I have no ambitions to write a book, become a YouTube star or trend on TikTok. I don’t want an online course empire or a podcast studio or a public speaking circuit. None of that ever appealed to me. What has kept me going year after year is the quiet work: writing articles that help everyday Canadians better understand their money, and working with families to create financial plans that actually improve their lives.
Lately I’ve been thinking about what I hope this work will accomplish. Not in a capital-L inheritance way, but in a simple way. After more than 15 years of writing Boomer & Echo and helping people one-on-one, what would I like to be remembered for?
When I look at the financial choices Canadians are grappling with, whether it’s when to take CPP, how to invest or how to avoid paying too much in fees, a few themes stand out. If something I’ve written or a conversation I’ve had has pushed people even a little bit in the right direction, that feels like a meaningful contribution.
Take CPP. The data is still persistent. About 90 percent of Canadians take CPP at age 65, and only about 2 percent wait until age 70. That gap really costs people money. If my work helped even a small fraction of people postpone into their 70s and make a mathematically stronger choice, then I would be proud of that.
The same goes for investing. For years, the simplest solution for most people was a low-cost asset allocation ETF. Yet the country’s largest investment fund is still a high-fee, balanced mutual fund that charges almost 2 percent.
Every dollar that moves from overpriced products to something fairer, cheaper and more diversified is a win. If even a handful of people bought VGRO, VEQT, XGRO, or
And if I’m remembered for just one thing, I hope it helps normalize advice-only financial planning. No planning tied to investment products. No plans for people with tens of millions of dollars. Just clear, transparent and conflict-free advice for everyday Canadians. The kind of advice I wanted was already available when I started.
If more people demand transparency, true fiduciary care, and clear compensation, and if the industry slowly moves in that direction, then this entire project will have been worth it.
That’s the impact I hope to leave behind. No flash. No viral moments. Just better results, more financial literacy and fewer Canadians stuck with products or advice that are quietly draining their wealth.
1. Helping Canadians make the smartest retirement decision they’ll ever make
I’ve written about CPP for years because for most people, delaying until age 70 is the strongest financial decision they can make in retirement. The math is clear, longevity research backs it up, and the behavioral benefits are real. More stable income. Less fear around admissions. Fewer decisions driven by market noise.
Yet the reality has not changed much. About 90 percent of Canadians are entitled to CPP or QPP at age 65. Only about 2 percent wait until age 70. The biggest peaks still occur at ages 60 and 65, simply because those ages are easy and familiar.
This decision gap costs retirees thousands of dollars every year for the rest of their lives.
If my work has any legacy, I hope it includes helping to shift these numbers. Not by lecturing or shaming anyone, but through patient, evidence-based teaching that shows people what they can gain by waiting.
Even a small increase matters. If the share of people reaching age 70 rises from 2 percent to 5 or 6 percent over the next decade, that will be tens of thousands of Canadians with more secure pensions, more breathing room and more confidence in their long-term income.
If I helped even a fraction of those people see that possibility, it would feel like something worth leaving behind.
2. Make simple investing the norm instead of the exception
If there’s one theme I’ve repeated more often than any other, it’s that investing doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need dozens of ETFs, individual stock picks, sector bets, cryptocurrency, alternatives, or a spreadsheet full of rebalancing rules.
Most Canadians would be far better off choosing one asset allocation ETF and sticking with it.
When I first started writing about asset allocation funds, they were far from mainstream. Today, they are among the most popular ETFs in the country. VEQT and XEQT in particular attract billions in new money every year. They are simple, transparent, diversified and cheap. They meet the needs of ordinary investors better than almost anything else available.
If my work has helped move the idea of “just buy VEQT” from niche advice to common knowledge, then that feels meaningful. I’ve seen this in reader emails, in client meetings, and in parents telling me their children invested their first dollars in a single ETF instead of trying to pick the next winning stock.
Simplicity works. Low cost work. Broad diversification works. If I’ve been able to spread these messages even a little, I’ll be happy with that.
3. Removing the dominance of high-fee balanced funds
There was a long period when it seemed inevitable that the largest investment fund in Canada would be a balanced investment fund from big banks with a fee of almost 2 percent. Millions of Canadians owned these funds within RRSPs and TFSAs without realizing what they were paying for.
I have been drawing attention to this for many years. Not because I enjoy criticizing banks, but because the numbers are so grim. A two percent fee on a balanced portfolio can reduce lifetime investment assets by 25 to 33 percent (or more). That is no small obstacle. That is a significant loss of financial security.
In recent years, balanced mutual funds in Canada – once the default choice for many investors – have generally lost ground. ETFs, especially low-cost asset allocation ETFs, have become the main growth driver. That does not mean that investment funds have disappeared, but the tide has clearly turned.
Low-cost ETFs have seen steady inflows. I certainly don’t claim credit for that trend, but if something I wrote gave someone the confidence to ask, “Why am I paying 2 percent?” and switching to something more reasonable, namely real world impact.
If I live to see the day when Canada’s largest mutual fund is a low-cost, balanced ETF instead of a high-fee closet index, it will feel like a silent victory for consumers.
4. Create a path for everyday Canadians to get honest financial advice
When I launched my consulting practice, there were very few planners working outside the product sales system. Most Canadians believed that financial advice was inextricably linked to investment management. The default assumption was that if you wanted help, you had to buy something.
I wanted to show that everyday people could get real financial planning without needing a large portfolio or a sales relationship. Just clear, objective advice for a fair price.
The responses showed how much this was necessary. Hundreds of families now visit every year. Many arrive saying they had no idea there was only planning. Others say they assumed planning was only available to wealthy households. And more and more planners are entering the field because they see the same demand.
If I have helped push the industry towards greater transparency, clearer reimbursement and a higher duty of care, that might be the most meaningful contribution of all. Better advice leads to better results, and better results are reinforced over lifetimes and generations.
Final thoughts
I’m not going anywhere. I enjoy the writing, the planning, the conversations and the challenge of helping people understand their finances. But it does feel worth pausing and thinking about the impact this work can have over time.
If someone looks back in a few years and sees that I helped even a small corner of personal finance in Canada move towards something simpler, fairer and more transparent, then that will be a legacy I’m proud of.
And the best part is that none of it depends on big platforms, flashy marketing or viral moments. It’s based on everyday conversations with Canadians who just want to make good decisions with their money.
If I have helped even a little, then this work has been worth it.
#Money #Ideas #hope #Canadians #embrace