Lauren Arnold, Author at ÌÇÐÄvlog /blog/author/laurenarnold/ Free personal financial plan Thu, 16 Jan 2020 02:56:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 /wp-content/uploads/2018/06/favicon.png Lauren Arnold, Author at ÌÇÐÄvlog /blog/author/laurenarnold/ 32 32 RESP 101: Everything you need to know /blog/resp-101-everything-you-need-to-know/ /blog/resp-101-everything-you-need-to-know/#respond Thu, 29 Aug 2019 06:28:04 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=12180 The Canadian government introduced RESPs in 1974 to encourage Canadians to save for their children’s education. Here's everything you need to know about them.

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]]> If at all possible, save in advance for your renovation project. If you can, spend this spring cleaning and polishing (you’ll be amazed at what some elbow grease and fresh paint can do for your space), and plan to take a hammer to it next year. Not only will that leave you with 12 months to save in advance, it will also give you a chance to think carefully about your renovation plans and keep an eye open for sales on items you’ll need.

For home renovations, there are two savings tools that work particularly well.

The first is a high interest savings account. Unlike the regular savings account at your bank that probably pays next-to-no interest, a pays in the neighbourhood of 2.3% interest and allows you to withdraw your money at any time.

The second is a (TFSA) which, despite the name, can be used as a container for all sorts of investments. The advantage of using a TFSA is that you don’t have to pay tax on your investment income, and you can take out your money without penalty at any time.

Even though there’s a program in place that allows you to , it’s not recommended to withdraw money from your RRSP to fund a renovation. You won’t get the contribution room back and you’ll pay expensive tax on the withdrawals. Leave your ÌÇÐÄvlog fund alone and consider other choices for home improvements.

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]]> /blog/resp-101-everything-you-need-to-know/feed/ 0 Back to school budgeting 101 /blog/back-to-school-budgeting-101/ /blog/back-to-school-budgeting-101/#respond Tue, 27 Aug 2019 06:02:28 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=11796 Back-to-school season means that there's an ever-growing list of to-do’s that Canadian families are slowly starting to check off. Are you ready?

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]]> If at all possible, save in advance for your renovation project. If you can, spend this spring cleaning and polishing (you’ll be amazed at what some elbow grease and fresh paint can do for your space), and plan to take a hammer to it next year. Not only will that leave you with 12 months to save in advance, it will also give you a chance to think carefully about your renovation plans and keep an eye open for sales on items you’ll need.

For home renovations, there are two savings tools that work particularly well.

The first is a high interest savings account. Unlike the regular savings account at your bank that probably pays next-to-no interest, a pays in the neighbourhood of 2.3% interest and allows you to withdraw your money at any time.

The second is a (TFSA) which, despite the name, can be used as a container for all sorts of investments. The advantage of using a TFSA is that you don’t have to pay tax on your investment income, and you can take out your money without penalty at any time.

Even though there’s a program in place that allows you to , it’s not recommended to withdraw money from your RRSP to fund a renovation. You won’t get the contribution room back and you’ll pay expensive tax on the withdrawals. Leave your ÌÇÐÄvlog fund alone and consider other choices for home improvements.

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]]> /blog/back-to-school-budgeting-101/feed/ 0 4 simple ÌÇÐÄvlog questions most people can’t answer /blog/4-simple-ÌÇÐÄvlog-questions-most-people-cant-answer/ /blog/4-simple-ÌÇÐÄvlog-questions-most-people-cant-answer/#respond Tue, 16 Jul 2019 06:29:47 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=11621 Here are 4 ÌÇÐÄvlog questions that you need to answer for yourself, and unfortunately, most people can't answer for themselves.

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]]> If at all possible, save in advance for your renovation project. If you can, spend this spring cleaning and polishing (you’ll be amazed at what some elbow grease and fresh paint can do for your space), and plan to take a hammer to it next year. Not only will that leave you with 12 months to save in advance, it will also give you a chance to think carefully about your renovation plans and keep an eye open for sales on items you’ll need.

For home renovations, there are two savings tools that work particularly well.

The first is a high interest savings account. Unlike the regular savings account at your bank that probably pays next-to-no interest, a pays in the neighbourhood of 2.3% interest and allows you to withdraw your money at any time.

The second is a (TFSA) which, despite the name, can be used as a container for all sorts of investments. The advantage of using a TFSA is that you don’t have to pay tax on your investment income, and you can take out your money without penalty at any time.

Even though there’s a program in place that allows you to , it’s not recommended to withdraw money from your RRSP to fund a renovation. You won’t get the contribution room back and you’ll pay expensive tax on the withdrawals. Leave your ÌÇÐÄvlog fund alone and consider other choices for home improvements.

