Modern Cents

It's the most... wonderful tiiiiime... of the year! Making an RRSP contribution is a tax deduction that reduces your overall income before you calculate what taxes you owe. For example, if you have an income of $75,000 and make an RRSP contribution of $5,000, your total income (before taxes) will be $70,000.... You have about 1 more month (deadline - February 28th) to reduce your taxable income for 2021 by making an RRSP contribution. So take a quick coffee break to get educated on how much you should contribute! Check out the link below to find out what makes the most 'cents' for you! Also - ask questions! That's usually a great way to see how something may apply to you! #RRSP #contribution #moderncents #feeonly #financialadvice #financialplanner #canadianfinance #taxtips #deduction

You can! I bet you. Most of what we tell ourselves supports our own insecurities instead of feeding our goals and dreams. Saving is one of those things. Do it! You can! I bet you. Don't make it optional. What is an easy start? Up your savings. Even by $5/week. Do it now. Then next month, increase it to $10. Do it gradually so you don't feel it.... The power of compound interest is strong, my friends. Even a small amount of money, invested simply and left to grow over time, will generate astonishing amounts of wealth. Don't believe me? Check out the simple calculators on my website, www.moderncents.ca, to see what your 'do it today' savings will grow to, with a little time! #moderncents #personalfinance #financialplanning #canadianfinance #financialadvice #financialplanner #feeonly #savings #compoundinterest #goals #moneygoals

Feeling so grateful and thankful on this sunny Friday morning. I've been on my new business journey now for 3 weeks, and I'm already feeling happier, more satisfied and more content than I could have imagined. I'm excited to be working with the people who have engaged with me thus far, so THANK YOU for supporting my dream! Looking forward to the journey ahead and continuing to support people in their road to financial confidence and freedom.... #feeonly #financialplanner #financialadvice #canadianfinance #feeonlyplanning #feeonlyplanner #gratitude #thankful

My kids are 3, and they have piggy banks just like this one. I scratch my head as I dig around looking for loose change to try and reward them for good behaviour (1 stamp each time I notice good behaviour - 5 stamps gets a coin), and teach them to save for something they want to buy (that tea set on Amazon costs 33 gold coins). But they don't really get it, not really. Because they have only ever seen me buy things with cards, or online. Luckily for modern day parents, many... apps have been developed to help kids learn the value of earning money, teach them money management, and help them save, in a modern (digital) way. And FUN, obviously... otherwise, they won't 'buy it' (pun fully intended)! Here are some to check out (recommended age 5+): Mydoh FamZoo Family Finance Piggybot Adventure Capitalist Yuby Starbanks Adventure Let me know what works for you in your family when teaching your kids money skills! #moneymanagement #personalfinance #kidsfinance #moderncents #canadianfinance #financialadvice #piggybanks #kidssavings

RESP tips... Continued from yesterday! Did you know to get the full matching grant of $500 per child every year, it's the equivalent of $48.08 per week of investment? What have you spent $48 on this week that you could have saved instead?... #resp #moderncents #personalfinance #financialplanning #canadianfinance #financialadvice #financialplanner #feeonly #cesg

RESPs are not simple! (Is anything?) Here are some quick tips and tricks when thinking about the various options for your kids' RESP. 1) Do you want a single plan (one or each child) or a family plan? Family plans allow multiple children from the same family to access money from the same account. This could be beneficial if one child decides not to go to post secondary education, leaving the remaining benefit for the other child(ren).... 2) Contribution maximum! You can contribute $50,000 per child, between birth and age 17. How much per year? You decide... 3) You can invest in a number of different types of eligible investments. No restrictions! Make sure you understand all available options from your RESP provider, and if there are any limitations. 4) Tax benefits? You don't get a tax deduction for contributing to an RESP, but any money inside an RESP grows tax deferred, meaning more growth for your kids. Contribute early - and you will get to take advantage of more compound (tax-deferred) interest! Let me know your RESP questions and I'm happy to answer them! #RESP #finance #personalfinance #moderncents #canadianfinance #financialplanner #financialadvice #financialadvisor #savings

