Financial guidance for successful Canadians
Navigating financial complexity - with clarity, evidence, and practical insight.
All Posts
The Passive Income Rule for Canadian Corporations
Past $50,000 of passive income, your corporation starts to lose the federal small business limit. Here is the arithmetic.
Read More
How to Invest Retained Earnings in Your Corporation
A corporation is taxed differently from you, so start with how each kind of investment income is taxed.
Read More
Investing Through a Holding Company in Canada
A holding company changes where your corporate investments sit, not how they are taxed.
Read More
The Capital Dividend Account, Explained
How the non-taxable half of a corporate capital gain can be paid to you tax-free, and what your accountant does first.
Read More
What Should an Executor Do First After a Death in Canada?
Your first job is not to settle the estate. It is to protect it.
Read More
The Question Most Canadians Have Never Been Asked About Their Money
What will you do in a bad year? Seven answers, about an hour, decided while markets, income, health and the business are all still fine.
Read More
Losing Your Spouse or Partner in Canada
What to do now, what can wait, and what to protect. A calm sequence for the first 90 days, the first year, and beyond.
Read More
How to Use AI Before Meeting With a Financial Advisor
If you are going to use AI before a financial conversation, here is how to do it properly - organize your thoughts, sharpen your questions, and walk in ready.
Read More
How to Use AI to Find a Financial Advisor
AI is a sharp screening tool and a poor judge of character. Here is how to use it for the first part and not the second.
Read More
ETFs vs. Full Portfolio Management: What Canadian Investors Need to Know
DIY ETF portfolios look simple on paper, but coordinated portfolio management adds value most investors underestimate.
Read More
Are Financial Advisors Worth It in Canada? When Your Fee Is Justified - And When It Isn't
Many Canadians pay for financial advice without ever asking whether they're getting value for the cost. This article bre...
Read More
How Much House Can You Afford in Canada?
The answer most Canadians get to this question comes from a mortgage broker, not a financial planner. Here's a more comp...
Read More
Should You Set Up a Holding Company in Canada? Pros, Cons & Tax Trade-Offs for Business Owners
A holding company is one of the most powerful corporate planning tools available to Canadian business owners - and one o...
Read More
Retirement Checklist Canada: What to Do Within 3 Years Before You Stop Working
The three years before retirement are the most consequential financial planning period of your life. The decisions made ...
Read More
US Market Concentration Risk: What It Means and What Canadian Investors Should Do
US equities now represent over 65% of global market capitalization - and many Canadian investors are far more concentrat...
Read More
Trusts in Canada: What They Do, When They Fail, and Who They're Really For
Trusts are among the most powerful estate and tax planning tools available in Canada - and among the most misapplied. Th...
Read More
Should You Downsize Your Home in Canada? A Decision Framework
For most Canadians approaching retirement, the family home is the largest asset they own - and deciding what to do with ...
Read More
What To Do With a Windfall or Inheritance in Canada (Before You Make a Costly Mistake)
Windfalls and inheritances create a rare moment of financial possibility - and a high-pressure environment for making co...
Read More
Liquidity Event for Founders in Canada | Hidden Risks Most Business Owners Miss
A business sale is the most financially significant event in most founders' lives - and the most complex. The decisions ...
Read More
Investment Fees in Canada: What Most Investors Misunderstand
Most Canadian investors don't know what they're actually paying - or how much it costs them over time.
Read More
The Incorporated Professional Decision Framework
Having a corporation doesn't mean having a plan. This explores why incorporated professionals often feel financially scattered.
Read More
How Couples Should Manage Money in Canada
Most money conflicts in relationships aren't about spending habits - they're about missing systems.
Read More
Charitable Giving in Canada: Tax-Efficient Donation Strategies
Donating to charity in Canada can be highly tax-efficient - but only if you use the right strategy.
Read More
Salary vs Dividends in Canada
Most business owners frame the salary vs dividends question as a tax problem. It's not. Here's the framework that actually matters.
Read More
Retirement is Not a Number
The obsession with hitting a specific retirement number misses the point. Retirement is a transition.
Read More
Protecting Your Accounts in Today's Digital Environment
Cyber fraud targeting financial accounts is rising fast. Here's what every Canadian investor should be doing right now.
