Enough Bull

About the Author xiii
<p>Acknowledgements xv</p>
<p>Introduction 1</p>
<p>The Fall of 2008 1</p>
<p>Angry yet? 3</p>
<p>Why I Wrote this Book 3</p>
<p>Your Retirement Journey 4</p>
<p>Down the River 5</p>
<p>Uh–Oh, it s the Niagara River 5</p>
<p>Retirement Journey: Plan B 7</p>
<p>Here s What They Don t Want You to Know 7</p>
<p>PART ONE: THE ANTIDOTE – A SIX POINT PLAN FOR FINANCIAL FREEDOM 9</p>
<p>Chapter 1 Avoid Personal Financial Disasters 13</p>
<p>The Ponzi Scheme 14</p>
<p>Bernie Madoff 16</p>
<p>Our Very Own Canadian Fraud 18</p>
<p>What Did the Average Victim Look Like? 19</p>
<p>How Did Investors Become Involved in Eron? 20</p>
<p>What Steps Did They Take Before Investing? 20</p>
<p>Why Did They Invest? 21</p>
<p>Where Did They Get the Money? 21</p>
<p>The Lessons of Eron 21</p>
<p>Extraordinary Popular Delusions 22</p>
<p>Other Potential Disasters 23</p>
<p>Credit Card Disease 23</p>
<p>Taking Out a Mortgage on Your Home to Invest 24</p>
<p>The Latest Stock Chase 24</p>
<p>Trusting Your Friends 24</p>
<p>Mortgage Fraud 24</p>
<p>How to Prevent Personal Financial Disasters 24</p>
<p>Conclusion 25</p>
<p>Chapter 2 You Don t Need the Stock Market or Mutual Funds 27</p>
<p>The Worldwide Economic Meltdown 27</p>
<p>The United States 29</p>
<p>The Recovery 31</p>
<p>What Caused the Meltdown 32</p>
<p>The Vicious Spiral 34</p>
<p>Who Wants to be Rich? 35</p>
<p>Why You Don t Need Stocks 36</p>
<p>Why You Don t Need Mutual Funds – Risk 37</p>
<p>Mutual Fund Risks 38</p>
<p>Those Darn Mutual Fund Fees! 43</p>
<p>1. Fees and Expenses Payable Directly by You 43</p>
<p>2. Fees and Expenses Payable by the Fund or Portfolio 45</p>
<p>We Won t Get Fooled Again 49</p>
<p>The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation 50</p>
<p>The Advantages of GICs 54</p>
<p>Why They Try to Make Even GICs Complicated 55</p>
<p>How and Why They Bash GICs 56</p>
<p>The Laddered GIC 57</p>
<p>Getting the Best GIC rates 60</p>
<p>Consider a Deposit Broker 61</p>
<p>Who Regulates Deposit Brokers? 63</p>
<p>Fiscal Agents 64</p>
<p>GIC Rates of the Future 68</p>
<p>Chapter 3 Buy a Home and Pay off the Mortgage 69</p>
<p>Gains in Value are Tax–Free 70</p>
<p>Source of Cash 70</p>
<p>Source of Retirement Funds 70</p>
<p>Should I Buy a House? 71</p>
<p>Can I Afford a House? 72</p>
<p>Gross Debt Service Ratio (GDS) 72</p>
<p>Total Debt Service Ratio (TDS) 72</p>
<p>Just How Much House Can You Afford? 72</p>
<p>Saving For the Down Payment 73</p>
<p>Buying With Less Than 20% Down 74</p>
<p>WARNING: Mortgage Companies Love Selling Mortgage Life Insurance! 74</p>
<p>Pre–Approved Mortgages 76</p>
<p>What if I don t qualify? 77</p>
<p>Your Credit Report 77</p>
<p>What is in a Credit Report 78</p>
<p>How to Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report 79</p>
<p>Getting Your Credit Report Online 79</p>
<p>What is a FICO Credit Score? 80</p>
<p>What Affects Your Credit Score? 80</p>
<p>An Important Warning: 80</p>
<p>How to Improve Your Credit Score 81</p>
<p>Your Home as an Investment 82</p>
<p> The Best Investment I Ever Made 84</p>
<p>Chapter 4 Reducing Expenses Doesn t Have to Be Painful 85</p>
<p>Reducing the Interest You Pay 85</p>
<p>The Spending Years 86</p>
<p>Reducing the Amount of the Debt 86</p>
<p>Reducing the Interest Rate on the Debt 88</p>
<p>Debt and the Economy 90</p>
<p>Reducing Taxes 91</p>
<p>How to Calculate Your Tax Bill 91</p>
<p>Happy New Year Here s Your Reduced Paycheck 92</p>
<p>Marginal Tax Rates 94</p>
<p>Pension Income Splitting 96</p>
<p>What You Can t Split 97</p>
<p>How to Split Pension Income 98</p>
<p>Benefits of Splitting Pension Income 99</p>
<p>How Much Pension Income to Transfer 100</p>
<p>How to Claim the Pension Income Amount 101</p>
<p>Spousal RRSPs: Still a Useful Tool 101</p>
