Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mother figures out there. I honor you for all the important and mostly unseen work you do every day in raising the next generation. May the good Lord continue to keep and strengthen you today and in the days ahead. Have a great day! Please be reminded that the EARLY BIRD discount to register for this year’s Tax-Efficient Wealth Summit on June 1st ends at midnight today, Sunday, May 12th. If you’ve not yet registered, what are you waiting for? Enjoy the nuggets I share in this issue and remember to share this with everyone in your network:

1. How To Win The Battle Over Inflation...

If you've not been living in a hole 😀, you will agree with me that almost all goods and services have escalated in prices in recent years and months. So, if you're not careful, this inflationary pressure will ruin your purchasing power.

This is why you should plan to join us on Saturday, June 1st for an in-person summit on strategies for building tax-efficient wealth...

We live in an inflationary environment so you have to protect your purchasing power and protect the value of your investments and wealth.

If you’re considering ways to keep pace with inflation and protect your purchasing power in a tax-efficient manner, then you should plan to join me and my guests at this year’s Tax-Efficient Wealth Summit coming up on Saturday, June 1st.

In addition to the great learning and networking opportunities, you will join us for breakfast and lunch catered by the hotel's amazing chef. You can get all the event details at https://taxefficientwealth.ca/summit/​

I look forward to meeting with you soon and hosting you at the event.

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2. Tax Season Is Over…Now What?

For many of you, the tax season is over as you’ve now filed your taxes, paid your taxes owing or received a refund of your money from the government. The temptation now is to put this aside until this time next year.

No, No, No!! Not so quickly…

Now is the time to start planning so you can pay less tax next year, perhaps get a bigger refund or have your money working much harder for you. And there is no better way to kickstart that plan than planning to attend our upcoming Tax-Efficient Wealth Summit taking place in Mississauga on Saturday, June 1, 2024! This event will be in-person from 10 AM to 2 PM. This event will focus on practical ways you can build wealth in a tax-efficient way. I will share a new way to start planning and thinking about retirement income and my special guests will share on practical tips on how to manage your investments and financing. To learn more and to register, Click Here.

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3. The Secret to Happiness

There are many definitions of happiness that all point to the same idea but I like this one from Wikipedia that captured it fully:

Happiness is a positive and pleasant emotion, ranging from contentment to intense joy. Moments of happiness may be triggered by positive life experiences or thoughts, but sometimes it may arise from no obvious cause.

In life, we all crave for happiness but in most cases, it is elusive. It is mostly elusive for most of us because we often don’t know the “one thing or the many things” that will make us happy. I found this great quote on the secret of happiness in my email inbox this week and I could not resist sharing it with you:

"You will never find one answer to what makes you happy. There are many answers, and they change based on your current state.

People need to relax, but if all you do is sit on the beach, it gets old. People find meaning in work, but if all you do is work, it gets exhausting. People benefit from exercise, but if all you do is exercise, it gets unhealthy.

Happiness will always be fleeting because your needs change over time. The question is: what do you need right now?"

I can relate to this and I hope you can too. Hopefully, this gives us a new perspective when it comes to happiness. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, shares insightful quotes like this weekly. Consider subscribing to his weekly emails for tips on cultivating winning habits. Check it out here.

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4. Where Is My Money?

It is not uncommon to earn income and wonder why you don’t have a penny of it saved or invested at the end of the month. One of the major reasons for this is what we call lifestyle inflation. A concept where our expenses grow in line with our income as we are wired to live just like the guy or gal next door. Another reason for this, which is not always obvious, is the impact of taxes. Taxes and certainly lifestyle inflation can negatively impact your ability to build wealth. In one of the chapters of my book, Tax-Efficient Wealth, I share some of the main obstacles to building tax-free or tax-efficient wealth. One of the obstacles I discuss is taxes. If you ask most Canadians what their biggest expense is, they will most likely say it’s housing costs. This may be right for some. However, if you have high income, taxes are likely your biggest expense. According to a recent report from the Fraser Institute, the average Canadian family spent 43.6 percent of their income on taxes in 2018, more than they spent on housing and other expenses combined. Can you imagine that? This is significant. The average family’s total tax bill at 44 percent is likely more than the amount they’re paying on housing costs each year. Get more details on this in this article, where I also recommend an exercise you can undertake now to get a sense of where all your money is going.

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5. Why Excuses Will Hinder Your Freedom

It’s easy to make excuses and we are all familiar with them. I can’t attend a conference because I don’t want to fly or because it is too expensive; I can’t buy real estate because it is too expensive; I can’t save because my income is low; etc. You must realize that excuses will hinder your ability to make meaningful change in your circumstances. You cannot stay where you are and expect to change your life. Make a commitment to yourself today to stop making excuses. Rather, challenge yourself on how you can overcome excuses. You need to get around the right people, the right thinking, the right energy if you want to change your life.