Canadian Personal Finance News | April 2016

"Year after year, decade after decade, portfolios with simple building blocks and transparent mechanics get the job done. A bet that this will not be the case in the future because of (name your reason) is a low probability one."

"Your time and energy is limited, so don’t waste it chasing pennies. Don’t clip coupons or make your own laundry soap, when you could instead spend your precious time focusing on larger gains.

How can you possibly pursue marginal gains AND limit your focus to big wins? Don’t these two ideas live in opposition?"

The changing risks of retirement are the primary differentiator of retirement income planning from traditional wealth management. Retirees have less capacity for risk as they become more vulnerable to a reduced standard of living when risks manifest. Those entering retirement are crossing the threshold into an entirely foreign way of living. These risks can be summarized into seven general categories, listed in the following figure.

"Budgeting is a four letter word for many, but just having an understanding about where your money is going and how it’s being spent can be eye-opening"

Determining the best retirement income strategy depends on how you measure what is "best", from wealth to spending to Monte Carlo or with a utility function!

"Viewed daily over the 12 months that ended March 31, the S&P 500′s moves look superficially like the EKG of someone having a heart attack. Viewed quarterly, they resemble a shruggie emoticon without the smirk. And seen over the full sweep of the last 12 months, the market’s moves look like a whole lot of nothing happening in slow motion."

"Checking your portfolio or the market on a daily basis is like getting on the scale every 20 minutes and expecting progress"

"If you reach year 12 of retirement with a half million dollars in your savings portfolio, it doesn't matter if you got there by starting retirement with $1M and depleting half of it, or by starting retirement with $250,000 and doubling it. All that matters is where you are now and what happens next."

March's list of the best Canadian personal finance news, articles, and blog posts from around the internet, expertly curated for interest and relev...