Regardless of gender or education level, most people become considerably less literate when it comes to handling money issues after age 60, according to a recent study.

The issue is that retirees with significant cognitive deficits will have problems making sound financial decisions. They may make investment mistakes that cause losses in their retirement accounts that will reduce their retirement incomes and standards of living.

Or, even worse, unscrupulous advisors might take advantage of them by selling them imappropriate investments, or one with excessive commissions -- somethiong that's more more easily done when decisionmaking abilities and the grasp of financial concepts are diminished.

But reports that aging clients may not be able to make sound financial decisions because of declining  cognitive skills may be overstated, maintains Laura Carstensen, head of Stanford University’s Center on Longevity.

Life happens.

And with it, so do unforeseen hardships.

That's why it is always good to be proactive and have a plan.

A new report by BMO Wealth Institute reveals that while many Canadians have a financial plan in place, very few have considered what would happen if unexpected life events arose that could cause financial hardships.

Young money.

According to a new report from BMO Economics, Canada's youth will have more spending power than their parents over their lifetime.

Years ago, it seemed the younger you were, the worse off you were.

But now it seems the kids will be all right.

Every Wednesday, Patrick McKeough, editor of The Successful Investor publishes his “Investor Toolkit” series on his TSI Network. These weekly updates are designed to offer specific investment advice ... which you can accept or ignore as you like.

Written in jargon-free English, each update provides a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.

Last week, for instance, McKeough warned about some of the dangers in putting too much faith in a company's history of dividend payments. Too many investors think of a stock with a good dividend history as the next best thing to a government bond.

Minor hockey is over and, although summer and soccer are still a few weeks away, weary parents have to decide soon which sports camps their kids are going to sign up for -- and for how long.

The cost of sending your son or daughter away for a week or more can be daunting. Some parents simply need a babysitter but, for many, it’s all about helping talented kids realize their potential. And the sky is the limit in that case.

And, as Mark Hyman documents in recent book, The Most Expensive Game in Town, the lengths to which many parents go in pursuit of that vision can turn it into a nightmare. 

How much are parents plunking down to send Johnny to that hockey camp or to support Tamara's golf aspirations? A lot, says Hyman, who laments what he calls the over-commercialization of children's athletics.

Shopping, reading, gaming, working, researching, banking. 

Today we do just about everything from the convenience of our computers.

As a matter of fact, Canadians spend an average of 30 hours per week connecting to the online world.

So it's no wonder that more and more Canadians are investing online too.

When it comes to retirement, baby boomers seem to be favouring lifestyle choices over wealth preservation, quite a different path compared to the generations that came before them, according to recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey.

The study found that retirement has been redefined – with people expecting to live and often work longer than any preceding generation, and taking different approaches to preparing for and living their best life during these years.

Most are seeking flexible work arrangements, such as part-time work (39%) or going back and forth between periods of work and leisure (24%), but not always for the same reasons.

Most boomers have "mixed feelings about living longer and transitioning into retirement," said Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave, the group that conducted the research.

"While they welcome the extra time to pursue new interests and spend more time with family and friends, they are concerned about outliving their assets and experiencing a serious health disruption. Even those who have saved adequately can be anxious and often overwhelmed by this complexity and the unknowns they face."

Swiping, waiting and then having your debit card declined is one of the most stomach churning moments you’ll ever experience. If you don’t have the money in the bank, you’re now exposed as a forgetful idiot ... or worse. 

And even if it’s a bank error, that red-faced "what?" is still going to attract impatient, if not judgmental looks from those behind you -- which can be a problem for some people.

After all, many of us our self-esteem, identity or feelings of self-worth wrapped up in financial matters – all of which makes dealing with awkward money incidents particularly unsettling.

So much so that 48 per cent of consumers admit they've avoided someone or a particular situation that involved money because they knew it would likely get messy.

Getting a large tax refund each year simply means you’ve remitted too much tax to the Canada Revenue Agency throughout the year, essentially giving the government an interest-free loan.

That’s a bad idea, says Tim Cestnick, author of 101 Tax Secrets for Canadians.

While many employees understand that there’s a cost to overpaying taxes throughout the year, the idea of receiving a refund can be appealing since many view it as forced savings or found money. But it’s still a mistake, Cestnick maintains.

And getting it upfront from a tax discounter, by cheque or loaded onto a debit card, is likely worse. That's because it comes with a catch — a fee that can be as high as 15 per cent of the refund in certain cases — which, when you think of it, is a rather dim way to access your own money.

While you're teaching your kids about the ABCs and 123s, make sure you throw in some saving and investing tips.

It's never too early to start teaching your children basic money know-how that will give them the foundation to build some financial savvy for the future.

Serge Pepin, vice president, Investment Strategy, BMO Asset Management, says, "The sooner parents start talking to their kids about money, the better prepared they will be when they start saving and investing for the future.

"Even very young children can benefit from learning basic investing skills and the importance of setting financial goals."