Just Some Musings

In another solo episode, Justin provides a recent personal anecdote about the high relative returns of paying down a mortgage and reflects on how current interest rates are impacting decisions on personal debt such as mortgages, lines of credit, and student loans. 

This week is another solo episode, with Markus reading a blog post with some tips for anyone in their 20s looking to start out on the right foot. Also some basics for older cohorts who might have started on the wrong foot.

Original blog post at www.muhs.ca/fp20

This week Justin muses a bit about how cargo gets around the world via the oceans after seeing some big ships off the west coast. Justin's flight back from the west coast was delayed and Markus once hit a moose with a rental car, so credit card insurance coverage features are on the discussion table. Markus recounts some learnings from a very excellent webinar on money psychology, including how and why it makes sense to take risks earlier in life.

Justin & Markus expand a bit on last week's episode about CPP, and discuss other government benefits we may get at retirement, like Old Age Security (and how it may get clawed back), and recent CPP enhancements. What about an Alberta Pension Plan?

This week one of us is on vacation, so we present a solo episode. Markus reads one of his popular blog posts, originally posted in 2014 and revised every few years with new numbers. You can find the original post, and follow along with the charts, at www.muhs.ca/cpp.

Justin & Markus discuss "Accredited Investor Status", what type of investor is allowed to buy what, the types of investments that are available only to those with accredited status, including some pitfalls.

Justin & Markus review the markets over the first half of 2023. What worked and what didn't, and how things ended up going quite a bit differently than the prognosticators expected.

This week we're joined by Jeff Haggerty, CFP®, CLU, Wealth & Estate Planner in our Edmonton branch. The conversation hits on a number of things we often talk to clients about when it comes to starting to plan for the inevitable. As always, per our disclosure, none of what we discuss constitutes advice in and of itself, and we are definitely not will and estate lawyers. This discussion is meant to get you thinking about some things, avoid some common mistakes, and maybe then meet with a qualified legal professional for further advice.

This week Justin and Markus discuss being on the sidelines, not letting fear dominate your investment strategy, bundling, and a final recap of the Alberta election.