(UN)common knowledge... The government gives out free money for kids. It's true! There are many different ways we can benefit, but the RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) is the best known one.... Each child will get up to $500 in grant money, as a 1:5 match for every dollar you contribute. So to get the whole benefit, contribute $2500 anytime during the year (even if it's in stages). Missed a year? No problem. You can 'catch up' for missed gifts one year at a time. So if you missed last year, then you can get your $500 from last year as well as this year, if you contribute $5000. For lower income families, there is also a savings bond that gets credited to your child's RESP. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks for RESPs! #resp #cesb #education #moderncents #cesg #personalfinance #financialplanning #canadianfinance #financialadvice #financialplanner

Sorry.. But it's true! If your annual salary is higher than $64,900, then at some point during the year you will notice your after tax paycheques increase. That's because you will have fully contributed to your Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance. The CPP contributions and EI premiums restarts in January, so you'll notice that your first January paycheque will be less.... Also this year, the CPP contribution amounts will increase to 5.7% of your salary, up to $64,900. This is an attempt to increase forced pension savings for Canadians to 1/3 of income at age 65 (1/3 of $64,900 at maximum, indexed to inflation annually). So check your spending this month... You may have to do some better budgeting! #cpp #paycheque #sourcedeductions #canadianfinance #personalfinance #financialadvice #financialplanner #financialadvice

You're making the same income, but somehow it doesn't seem to go as far. Everything costs more. 'Supply chains' (how we get our goods) are strained. Businesses struggle to keep up with demand for basic consumer goods. How is meat so much more expensive? Welcome to inflation. It eats into our 'purchasing power', our ability to buy things for the same price we bought it for last week, or a year ago, etc etc. If you weren't able to convince your boss to give you a sizeable ...raise this year (and really, who was?), then you're losing money. Because inflation is running... hot! The government tells us it's running at 4.4% for goods, and 2.1% for services. They're usually lowballing it. This means if you're sitting on cash in the bank earning nothing, or GICs earning sub-1%, you're losing purchasing power. You're losing money by doing nothing. How to best combat the effects of inflation on the same salary? Buy smart, buy less. Invest in dividend-paying investments. Monitor your food consumption (read: wastage). What are you buying too much of? Take note of things that are costing you more. Try not to shove all of your money into paying down low interest rate mortgages. Take advantage of your tax sheltered investment options (RRSPs, TFSAs) and at least get some tax benefits for your idle cash! #inflation #canada #financialplanning #personalfinance #financialadvice #financialplanner #canadianfinance #CPI

Since there is a 'me' behind the modern, I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Andrea, and I'm a financial planner, mom of twins, coffee and wine lover. Other than advising people on personal finance, I love to read, dance, cross stitch, and do virtual spin rides on Zwift. I've been in the financial services industry going on 20 years now, and I'm really excited to pass on the knowledge and words of wisdom that I've acquired after working with so many cli...ents over time! Thank you for joining my growing community, and welcome again! #moderncents #financialplanning #personalfinance #canadianfinance #financialadvice #financialplanner

How do you approach your planning? Check out www.financialplanningforcanadians.ca for some great resources! #fpcanada #financialadvice #financialplanner #financialplanning

Every year brings a new opportunity to make contributions to the registered savings plans the government provides each Canadian adult, including the RRSP and TFSA. It's important to figure out how much makes sense (cents!) to contribute to each bucket, based on what's called your 'marginal tax rate'. A few general 'rules of thumb':... High income earners should try and maximize their RRSPs first, as every dollar contributed means a larger income tax deduction. Lower income earners should consider making TFSA contributions first, and save their RRSP contribution room for higher potential income earning years. (If you don't use your RRSP contribution limit in any particular year, it carries over to future years). Unsure? Talk to a financial professional to see what makes the most sense for you! #TFSA #RRSP #contributions #personalfinance #canadianfinance #financialplanning #moderncents

New blog post up... Stop killing my morning coffee! www.moderncents.ca/blog-1 There is often a general advice that I see over and over again that to save a dollar, you should probably stop having your morning coffee at _________ (insert coffee shop here) and make it at home instead. I argue that some of the smallest discretionary (meaning, not required) expenses bring so much value to our lives, they are not worth cutting out. Rather, they greatly enhance our happiness, espe...cially during pandemic times. So go ahead... drink your barista made, freshly roasted coffee. This financial planner says so. #coffee #morningcoffee #financialplanning #budgeting #moderncents #personalfinance