#AskMelanie: How can I plan make my estate easy for my executor to manage?
If you could leave your estate in great in order to reduce the amount of stress to your loved ones (and the executor) wouldn’t you want to? This blog post from the Bean Counter shares how a father’s special planning did just that. Lynne Butler, of Estate Law Canada blog fame, had a blog titled “What […]
#AskMelanie: What happens to CPP Benefits after the death of a spouse?
Losing your spouse is a life-changing event. Coping with funeral planning and required paperwork can be time-consuming and overwhelming. Finding out what your survivor benefits will often come as a shock. In this recent CBC article, we look at this issue: Here are some key questions and answers: What if surviving spouse is under 65? […]
#AskMelanie: Upcoming deadlines for self employed individuals
Summer is around the corner, just in time to prepare for more tax deadlines! Self-employed individuals should take note of important personal tax deadlines, along with installment payments and HST deadlines. Are you ready? Specific tax deadlines for 2019 self-employed individuals are: Personal tax deadline for Self-employed individuals – filing deadline is June 15th The […]
#AskMelanie: How can I better organize my estate?
January is a great month for reviewing and cleaning up your finances. In addition to this, I am strongly urging all of my clients to have another individual authorized on their CRA account (preferably your accountant and also a spouse or the executor of their will). I have had many clients whose spouse has passed away […]
#AskMelanie: How to Complete a Financial Clean Up
The start of a new year is the perfect time for reflection. What important financial planning have you put aside during the busy holiday season? Now is the time to get caught up. Here is some great advice from the Blunt Bean Counter #AskMelanie: So, what is a financial cleanup? The following are some areas […]
#AskMelanie: How can I better manage and organize my accounting paperwork?
It is critical that I keep a well-organized office for my clients and for myself. I am often asked for tips on how to best organize important accounting paperwork. Having a system in place to manage your accounting paperwork is essential. I recommend scheduling time regularly to work on staying organized with your finances and […]
#AskMelanie: How can I change the way I feel about my financial future?
As an accountant, I have very candid and personal conversations around money and the stress it can cause my clients. Feeling a sense of control over our financial lives is something that we all strive for but how do we cope when things are less than perfect? Cash flow for business owners, the ever-growing expense […]
#AskMelanie: How to do I best manage my online financial life?
As we get into our forties and beyond life can become a foggy sandwich of responsibilities and details. It is actually called the “Sandwich Generation” for a reason. We are caring for our children and our parents. We are in the middle of this muddle trying to manage our family/business/financial and work life from many […]
#AskMelanie: Have you thought about your taxes and estate planning considerations?
Death is not a subject any of us want to think about but having important conversations with your family about their wishes (plus yours as well) and ensuring that if you are responsible for settling your estate being prepared is critical. This article will give you some important things to consider and also provides some […]
#AskMelanie: It is my responsibility to stay on top of any HST Installments?
I love my clients. It is why I went into business for myself so that I could be of service and make more businesses succeed. My client’s challenges are important to me. I hate to see business owners worry and that’s why it is important to stay on top of your tax obligations. That’s where […]