Weekend Reading – Dividend hikes, RRSPs, mortgages, CPP, OAS and more

Welcome to some fine Weekend Reading folks, some of the best articles from the personal finance and investing blogosphere.

Earlier this week, I reminded everyone the RRSP is a powerful savings vehicle and I shared some tax tips I think every Canadian should know about this tax season.

Enjoy these articles over your weekend and see you here again in early March!

In dividend news:

• Coca-Cola (KO) boosted its quarterly dividend by 8%.
• Emera (EMA) increased their dividend by 3.2%.
• Royal Bank (RY) increased their dividend by 3%.
• TD Bank (TD) bumped their dividend by 8.5%.
• Magna International (MB) vaulted their dividend by 16%, ahead of a 2:1 stock split.
• CIBC (CM) surprised investors by increasing their dividend by 3%.

Money We Have listed some potential reasons to avoid your RRSP, although those reasons are rare for most Canadians.

While Rob Carrick is a fan of killing debt he’s also a fan of retirement savings when it comes to this debate.  Here is his rule of thumb:  if the investment return is known to be higher than the interest rate on your debt, then you’re probably better off investing.  Here is my take on the mortgage paydown and investing debate.

Cory Papineau told us how much you could expect from the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security.  Give or take Cory says the average Canadian could expect close to $14,000 per year once they hit their mid-60s.

Dave Nugent, Chief Investment Officer at Wealthsimple had an interesting Q&A here.

Ellen Roseman offered some tips to resolve your consumer issues.

Million Dollar Journey wrote about the Dogs of the TSX for an investing strategy.

Dividend Earner outlined his stock picking technique.

Michael James on Money rightly questioned this article about double and triple-taxation.

Here are some reflections about a decade in the investment industry from Ben Carlson.  I liked his conclusion:  “The markets are hard. Slowing down is important. A legitimate decision-making process that reduces the impact of your emotions is essential. But none of this is possible without the self-awareness to admit your own limitations.”

Big Cajun Man wrote about RRSP Bingo.

Robb Engen takes a long-term view of his financial plan.

Given how cold the weather has been in Ottawa this winter, here is an article debunking the myth about warming up your car on a cold day.  The car doesn’t need it but I suspect millions of Canadians want to do it anyhow.

Larry MacDonald told us how to get solid returns, setting and forgetting your portfolio, only to watch it for about a minute per year.