My name is Mark Goodfield. Welcome to The Blunt Bean Counter ™, a blog that shares my thoughts on income taxes, finance and the psychology of money. I am a Chartered Professional Accountant. This blog is meant for everyone, but in particular for high net worth individuals and owners of private corporations. My posts are blunt, opinionated and even have a twist of humour/sarcasm. You've been warned. Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, January 25, 2021

How much do you need to retire in Canada?

In 2014, I wrote a six-part series on retirement called “How Much Money do I Need to Retire? Heck if I Know or Anyone Else Does!” The series was not only six parts but also over 10,700 words and I am sure over 60 hours of research, writing and editing. I recall telling myself, “Never again,” after completing this series. If you wish to read the series in full, you can find the links to the six posts on the right-hand side of my blog under the retirement planning category.

I also recall it was somewhat depressing to realize that after all that work, I couldn’t come up with a definitive determination of the actual nest egg you require. No one can. There are simply too many inputs, variables, models, simulators and varied expert opinions.

That being said, there was still a ray of sunlight in the series. I found that after using multiple models for my sample calculations, I was able to map out a range of retirement savings that likely would provide a realistic retirement goal, especially if twinned with a financial plan that is updated every few years. So, while it is likely impossible to determine your retirement nest egg to the nth degree, you can provide yourself a realistic retirement savings objective with some work and planning.

At this point you’re likely saying, why is Mark rambling on about a series he wrote almost seven years ago? The reason is COVID.

The pandemic has brought retirement savings front and centre for far too many of us.

In some circumstances, people have lost jobs or their own small businesses that they expected to work at until retirement.

In other cases, people may be succeeding financially but have become more contemplative during COVID. They have begun to think about the long term and what they really want out of life. Maybe it is time for a change in career or time to retire early while healthy and still invigorated. (Full disclosure: I am one of the people in this group and made the decision to retire from public accounting at the end of 2021.) Some have even decided to retire early and follow the advice of Mike Drak and Jonathan Chevreau in their book Victory Lap. They say people should leave their day job behind once they’ve reached financial independence, and work at something they love or always wanted to do to make some supplemental income.

Canadians who pivoted to retire early caused many a financial advisor to pull their hair out. They typically advised clients to just push through the next couple years, as there is too much financial uncertainty to retire early. But based on what I have seen and heard, early retirements have not been uncommon, despite not necessarily being the financially prudent thing to do. (Although if you listen to the Michael Kitces podcasts, I will reference in this series, you will hear his research that many people should have been retiring early for years, assuming they continued to work part-time at a minimum.)

And that’s why COVID has prompted me to revisit this series. For those retiring soon, or just planning for the future, it’s a great time to rejig these topics with some new research and expert opinions. You will be pleased to know that I have learned restraint over the last six years: The 2021 series will be “only” a few parts and a mere 3,200 words give or take.

I will stop here today. The next 1,600 words or so require a clear mind, as retirement planning and determining a safe withdrawal rate in retirement are surprisingly academic topics. I will discus this methodology in Part Two of this series and am also looking forward to reviewing a couple of the top retirement experts’ studies and suggestions.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, January 11, 2021

My Top Five TV Series During COVID

In the old days of this blog, I would occasionally veer off from the financial focus of The Blunt Bean Counter and write about travel (like my trip to Africa with my wife), general business topics (like the four Ps of public speaking), and other topics like sports and food. Over the last while, I have kept on topic. To start the new year, I thought I would lighten it up and write about TV series or mini-series I watched during COVID. Don’t fret: my next post will get back to finances when I revisit my 2014 six-part series on how much money you need to retire.

At the start of the pandemic, I was busy assisting my clients with the various new or updated government programs and helping them manage their businesses through the lockdown—so I did little TV watching. And after that I was busy with personal taxes and corporate filings until July. But since August I’ve accelerated my TV watching in between summer golf games.

