Quotes of the Day

Employment is often a lagging indicator regardless of whether a market is headed into an economic downturn or upswing. Heading into the downturn, companies tend to hold on to their staff as long as possible and are reluctant to add staff on the upswing until confidence has been fully restored. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

Compared to reading a printed book, reading on an iPad suppressed melatonin release by over 50 percent at night. Indeed, iPad reading delayed the rise of melatonin by up to three hours, relative to the natural rise in these same individuals when reading a printed book. When reading on the iPad, their melatonin peak, and thus instruction to sleep, did not occur until the early-morning hours, rather than before midnight. Unsurprisingly, individuals took longer to fall asleep after iPad reading relative to print-copy reading. [2017] - Matthew Walker

Assets in a TFSA grow tax-free indefinitely, and no tax is payable when you eventually make withdrawals. It makes good sense to keep assets with the highest growth potential in a TFSA to take full advantage of this tax shelter: in other words, fill up your TFSA with stocks and keep low-growth assets, such as bonds and GICs, in other account types. [2021] - Dan Bortolotti

Investing 100% of your savings in paying down a mortgage can be a winning strategy, especially for those who do not want any stock market risk. Applying all long-term savings to mortgage paydown means giving up the potential that stock market returns will exceed your mortgage 'investment' returns (your mortgage rate) over time. Given that mortgage rates are so low, it won't take much for the stock market to outperform. So, some combination of mortgage repayment and tax-sheltered stock investments (in TFSA and/or RRSP) probably makes sense for most Canadians. [2018] - Larry Bates

The 5% Rule - Annual Cash Flow = Annual Rent – (Annual Mortgage Payments + Property Taxes + Insurance + Other Fixed Expenses). Minimum Cash Flow (%) = (Annual Cash Flow ÷ Down Payment) × 100 Benchmarks: 5–6% = Moderate Risk, 7–9% = Moderate-to-Low Risk, 10%+ = Low Risk. Adjust until it either passes or proves it’s not a good deal: 1) Put more money down but keep in mind this will also reduce your return on investment (ROI); 2) Stretch the amortization (a longer amortization period such as 30 years vs. 25 lowers your monthly mortgage payment); 3) Negotiate a better price; 4) Increase the rent (if realistic) [2025] - Wayne Hillier