Read More
What History Teaches Us About New-Year Market Predictions
Every January, experts line up with market forecasts. History suggests most of them will be wrong.
Read More
A Simple Year-End Financial Checklist for the Sandwich Generation
If you're supporting aging parents and growing kids, the year-end financial to-do list looks different.
Read More
16 Helpful Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor
If you've never pushed back on your advisor, you may not know what you're missing. These 16 questions help.
Read More
Welcome to Insight Planning
An introduction to Insight Planning - our approach, our values, and why we built Insight 360° OS.
Read More
What Are 'Alternative Investments'?
The term gets thrown around a lot - but what does it actually mean? This explains the main categories.
Read More
Income Splitting for Couples: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet
Income splitting is one of the most underused tax strategies for Canadian couples.
Read More
What Really Determines Investment Returns?
Spoiler: it's not your fund selection. The actual drivers of long-term returns are often misunderstood.
Read More
How Much Is Enough?
The hardest retirement question isn't how much you need to save - it's how much is actually enough.
Read More
Passing Down Wealth: Inter-Generational Transfer
Transferring wealth to the next generation involves more than a will. Tax, family dynamics, and timing all matter.
Read More
Gifting Assets to Family: What You Should Know First
Gifting money or assets to family members in Canada comes with tax and attribution rules that catch many off guard.
Read More
Riding Out the Storm: Market Volatility
Market downturns are inevitable. Panic isn't. This walks through how disciplined investors think about volatility.
Read More
The Importance of a Family Meeting
Family financial meetings are awkward until they're not. Here's why structured family conversations about money matter.
Read More
When Should You Start Collecting CPP and OAS?
Taking CPP and OAS early costs more than most people realize. Here's the breakeven math.
Read More
The Four Stages of Retirement
Retirement isn't one phase - it's four. Understanding go-go, slow-go, no-go, and legacy stages changes how you plan.
Read More
Leaving a Lasting Legacy: Insurance for Charity
Life insurance and charitable giving together can create a highly tax-efficient legacy strategy.
Read More
Debt Repayment: Snowball vs. Avalanche
Two popular debt repayment strategies, one practical question: which one actually works better - and for whom?
Read More
Time in the Markets Beats Timing the Markets
Missing just a handful of the market's best days can devastate long-term returns.
Read More
Probate Planning: Tips to Simplify Your Estate
With the right planning, much of your estate can pass outside of probate entirely - here's how.
Read More
Mastering Cash Flow
Cash flow is the foundation of every financial plan - and most people aren't managing it intentionally.
Read More
The 2024 Capital Gains Increase Was Cancelled
The 2024 federal budget proposed a higher capital gains inclusion rate. It was cancelled in March 2025. Here is where the rules stand.
Read More
Tips for a Tax-Efficient Tax Season
Most Canadians file their taxes without optimizing them. These practical tips can meaningfully reduce what you owe.
Read More
Mutual Funds vs ETFs: What's The Difference?
Mutual funds and ETFs work differently, cost differently, and suit different investors. Here's a clear breakdown.
Read More
Cascading Wealth Transfer Strategy
The cascading strategy uses insurance to create a tax-sheltered, multi-generational wealth transfer.
Read More
The Tax Benefits of Charitable Giving
Canada's tax system is genuinely generous to donors - but most people don't use the rules optimally.
Read More
Are Co-Executors a Good Idea?
Naming co-executors seems fair - but it can create friction, delays, and disputes.
Read More
The Five D's of Estate Planning
Death, disability, divorce, disagreement, and debt - the five D's that every estate plan needs to account for.
Read More
First Home Savings Account (FHSA): 3 Rules
The FHSA is one of the most powerful new savings tools Canada has introduced - three key rules determine if you're using it correctly.
Read More
Maximizing Education Savings (RESP)
The RESP offers grants, tax-deferred growth, and flexible withdrawals - but it comes with rules.
Read More
Cottage Succession Planning: 3 Key Considerations
Passing a cottage to the next generation involves capital gains tax, family dynamics, and estate planning.
Read MoreReady for a plan, not just posts?
A short first meeting to see if we’re the right fit, for both of us. Three questions, and we reply within two business days.
Request an Introduction →