Category
Saving
Articles on Saving.
Giving $1,000 to charity costs about $641 — and donating shares instead of cash can save another $593
The charitable credit pays 19% on your first $200 and about 40% above it. Here's the math on a $1,000 gift, why donating appreciated shares beats selling first, and the December 31 cutoff.
Read the post →Your workplace benefits may expire December 31 — check before the money disappears
Health spending accounts, flex credits and annual dental maximums often reset at year-end. A short checklist for finding out what you still have, and what to do if you're not covered.
Read the post →Selling a loser for the tax loss? The 30-day rule can cancel it
Tax-loss selling only works if the CRA lets you keep the loss. Here's the superficial loss rule, the spouse and TFSA traps, and a worked example of what a $10,000 loss is actually worth.
Read the post →The 2027 RRSP limit is $35,390 — and your 2026 deadline is March 1
The RRSP dollar limit rises $1,580 for 2027, but most people never hit it. What the 18% rule really gives you, what a deduction is worth at common incomes, and the dates that matter.
Read the post →Medical expenses: you get to pick the 12-month window — and the 3% hurdle decides who claims
The medical expense credit isn't tied to the calendar year, and the first 3% of your income earns nothing. How to choose the window, who should claim, and what to pay before December 31.
Read the post →Ottawa's new $10,000 heat pump rebate: who should actually take it
The new National Heat Pump Rebate pays up to $10,000 below the median income and $2,000 above it. Whether it pays off depends on the fuel you're replacing — here's the math for oil, electric and natural gas homes.
Read the post →A $600K home takes 34 months at $1,000 a month — or 57 if you want 10% down
How long the down payment on a $600,000 home actually takes at $1,000 and $2,000 a month, for the 5% minimum, 10%, and 20% — and what an FHSA refund shaves off the calendar.
Read the post →Carrying a credit card balance into the holidays? Five paydays decide what it costs
Canadians owe $134.2 billion on credit cards, and one in four expect to make only minimum payments soon. What a $4,000 balance plus $1,000 of holiday spending costs at 21%, and how to use the paydays left before Black Friday.
Read the post →The $1 million retirement number is only true if you forget CPP and OAS exist
A couple spending $60,000 a year needs about $385,000 in savings once government pensions are counted — not $1.1 million. Here's the nest-egg math at $60K and $90K, and why the single-person number is so much bigger.
Read the post →Pension income splitting: you claim it in April, but you set it up before December 31
Retired couples can move up to half of eligible pension income to the lower-income spouse on a single form. The catch: whether that income exists — and counts — is decided by what you withdraw this year.
Read the post →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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