Do you find yourself making the same financial mistakes over and over? Borrowing inspiration from the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, we can break these behavioural patterns by being more mindful of how our everyday decisions influence our financial future.

Behavioural insights tells us that there’s no better time than following a milestone, like the new year or even Groundhog Day, to break the cycle and make a fresh start. Our Behavioural Insights hub can help you recognize common behavioural biases, like inertia and short-termism, and how to overcome them.
 

The OSC recently published OSC Staff Notice 11-784: Burden Reduction, which seeks suggestions on reducing regulatory burden with a focus on eliminating unnecessary or outdated rules and processes while protecting investors and the integrity of Ontario’s capital markets. The Notice outlines plans to broadly consult Ontario market participants on ways to further reduce regulatory burden as well as on improving the investor experience.

The OSC will hold a roundtable discussion on reducing regulatory burden on March 27, 2019. Anyone wishing to participate in the discussion at the roundtable should submit a comment letter and expressly indicate a desire to participate.

The consultation follows the OSC’s November 2018 establishment of a Burden Reduction Task Force.

Deadline to submit comments is March 1, 2019.

Your 2019 Financial Goals

By this time of the year, many New Year’s resolutions are at risk of not being followed through. If you have financial goals for 2019, remember to keep them specific and realistic. Instead of saying you want to have enough money to retire comfortably, think about how much money you’ll need. Maybe your specific goal will be to save $500,000 by the time you’re 65. Learn more

Reduce Your Debt

If you’ve overextended yourself financially during the holiday season, here are 6 ways to help you reduce debt. It may be tempting to ignore your debt but dealing with financial challenges earlier will help you avoid an even more difficult situation in the future. Learn more

Credit Cards 101

Credit cards can be a convenient way to pay for things, but it is also easy to lose track of your spending and take on more debt than you can repay. Check out this refresher on 8 things to know about your credit card. It can take several years to pay off your credit card balance if you only make the minimum monthly payment. Learn more

Net Worth Calculator

What's your net worth? Your net worth is the difference between what you own and what you owe. Use this calculator to calculate your personal or household net worth.

Visit GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca for more popular and free articles, tools and calculators to help you with your finances.

Ask Us An Investing Question

Investing and the investment world can be complex. Our Re: Investing website offers clear, unbiased answers to your questions about investing, from a trusted source. Here are some recent questions and our responses:

“Can I gift an investment?”
“How does a spousal RRSP work?”
“Can I transfer money from my RRSP into my spouse’s Defined Benefit Pension Plan?

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) continues to make progress in preparation to assume regulatory functions currently performed by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario (DICO) in a manner that ensures regulatory continuity and initiates transformation.

FSRA recently published for comment its inaugural budget and priorities outlining its transformation to a forward-looking, flexible, self-funded, principles-based regulator capable of responding to the dynamic pace of change in market, industry and consumer, credit union member and pension plan beneficiary expectations. A key focus will be consulting with others to gain further insights on consumer perspectives and priorities, and determining how to include engaging consumer stakeholders in the regulated sectors. Stakeholders can submit comments until February 8, 2019. 

View Proposed 2019-20 FSRA Priorities and Budget

Guaranteed Investment Certificates

A guaranteed investment certificate or GIC is an investment that works like a special kind of deposit. When you buy a GIC, you are agreeing to lend the bank or financial institution your money for a set number of months or years. You are guaranteed to get the amount you deposited back at the end of the term. For this reason, GICs are one of the safest ways to invest. Learn more

Diversification 

Under normal market conditions, diversification is an effective way to reduce risk. If you hold just one investment and it performs badly, you could lose all of your money. If you hold a diversified portfolio with a variety of different investments, it’s much less likely that all of your investments will perform poorly at the same time. Learn more

RRSP Contribution vs. Paying Down Debt

We're entering RRSP season. If you contribute to your RRSP, you’ll pay less tax. But if you pay down debt, you’ll pay less interest. Which is better? Read about these 5 factors you should consider when deciding between making an RRSP contribution this year and paying down debt.

Financial Abuse of Seniors

Everyone has a role to play in identifying and preventing financial elder abuse. If someone tells you they are being abused, pressured or coerced, it is best to believe them, take their claims seriously, ask questions and offer support. Read about these 7 signs of financial elder abuse and what you can do if you suspect this might be happening to you or a loved one.

Investing in the Cannabis Industry

Investor interest in the cannabis sector has been strong recently. The cannabis industry, like any emerging sector, has attracted investors hoping to capitalize on the potential growth and high returns of what they believe are untapped markets or products that may be popular in the future.

Our GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca Cannabis hub contains many resources for investors who may want to learn more about the cannabis industry and things they should be aware of when investing in it. Learn more 

In the last issue of Investor News, the OSC's Investor Office published its national research study on investor knowledge, behaviours and attitudes in a variety of fields. The study sheds new light on several emerging trends relevant to investors, as well as the challenges investors face when it comes to planning for the long-term.

Read the full study and our key findings on retirement preparedness, conversations about aging and finances, and cannabis investing.