BC real estate rebound
BC housing markets stage strong recovery to end 2019 Following a slide in B.C. home sales that put total transactions in 2018 at 24.5 per cent lower than 2017, a flurry of activity in the second half of 2019 meant the sales trend line for the full year virtually flattened out. There were 77,331 home […]
Encana move approved
Shareholders back Encana name change, Denver HQ move Shareholders in Encana Corp. have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the oil and gas company moving its headquarters to Denver from Calgary and changing its name to Ovintiv Inc. CEO Doug Suttles says the 90 per cent vote in favour of the resolution shows clear support for […]
4 simple steps to spending less in 2020
Most people kick off the new year with a resolution to spend less and save more. Easier said than done. Despite steady income growth over the last decade, household spending has risen more, recent research shows. A CNBC survey found 21% of Americans say they’d increased their spending in the last year. The majority gave no reason […]
The New American Retirement Plan
The 401(k) system has reached its limit. There has been significant progress. Automatic-enrollment programs, default investments, and auto-escalation features have improved the early versions of plans. The current arrangement succeeds at moving employees at midsize to large companies into acceptably funded retirement plans. However, small businesses often do not offer 401(k) plans, and companies of […]
These Social Security mistakes could really wreck your retirement
In an ideal world, you wouldn’t be counting on Social Security for the bulk of your retirement income. Most seniors need 70% to 80% of their former paychecks to live comfortably once they stop working, and Social Security will replace about 40% of that sum among average wage earners. But still, that 40% is a […]
A new law took this retirement strategy out of play. Here’s one way to get around it
Congress has squashed a strategy that allows wealthy people to pass large retirement accounts to heirs. Accountants and lawyers are already coming up with workarounds. The Secure Act became law at the end of 2019, and took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, overhauling the way many people save for retirement. The new legislation contains a […]