Unconventional Wisdom

If you're worried about your finances & your future – you are not alone.  Many people are worried about their finances. I receive daily notices from people pouring their hearts out about their finances, what they worry about and not knowing what to do on the "Free 30-Minute Consultation" form on my website.  They want financial advice on the Smith Manoeuvre, cash flow & debts, investing, and if th...

The Smith Manoeuvre is an efficient strategy using equity in your home to invest for your future, without using your cash flow.  It converts your mortgage over time into a tax-deductible investment credit line. Most Canadians are searching for a feeling of financial security, but all the bills and life expenses mean they never build up enough of a nest egg to be secure.  The Smith Manoeuvre is a s...

Top 10 Money Myths That Block Your Financial Freedom. This is one of my favourite topics. Most ideas that people believe about money are just not true or not optimal. I named my podcast and blog Unconventional Wisdom because my financial advice is about all the things I've learned over the years from my experience writing thousands of financial plans and reading hundreds of books. Mark Twain said:...

Rental property vs. the stock market. What's the best investment? In my latest podcast episode we're going to look at this from the eyes of a growth investor. You'll get a head-to-head comparison with data going back decades. We will discuss topics you won't see anywhere else, including how to save tax on a rental & the effect of leverage on return. Spoiler alert. Effect of leverage on rate of ret...

Should you borrow to invest? With interest rising 4.5% recently, does it still make sense? Spoiled with low interest rates so low for many years, leverage seemed so obvious with a credit line at 3% and tax-deductible, while getting the growth of the stock market. As a fee-for-service financial planner, and an expert on the Smith Manoeuvre strategy and effective investing, my latest podcast episode...

What's new for your 2022 tax return? In my latest podcast episode I'm going to give you insight into what's happening in the Canadian tax world. Get the inside scoop on the "new" items from CRA and those being discontinued. If you haven't done your taxes yet or you're thinking ahead to next year, find out how to get the best tax refund. In this podcast episode you will learn: How today's high infl...

Investment advisors and robo-advisors have a massive disadvantage – they are short-term thinkers.  You can easily outperform them by learning the skill of long-term thinking. Short-term thinking leads them to select suboptimal investments and focus on the wrong risk. You can clearly see this because nearly all investment advisors and robo-advisors do the "4 Performance Drags" that drag down their...

Did you know that how you define risk, can actually make or break your retirement? This podcast episode is a direct head-to-head comparison of two different outlooks on the world and on investment risk. Defining risk is critical to decide the best investment strategy for you. People with the right outlook on risk retire comfortably, while others do not.  In my latest podcast episode you'll learn h...

You may have heard of FIRE, which is Financial Independence Retire Early, but how do you actually get there? How do you LIGHT your fire? You do it with Lifecycle Investing. It's the #1 wealth-building strategy for young people to retire early. This investment strategy is based on a concept by two university professors who wrote the book of the same name. It has worked 100% of the time in the last...

Inflation is now the #1 fear with "6 in 10 Canadians concerned they might not have enough money to feed their family", according to an Ipsos poll.  Most Canadians have never experienced high inflation. It has been flat at 2% for 3 decades, but now jumped to 8% in 2022, and is now down to 5% in 2023. Many people are asking me what is going on and can I give them some context.  Looking at inflation...

I was interviewed by Isabelle Docto from Daily Hive on the "Best Ways to Get a Bigger Tax Refund". She asked two really interesting questions that didn't make it into the interview, so I thought I'd answer them in this podcast episode. The questions are: How can you get a very large tax refund? Are there any other tips and tricks people should know? Please check out the original article here: http...

You may have heard in the news recently about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Here is a simple explanation with stories so anyone can understand why it collapsed. Could this happen to our Canadian banks? In my latest podcast episode, you'll learn all about bank collapses and the best way to protect your money. Three reasons why Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. 1980s story showing how matching matu...

There is a brand new type of account in Canada coming out in April 2023. It's called Your First Home Savings Account (FHSA) aka The "Renter's RRSP". You may know about RRSPs & TFSAs, well this is the third one, and it's worth knowing because for many people, this is going to be the best place to put your money. It's also the # 1 way to save for a home. In my latest podcast episode, I give you the...

If you've been following me for a while, you know I'm a financial planner with unconventional wisdom based on experience. In this podcast episode, it's your turn to ask me your burning financial questions! What topics would you like me to tackle? What money issues do you think about? Many bloggers struggle with figuring out topics, but I have the opposite issue - too many topics! What topics are m...

If there is one podcast episode you should listen to of mine – it's this one. It is my underlying outlook on life and financial planning. This is the outlook that leads to financial success. In my latest podcast, you'll learn about the differences between a fear-based mindset and a growth mindset, and how wealthy people look at the world. Listen to find out: Why you need a growth mindset. How a gr...

With so much advice on retirement, sometimes it's hard to know what to do. How do you put all the details together to get the retirement income you want with the minimum lifetime tax? Quite a few people asked me questions about retirement income in response to my last video. In my latest podcast episode, you're going to get an overview where you'll learn the "Big Picture" thinking into designing y...

Is your mortgage tax deductible? You know the basics about the Smith Manoeuvre. This podcast episode is about the practical issues you may run into and how to maximize the benefits. We are Canada's Smith Manoeuvre experts and have helped thousands of families implement it. Many "Smith Manoeuvre experts" just offer you a mortgage and leave you to implement it. We are the fee-for-service financial p...

In this week's podcast I'm interviewed by Kornel Szrejber, founder of the Build Wealth Canada podcast and website, and host of the Canadian Financial Summit, the #1 personal finance online event of the year. Kornel runs the #1 personal finance podcast in Canada & the Canadian Financial Summit. He has been getting advice from me for awhile when it comes to financial planning and tax-related questio...

My name is Ed Rempel CPA, CMA, CFP. The main Wise Guy on this podcast. I am a financial blogger, fee-for-service financial planner and tax accountant with a ton of real life financial planning experience. I love sharing my insights from experience. Unconventional Wisdom is the #1 blog in Canada for a full service financial planner for a reason. It's not the usual yada yada. It's unbiased insights...

Welcome to the Unconventional Podcast with Ed Rempel.