<p>Self–Employment King of the Income Splitters 103</p>
<p>But I Don t Know Anything About Being Self–Employed 106</p>
<p>Self–Employment Does Not Have to Be Complicated 106</p>
<p>Conclusion 107</p>
<p>Chapter 5 Forget RRSPs Until Your Debt is Paid Off (The Opportunity Zone) 109</p>
<p>Pretend the Stock Market Does Not Exist 109</p>
<p>The RRSP Fallacy 110</p>
<p>Compound This 113</p>
<p>The Tax Turbo–Charged RRSP 113</p>
<p>A Word about Your RRSP Limit 113</p>
<p>Do You Trust the Stock Market? 114</p>
<p>Those Ugly Fees 115</p>
<p>Don t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket 115</p>
<p>Conclusion 116</p>
<p>Chapter 6 You May Not Need an Investment Advisor 117</p>
<p>My Story 118</p>
<p>What I Did Next 120</p>
<p>What to Look for in an Investment Advisor 121</p>
<p>For Those Who Have a Lousy Advisor 121</p>
<p>No Advisor is Better than a Bad One 122</p>
<p>Henry s Story 122</p>
<p>Conclusion 127</p>
<p>PART TWO: THE DETAILS 129</p>
<p>Chapter 7 The Canada Pension Plan 131</p>
<p>What is the Canada Pension Plan? 131</p>
<p>How they Calculate CPP premiums 132</p>
<p>How they Calculate the CPP Pension 132</p>
<p>How the CPP adjusts for Inflation: The YMPE 132</p>
<p>CPP Pension 133</p>
<p>The New CPP Rules 134</p>
<p>Early election penalty 134</p>
<p>Deferring election premium 135</p>
<p>Removal of work cessation test 135</p>
<p>Post–Retirement Benefit (PRB) 135</p>
<p>Drop–out Provision 136</p>
<p>How to Apply for your CPP Pension 136</p>
<p>My Service Canada Account 138</p>
<p>How to Register for My Service Canada Account 138</p>
<p>How to Calculate your CPP Retirement Pension 140</p>
<p>Money Saving Tip CPP Pension Sharing 146</p>
<p>CPP Pension Sharing Example 146</p>
<p>When Should I Elect to Receive CPP? 148</p>
<p>Step 1 149</p>
<p>Step 2 149</p>
<p>Step 3 149</p>
<p>Step 4 149</p>
<p>Warnings 149</p>
<p>Catch #1 150</p>
<p>Catch #2 150</p>
<p>Catch #3 151</p>
<p>Conclusion 151</p>
<p>Chapter 8 The Money Maximizer 153</p>
<p>Why Work Against the Taxman? 153</p>
<p>The Value of Time 154</p>
<p>The Time Value of Money 155</p>
<p>The Money Maximizer Spreadsheet 155</p>
<p>Meet Pat and Jane 157</p>
<p>Pat and Jane: The Assumptions 161</p>
<p>Pat and Jane: The Results 162</p>
<p>Pat and Jane Try Income Splitting 163</p>
<p>Putting the RRSP Start Late Theory to the Test 164</p>
<p>Pat s Turbo–Charged RRSP 166</p>
<p>Conclusion 167</p>
<p>Chapter 9 Retiring Without the Stock Market 169</p>
<p>The Devastating Effect of the Crash 170</p>
<p>Are You Going to Throw Good Money after Bad? 170</p>
<p>You Can Still Retire Well 171</p>
<p>1. CPP Pension Splitting 173</p>
<p>2. Electing CPP early 173</p>
<p>3. RRSP/RRIF Income Splitting 173</p>
<p>4. Extending Your Retirement Date 173</p>
<p>Other Ideas 174</p>
<p>Conclusion 174</p>
<p>Chapter 10 You May Not Need an RRSP 175</p>
<p>A Common Misconception 175</p>
<p>Alternatives to RRSPs 175</p>
<p>Investing Outside Versus Inside an RRSP 176</p>
<p>Investing in Real Estate 179</p>
<p>Investing in Your Own Business 180</p>
<p>Invest in a Tax Free Savings Account 180</p>
<p>The TFSA as an Income Splitter 182</p>
<p>Opportunity for Retirees 182</p>
<p>Does Anyone Have $5,500 Outside a Registered Account? 183</p>
<p>Why the TFSA is Better than an RRSP for Home Buyers 183</p>
<p>The RRSP Home Buyers Plan 184</p>
<p>Keeping Profits in a Corporation 185</p>
<p>Conclusion 185</p>
<p>Chapter 11 The Antidote Summary 187</p>
<p>1. Avoid Personal Financial Disasters 187</p>
<p>2. You Don t Need the Stock Market or Mutual Funds 187</p>
<p>3. Buy a Home and Pay Off the Mortgage 188</p>
<p>4. Reducing Expenses Doesn t have to be Painful 188</p>
<p>5. Forget RRSPs Until Your Debt is Paid Off (the Opportunity Zone) 188</p>
<p>6. Ask Yourself if You Really Need an Investment Advisor 188</p>
<p>Index 189</p>