Investing

It seems like every year we get collective amnesia as tax season rolls around. It's like we've all forgotten how much we hate it.

We grumble as we reflect on how much of our hard-earned cash is deducted from our paychecks but at least the rationale for income tax is pretty straightforward: as a society we have to pay it in order to maintain a decent standard of living.

What really drives us all nuts are those taxes that are not at all clear, and just seem downright unfair. In honour of tax season, here are the top five most irritating money grabs:

PHOTO GALLERY: Click image below to see "The Five Most Hated Taxes."



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How long has it been since you've invested in yourself? It's easy to get caught up in investing for retirement but one of the best investments is in continuing education because you control the return. The harder you work the more the investment will pay off (and out). Here are some classes to consider that don't cost much but could be a huge benefit to your financial situation.

Financial Management
What better way to improve your fiscal fitness than understanding the ins and outs of money management. Many colleges have basic accounting courses you can take at night. You could also look into Credit Canada's Financial Coaching Series, which involves six sessions of basic financial coaching (each session costs $120 or you can attend all six for $600). This would be more personal than a basic college course since you're assigned a finance coach who will analyze your own situation and help you explore your own goals and beliefs about debt, credit and your financial future.

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With the deadline of RRSPs just passed and worries about the stock market thanks to economic problems in Europe, a staid investor wants to find a safe home for some extra dollars.

Instead of usual long-term investments, how about considering a passion investment?

Described as an interest in industries such as art, winemaking, film, or culture, the passion investment allows investors to have a connection with something that haven't had the time to include in their life.

The trend for the past couple of years has focused on passion investments, and in 2010 BMO Harris Private Banking expanded its Art Series to include clients from Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal in addition to Toronto to expand investment portfolios to include art.

But for the rest of us, is art collecting a possible investment we could start too?


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Turning over a new leaf can mean tossing out a few old things that just don't work anymore including relationships, according to experts.

While money issues likely didn't drive recent well-known splits, like that of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries or Katy Perry and Russell Brand, financial differences are consistently cited as a top stress in partnerships.

Marriage and family therapist Michal Regev -- who runs her practice in Vancouver -- recently spoke with me about common financial issues couples argue about and productive ways to deal with the conflict that can arise from having a different value system and different approaches to money. Regev says over 50 per cent of couples who go to therapy report having money disputes and that money fights -- if left unresolved -- can lead to divorce.

Here are some common money problems couples experience and some strategies suggested by Regev on how to get through them.

As a single mother, Melanie Buffel's journey toward financial competence very much began as a trial by fire. "I've sort of learned a lot of my money skills through the school of life," she says. "At times there has been a very high tuition cost, you make significant mistakes and learn what not to do."

Click here to see part one of Broverman's post.

Though her background is in community economic development, helping women earning low incomes gain control of their household finances for 15 years. Now, as a money coach for Money Coaches Canada, she has been helping middle-income singles and couples whose cash is flowing, but they don't feel like they're getting ahead -- much like she felt once upon a time.

"They're sort of running the hamster wheel of their finances and their cash is flowing, but they're not really capturing it anywhere. They're not saving towards things that they want they're kind of vague about what's happening with their money and they just want a better sense that they're working toward their dreams."

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As a single mother, Melanie Buffel's journey toward financial competence very much began as a trial by fire.

"I've sort of learned a lot of my money skills through the school of life," she says. "At times there has been a very high tuition cost, you make significant mistakes and learn what not to do."

Though her background is in community economic development, helping women earning low incomes gain control of their household finances for 15 years. Now, as a money coach for Money Coaches Canada, she has been helping middle-income singles and couples whose cash is flowing, but they don't feel like they're getting ahead -- much like she felt once upon a time.

"They're sort of running the hamster wheel of their finances and their cash is flowing, but they're not really capturing it anywhere. They're not saving towards things that they want they're kind of vague about what's happening with their money and they just want a better sense that they're working toward their dreams."

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Is there going to be a windfall to your bank account thanks to an elderly relative or your parents' generosity?

Many Canadians are counting on inheritance to help them boost their savings, and according to a recent survey by Investors Group, there's 53 per cent of us who know they'll be getting an inheritance.

How much are they expecting? The survey reveals that 57 per cent assume it will be $100,000 or more, but in reality, how much will it really be?

With many factors affecting modern families, it may be time to ask questions about a possible inheritance and what to start doing now to insure a nest egg for the future generation.

When we last left "The Other Four", Aidan Nulman and Yulin Zhang had fought their way back into The Next 36, a entrepreneurial incubator that offers each team $50,000 to develop, research, market and test a business spawned from a mobile application. Plus, mentorship and investment capital the likes of which most start-ups can only dream of. Against all odds, and with the help of their newest recruits, Krista Caldwell and Mindy Lau, they had an opportunity to turn The Next 36 into The Next 40 in the very first year of the program.

They'd won the chance to come back after being rejected during the selection process by flipping the four co-founders' own words and using them against the program. They'd positioned the selected 36 as the market leaders, while they took the position of the eager and scrappy competition ready to knock these leaders off their pedestal the moment their concentration broke.

Determined to simulate the real world for the 36 and challenge them as the real corporate world would, the founders realized The Other Four had a point. After all, what better competition than a group of four working in secret, without the program's help, building businesses at least on par with those who already have the honour of being called The Next 36?

But what exactly were the other four bringing to the table? It remained to be seen whether their idea would earn them a place back among the elite of Canadian universities and that's where we pick up our story...

What's better than the tax-savings you achieve using Registered Retirement Savings Plans?

Why, the Tax-Free Savings Accounts!

And what is it that makes them a new favourite amongst Canada's taxpayers?

Herewith the list of Tax-Free Savings Accounts' pluses – and minuses.

A bit of defining first: the Tax-Free Savings Account actually is what it says it is: that is, a tax-free savings instrument. But it has a few conditions imposed. The most important: you can only deposit $5,000 a year to it. Not a cent more. Less, yes, more, no. But, if and when you do need the cash, you can withdraw it, no questions asked, and no explanations to the Canada Revenue Agency required.