Archive for August 2013
Air Travel And The Importance Of Knowing Your Rights
Anyone who’s experienced a flight delay or cancellation knows the pain these events can bring. All one’s carefully laid plans can be blown away with a simple one hour delay. You can miss your connection, your bags might not make it to the destination, and whoever is waiting for you at the other side will…
Read MoreMid-Week Reading: Book Giveaway Edition
A mid-week round-up; what the heck is going on here? I’d meant to publish our weekend reading last Friday, but when I found out it was Robert Britton’s last day of work before he retired, I just had to publish his retirement story that day. But that meant we missed revealing the winners of our…
Read More7 Ways To Get Your Kids Involved In Back To School Shopping
Sadly, the end of August means that summer days are dwindling. For families it also means that, if the kids aren’t already back to school, they soon will be. That means shelling out lots of dollars on everything from new sneaks to binders to backpacks. According to the National Retail Federation, the average U.S. family…
Read More16 Habits That Helped Me Retire Wealthy
This post was written by long time reader Robert Britton as part of our retirement series. Today is Robert’s last day of work – congratulations! Life feels long. This article gives a very brief synopsis of most of mine; and then lists a few habits that helped me along the way. I’ve never understood why…
Read MoreDividend Investing – Getting Started
Regular readers of Boomer and Echo know we are very enthusiastic about dividend investing. This strategy falls out of favour from time to time. Large dividend paying companies are generally slow growing – you need to hold them for the long term. “Buy and hold” strategies also fall out of favour in periods of good…
Read MoreWhere To Invest For Short Term Financial Goals
Interest rates on savings accounts and GICs are abysmal these days, so it can be tempting to plow all your hard earned savings into the stock market for a chance to juice your returns. But how you save and invest depends a lot on your time horizon – when will you need the money? No…
Read MoreWhy Travel Agencies Aren’t Dead Yet
Online travel agencies have been chipping away at brick and mortar agents for over a decade. Sites like Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, Kayak and any number of other competitors have been able to cut out the middleman from buying travel related products and services. Related: 3 Ways To Save On Your Next Family Vacation In the…
Read More30 Signs You Grew Up In A Frugal Family
Did you grow up in a frugal family? Not necessarily poor, but able to stretch a dollar until it cried for mercy? People who were raised by frugal parents can spot each other a mile away. I’ve compiled a list of some of the quirky habits and experiences I grew up with – and some…
Read MoreCelebrating Three Years Of Boomer & Echo
It was just over three years ago that my mom and I started putting together a collection of articles that would mark the beginning of Boomer & Echo. We didn’t have a clue about blogging or running a website (and still don’t!), but we pressed on and have written over 650 articles to date. We…
Read MoreLifetime Pension Vs. Commuted Value
Can I tell you a story? It’s a true one, and – unfortunately – it’s happened more than once. Way more than once. It may even be your story. Here goes: Sam is leaving his job, and with it his defined benefit plan. He gets a small sheaf of paper from his company, asking him…
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