It’s that time of year again when I prepare for tax season. I calculate my realized capital gains and losses from investing activities. I do this using an Excel spreadsheet that I prepared for tax season, taking into account the daily currency exchange rates that I downloaded from the Bank of Canada, and filling …

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I can’t believe it’s already December. It feels like it was just yesterday that it was still Q1 2024. For me, December means tax planning. That means capital loss and capital gains harvesting. It means tax prepayment. It means thinking about the year ahead. In 2025, I’m planning some travel in the …

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I did a bit of traveling in the month of October. It was a nice little break from work. However, November has been quite busy with work. A lot has happened in the world, including the US election, Canada Post strike, Taylor Swift concert, etc. As much as I would have loved to attend the Taylor Swift concert here in …

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Recently, it has come to my attention that I may have been reporting cost basis incorrectly on my Canadian tax forms. As a US expat, I know how to report cost basis for stock sales in taxable accounts in the US. If you purchase shares of a stock over time, when it’s time to sell, you have to choose which lot to …

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September was a good month. I took some time off and had a relaxing staycation. I finally took care of the home maintenance tasks that have been on my list all summer. The backyard garden is starting to finally look decent, but there is still more work to be done. Since last month, the Fed cut interest rates by 0.5%. …

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I heard about the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite credit card earlier this year. It was offered as a beta product for a select group of users. The credit card offered 0.5% in cash back plus an additional 0.5% if you pay off the balance within 48 hours of receiving the statement. That was a terrible offer. Many free credit …

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As Canadians, we’re jealous of the perks that US financial companies offer. These perks include zero-commission trades, low-commission options, no foreign-exchange fee credit cards, etc. There is a lack of competitive landscape here in Canada. Questrade has been one of the better low-fee investment brokerages for …

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Regardless of all of the volatility at the beginning of August and now at the beginning of September, the markets have performed well. The S&P 500 is up 18.5% since the start of the year. Though that’s largely due to tech stocks. The S&P 500 Equal Weight Index is up 10.5% year-to-date. Both inflation and …

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The markets have headed lower since the middle of July and the start of August has been extremely volatile. The CNN Fear and Greed index is at extreme fear. With a conflict looming in the Middle East, I certainly expect markets to continue lower. The heightened volatility has made it profitable for options sellers like …

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There are many online banks out there offering high-interest savings accounts (HISAs). The usual suspects, such as Tangerine Bank and Simplii Bank, have a lottery where some customers receive short-term promotional interest rates. I’ve been riding the 5+% interest rate lottery at Tangerine Bank for a while now. …

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