Welcome back to Your Life and Money, the podcast where financial planning goes beyond the spreadsheets to focus on what truly matters: your life. Hosts Tim Borody and Brad Smith continue their Q&A series, tackling complex questions about budgeting, debt, saving for a first home, and optimizing government pension benefits.

Beyond the Budget: Saving, Buying a Home, and Maximizing Your Pension

• Cash Flow Clarity: Uncover the five essential categories you need to track to gain control of your cash flow and how simplifying your budget helps you redirect funds toward key goals like eliminating debt or building an emergency fund.
• The Homeownership Playbook: Learn how to strategically use specialized savings plans like the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) and the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) to accumulate a down payment, including the little-known details on how non-first-time buyers can reuse the HBP.
• The CPP/OAS Timing Trap: Delve into the pros and cons of taking Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits early versus deferring them, discussing the break-even math, and how working income or pension bridges factor into this crucial retirement decision.

Stop wondering if you're making the right financial decisions—this episode delivers the clarity and actionable advice you need to feel secure about your future

In every episode of Your Life and Money, hosts Brad Smith and Tim Borody share expert advice to help you get the best life possible with the money you have. This episode is a must-listen as they kick off a two-part series answering the most common and critical financial questions of the year.

The Tax Tangle: RIFs, TFSAs, and How to Protect Your Wealth

• Understanding the RIF Risk: Learn why the money in your Registered Retirement Income Fund (RIF) is taxed as income in the year of death and how that liability can reach Canada's highest marginal tax bracket (up to 54%).
• Choosing the Right Beneficiary: Explore the options for naming beneficiaries—from spousal rollover to naming children or a charity—and the specific tax implications for your estate in each scenario.
• The Power of Successor Holders: Discover the critical difference between naming a beneficiary and a successor holder on a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and how the latter is key to preserving the tax-free status for your surviving spouse.

Whether you are accumulating wealth or distributing it, the decisions you make today on your registered accounts will define the value of your legacy—tune in to ensure your wealth plan is perfectly aligned with your life and priorities.

Welcome back to Your Life and Money, where we believe that financial planning is not just about the numbers—it's about your life. Host Brad Smith is joined by a special guest: Theresa Schott, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Harbourfront.

Theresa, who runs all of Harbourfront's investment pools, discusses her move from managing institutional capital for 20 years to bringing those same sophisticated strategies to retail investors. She dives into the structural problems facing traditional investment approaches and highlights the new opportunities created by the rise of AI.

Institutional Strategies for Retail Investors: Breaking Down Diversification



• The End of 60/40? Find out why the traditional 60/40 stock-bond split is no longer an effective diversifier and is either "dying or on its way" because equities and bonds now show a far more positive correlation during market volatility.
• The AI Opportunity and Risk: Get Theresa's take on the AI revolution, the enormous capital expenditure (CapEx) being spent on infrastructure like data centers, and why she's concerned about the high concentration risk in the current U.S. equity markets, where a handful of stocks account for over 36% of the S&P 500.
• The Private Market Solution: Learn why institutional investors allocate 55% to 60% of their total wealth to private markets, and how retail investors should consider allocating anywhere from 5% to 30% to private assets to achieve a lift in returns, more predictable cash flow, and lower volatility.
• The Risk of Illiquidity: Understand the key risk in private markets—the illiquid nature of the assets (like a marriage, "it's not a one night stand")—and how rigorous due diligence on managers is essential to find the right long-term partner.

Financial planning is about more than just money—it's about living the life you want. Take some time to reflect on your goals and priorities, and tune in to discover the insights and strategies that will help you create a plan that aligns with your vision for the future.