Compoundfork
TFSA or RRSP — the decision is which tax rate is higher.
Contribute where the rate is higher now only if you expect a lower rate later. Otherwise the TFSA is the cleaner default.
FHSA / HOME BUYERS' PLANThe 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.
RENT VS. OWNRenting 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.
MORTGAGESWhy 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 WORTHNet 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.
COMPOUNDINGCompounding 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.
PLANNINGThe 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.
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.
DIVIDEND TYPESWhy some dividends are taxed lower than others.
"Eligible" and "non-eligible" track exactly how much corporate tax was already paid, before it reached you.
INCORPORATIONWhen incorporating actually starts to pay off.
There's no legal income threshold. There is a real financial one — and it's not about revenue.
INCOME SPLITTINGWhy 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.
BUSINESS SALE$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.
ADVANCED STRATEGYThe 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.
CORPORATE STRUCTUREA 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.
RETIREMENT PLANNINGRRSP, 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.
ESTATE PLANNINGCanada 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.
ESTATE PLANNINGA 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.
ADVANCED STRATEGYBorrowing 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.
HIGH NET WORTHFreeze 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.
HIGH NET WORTHSame 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.
HIGH NET WORTHOwning 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.
HIGH NET WORTHLock 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.
HIGH NET WORTHMost 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.
HIGH NET WORTH"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.
HIGH NET WORTHOnly 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.
HIGH NET WORTHAn 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.
HIGH NET WORTHOntario 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.
Corporate planning
Revenue, expenses, and what is left after small-business tax to pay yourself.
MODELLeave it in the corporation, or pay it out?
The same surplus invested inside the company or in your own name.
TRUSTFamily trusts
The 21-year clock, and what a trust is actually for in a plan.
CALCULATOREstate freeze calculator
What a freeze caps on your estate, and where the growth goes instead.
MAPHow the money moves
Operating company, holding company, trust. The flow, not an org chart.
SBDAssociated corporations
Two companies can share one small-business limit.
REPORTINGForeign affiliate reporting
When a Canadian company owns a foreign one, the filing is its own work.