Unconventional Wisdom

If you're under age 40 and saving to become financially independent, the ultimate strategy for you to understand is Lifecycle Investing.

It has worked 100% of the time in the last 150 years and increased portfolios at retirement by an average of 63%.

Results are so consistent because it reduces one of your biggest financial risks, "Last Decade Risk".

Lifecycle Investing is not for everyone, but understanding the concept can change your entire approach to managing your money.

Listen to my latest podcast episode to find out:

• What is wrong with the traditional method of "bit-by-bit" saving.
• How do you avoid last decade risk?
• Why you should diversify across time.
• How Lifecycle Investing can reduce your retirement risk.
• How to allocate your investments with this strategy.
• The 3 stages of life with Lifecycle Investing.
• The 3 different ways to implement Lifecycle Investing.

What is the actual risk of running out of money if you start retirement when the market crashes?

This is a question on the minds of many retirees.

Especially because a lot of financial advisors talk about "Sequence of Returns Risk".

But worrying about this can lead to worse results for many retirees, as well as inferior portfolios, lower returns and a less reliable retirement.

In my latest podcast episode I'm going to debunk the "Sequence of Returns Risk" and give you solutions, including a dynamic spending rule that I give my clients.

Listen to find out:

• What is "Sequence of Returns Risk"?
• What solutions are typically recommended?
• What is the actual risk of running out of money with a bad sequence of returns?
• Do the typical solutions work?
• Why don't the typical solutions work?
• How can you get the maximum reliable retirement income?
• What should you do if your risk tolerance is lower?
• What is "Your Personal Rule" for you to use instead of the "4% Rule"?
• What solution to "Sequence of Returns Risk" actually works?
• What dynamic spending rules are suggested by actuaries & advisors?
• What is Ed's dynamic spending rule?
• How is it customized for you?

If you're someone who is in high school or you're about to apply to university, then this podcast episode is a must!

After being a financial planner for almost 30 years, I've seen the finances of thousands of Canadians, and the careers that pay the big bucks.

In this episode you'll learn how to choose your university specialty, so that you get into a career that sets you up for success in life.

Here's what I talk about specifically:

• Why it's hard to choose a university specialty.
• Is a university degree worth the investment?
• How to avoid wasting your degree.
• What careers provide you with a successful and comfortable life.
• 50+ career options that pay well.
• How to make a smart career choice.

Are your finances where you want them to be?

If not, there's a very good chance that one of these 15, or maybe several of them are the underlying root cause.

I've seen the finances of thousands of people and these are the principles that I find people most commonly get wrong, that have a major effect on their lives.

In my podcast episode you'll learn what these 15 principles are, and how you can follow them to create a life where you are in the driver's seat when it comes to your finances.

Listen to find out:

• Why everyone needs a financial plan.
• How to understand your values to help you create a financial plan for retirement.
• What the definition of risk tolerance is for investments.
• Why stocks are more reliable than bonds or fixed income long-term.
• Dividend investors usually pay more tax.
• Why self-made dividends beat ordinary dividends in every way.
• Why investing in your own country is not safer.
• What to focus on when it comes to investment returns.
• Why nobody can retire comfortably with a balanced portfolio.
• Why you need investment growth after you retire to retire comfortably.
• How to know if real estate is a good investment.
• The # 1 secret to building major wealth.
• Why inflation is a bigger risk to your retirement than a stock market crash.
• Why you need a growth mindset to make smart decisions.
• Why optimism is the only realism.

How do you know you're getting the highest quality financial planning advice?

I recently asked my social media followers and blog readers what financial topics you would like me to talk about, and we got an overwhelming number of responses – so thank you!

We got a few questions about what is the highest quality financial planning advice and about our services and why we do them the way we do.

The key thing is – we want you to have the life you want and to make you as wealthy as possible in the long-term.

In my latest podcast episode, you'll learn the in-depth way we work with our clients, and how we structure our financial planning services.

