Members are invited to send personal finance inquiries to the MoneySaver
office. MoneySaver's staff will then relay the inquiry to the appropriate
expert.
Make certain that your membership number (ID) follows your full name at the
end of your inquiry. Without this data your questions will not be reviewed.
Members have the ease of sending inquiries directly from the website - see
the "Ask a Question" page.
You can also read a sampling of previously published questions and
answers from the "Ask the Experts" column in Canadian MoneySaver (see "Questions
and Answers").
We receive lots of queries. We receive lots of financial propositions. We
receive lots of research demands.
Will we respond to all of these requests? No! However, if you want us to review
your submission, you must identify yourself as a member before we'll examine
your correspondence.
If you send us an e-mail directly from the "Ask the Experts" section on our
website, then your membership ID is not required as the e-mail message flags it.
In all other cases, it must be included - or we do nothing. (Just mentioning that
you are a member doesn't cut it - we don't have the time to search out your
membership status.)
These inquiries, of course, generate the resultant text for the very popular "Ask the Experts" column. It is here that you can read loads of advice to
members who have followed our guidelines. So, we do welcome your input.
A few members have abused this valuable service. For example, if you request a
response to the same question from more than one of our experts, you are
thoughtlessly overloading a very active program.
Please read the following correspondence to understand the reasons why the
sender did not receive a response:
 I have a few questions regarding SPPs...
The series of questions would require a detailed response/article to address
them. (Transfer agents can answer such questions by calling them toll-free.)
Plus, the question was sent to Brian Quinlan whose area of expertise is tax!
How do I sell
shares held in a DRIP?
The methods available have been previously discussed – and remain on our website
in the DRIP section, which is available to all members.
I plan early
retirement. Analyze my portfolio.
Personal financial counselling can not be provided in this short-answer column.
I am writing this explanation for your understanding so that we can work
together to improve this process. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Dale Ennis
The following is an example of an inappropriate question for "Ask
the Experts".
My wife and I purchased a lot 3 years ago in Gibsons, B.C. where we now live
on another property in the same town. I am trying to decide which is the
greatest tax advantage at this time. My choices are to:
Sell our current residence, and build a new home on the lot we own and move in
as our principal residence.
OR
Sell the lot and our current home and find another home that is more suited to
our needs.
What federal taxes and provincial taxes are involved in each case and any other
costs that should be considered.
This was the response from our expert.
Your question is extremely complex and there are many variables to consider. I
would not attempt an answer as you are asking for more than information, you are
asking for advice and for multiple jurisdictional compliance issues. This
request is way beyond the scope and nature of an
'Ask the Experts' Q&A.
If you need tax planning assistance of this nature, I recommend you contact a
local CGA in your area to do a tax plan, which will probably take a few days to
work out all of the consequences with your assistance. Anyone who gives you a
short answer is giving you a short shift.
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