it’s natural to want to help your children, it’s essential to carefully consider the impact on your own financial security before helping with such a huge purchase,” Kelley Keehn, a consumer advocate for FP Canada, states in the article.

This is a great point. More and more retirees are finding that the biggest costs of retirement come near the end, when a growing number of seniors find they need long-term care in nursing homes, a cost that can be quite significant. You want to help the kids, sure, but you must avoid (if you can) the danger of leaving yourself short when you are too old to work, and your savings are beginning to dry up.

The takeaway from this is that our kids are facing a much more expensive life than we have experienced. Of course they will need some help. That’s a good reason to increase your own commitment to your retirement savings. If you have a little more income in retirement, why, you will have a little bit more to help the kids, right?

An easy way to prevent being short on cash in retirement is to join the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. The money you put away now, while you’re working, will grow into a future stream of income that will supplement whatever you get from government pensions, workplace retirement programs, equity, and so on. It’s a wise step to take!

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing, classic rock, and darts. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22