You get what you pay for.
The Smith Manoeuvre has been in continuous operation by Canadian homeowners for around forty years and since its development by Fraser Smith, has been embraced by thousands of households.
Embraced to the extent that some people have even created their own Smith Manoeuvre calculators for free public dissemination.
While we applaud these enthusiastic efforts at helping to inform Canadians about the value of the strategy, we must caution homeowners on relying on such calculators to make their determination on whether, and by how much, the strategy will benefit them.
Naturally, being able to see your projected net benefit is important when undertaking the decision to implement the strategy.
It is a calculable and valuable exercise to see:
- whether your amortization will be reduced by five years or by 15 years,
- if your tax relief will be in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars,
- whether your projected investment portfolio will be in the hundreds of thousands or in the millions of dollars.
Who wouldn’t want to know this?
The Smith Manoeuvre is not an overly complex financial strategy but there are a number of moving parts considering we’re dealing with:
- mortgage math,
- investing calculations
- and, last but certainly not least, taxation and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Just because on the surface you can’t see these parts moving in the background doesn’t mean they are not critical – they are all tied together.
One small calculation error along the way can compound into a big deviation from accurate forecasts.
The official Smithman Calculator at smithmanoeuvre.com has been steadily developed over the years and confirmed by the offices of a Certified Professional Accountant.
When you’re dealing with something as important as your family’s financial security, go to the source.
