Happy New Year 🎉 Welcome to 2026. As we step into a new year, I just want to pause and say thank you for allowing me into a small but important part of your financial world in 2025. For many of you, the start of a new year brings a mix of hope and quiet questions. Questions like:

• Do I have the right structure to ensure I’m not paying too much in taxes?
• Am I on a path to tax-efficient wealth?
• Is it possible to eliminate money worries from my life?

You don’t need to wrestle with these questions alone. I’m here to help. In 2026, my focus remains the same — helping you reduce unnecessary tax, bring clarity to your numbers, and build a financial strategy that supports the life you’re working so hard to create. You can use this link to book a FREE Tax Strategy call with me. Enjoy this issue and please remember to share this with everyone in your network:

1. Staying Ahead in 2026 Starts with Great Planning

A recent report by Pollara on Canada’s 2026 economic outlook is not pretty as it reveals one of the most pessimistic outlooks in 31 years. Pollara’s annual economic outlook shows the majority expect the Canadian economy (61%) and Canada’s employment situation (59%) to worsen in 2026. If you think 2025 was challenging, you have to brace up for what’s coming in 2026.

What does this mean for you?

It simply means you have to be super intentional this year, and that starts with planning and consistent execution. One way to win in 2026 is to win the battle over taxes. Remember, your biggest financial burden is likely the amount of taxes you pay. You can read the full report here and if you’d like to take advantage of a FREE Tax Strategy call with me, book a call here.

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2. Overexposure Rarely Feels Risky at First

In this amazing article written by Orlando Lopez, he discusses the risks of overexposure. Overexposure is one of the most misunderstood risks in personal finance. It doesn’t announce itself with volatility or headlines. It usually grows during good times when confidence is high, results feel repeatable, and familiarity is rewarded. In 2025, Canadians were reminded that overexposure isn’t just an investment problem. It’s a planning problem. When income, assets, and lifestyle are all tied to the same economic engine, a shift in that engine doesn’t just slow progress it can force painful decisions. Read more here about the risks of overexposure.

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3. Do You Know How Your Personal Tax Bill Is Calculated?

Soon, you will begin to gather your documents to prepare for the filing of your personal tax returns. As you begin to plan for this, it is important you understand how your tax liability is determined. You start by adding up your various sources of income - employment, business, interest, dividends, etc. This gives you total income. You then subtract certain deductions to arrive at net income. Then some additional deductions like losses carried forward from previous years can be taken to arrive at your taxable income. You then calculate your federal tax by applying the federal tax rates and brackets to your taxable income. Then you subtract various non-refundable tax credits to arrive at your net federal tax. The next step is to add your provincial tax. If you’re self-employed, you may also be required to add your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contribution to your self-employment income. Finally, you record all source deductions of tax and installments paid. Along with these are the refundable credits. And the bottom line is your balance owing or refund claimed.

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4. Why More Money Will Not Solve Your Money Problems

Not too long ago, in an email shared by Rob Minton, one of my mentors, he concluded that…

Money problems ALWAYS flow from thinking problems.

I thought this was an interesting conclusion as it directly relates to our money mindset. Rob goes on to share how we see this in real life by studying lottery winners. Within a short period of time, they go from money problems to having lots of money and then to having money problems again.

So, more money usually doesn’t solve money problems. To solve money problems you have to change how you think about money. This comes down to your money mindset, which is the subconscious feelings and thoughts we develop towards money from our life experiences. A money mindset is your unique and individual set of core beliefs about money and how money works in the world. It is your overriding attitude about money. It shapes what you believe you can and cannot do with money, how much money you believe you’re allowed, entitled, and able to earn, how much you can and should spend, the way you utilize debt, how much money you give away, and your ability to invest with confidence and success. When it comes to money mindset, there are two extremes:

• The Scarcity Mindset, which will keep you stressed, anxious, and can result in a lack of generosity; and
• The Abundance mindset, that can keep you calm, positive, optimistic and more generous with your money

Most of us will fall in between these two extremes. It is important to know where you stand and to begin to work to develop the right money mindset. You can use this FREE resource to take a 2-minute money mindset test to give you a sense of your current mindset when it comes to money. So far, 58% of those that have taken this test have an abundant money mindset. What about you? Take the test here.

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5. Planning for Retirement in Buckets

In a recent webinar I hosted, one of the ideas I recommended when it comes to retirement planning is this idea of planning in buckets. One of the biggest concerns retirees face is the fear of running out of money during retirement. So, it’s super important to design a retirement income plan that will eliminate this fear and give you peace of mind. In other words, you need a plan that guarantees a minimum monthly income required to meet your basic needs, plus more, for the rest of your life. The core benefit of the bucket idea of planning for retirement is that you have guaranteed sources of income that exceed your most basic needs. This alone will give you peace of mind. In this article, I discuss ten considerations for a perfect income plan, some of which are embedded in this idea of planning in buckets.