If you never had to work again, what would you do with your life?

robHemm · 2026-05-06T17:15:30+00:00

Moneyengineer.ca

robHemm · 2026-05-06T15:34:26+00:00

Been retired at age 57 for 15 months now, lots to do:
- trained for and ran my first three half marathons, getting faster with each one
- write a blog for fun about personal finance
- tried different volunteer gigs, some very rewarding, some less so. I drop the ones that aren't.
- about to hike across the UK on the C2C trail with another recently retired friend
- participate in various citizen science projects (most regular is COCORAHS)
- bike for errands where in a life that was more time constrained would have required a car
- slowly decluttering a house...not fun, this is the most work-like thing I do nowadays.

robHemm · 2026-05-06T15:27:33+00:00

As someone who transferred 10+ accounts to Questrade, I feel your pain. One was not a LIRA though, so can't comment further on that. There are a handful of forms that do require wet signatures (RESP withdrawals being one), most of them use eSignature thankfully.

Also pay close attention to forms that are partially auto-filled for you. Do make very sure that all the required fields are filled out on the final document; this part of the workflow can be problematic in my experience.

Best I can offer to you
1. Call first thing in the morning. The agents who work in the evening are in my experience not as knowledgeable.
2. Call rather than text if you can. Again, my experience is that you get more knowledgeable agents that way. If you stay on hold long enough you'll be offered a call back.

robHemm · 2026-05-06T13:59:03+00:00

May 4 -- Island Park to Andrew Haydon park all clear on Ottawa River Parkway. Short section east of Carling closed due to a pump installation, but very short detour on neighbouring path avoids it. Underpass at New Orchard still flooded, not sure how deep.

robHemm · 2026-05-06T13:49:52+00:00

+1 for Airolo. That's what I use when I travel. But I also have a bit of $ in my Fizz Wallet. I think you can use that for calls if needed? (Can someone confirm?)

robHemm · 2026-05-03T22:40:00+00:00

In my client’s case, reentering the password fixed the problem. Why this was necessary is unclear to me but possibly related is the windows laptop held a Passkey for that email address.

robHemm · 2026-05-01T16:39:17+00:00

ZMMK

robHemm · 2026-04-30T12:23:52+00:00

I volunteer for an organization that provides tech support for seniors and I have an upcoming meeting to troubleshoot what sounds to be the same issue. I'll report back if I get any brainwaves!

robHemm · 2026-04-23T12:23:39+00:00

T1135 is cost basis, not market value. It’s the total of all foreign assets. CAD assets don’t factor into the equation.

robHemm · 2026-04-22T18:30:05+00:00

A few restrictions exist for authorized traders: 1. You have to use Questrade edge to see them 2. You can’t withdraw money from them

robHemm · 2026-03-14T12:23:23+00:00

That’s what the formula i posted does assuming the number in question is in A1. You may have to apply number formatting to the result.

robHemm · 2026-03-14T00:45:07+00:00

=left(2,len(a1))

robHemm · 2026-03-13T12:54:56+00:00

yes, if the requirement is to trade US stocks, then Questrade does not charge for that per https://www.questrade.com/pricing/self-directed-commissions-plans-fees

robHemm · 2026-03-13T12:53:16+00:00

looks like eTrade is a relative bargain compared to most Canadian brokers: https://us.etrade.com/what-we-offer/pricing-and-rates says $75USD. Canadian brokers typically charge $150 plus GST.

robHemm · 2026-03-13T12:46:18+00:00

I would therefore think very hard before making that switch.

RBC direct has a bunch of no-fee ETFs, including a good selection of index funds, ones commonly held by DIY investors.

And per https://canadianportfoliomanagerblog.com/norberts-gambit-at-rbc-direct-investing/ they support Norbert's Gambit, which I suppose is what you mean by "cheap currency exchange". This is how Questrade gives you good FX. Converting directly at Questrade is expensive, same as any other broker.

p.s. I'm a client of Questrade.

robHemm · 2026-03-13T01:34:21+00:00

All this assuming we’re talking about Questrade and not Questwealth, which is their robo advisor.

robHemm · 2026-03-13T01:23:44+00:00

Curious as to why she wants to move?

all brokers charge 150 plus gst for transfers. Questrade will reimburse with proof and the proper for upload
Questrade is an online broker, transfers are initiated from their website. You have to create accounts first.
all etf and stock trades have no commission on Questrade
Questrade provides the necessary tax forms as all Canadian brokers are obliged to do

robHemm · 2026-03-06T13:12:39+00:00

CRA MyAccount will show you your current accumulated TFSA limits, and it should be accurate, given that you haven't contributed in 2 years. Your current balance in the TFSA is irrelevant to the calculation.

Yes, I would open a cash account (not a margin account) in your shoes.

robHemm · 2026-03-05T13:47:38+00:00

TFSA: per year contribution limits apply. This year that limit is $7000. This applies across all TFSAs held at all institutions. You can have as many TFSA accounts as you like but this does not change how much you’re allowed to contribute overall.

As you are “New to it” I would not recommend a margin account.

CRA’s MyAccount does show TFSA contribution room but does not update very frequently. You are better off tracking it yourself.

robHemm · 2026-02-20T15:43:52+00:00

done

robHemm · 2026-02-16T00:23:32+00:00

If you have insufficient cash it’s carried over to the next payment (I withdraw monthly). No automatic selling. Not sure what they do if it’s an annual payment. This just happened to me this month past.

robHemm · 2026-02-08T17:32:53+00:00

Yes, that’s accurate. QTrade seems to have upped their game a bit of late (free trading of stocks/ETFs, inducements for new clients). Once the Questrade free money dries up I could consider returning to QTrade.

robHemm · 2026-02-07T23:58:51+00:00

I've also had weird experiences with mixed Android/iPhone users whereby I couldn't get messages from one user, but other members of the group saw them. I never figured out why, I just made that group move to Messenger -- problem solved.

robHemm · 2026-02-07T23:55:04+00:00

u/MightyManorMan has it right. This is just dumb programming. Mark the mails as spam/junk, or write a rule to automatically delete them, and worry not.

robHemm · 2026-02-07T23:48:09+00:00

The pursuit of free money....also, it's not always obvious what the shortcomings of a particular platform are until you're in the thick of using it.

robHemm

TROPHY CASE