January 2013 - The Dividend Ninja

RRSP and TFSA Strategies You Can Take to the Bank

It’s that time of the year again – RRSP Season. Canadians will be lining up at the bank to either contribute to their RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan), or borrowing for an RRSP loan. For most Canadians, that net benefit will be a tax-refund. What many Canadians don’t realize however, is the refund from contributing to their RRSP is not a gift. It has to be paid back later with taxes. That’s because any money withdrawn from your RRSP is considered income and is fully taxable. This makes the RRSP nothing more than a tax-deferral plan. Any money withdrawn from …

Paying Off Debt Versus Investing

by Guest Ninja

The following is a guest post. If you’d like to guest post on the Dividend Ninja, be sure to check out our Guest Posting Guidelines. This is an investment blog, so you’re obviously interested in investing. If you’re also in debt, you’re probably struggling with the proper balance of paying off that debt and investing. Why It’s A Difficult Choice Let’s face it, investing is sexy. You start with some money and, pretty much through magic, you get MORE money. You feel like a rock star and a millionaire all at once. Compare that to paying off debt. One day, …

Why Canadians Should Avoid Mutual Funds

by Dividend Ninja

This article was originally published on The Dividend Pig, as part of the Financial Literacy Day campaign, in Why You Should Avoid Mutual Funds. According to Andrew Hallam, from Millionaire Teacher, Canadians are in the last spot at 18 out of 18, paying the highest mutual fund fees in the entire world! (Millionaire Teacher, pg.54) Back in November, as part of the Financial Literacy Day campaign, I wrote about why you should start investing now. My point was to show how easily a nominal $25 per week invested, can grow into a sizable portfolio of over $17,168 in only ten …

Don’t Be Taken Advantage of by “Teddy KGB”

by Wealth Effect Blogger

The following is a guest post by Wealth Effect Blogger. For more information about the author please visit www.YourWealthEffect.com. In the movie Rounders there is a scene where John Malkovich’s character, “Teddy KGB”, and Matt Damon’s character just finish a high stakes round of poker. Matt is smiling as he collects the money in the pot after winning the round. Instead of getting mad, Teddy KGB boasts how he is simply paying Matt’s character back with some of the money Matt lost to him earlier. Matt’s smile quickly fades as Teddy’s smile gets bigger. The mutual fund world has their …