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We simplify the complexities of financial growth, peak performance, and lifestyle success — guiding you personally and professionally toward a real clear path to your greatest potential.
Strategic Financial Planning and Education
Tailored solutions to build, protect, and grow your legacy with clarity and confidence.
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Guiding you through pivotal changes with structure, insight, and purpose.
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By Larry LaRose, Founder:
Hey, it’s Larry, Founder of Real Clear Path. As a former insider at the highest levels of financial services: advisor, senior bank exec, and director at an investment news corporation, I’ve constantly rubbed shoulders with stock market-listed CEOs and learned from the world’s top investment psychology experts at dozens of global behavioral science conferences. I’ve seen the same problem everywhere: people aren’t taught how to master their finances. Schools skip essentials like budgeting, savings plans, or dollar-cost averaging, leaving graduates in debt, misusing credit, and clueless about wealth-building basics. The financial industry often compounds this, with “advisors” prioritizing sales over real guidance. At Real Clear Path, we change that. My mission is to empower you with clear, actionable knowledge, rooted in trust and transparency. We create a custom roadmap together, using plain language and a tailored checklist to align every step with your goals. Your updatable personalized PDF money management guidebook evolves with you, whether you’re a young professional, pre-retiree, or expat chasing short-term wins or long-term growth.
We cap our client list to focus deeply on your success, building lasting partnerships. Ready to take control and thrive unbound? Book a free Clarity Call at realclearpath.com and let’s forge your financial future.
Founder’s Message: A Better Way Forward
Real. Clear. Path. Commentary:
November 14, 2025:
North American Trade Tango: Tariffs, Tangles, and the Road Ahead
We've got tariffs spiking like a bad breakup, a Canadian budget that's more smoke than fire, and jobs reports that feel like participation trophies.
Let's unpack it logically, from the neighborly feud to the global side-eye, and why it's time to forge your own path amid the chaos.
Start with the heart of it: Canada and the US, the world's biggest bilateral trade partners, clocking $1.2 trillion annually under USMCA. But 2025? It's been a rollercoaster. Back in March, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on most Canadian imports, citing fentanyl flows across the northern border as a "national emergency" under IEEPA. Energy and potash got a lighter 10% hit, but autos, steel, and lumber felt the sting, non-USMCA goods especially. Canada fired back with retaliatory tariffs on US vehicles and content, challenging it at the WTO. By August, Trump hiked Canada's rate to 35%, then tacked on another 10% in October after a Reagan-voiced anti-tariff ad aired during the World Series. As of now, it's up to 45% on non-compliant goods, exempting most USMCA-qualifying stuff. The result? Canadian exports to the US are down 1.5% year-to-date, tourism is plummeting 20%, and supply chains are scrambling.
Ford even threatened to cut electricity exports, which would have spiked US bills. Yet, USMCA holds. 81% of imports qualify for duty-free entry, and talks for a "new economic and security relationship" kicked off post-Carney's April election win. It's tense, but not broken; think frenemies who can't quit each other.
Now, zoom out to Brazil, where I'm splitting time in Rio. Lula's crew is howling about Trump's 50% tariffs on most Brazilian goods, effective August 1, the highest rate yet, tied to the "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro and "unfair trade." Beef, coffee, steel? Hammered, though exemptions for aircraft, energy, and fertilizers soften the blow. Brazil's exports to the US dropped 15% in Q3, and Lula's promising "reciprocity" while pivoting to China (28% of exports now). Hypocrisy alert: Brazil's been protectionist forever, slapping big tariffs + 20-35% import duties on everything from cars to electronics, shielding local industries like a fortress. Yet when Trump mirrors it at 50%, it's a "threat to sovereignty." Come on. Rio's markets thrive on diversification, not double standards. Lula wants a deal, but with BRICS ties deepening, expect more posturing than progress.
Meanwhile, the US is deal-making like it's Black Friday. Fresh off the November 4 Kuala Lumpur Joint Arrangement with China, slashing fentanyl-related tariffs by 10% (effective Nov 10), suspending reciprocal hikes till 2026, and unlocking US soybeans plus rare earth exports. Trump's tour is yielding wins. The Senate nixed the Brazil tariffs on October 28 (bipartisan slap, with G.O.P. crossovers), and whispers of USMCA renewal in 2026 include auto exemptions. Add the UK's finalized trade pact (zero tariffs on 99% goods) and Vietnam's investment surge ($15B FDI Q3), and America's flexing: GDP humming at 3% Q3, unemployment 4.2%, while global partners line up.
Back home, Canada's federal Budget 2025, tabled November 4 as "Canada Strong" promised generational investments but delivered a $78B deficit bomb, up from $52B last year and 116% bigger than forecast. Critics like Pierre Poilievre call it "Trudeau 2.0 on steroids": $141B in new spending over five years, but 64% on consumption handouts (transfers, subsidies) vs. 36% capital. No corporate tax relief, a measly 1.4-point investment deduction, and $76B in debt charges by 2030. Public service "cuts"? Just 40,000 retirements shuffled, no real layoffs, despite bloating to 368,000. Indigenous leaders slam gaps in health, education, and reconciliation funding. Analysts say it's a missed shot at productivity revival.
Canada's per capita GDP lags 10-12% below 2019, the G7 worst. Instead of bold tax reform or regulatory slash, it's optics over overhaul, leaving provinces like Alberta struggling over housing strains from rapid immigration. Pile on the November 8 jobs report: 25,000 net gains, but dig in: 70% part-time, minimum wage gigs in retail and services, zero benefits, no pensions. Unemployment steady at 6.9%, but youth hit 13.2%, and full-time roles? Flatlined. It's "growth" on paper, but for young pros and pre-retirees, it's gig economy scraps amid 175% debt-to-income ratios. Immigration drove 98% of the population bump since 2015, yet productivity stagnates. Numerical wins, real losses.
From Vancouver's fog, this screams one thing: borders blur, but personal paths don't. Tariffs test ties, budgets bust banks, jobs fake progress, but you? Diversify smart, build skills that travel, cut the debt drag. Fee-only planning isn't hype; it's your unbound edge.
Ready to map yours? Book a free Clarity Call at realclearpath.com. Let's thrive while the headlines tangle.
Sources: Reuters: Trump Raises Tariffs on Canada (Oct 25, 2025)
The Guardian: Canada Budget Adds $78B Deficit (Nov 5, 2025)
Statistics Canada: Jobs Report November 2025
Al Jazeera: Trump Singles Out Brazil for 50% Tariffs (Jul 9, 2025)
White House: US-China Kuala Lumpur Deal (Nov 4, 2025)
Financial Post: Budget 2025 Good, Bad, Ugly (Nov 6, 2025)