MONEY BASICS

Plain answers to the questions everyone Googles.

Short, sourced, no upsell. Each one ties back to something Compoundfork already models with your real numbers — the article gets you the concept, the tool gets you the actual math for your situation.

TFSA or RRSP first? Here's the actual answer.

Not "it depends" — the real decision comes down to one comparison: your tax rate today versus your best guess at your tax rate later.

The FHSA and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan aren't the same thing.

Both let you pull money tax-free toward a first home. Only one of them has to be paid back.

Renting isn't "throwing money away." Owning isn't automatic wealth.

Both halves of that sentence get repeated constantly, and both are wrong often enough to matter.

Why the first half of your mortgage is almost all interest.

How amortization actually works, and why extra payments early are worth more than the same payment later.

Net worth isn't your salary. Here's what actually moves it.

A high earner can have a lower net worth than someone making half as much. Here's why, and the four levers that actually matter.

Compounding isn't just a pep talk. Here's how it actually works.

The Rule of 72, and why the same mechanism that grows your savings also grows a credit card balance against you.

The same decision, planned versus panicked, isn't the same decision.

Why the gap between planning ahead and reacting under pressure is bigger than most people expect.

FOR INCORPORATED OWNERS & HIGH EARNERS

Salary or dividends? The real decision isn't just tax.

The tax gap has narrowed. What actually decides it now: CPP, RRSP room, and whether a bank approves your mortgage.

Why some dividends are taxed lower than others.

"Eligible" and "non-eligible" track exactly how much corporate tax was already paid, before it reached you.

When incorporating actually starts to pay off.

There's no legal income threshold. There is a real financial one — and it's not about revenue.

Why paying your spouse or adult kids dividends can quietly backfire.

TOSI doesn't ban income splitting. It taxes the version most people try first at the highest possible rate.

$1.275 million, tax-free, if your shares actually qualify.

The biggest tax benefit most business owners will ever touch — and qualification rules strict enough that "probably fine" isn't good enough.

The Smith Manoeuvre doesn't make your mortgage deductible. It replaces it.

A precise distinction that changes how the whole strategy should be judged — genuinely leveraged investing, not a mortgage trick.

A holding company isn't a tax trick. It's a moving box.

Its only job is to own things separately from your operating business — and that one distinction explains everything else about it.

RRSP, or leave it in the corporation? The answer depends on what it earns.

A verified 30-year comparison shows the answer changes completely depending on interest, dividends, or capital gains.

Canada doesn't have an estate tax. It has something else that catches people off guard.

Real probate fees by province, and why common-law partners can inherit nothing without a will.

A corporation can pay out a death benefit completely tax-free. Here's the mechanism.

The Capital Dividend Account is the least understood, most powerful tool in Canadian estate planning — and a 60% penalty waits for anyone who miscalculates it.

Borrowing against your house to invest isn't reckless or genius. It's just leverage.

The tax deduction is real. So is the fact that a market drop doesn't shrink what you owe the bank.

Freeze the value today. Let someone else own the growth.

An estate freeze doesn't reduce your tax bill — it stops it from getting bigger every year your business keeps growing.

Same gift, same credit — but selling first can cost you thousands.

Donating appreciated stocks directly to charity eliminates the capital gains tax entirely. Selling them first doesn't.

Owning Apple shares can create a US tax problem you never signed up for.

US estate tax applies to non-citizens too — based on what you own, not who you are.

Lock in 3% today, and it's yours for the life of the loan.

One of the few legal ways left to split investment income with a spouse or family trust — and the rate you lock in stays locked in.

Most people asking about a family office don't need one yet.

The real thing has a real cost. For most affluent families, a strong external team does the same job for a fraction of the price.

"Accredited investor" isn't a certificate. It's three numbers.

No exam, no application — just income, asset, or net worth thresholds that determine what you can legally be offered.

Only 1 in 10 business owners have an actual succession plan.

Roughly $1 trillion is moving from Canadian boomers to the next generation this decade — and there are genuinely three real paths.

An insurance wrapper with three specific advantages a regular account doesn't have.

Segregated funds cost more than a comparable mutual fund. Sometimes that extra cost buys something genuinely valuable.

Ontario law splits what grew during the marriage. A contract can change that.

Roughly a third of Ontario marriage contracts exist specifically to protect a business built before the wedding.