Walking home last week was weird. The first part is that walking in itself has become unusual. Because I used to have to drop the kids off at the college daycare, I’ve been stuck driving all winter. Now, with our new childcare arrangements, they’re at home, so I can actually walk to work again. The…Continue reading #159 State of Emergency

And it just keeps getting crazier, doesn’t it? It’s highly unusual of me to issue two back-to-back market updates, but its also highly unusual for the TSX to drop more than 10% in one day! I mentioned in my last piece that I would love to see another 10% drop before we rebalanced back in.…Continue reading #158 Market Update – 2

Well, it’s an interesting way to end RRSP season anyways. This week so far we’ve seen the words “Plunge”, “Bloodbath”, and today, “Wallop” in the investment headlines. And as of today it’s being called official – we’re in a market correction.   I know many of you are going to be saying “oh thank goodness,…Continue reading #157 Market Update

I started in this industry through a quirky series of events that led me to what has so far become (and hopefully continues to be!) a very enjoyable career. Within days of my initiation into the industry, I was given David Chilton’s The Wealthy Barber. I read it out loud to Darcy as we drove…Continue reading #156 Horsemen Money

Hello friends! Please forgive my absence! I didn’t mean to be gone for so long, and so suddenly. Truth be told, I didn’t expect to be gone at all. We had a software malfunction about a year ago (yikes!) and had to change our client relationships software (basically a giant electronic address book). The new…Continue reading #155 The Little Guy

There are many benchmark experiences in our industry that alter your perception of what it is that we do. Last month, my associate Andrea had a big one. Andrea is very good at her job and has a natural intuition for organization and processing. But she’s also not licensed. A choice of her own, to…Continue reading #154 Somewhat Disgusted

When my Oma and Opa Mueller moved from their orchard into town, they bought a new house with central air-conditioning, and they very much looked forward to the cool comfort in the peaks of the Okanagan summer. But the system was finicky. Always spiking from too hot to too cold, the house would never seem…Continue reading #153 Thermostat vs Thermometer

Darcy was watching a pirate show on the weekend, and one of the characters commented that when you’re in a room full of still air just waiting for the dust to settle, sometimes you forget the dust is an unnatural state, itself only just waiting for the winds of change. The United Kingdom (UK) is…Continue reading #152 Brexit

I’m involved in two study groups, and, as of last Wednesday, an accountability group as well. One of my Study Groups is international based with my MDRT friends. Last call, one of our study group members from Ontario was doing a presentation on tax changes that were coming through to Canada. He started off by…Continue reading #151 Back to Back

A couple years ago my parents were talking to us about their estate. I told them that I would be very proud if they donated anything they didn’t spend to the SPCA. And I meant it. Just think of the poor little kitties. My Dad looked at me very sternly and said “I didn’t work…Continue reading #150 The Other Side of Estate Planning