Personal Finance | Crawford • Ashwood Financial

Leaving a job can be an emotional and often stressful time. During your transition from one job to another, or into semi- or full-time retirement, there are many financial decisions to be made. Many of these decisions can have expensive tax consequences, so being prepared with the right advice on how to proceed is priceless. Over the last 19 months since the pandemic began, many Canadians have found themselves out of work, back at work, and then out of work again. Some of these have been temporary layoffs, and others more permanent. Many people have taken this uncertain time to…

Although many tax planning considerations have not changed, there has been a lot of shifting supports from the government to get us all through the Covid-19 pandemic. We want to ensure you are prepared for filing your tax returns this year. Working from home If you have been working from home you are eligible to claim some expenses. Since so many people are doing this for the first time, the government has a simplified method to claim those expenses for 2020. The CRA is offering a “flat fee” for work-from-home deductions for 2020. Your employer does not need to fill…

To say 2020 has been an interesting year would be a massive understatement. Although in many ways it has been uncomfortable, it has also given us some time and space to take stock. And from my perspective as an ‘older adult’, yes ok, a senior citizen, the times of most discomfort provide the biggest lessons in our lives. When viewed with a curious mind we can find all kinds of useful learning opportunities through these times of COVID-19. Here are some things that have not changed but perhaps we needed to be reminded of: Obvious personal reminders are that our…

If the current COVID-19 situation has taught us anything, it is that we need to be better prepared for unforeseen situations. Having an emergency fund is one of the most important things you can do financially. You don’t want to wait until you have an emergency to start thinking of implementing this into your plan. Just like you shouldn’t put off starting to save for retirement until your 50’s or 60’s. A plan is key here. An emergency fund should be able to cover your major expenses for three to six months, or longer. These savings are basically a pool…

I think that we are all feeling various levels of unease at present; from slightly off kilter to all-out anxiety. Watching the numbers of new infections of COVID-19 every day certainly doesn’t help, nor do the wild swings in markets help calm us. We are living in a world where we are bombarded with daily news and it can be exhausting trying to keep up with it all. As we talk to many of our clients, we find that everyone’s approach to coping is different. Some people are glued to their TVs and radios, others are choosing to use this…

We wanted to share this short video from one of our favourite investment companies, EdgePoint. The video shares one person’s experience of being invested over the past 10 years, through the ups and down, and why it pays to think “long-term” when investing your hard-earned money. Many of our clients have had a similar road to the character in the video, and we continue to buy these funds for our clients and our own personal portfolios, as we believe in a long-term investment strategy. The take-away is to be patient; and know that both good and bad years don’t last…

Well, here we go again. After nearly a decade of rising markets, with only a few bumps along the way, it seems we are back to more normal market fluctuations. It probably feels worse for many people because we have become used to more positive days, weeks and months. One of the guarantees in investing is that volatile markets will persist. Our job as investors is to ensure we do not act irrationally. Volatility is actually a friend to us as investors. For example, if you were to see that your favourite food at the grocery store was on sale…

Canadians are generally a very giving lot – 84% of Canadians made a charitable donation in 2010; the last year Statistics Canada kept records. Between time spent volunteering in a wide range of organizations and money donated to worthy causes, philanthropy in its various guises seems to be in our DNA. Our reasons for giving are as diverse as we are as a people, but according to Imagine Canada, we give out of compassion for others, for a cause we believe in, to make a contribution to our community, or for something that touches us personally. Whatever the reason, we…

As loving parents, we teach our children the important life skills that we hope will give them a happy & productive life. Money Management is a skill that needs to be learned and it is our job to give them a good foundation on which to build their futures. I have observed two very interesting realities interacting with several generations of families while coaching them about money management. One is that there does seem to be a personality type (or as we laughingly call it a money gene) that will give children a tendency to be good with money, or…

Sometimes it is time to go back to basics. I have been working with families for over twenty five years now and deal with some complicated planning issues. Reflecting on what the key components are to clients’ success in achieving their financial goals, I find that some very basic principles apply. I’d like to share those with the readers of our blog. Lifestyle Choices You might think that my largest and most successful clients have fancy jobs and high incomes. Some do, that is certain. But whether they are high or mid income earners, one of the key components in…

Category Archives: Personal Finance

Leaving a Job

Tax Tips for 2020

Goodbye 2020

The Importance of Having an Emergency Fund

Thoughts for Difficult Times

An Investor’s Journey : A Video

The Rewards of Volatile Times

Generosity Helps Everyone

Teaching Our Children Money Skills

Creating Wealth