Do you know any people under the age of 50 with Type 1 diabetes? Maybe someone you live or work with? Maybe your friend or neighbour? If you do know someone who fits this description, you NEED to read this and pass it on to them. When I first started in the industry back in 1995, I remember Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) were a terrible deal. I regularly … [Read more...] about Calling all people with Type 1 diabetes
Arnold Machel, CFP®
Arnold Machel lives, works and worships in the White Rock/South Surrey area and has been writing articles for the Light Magazine for over 10 years. He is a Certified Financial Planner® with Visionvest Financial Planning & Services.
Start the Car again – this deal is too good to be true
Have you looked at your investment statements lately? Or have you just thrown them in a drawer unopened, knowing that things have been on a downward trend? Or worse yet, are you checking the values online every morning, stressing about how low they can go? Recently, I’ve seen market prognosticators (well-known firms and individuals in the financial space) predict anywhere … [Read more...] about Start the Car again – this deal is too good to be true
Fake news, when things sound too good to be true
Last month we here at Visionvest received a real-life lesson in fake news, when things sound too good to be true. We discovered a few five-star reviews on our corporate Facebook page that didn’t make any sense. In each review we were highly praised (which we liked), but they were all for staff we didn’t have and actions we didn’t take. “I had a great meeting with … [Read more...] about Fake news, when things sound too good to be true
Trust issues: Do you have a trusted contact person?
“Hey Arnold, can I get you to cash out another $15,000 for me?” “Of course,” I replied. “But Jane, forgive me, I just have to ask. This is the third time in three months that you asked to withdraw a large sum. Now, obviously, it’s your money and you can do with it as you like, but at this rate you are burning through it fairly quickly. Can I ask what’s going on? I know you … [Read more...] about Trust issues: Do you have a trusted contact person?
Charitable gifts: Tax credits and how they work
Some time ago, I had a conversation with a regular charitable donor that went something like this: “What a rip off! It’s not like it used to be. The government only gives a 29% tax credit for my charitable donation. I get way more than that for an RRSP contribution. I used to get a deduction for the full amount of my charitable contributions, just like my RRSPs.” “You’re … [Read more...] about Charitable gifts: Tax credits and how they work