Below I list my favourite series during the pandemic—some old, some new and some just released. We all have personal preferences in what we want on TV (and we also may be limited what we can watch by our TV subscriptions, as there seems to be unlimited subscription options). I like TV series that are so compelling or gripping that I can’t stop watching or cannot wait until next week’s episode. I also like a great comedy (few and far between, although I really enjoyed Schitt’s Creek the first couple of years and watched it when it came out on CBC) or, alternatively, something very unexpected, such as the The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, which I discuss below. Here are my top five: 

Game of Thrones


I know Game of Thrones (GOT) is one of the most popular TV series ever, but I am not a fantasy fan (nor am I a sci-fi or horror type of guy) so I was never that keen to tune in. A couple years ago I watched 10 minutes of an episode to see what the fuss was about, and that show happened to be heavy on dragons and various fantastical things. So I decided GOT was not for me. But my wife and I agreed to give the series one more try, and to my surprise, the first season was gripping and had very little fantasy or dragons. By the time the series became more fantastical, I was hooked, and the dragons and fantasy felt natural in the normal course of the show. Like many, I did not love the ending, but eight seasons filled a lot of COVID time. I watched this on Crave.

The Queen’s Gambit


Per Wikipedia, “The Queen's Gambit is a fictional story that follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy Beth Harmon, during her quest to become the world's greatest chess player while struggling with emotional problems and drug and alcohol dependency.”

Beth is played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and she is awesome in the role. I loved this Netflix show because I had no idea what it was about and figured it was some boring chess show. Far from it. Beth is an extraordinarily complex and compelling character, who is super-cool, albeit with some issues, yet still a chess “nerd” at heart. This show was so unexpected, and I really enjoyed it.

It is my understanding that the show and the complex chess strategies it reflects, together with the hip character created by Anya, have created a chess craze across the world. Chess memberships are reaching record highs and chess boards are becoming scarce. Perhaps I’ll move from chess-watching to chess-playing in 2021. 

Ted Lasso


I watched this Apple TV (thanks to a free year due to an ipad purchase) show on the recommendation of a friend who is a Manchester United soccer fanatic, so I expected to watch one episode and report back it was boring. To my pleasant surprise, this show about an American football coach brought in to coach a premier English soccer club (the owner wanted the team to be poorly coached and play poorly to get back at her ex-husband, the former owner) was very funny and heart-warming without going over the top. Apparently, the star, Jason Sudeikis, first conceived the idea as an actual Premier league promo for NBC. In any event, it’s a fun, light series. 

Mindhunter


Mindhunter is the story of FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench and psychologist Wendy Carr, who operate the FBI's famed Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. In the unit's earliest days, they pioneer the study of serial killers by interviewing some of the most depraved in American history. They visit prisons around the U.S. to talk to men such as Charles Manson and understand how they think. Knowledge will help them catch future serial killers, they hope. 

Based on a true story, Netflix's Mindhunter boasts the involvement of A-list movie director David Fincher. While the show is a bit slow at times, I found it compelling and enjoyed both seasons (supposedly a third will not happen or not happen again for several years). Some of the criminal characters were so intriguing that you almost forget they committed heinous crimes. 

Morning Show


This Apple TV show was again a bit unexpected for me. I figured it was about a morning news show and would be light and fluffy, with Jennifer Aniston (playing co-anchor Alex Levy) as the star. I was taken aback when I quickly realized this show was about a current social issue, with co-anchor Mitch Kessler (played by Steve Carell) being fired for sexual misconduct at the network. Viewers see the insidious acceptance of this behaviour and culture of fear that news media have analyzed in the last few years when high-profile men were accused of sexual misconduct.

A couple of shows that just missed the list were the Undoing, a mystery psychological thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, and You, a dark series about a bookstore manager who is also a serial killer (it reminds me a bit of Dexter, one of my all-time favourite shows, if you have ever watched that series).

Feel free to let me and the other readers of this blog know your top five series during COVID by posting them in the comments below. That way others can check them out.

 
The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.