Hello everyone,
I graduated from university last year and have been working full time at my parents business ever since. I still live at home, so I have almost no expenses. As a result, my savings account has been growing rapidly and it's about time I diversify my savings. Current income is about 55k pre-tax annually or $1614 bi-weekly after tax.
Assets:
Chequing Account (CIBC) - $500
Savings Account (Ally - 2%) -$65,000
Gold/Silver Coins - $11,000
I opened a TFSA account at Scotia iTrade in 2009 but withdrew the funds before investing as I needed them elsewhere and didn't want to pay $20 per trade in commission on small trades. At least I now have 20k in contribution room which I would like to fill shortly.
Future:
I don’t expect any changes in lifestyle for the near future; however I am considering moving to Florida to start a business there in 3-4 years.
Questions:
1. What percentage would you recommend I allocate to stocks, ETF’s, precious metals and cash? I would prefer to stay away from GIC’s as I don’t like being locked in for the long term.
2. Since I have nothing in my iTrade account at the moment, I have the option of choosing another brokerage firm. Which one would you choose? My final three choices are:
CIBC – I would qualify for the $6.95 flat rate commission since my parents have their mortgage there. Only downside to this is I’ve heard their platform isn’t very good. Apparently has a new platform in beta.
Questrade – Cheap trades, questionable customer service/platform.
Scotia iTrade – Could qualify for $9.95 trades if I moved 50k in assets there (20k TFSA / 30k in either cash savings account or more stocks). Best platform of the three.
Any other advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
I graduated from university last year and have been working full time at my parents business ever since. I still live at home, so I have almost no expenses. As a result, my savings account has been growing rapidly and it's about time I diversify my savings. Current income is about 55k pre-tax annually or $1614 bi-weekly after tax.
Assets:
Chequing Account (CIBC) - $500
Savings Account (Ally - 2%) -$65,000
Gold/Silver Coins - $11,000
I opened a TFSA account at Scotia iTrade in 2009 but withdrew the funds before investing as I needed them elsewhere and didn't want to pay $20 per trade in commission on small trades. At least I now have 20k in contribution room which I would like to fill shortly.
Future:
I don’t expect any changes in lifestyle for the near future; however I am considering moving to Florida to start a business there in 3-4 years.
Questions:
1. What percentage would you recommend I allocate to stocks, ETF’s, precious metals and cash? I would prefer to stay away from GIC’s as I don’t like being locked in for the long term.
2. Since I have nothing in my iTrade account at the moment, I have the option of choosing another brokerage firm. Which one would you choose? My final three choices are:
CIBC – I would qualify for the $6.95 flat rate commission since my parents have their mortgage there. Only downside to this is I’ve heard their platform isn’t very good. Apparently has a new platform in beta.
Questrade – Cheap trades, questionable customer service/platform.
Scotia iTrade – Could qualify for $9.95 trades if I moved 50k in assets there (20k TFSA / 30k in either cash savings account or more stocks). Best platform of the three.
Any other advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you!