Newsletter - Feb 2026 Edition

Feb Blogs, Gems from the Web, and advice from The Wealthy Barber 💰

February 28, 2026

Welcome!

Welcome to the February 2026 edition of the ThinkTalk Newsletter.

What's Inside:

  • 💡 February blog posts

  • 🌟 Quote of the Month

  • 🔍 Gems from the Web

  • 📚 Book Notes: "The Wealthy Barber"

THIS MONTH’S BLOG POSTS

Succession Planning For Business Owners

Succession planning isn’t just about retirement … it’s about protecting your company’s value, your family, and your team if you choose to sell, transfer, or step away.

Corporate Owned Life Insurance For CCPCs

How corporate-owned life insurance works, what’s usually deductible, what happens on death, and what triggers tax when you access cash value during your lifetime.

Spousal RRSP: Rules, Benefits, and Tax Traps

Done right, it can reduce lifetime tax, smooth retirement income between spouses, and help manage benefits.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.”

— Edward R. Murrow

Most things in business (and life) that trip us up are not hidden. They sit there in plain sight.

Cash flow was tight for months. The team was stretched. A key client was unhappy. We felt it. We knew it. But we told ourselves it would sort itself out. It doesn’t.

The longer we delay the obvious, the more pain it causes.

If something keeps coming up in your mind, it is probably not random. It’s probably the thing you need to address now.

GEMS FROM THE WEB

How AI Could Transform the World for the Better - by Anthropic’s Founder (Dario)

Canada is in the midst of what is (so far) the second-worst price decline for inflation-adjusted home prices going back to 1975. What does this mean for you?

“In preparation for retirement, most people spend 90% of their planning time on the financial issues and 10% on the non-financial issues. After retirement, the ratio reverses, and most retirees spend the vast majority of their time focusing on the non-financial issues of life.”

Shareholder loans and loans to family members at 3%; Interest on overdue tax at 7%; plus more.

“When experts are wrong, it's often because they're experts on an earlier version of the world.” Paul Graham’s essay from 2014 … equally relevant today.

BOOK NOTES

“The Wealthy Baber” (2025 edition) by David Chilton

This month, we dive into "The Wealthy Barber" by David Chilton. A plain-language reminder that building wealth is less about brilliance and more about behaviour. Simple rules followed for a long time.

Key Takeaways

- 💰 Pay Yourself First: Save before you spend. Not what is left over. Set aside a fixed percentage automatically and adjust your lifestyle around what remains.

- 📈 Consistency Beats Complexity: You do not need exotic investments. A disciplined plan. Broad diversification. Regular contributions. Time does most of the heavy lifting.

- 🧾 Understand the Basics: RRSPs. TFSAs. FHSAs. Mortgages. Wills. Insurance. The fundamentals are not exciting. But ignoring them is expensive.

- 🕰 Start Early. Stay Steady: Compounding rewards patience. The biggest mistake is waiting for the “perfect” time. The second biggest is stopping when markets feel uncomfortable.

- 🛑 Lifestyle Creep Is Sneaky: Income rises. Expenses follow. Wealth does not. Guard the gap between what you earn and what you keep.

There is nothing flashy in this book. That is the point.

Wealth usually grows the way a tree does. Slowly. Quietly. Almost boringly. Until one day you look up and realize it has been working the whole time.

Power to you,

Think Team 🙏

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