Ep 172 - 10 Common Wealth Traps Smart Canadian Retirees Avoid
In this episode of Your Retirement Planning Simplified, Joe Curry breaks down the 10 assets successful Canadian retirees almost never buy - and why avoiding these common wealth traps can dramatically improve retirement income and peace of mind. You’ll learn how high fees, complexity, lifestyle liabilities, and poor planning quietly erode retirement wealth, and what disciplined retirees do instead.
Key Takeaways
Retirement success is often about what you avoid. High fees, unnecessary complexity, and poor product choices quietly drain income over decades.
High-cost investments hurt twice in retirement. Expensive mutual funds, segregated funds, and structured products reduce returns and limit income flexibility.
Not all “safe” assets protect purchasing power. GIC-only strategies often fail to keep up with inflation after tax, slowly eroding real wealth.
Lifestyle and real estate traps can steal freedom. Cottages, rentals, luxury vehicles, and timeshares often consume more time and cash flow than retirees expect.
Successful retirees shift from growth to preservation. Simplicity, liquidity, tax efficiency, and disciplined planning matter more than chasing returns.
Insights Worth Sharing
“Successful retirees understand that financial success often comes down to what you don’t buy.”
“High fees don’t just reduce returns — they reduce your retirement income for life.”
“Retirement isn’t about getting rich anymore. It’s about staying rich.”
“True wealth in retirement is time, health, and freedom — not complexity.”
“Simplicity creates clarity, and clarity creates confidence.”
Resources
10 Assets Canadian Retirees Never Buy - And Poor Ones Always Do - Original Youtube Video for Your Retirement Planning Simplified
The Rational Reminder Podcast, hosted by Benjamin Felix and Dan Bortolotti
Your Retirement Planning Simplified Blog
The 10 Assets Successful Canadian Retirees Avoid
to Protect Retirement Income
Most Canadians spend their working years focused on accumulating wealth. But retirement success isn’t just about how much you save — it’s about how well you protect what you’ve already built.
In this episode of Your Retirement Planning Simplified, I walk through the 10 assets successful Canadian retirees almost never buy, and why avoiding these common traps often matters more than picking the “perfect” investment.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is holding high-fee investment products well into retirement. Mutual funds with MERs of 2–3%, segregated funds, structured notes, and guaranteed withdrawal products all sound appealing because they promise safety or certainty. But those guarantees come at a cost — one that quietly eats away at returns and limits flexibility. In retirement, fees hurt twice: they reduce growth and directly reduce income.
Another common trap is relying too heavily on GICs and cash. While these tools absolutely have a role for short-term spending and stability, a GIC-only strategy often fails to keep up with inflation after tax. Over a 30- or 40-year retirement, that loss of purchasing power can be devastating. Successful retirees understand that preservation still requires growth — just managed thoughtfully.
Then there are speculative investments, such as crypto or concentrated stock bets. These aren’t strategies; they’re gambles. At this stage of life, losses are harder — sometimes impossible — to recover from. Successful retirees focus on evidence-based portfolios built around global diversification, discipline, and long-term reliability.
Beyond investments, lifestyle choices can quietly drain retirement cash flow. Cottages, rental properties, timeshares, and luxury vehicles often come with ongoing expenses, time commitments, and stress that retirees didn’t fully anticipate. Many financially successful retirees choose flexibility instead — renting when it makes sense, simplifying ownership, and spending money on experiences rather than liabilities.
Insurance and debt also play a major role. Permanent life insurance, for example, can be effective in very specific estate-planning situations. But for many retirees, ongoing premiums reduce spending freedom without providing meaningful benefit. Carrying consumer debt or even a mortgage into retirement creates unnecessary obligations that limit lifestyle flexibility.
What separates successful retirees isn’t just what they avoid — it’s how they think. They shift from accumulation to preservation. They value simplicity over complexity, clarity over promises, and discipline over prediction. Their plans are designed to deliver tax-efficient income, preserve purchasing power, and adapt over time.
Retirement planning isn’t about chasing the next big idea. It’s about structure, coordination, and sustainability. When you eliminate unnecessary fees, reduce complexity, and focus on what truly matters, retirement becomes less stressful — and far more enjoyable.
Learn more about our retirement planning process at MatthewsAndAssociates.ca.