There are many people over 60 wanting to retire from their conventional jobs and finally work for themselves.  There are even those that may be older and now retired who want to return to work but require a flexible schedule.  So why shouldn’t you consider working in retirement?   Today we look at five options that you can do it on your own terms, as a self-employed entrepreneur, with your own rules and work arrangements that now fit into your schedule and not that of a demanding employer. Working virtually has taken on a new meaning after Covid and more and more people, especially those in the “lap-top class” are working from home, only having to go in a few days a month.  This may be great for some, but for others, the stressful demands are still there when you work for someone else.  Contracting could be the solution, so [...]

Being a good judge of character is a unique and valuable skill.  One that will advance your career, increase your net worth, give you more personal friends, as well as make you more money.  If you can be a good judge of character, you will be able to avoid hiring mistakes, size up first impressions with your new boss and correctly focus on what matters to potential decision makers.  Judging someone on their skill and accomplishments is relatively objective and straightforward, but gauging their attitude is much harder and it will take a one-on-one meeting, attentive listening, and careful observation – something that is not provided by social media and the number of followers you have. If we turn it back on ourselves, the judgements other people make about you has a significant impact on your social world too, whether accurate or inaccurate, your reputation is everything.  The judgements [...]

I often have people ask me whether they should include preferred shares in their portfolio and although I am not a great fan of this investment product, I have many peers who use them exclusively in their client’s portfolios.  So, today let’s talk about all the different types that are available and you can see for yourself if this is an investment style you would like to entertain. What are they?  Preferred shares are corporate shares that are not classified as common or restricted.  Preferred shares usually receive a fixed dividend payment and are considered to have part ownership like common shareholders; however, they have a higher ranking than common shares as a claim on the asset.  Preferred shares are bought largely by income-oriented investors to take advantage of dividend tax credits.  There are several different options when choosing this investment.  Here are the most popular. Straight Preferred: Pay [...]

You are not alone.  Many Canadians put off getting a Will because they either don’t want to spend the money or they don’t want to think about the possibility of dying.  This however is a big mistake.  Dying without a Will, means you will have absolutely no say about any of your assets or care for your children or pets once you die. Let’s just look at some of the immediate issues that will arise should you die without a Will.  First, the Canadian Government will immediately become the Executor of all your assets: homes, bank accounts, investments, personal belongings, everything you own.  The government will then freeze all access until they have completed a full audit, which may take 3-9 months.  Once your estate assets have been audited, all fees and taxation will be deducted before any disbursement to family.  A surviving spouse is entitled to the first $200K, [...]

Dear Money Lady readers:  I wanted to share this quote with you “The things you do can cost you... but the things you don’t do, can cost you everything !”  I was at a fantastic women’s event recently and was inspired to share with you the insights of this event.  One of the many speakers had a profound message: “You can’t quantify how much business you’re not getting through your non-efforts.”  Wow – isn’t that the truth! The real money you lose in life is the money you fail to earn.  If you are a small business owner, entrepreneur, or even an independent contractor, what are you doing to build your business today.  If you are not marketing and advertising, not selling, not networking or being active on social media sites or doing the basics of making phone calls – all this lack of effort will cost you.  And [...]

I am often asked to discuss annuities, so today I want to delve a little deeper into this strategy, often used to create a lifelong income in retirement.  Life annuities are designed for clients who have insufficient savings and/or a very low risk tolerance to investing in the market.  There are four main types of annuities: straight life, joint life, term-certain and deferred.  We will discuss each one plus some of the added features you can opt for.  Straight life annuities are the simplest.  This annuity guarantees a periodic income for life with payments starting immediately minus a premium.  Be careful with this one.  This annuity does pay the highest amount for life, but when you die the payments stop and there is no payout to the estate.  The benefit from this plan is if you live longer than your life expectancy, you will benefit from the funds left [...]

I was overwhelmed with the response from readers about the previous column I wrote on reverse mortgages.  There seems to be many Canadians considering this product as a way to inject the much needed funds into their later years of retirement.  Many of you had questions about other alternatives so I wanted to provide you with one that I believe would indeed be a better option: a collateral charge.  The problem with a reverse mortgage is, you will often receive a portion of your home equity as a lump-sum to do with as you wish, with no need for repayment until you either sell your home or you die.  Many people view the lump-sum like a lottery win and because they haven’t been good with money in the past, often burn through it faster than they anticipated.  Remember, with a reverse mortgage, there are no payments made to decrease [...]