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
The Best ETFs in Canada for Building Wealth
New investors (or even established investors) may want to consider investing in broad market Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to build wealth. To learn about the best ETFs in Canada for building wealth, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve reviewed dozens upon dozens of low-cost ETFs so you don’t have to! Listed in the sections below, we’ve assembled what we consider some of the best…
What Asset Class Returns are Expected in the Future?
Winners among asset classes keep rotating, in terms of the best returns delivered to investors in any given year, but we were curious to find out what asset class returns you could expect in the future. Read on in our latest post to learn about some market history and what headwinds might be in store for expected asset class returns. History doesn’t always repeat, but…
Does the 4% Retirement Withdrawal Rule Work with Higher Inflation?
The cost of living continues to rise – at the fastest pace in decades. If you want to retire in the coming years, you might be wondering about the impact of inflation on the longevity of your portfolio. Can your portfolio survive higher inflation? When it comes to the 4% rule, a reader wonders, does the 4% rule work with higher inflation (like what’s happening…
Latest articles
Carrying a Mortgage into Retirement – An Early Retiree Case Study
Synopsis: The following case study was prepared to demonstrate how investors may consider structuring their asset drawdown plans, including carrying a mortgage into retirement. Thanks to a reader, Adam (changed for privacy/publishing purposes), for sharing their information. Carrying a Mortgage into Retirement Adam admits, his retirement draw-down plans with his wife might be a bit more complicated than most but like most retirees, he wants…
When to Take CPP in Retirement – A Case Study
Synopsis: The following case study was prepared to demonstrate how investors may consider structuring their asset drawdown plans, including when to take Canada Pension Plan (CPP) in retirement. Thanks to a reader, Cindy (changed for privacy/publishing purposes), for sharing their information. When to take CPP in retirement Cindy has worked hard, has maintained a great paying job for many years, and is now ready to…
Build Long-Term Wealth using our Diversified ETF Model Portfolios
Synopsis: This article will provide example ETF model portfolios with a focus on building an ETF portfolio that is both low cost and easy to manage. We will explain the benefits of owning diversified ETFs and how vital we believe it is to invest for the long-term letting compounding do its work. Wouldn’t you just love to find the way to invest that delivered amazing…
The Truth about Retirement Income Planning
If you’ve landed on this page today, you’re already aware that any retirement income planning truly starts with you. You are ultimately the one that must decide how your retirement will look and feel like. It will take some thought. It will take some planning on your part. It may even take some changes. But on this section of our site, however, it is our…
$100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Draw!
*** This giveaway is now closed – Congratulations to Trisha! *** $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Draw! Thanks for stopping by Cashflows & Portfolios, a new site dedicated to helping you become wealthier regardless of your stage of life. We (Mark and Joe) are personal finance bloggers that have been around the block (more than once!) with a combined experience of over 25 years in…
The Power of WHY
One of the biggest financial issues we see and hear about today is called ‘Lifestyle Creep’. Simply put, that’s allowing our expenses to creep higher and faster than our income will allow. It’s a consequence of moving towards or staying in a negative cash flow situation. Yet spending money is not a bad thing – in fact on this site – we encourage it! You’ll…
The Four Keys to Investing Success
Like we mentioned in an earlier post, a big part of good financial management starts with cash flow management. Once you get those basics down, you can evolve from there. From saving to investing but also to other elements of financial planning. You can venture into tax planning, insurance management, estate planning and more. We’ll touch on some of those elements later but for the…
Cash FLOW is King
You may think or have heard the mantra “cash is king” but I have news for you. Cash flow is king. For a business to succeed, understanding your cash flow is essential. The same premise applies to your household finances. Simply put, cash flow is the movement (i.e., flow) of money into and out of your possession. Positive cash flow is very desirable. It means…