Welcome
Cashflows & Portfolios is a free resource providing a beginning-to-end guide for Do-It-Yourself investors. The journey begins with how to budget and generate cash flow; how best to invest that cashflow; onto using the nest egg to fund the next phase of life – retirement).
We (Mark and Joe) are personal finance bloggers with a combined experience of over 25 years in helping Canadians with their finances. Using this experience, we created this site to provide you with actionable steps towards your financial goals. Both of us are in our 40’s, and like many of you, we started from scratch. Using the steps and strategies outlined in this site has allowed us to build significant 7-figure portfolios that are leading the way to financial independence (more about us here).
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DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH TO RETIRE?
If financial projections and retirement readiness are what you are after, we using some professional financial software (software that we are using for our own plans in fact), and making it available to you in our affordable and value-packed membership options. With this powerful software, we provide a detailed report(s) that answers questions specific to your financial situation and assumptions such as:
- Do I have enough to retire?
- When can I retire?
- Will I run out of money in retirement?
- What is the most I can spend in retirement?
- How much of a financial legacy can I leave behind?
- Should I take CPP at age 65 or 70?
- How do I minimize OAS clawback?
- Which account (and when) should I withdraw from for the highest tax efficiency and estate value?
Featured articles
Should you use an All-Weather Portfolio?
Stock market volatility can and will happen, which can really spook many investors. To help with that, should you use an all-weather portfolio for changing market conditions? Would an all-weather portfolio be best long-term? How would I build an all-weather portfolio using Canadian ETFs? Read on and find out our take, including the pros and cons of this all-weather investing approach. The portfolio is designed…
Avoid These 5 Big RRSP Mistakes
The Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is also one of our favourite accounts to build long-term wealth with, and the same should apply to you. On that note, it’s also an account that can trigger huge opportunity costs if not used wisely. For today’s post, we’ll share how you can avoid these 5 big RRSP mistakes – in your asset accumulation and asset decumulation years….
Avoid These 5 Big TFSA Mistakes
The Tax-Free-Savings Account (TFSA) is one of our favourite accounts to build long-term wealth with. It’s also an account that can trigger huge opportunity costs if not used wisely. For today’s post, we’ll share how you can avoid these 5 big TFSA mistakes – in your asset accumulation and asset decumulation years. Mistake #1 – Not using the TFSA for investing We love the account. We hate…
Latest articles
Best GIC Rates in Canada
As you well know, to build wealth, it takes more than savings to compound away to grow your portfolio into something meaningful. That said, keeping cash savings secure or guaranteed in some cases can be very smart. What are GICs? What are the best GICs to consider and why? What are the best GIC rates in Canada and those providers? Read on to learn more about…
How a Part-Time Job Can Save Your Retirement
As you well know from this site, we love case studies! We believe retirement or semi-retirement drawdown case studies can help people see themselves in such examples – offering investors guidance, time for reflection, and new opportunities to explore. This case study today is about how a part-time job can save your retirement. We believe such a post is very timely since we know many…
Find your Balance with Andrew Hallam
Thanks to years of frugal living and disciplined investing, speaker and author Andrew Hallam is now helping you find your Balance. Years ago, while working as a schoolteacher, Andrew published Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School, a guide to achieving financial independence. It remains (in our opinion), one of the best personal finance books published and a must-read…
When the RRSP actually beats the TFSA
In a recent post, we told you many reasons why the TFSA “wins” over the RRSP. Well, there are some cases in our opinion when the RRSP actually beats the TFSA as an investment account. Read on why the RRSP actually beats the TFSA for a few reasons in this updated edition of the TFSA vs. RRSP debate. The TFSA wins over the RRSP for…
TFSA vs. RRSP – Why the TFSA wins
A quick search will highlight lots of articles that debate whether it is beneficial to invest inside the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or use the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) for retirement. We’ll be blunt for today’s post: while it can “depend” we believe the TFSA wins over the RRSP for a few key reasons that every adult Canadian should know about. Read on why…
Should you use an All-Weather Portfolio?
Stock market volatility can and will happen, which can really spook many investors. To help with that, should you use an all-weather portfolio for changing market conditions? Would an all-weather portfolio be best long-term? How would I build an all-weather portfolio using Canadian ETFs? Read on and find out our take, including the pros and cons of this all-weather investing approach. The portfolio is designed…
Avoid These 5 Big RRSP Mistakes
The Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is also one of our favourite accounts to build long-term wealth with, and the same should apply to you. On that note, it’s also an account that can trigger huge opportunity costs if not used wisely. For today’s post, we’ll share how you can avoid these 5 big RRSP mistakes – in your asset accumulation and asset decumulation years….
Avoid These 5 Big TFSA Mistakes
The Tax-Free-Savings Account (TFSA) is one of our favourite accounts to build long-term wealth with. It’s also an account that can trigger huge opportunity costs if not used wisely. For today’s post, we’ll share how you can avoid these 5 big TFSA mistakes – in your asset accumulation and asset decumulation years. Mistake #1 – Not using the TFSA for investing We love the account. We hate…
Top Tax Tips for Retirees
We spend a lot of time on our site helping and talking to early retirees, semi-retirees and Canadians preparing for full-on retirement. A few tax tips and themes have emerged with all of those clients: What are some of those tax themes in preparing for retirement? What are some of the top tax tips for retirees? Read on, we’ve got some details! Top Tax Tips…
TFSA Contribution Room and Limit, Penalties, and Everything in Between for 2022
The Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a gift to all Canadians. I mean, who doesn’t love tax-free money or better still, money that grows tax-free?! I know we do – especially when you count for the fairly large TFSA contribution limit/room in 2022 if you are just starting today (more below). How much can you contribute to the TFSA? How much growth can you…