Category
Saving
Articles on Saving.
Graduated in the spring? Your student loan payments start November 1 — here's the math
The six-month grace period ends for the class of 2026 this fall. What the default payment looks like, why the federal half costs nothing to carry, and the income line that lets you pay $0 without falling behind.
Read the post →The CRA's prescribed rate stays at 3% for Q4 — the spousal loan math, honestly
The CRA confirmed a 3% prescribed rate for October to December 2026, the sixth quarter in a row. Here's how a prescribed-rate loan splits investment income between spouses, what it actually saves, and the January 30 rule that breaks it.
Read the post →$500K by 40 and never save again? The CoastFIRE math for a Canadian couple
The claim: a couple with $500K invested at 40 can stop contributing and let compounding plus CPP and OAS carry them to 65. Here's what that actually buys — and the three assumptions it quietly leans on.
Read the post →Behind on RESP contributions? You can only catch up $1,000 of grant a year
The CESG carry-forward sounds generous until you hit the ceiling: one extra year per year, capped at $1,000 of grant. Here's how many years of backfill you actually have left, and the December 31 deadline that decides it.
Read the post →The Home Buyers' Plan repayment cliff starts in 2027 — and 2026 is your cheap year
Pandemic-era buyers got three extra years before HBP repayments began. For anyone who withdrew in 2022, the grace period ends with this year. Here's the bill, and the move that shrinks it before it arrives.
Read the post →The FHSA rewards you for opening it before you need it
First Home Savings Account room only starts counting once the account exists — and unused room carries forward a maximum of $8,000. If a home purchase is even a maybe, the clock argument says open it now.
Read the post →First tuition bill this fall? Get the RESP withdrawal order right
RESP withdrawals aren't one button — there are two kinds of money in the account, and which one you take first can decide whether grant money gets stranded. Here's the order, the $8,000 first-semester limit, and the tax math.
Read the post →$400,000 sitting in cash at 65: the two mistakes to avoid
A big cash pile near retirement feels safe, but idle money and a careless drawdown order quietly cost tens of thousands. Here's the decumulation logic that protects it.
Read the post →TFSA or RRSP First? A Beginner's Framework for Deciding
Should you max out your RRSP or TFSA first? A plain-language framework built around your marginal tax rate, not rules of thumb.
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