Five videos on investing simply, in one place.

Since 1926, about 4% of US stocks created all of the market's net wealth, and more than half lost to a GIC. Over the last decade, 95% of Canadian equity funds lost to a simple index. So what do you actually do? DIY, a robo-advisor or a fee-only planner, and why the market you lived through shapes your fear for life (Malmendier and Nagel). Why you already own every AI winner in a plain global index fund, and why the people who borrowed to own them lost everything. And why your 80/20 is fine once you retire, whatever the all-equity crowd says.

More at calmmoneycoach.com

I'm Brian Orlando, CPA, in Halifax. Advice-only planning through Calm Money Coach. No products, no commissions.

Education only, not investment advice for your situation.

Harry Potter lost his parents as a baby, found a vault of gold at 11 and inherited a house at 15. Each one is a real estate planning question in Canada. I'm Brian, a Canadian CPA, and I walk through what happens to a kid, the money and the house when the plan falls apart, and what I'd have set up for the Potters.

1. Name a guardian in your will, then name backups, in order. Ask each of them first, and write a short letter saying why you picked them.
2. Split the jobs if you want: 1 person raises the kid, another handles the money. Leave money for the raising, like life insurance.
3. Leave money straight to a kid with no trust and the province steps in. In Ontario, anything over $35,000 is paid into court, and it all lands at 18 or 19.
4. A trust in the will lets you say what the money is for and pay the rest out in stages, like some at 21 and the rest at 25. Outside Quebec, you can name a trustee right on a life insurance beneficiary form.
5. Canada has no inheritance tax, but at death a house is taxed as if it were sold that day. A home is tax free only for the years the owner lived there, plus 1.
6. Inherit a house and wait before big decisions. Get it appraised, call the insurer, then price out a full year and compare living in it, renting it or selling it.

Free guides and calculators at calmmoneycoach.com

#estateplanning #canada #harrypotter #wills #trusts #inheritance #personalfinance

40 with nothing saved for retirement? You've got about 25 earning years left and a pension floor that's already building. A 2025 HOOPP study found 39% of Canadians have never saved for retirement, so you're in good company.

Meet Jess. She's 40, rents a 1 bedroom in Halifax and earns $70,000. To retire renting there she needs about $41,700 a year after tax in today's dollars, including $6,000 for trips, dinners and gifts. Owning with no mortgage drops that to about $33,500. A renter needs about $35,600 in Saint John, $38,000 in Winnipeg and $45,000 in Toronto or Vancouver.

CPP and OAS give her about $23,000 a year before she saves a dollar, so her savings only cover the gap. At $500 a month her money lasts in 63 of 100 market runs. At $750 it's 80, and at $1,000 it's 90. $750 and working to 67 gets her to 92. Even in the bad runs, CPP, OAS and the top-up for low-income seniors keep about $27,000 a year coming.

TFSA or RRSP? At $750 a month both get her to about 80, as long as the RRSP refund gets invested. Spend the refund and it drops to 52. Closer to $45,000 of income the TFSA comes out a bit ahead, and at $100,000 the RRSP does.

4 things I'd do at 40 with nothing saved
1. Check your CPP estimate in My Service Canada Account, and your OAS.
2. Build your number from what you'd actually spend where you live, and save toward the gap.
3. Start with your employer match, then automate what you can, $50 or $300 a month, into 1 all-in-one fund. Raise it with every raise.
4. Working a couple of extra years and starting CPP later both add guaranteed income for life.

Growing your pay does a lot of the heavy lifting. A $6,000 course that takes her to $80,000 pays for itself in about a year or 2.

My free retirement calculators come with my monthly email at calmmoneycoach.com.

I'm Brian Orlando, CPA, in Halifax. Advice-only planning through Calm Money Coach. No products, no commissions.

Run through my retirement planner, October 2026, in today's dollars. Spending from Statistics Canada's Market Basket Measure and CMHC rents. HOOPP 2025. Education only.

#retirementplanning #retirement #tfsa #rrsp #personalfinancecanada