Listen to find out:

• Why is a written Financial Plan most effective for you?
• When should you get your Financial Plan?
• What are the fees we charge for a Financial Plan?
• How does the "interactive" Financial Plan process work?
• Benefits of fee-for-service financial planning.
• Difference between fee-only & fee-for-service.
• Why we only offer Financial Plans and Full Service.
• What is the Highest Quality Financial Planning Advice?
• 3 Key Principles for being unbiased when you're looking after investments.
• How have our portfolio managers performed?

In my latest podcast episode I take an unconventional look at dividend investing & how to make it perfect.

The episode is a fact check of the advantages & disadvantages of dividend investing.

Then I show how to fix all the disadvantages, so you can do it right.

You may have already heard of dividend investing, as there are hundreds of blog posts about it and it's something many investment advisors recommend as an alternative to bonds.

In the FIRE community there are two camps - people who focus on index investing and those that focus on dividend investing.

Find out how self-made dividends have all the advantages of both and none of the disadvantages of dividend investing.

Here's what you'll learn:

• Why is dividend investing so popular today?
• What are the advantages of dividend investing?
• Why is tax on dividends a weird formula?
• Fact check - Are the advantages of dividends true?
• What are the problems with dividend investing?
• How can you perfect dividend investing?
• What are self-made dividends?
• How are self-made dividends taxed?
• Head-to-head: Self-made dividends vs. ordinary dividends.
• Life of a self-made dividend investor vs. ordinary dividend investor.
• Why are self-made dividends a perfect fit for your life?

The conventional wisdom is that bonds and fixed income are safe investments and you need them to stabilize your portfolio. The truth is bonds are a high risk to your retirement.

Understanding the high risk of bonds can be one of the easiest ways to get higher investment returns and achieve your life goals.

While bonds are less risky short-term and medium-term, they are actually quite risky as a long-term investment – more risky than stocks. They are less predictable than stocks for periods of 20 years or more after inflation.

You will need to adjust your investment binoculars to a long-term focus to see this high risk of bonds.

Listen to my latest podcast episode for a history of bonds vs the stock market.

To fully understand this framework, please visit my blog post with much more detail on the topic here: https://edrempel.com/high-risk-of-bonds/

Is your money safe OR secure?

I know what you're thinking.

Isn't it the expression "safe AND secure"?

Possibly the single most important thing to know about money is this: Safe and secure are often opposites. With money, it's usually safe OR secure.

In my latest podcast episode you'll learn about two identical twins - Summer and Autumn with the same amount of money in the beginning, and how their investment strategies differed over the years.

One had a growth focus to life and money, while the other focused on security.

Because of their different mindsets towards life & money, one could retire early, while the other had to wait.

Listen to find out each of their life paths and how you can make your money work for your future.

Have you ever wondered how people donate millions to a charity, like to a large hospital, or have their name as a charitable foundation?

Do they actually give away that much money?

Or, do they have a method to do it?

The truth is - it's often an effective tax plan that people use to donate 10 times more, and it's called the Donation Flow-Through Strategy.

In my latest podcast episode I'm going to teach you this strategy, so you too can become a philanthropist, without giving away a lot of money.

Listen to find out:

• Why am I talking about donations when the cost of living is so high?
• What if $5,000 would give you a $50,000 donation to a cause important to you?
• What is a "flow-through share"?
• What is the "Donation Flow-Through Strategy"?
• How does it work?
• Who does it work for?
• How big or small a donation does it work for?
• Can you use a holding corporation for it?
• What creative tax strategies can you do?
• How will the revised Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in 2024 affect this strategy?
• Why is a personal charitable foundation a perfect fit for the "Donation Flow-Through Strategy"?
• How does a "Donation Plan" benefit you?

How can you own a nice car for a lot less?

Should you be impressed with someone that has a nice car?

How do you measure the ownership cost of your car?

What is a warranty worth?

Should you lease or own?

Can you save money on an electric car?

How does your car fit in your life priorities?

You'll learn the answers to these questions in my latest podcast episode, and what I recommend to my clients that want to save money on their car.