Build Wealth Canada Podcast

How much can you spend in retirement, and how should that amount change when your investments do better or worse than expected? In this episode, I'm joined by Kenneth Doll and Matthew Lahey from Bracket Planning, who recently created a financial plan and retirement income plan for my wife and me. One of my biggest questions was how much we could enjoy spending now while still planning for our portfolio to support us for the rest of our lives. We use our experience to explore lessons you can apply to your own retirement or semi-retirement planning here in Canada. We discuss: How to assess whether you have enough to retire or semi-retire. How to approach turning your investments into an ongoing income stream. The trade-offs between keeping your spending steady and adjusting it as markets change. What to look for in a financial planner and which conflicts of interest to watch for. Ken is a Certified Financial Planner with three decades of experience. Matt is a financial planner and partner at Bracket Planning who brings a background in technology to their planning work. They're independent, advice-only planners, meaning they don't sell investments. This helps avoid conflicts of interest related to investment sales and was one of the key reasons I decided to work with them. Ken and Matt were nice enough to offer a free, no-obligation introductory call for Build Wealth Canada listeners. You can request your free call by visiting buildwealthcanada.ca/retire. Also, a big thanks to this episode's sponsor: Saily: Get 15% off Saily data plans at https://saily.com/buildwealth

In this episode, Mark Seed from My Own Advisor shares how he and his wife reached Financial Independence and officially retired early in Canada in their early 50s. Discover how Mark structured his portfolio, the investment choices that got him to his number, and how they set up their investments to live off portfolio income for the long run. We also compare Mark's approach to other early retirement paths in Canada to help you choose the right financial independence strategy for your goals. In this episode, you will learn: How Mark transitioned from planning early retirement to retiring this year The specific portfolio structure and assets that funded his early retirement How Mark and his wife plan to draw down and live off their investments long term Why there is no single path to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) in Canada Key investing and personal finance lessons Mark learned from running My Own Advisor for 17 years Thank you to our sponsors: Saily Discount Link for 15% Off Their Data Plans: https://saily.com/buildwealth BMO ETFs: https://www.bmo.com/en-ca/main/personal/investments/etf/ ETF Market Insights YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ETFMarketInsights Views From The Desk Podcast: Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/bmo-etfs-views-from-the-desk/id1504919404 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0r82489eCvVh1AyWPFQs43  Additional Resources: Investing Guide: What I Invest In and Why? (Kornel's Portfolio): https://www.buildwealthcanada.ca/guide/ Podcast Website: https://www.buildwealthcanada.ca Mark's Websites and YouTube Channel:  https://www.myownadvisor.ca/ https://www.cashflowsandportfolios.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@myownadvisor  

When we first start our do-it-yourself investing journey here in Canada, almost all of our focus is understandably on the accumulation phase. We are diligently saving, maximizing our TFSA and RRSP contributions, and figuring out the right asset allocation of low-cost index ETFs to grow our wealth. But what happens when you actually hit your number? What happens the day after you reach financial independence, and you can finally quit your job to design the exact life you want? People often think that it is all pure bliss, but for many of us, a whole new wave of anxiety sets in. Suddenly, you are shifting from building your wealth to actually spending it. The fear of future stock market crashes becomes very real, and it can be surprisingly difficult to say "no" to extra work, or you might find yourself becoming overly frugal just in case something bad happens. In this episode, we are tackling this massive psychological and mathematical shift, and learning how my guest Stephanie and her wife Gillian tackled this challenge after retiring in their 30s and 40s here in Canada to travel the world. We discuss exactly how they did it, and how they manage their finances now to avoid running out of money while living off their portfolio. Here is a breakdown of what we tackle in this episode: Their Decumulation Blueprint: How Stephanie and Gillian structure their annual withdrawals so they can travel without the fear of running out of money. Protecting Against Market Crashes: We discuss using cash cushions, fixed income, and if they use any specific rules for when to sell equities to refill their cash buckets. Lifestyle Design and Overcoming Anxiety: We cover the psychological side of things. We explore how much is "enough", how they master the management of everyday cash flows while in retirement, and how you can actually find fulfillment once you no longer have a 9-to-5 job. In case you haven't heard of Stephanie and Gillian, they document their incredible early retirement journey and share practical financial lessons over on their website, OurFreedomYears.com, as well as on their popular YouTube channel, Our Freedom Years. They have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the realities of living off a portfolio as Canadians, and I'm thrilled to have Stephanie on the show. Let's get into the interview.