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]]> /blog/4-simple-ÌÇÐÄvlog-questions-most-people-cant-answer/feed/ 0 Home Buyers’ Plan 101: Everything you need to know /blog/home-buyers-plan/ /blog/home-buyers-plan/#respond Tue, 18 Jun 2019 17:37:34 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=11411 The RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) is a tax-free way to fund your mortgage down payment and an awesome tool to help you get closer to owning your first home.

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]]> If at all possible, save in advance for your renovation project. If you can, spend this spring cleaning and polishing (you’ll be amazed at what some elbow grease and fresh paint can do for your space), and plan to take a hammer to it next year. Not only will that leave you with 12 months to save in advance, it will also give you a chance to think carefully about your renovation plans and keep an eye open for sales on items you’ll need.

For home renovations, there are two savings tools that work particularly well.

The first is a high interest savings account. Unlike the regular savings account at your bank that probably pays next-to-no interest, a pays in the neighbourhood of 2.3% interest and allows you to withdraw your money at any time.

The second is a (TFSA) which, despite the name, can be used as a container for all sorts of investments. The advantage of using a TFSA is that you don’t have to pay tax on your investment income, and you can take out your money without penalty at any time.

Even though there’s a program in place that allows you to , it’s not recommended to withdraw money from your RRSP to fund a renovation. You won’t get the contribution room back and you’ll pay expensive tax on the withdrawals. Leave your ÌÇÐÄvlog fund alone and consider other choices for home improvements.

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]]> /blog/home-buyers-plan/feed/ 0 Emergency Fund 101: Do I really need one? /blog/emergency-fund-101/ /blog/emergency-fund-101/#respond Thu, 30 May 2019 06:14:27 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=11125 Big or small, people experience financial emergencies all the time. One of the best ways to get through a financial emergency is to build an emergency fund.

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]]> If at all possible, save in advance for your renovation project. If you can, spend this spring cleaning and polishing (you’ll be amazed at what some elbow grease and fresh paint can do for your space), and plan to take a hammer to it next year. Not only will that leave you with 12 months to save in advance, it will also give you a chance to think carefully about your renovation plans and keep an eye open for sales on items you’ll need.

For home renovations, there are two savings tools that work particularly well.

The first is a high interest savings account. Unlike the regular savings account at your bank that probably pays next-to-no interest, a pays in the neighbourhood of 2.3% interest and allows you to withdraw your money at any time.

The second is a (TFSA) which, despite the name, can be used as a container for all sorts of investments. The advantage of using a TFSA is that you don’t have to pay tax on your investment income, and you can take out your money without penalty at any time.

Even though there’s a program in place that allows you to , it’s not recommended to withdraw money from your RRSP to fund a renovation. You won’t get the contribution room back and you’ll pay expensive tax on the withdrawals. Leave your ÌÇÐÄvlog fund alone and consider other choices for home improvements.

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]]> /blog/emergency-fund-101/feed/ 0 Renting vs Buying: Which one is better? /blog/renting-vs-buying/ /blog/renting-vs-buying/#respond Wed, 15 May 2019 06:24:50 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=11070 Renting vs owning a home is a hotly debated topic, but which one is better for your situation? To help you have a clearer idea of your options, here are some benefits and downsides of either owning a home, or renting.

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]]> /blog/renting-vs-buying/feed/ 0 3 things to do with your Canadian tax refund /blog/3-things-to-do-with-your-canadian-tax-refund/ /blog/3-things-to-do-with-your-canadian-tax-refund/#respond Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:05:41 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=10896 Before you go booking an impromptu vacation or treating yourself to a new TV, here are the 3 things you should do with your tax refund.

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]]> /blog/3-things-to-do-with-your-canadian-tax-refund/feed/ 0 What the federal budget means for your financial plan /blog/what-the-federal-budget-means-for-your-financial-plan/ /blog/what-the-federal-budget-means-for-your-financial-plan/#respond Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:15:03 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=10636 Wondering what the federal budget will really mean for Canadians and their financial plan? Here are the 4 biggest takeaways that may affect your plan.

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]]> /blog/what-the-federal-budget-means-for-your-financial-plan/feed/ 0 Our 4 favourite tax preparers /blog/our-4-favourite-tax-preparers/ /blog/our-4-favourite-tax-preparers/#respond Fri, 08 Mar 2019 06:50:14 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=10389 There are only 2 things certain in life: Death and taxes. Here's our list of 4 tax preparers that can help you gain a bigger return or minimize the taxes you owe this tax season.

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]]> /blog/our-4-favourite-tax-preparers/feed/ 0 ÌÇÐÄvlog’s Top 9 Favourite Canadian Business Podcasts /blog/top-9-favourite-canadian-podcasts/ /blog/top-9-favourite-canadian-podcasts/#respond Tue, 04 Dec 2018 06:13:03 +0000 http://planswelldev.wpengine.com/?p=9077 At ÌÇÐÄvlog, we love to share great Canadian entertainment and news. Here’s our list of the top 9 Canadian business podcasts that you'll want to listen to on your morning commute.

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