What are the most critical personal finance pillars that have the greatest impact on our financial wellbeing? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Steph Zhou, the creator of the mandatory financial literacy curriculum for medical students at the University of Toronto. Dr. Steph shares the core components she identified through her research that have the greatest impact on our financial well-being. What You Will Learn in This Episode The Core Pillars of Personal Finance: Discover the critical components of financial literacy that we should all focus on mastering. The Power of Expense Tracking: Why budgeting and/or tracking your expenses is essential, regardless of whether you are a lower-income earner or a highly paid professional. Practical Systems for Busy People: How Dr. Steph manages her finances as a doctor and mother, and the exact strategies she teaches her students. Debt vs. Investing Frameworks: Practical approaches to answer the classic question of whether you should pay off your debt first, invest, or do a combination of the two. Rethinking the Emergency Fund: How to best view your emergency fund, especially if you struggle with the opportunity cost of leaving cash on the sidelines instead of earning a higher return in the markets. About Dr. Steph Zhou Dr. Steph Zhou is the founder of the annual Physicians Financial Wellness conference, a national philanthropic event focused on financial education and practice management for physicians. Her work in improving economic mobility through financial literacy earned her Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women award and the Ascend Canada Social Impact Award. You can find more of her financial education content on her popular Instagram and YouTube channel, Breaking Bad Debt.

Today's episode is going to be especially useful if you're a Canadian DIY investor and you want to build an optimized, passive, low-cost portfolio, but you still have questions about some of the practical details. For example, should you just buy one all-in-one asset allocation ETF, or is there a benefit to buying the underlying ETFs individually? How much should you care about ETF trading volume? What does liquidity actually mean when we're talking about ETFs? Should you use market orders or limit orders when buying ETFs? And if you're an income-focused investor, what are the pros and cons of building your portfolio around dividends? We also get into the active versus passive investing debate, why it's so difficult for stock pickers and active managers to consistently beat the market over the long term, and how investors can think about risk when comparing traditional bonds with things like low-volatility ETFs. Also as a Build Wealth Canada listener, we have a brand new free issue of Canadian MoneySaver magazine for you. The issue focuses specifically on ETFs here in Canada, I wrote an article for it as well, and you can get the digital version of the entire magazine for free by going to buildwealthcanada.ca/magazine. Our Guests: To help answer these questions, we have two great guests joining us. First, we have Chris White from Canadian MoneySaver Magazine. Chris is also the Head of Research at 5i Research, and you may have heard him on CBC Radio or BNN Bloomberg. We're also joined by popular returning guest Danielle Neziol, who is a very experienced and passionate educator when it comes to DIY investing here in Canada, especially index investing using low-cost ETFs, which, by the way, is literally how I invest all of my own money. Danielle is one of the hosts of the ETF Market Insights YouTube channel, she's a frequent speaker at industry events across Canada, and she works at BMO ETFs, one of the largest ETF providers in Canada so she incredible access to some of the best education, best practices, and resources when it comes to DIY investing here in Canada. Disclaimer: This content is sponsored by BMO Exchange Traded Funds. This content is intended for information purposes only. Build Wealth Canada is compensated under this arrangement by BMO Exchange Traded Funds. The views expressed herein are subject to change without notice. The content contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, investment advice to any party. Particular investments and/or trading strategies should be evaluated relative to the individual's investment objectives and professional advice should be obtained with respect to any circumstance. BMO Global Asset Management is a brand name under which BMO Asset Management Inc. and BMO Investments Inc. operate. This podcast is for information purposes only. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice to any party. Particular investments and/or trading strategies should be evaluated and professional advice should be obtained with respect to any circumstance. ETF and Mutual Fund portfolio holdings are subject to change without notice at any time. Index returns do not reflect transactions costs or the deduction of other fees and expenses and it is not possible to invest directly in an Index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any statement that necessarily depends on future events may be a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although such statements are based on assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. Investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. In connection with any forward-looking statements, investors should carefully consider the areas of risk described in the most recent prospectus. Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in exchange-traded funds. Please read the ETF Facts or prospectus of the BMO ETFs before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all dividends or distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any unitholder that would have reduced returns. Exchange-traded funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. For a summary of the risks of an investment in the BMO ETFs, please see the specific risks set out in the BMO ETF's prospectus. BMO ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at a discount to their net asset value, which may increase the risk of loss. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination. BMO ETFs are managed and administered by BMO Asset Management Inc., an investment fund manager and a portfolio manager, and a separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal. BMO Global Asset Management is a brand name under which BMO Asset Management Inc. and BMO Investments Inc. operate. "BMO" is a registered trademark of Bank of Montreal, used under licence..