Posts by Robb Engen
Weekend Reading: End Of Summer Edition
Our kids go back to school next week and so this officially marks the last weekend of summer for parents. We’re very excited to have a brand new elementary school open this year right down the street from us, which means no more early mornings waiting for the bus. Our oldest enters grade three this…
Read MoreRedeem Aeroplan Miles For Flight Rewards: 7 Experts Share Their Secrets
I’ve earned a ton of Aeroplan miles over the last 24 months from credit card sign-up bonuses and Air Canada flights. With my balance now hovering around 165,000 miles, I’m starting to ponder how to extract the most value from the loyalty program. From years of research I know it’s best to redeem Aeroplan miles…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Canadian Financial Summit Edition
The good folks at Young & Thrifty have put together an awesome initiative called the Canadian Financial Summit. It’s a unique online conference taking place September 14-16 with more than 25 Canadian personal finance experts sharing their insights, tips, and secret money hacks. The conference is completely free to view during that time, or you…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Simplii Financial Edition
President’s Choice Financial will end its 20-year banking agreement with CIBC beginning November 1st. CIBC, which managed the personal banking services for Loblaws under the PC Financial name, will now take direct control of the roughly $2 million PC Financial bank accounts under the new name – Simplii Financial. PC Financial is keeping its credit…
Read MoreThe Problem With Core And Explore
A core and explore investing approach can give you a taste of both passive and active strategies. The idea being that you put 90 percent of your portfolio into a low-cost, broadly diversified set of index funds or ETFs, and then put the remaining 10 percent of your portfolio into investments that have potential to…
Read MoreDo You Always Get What You Pay For?
“This $6 bottle of wine tastes awful.” “What did you expect – you get what you pay for.” It’s true, in most circumstances, that the quality of products and services increases as the price increases. You get what you pay for. When you cheap out on something, be it a bottle of wine, pair of…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: 7 Years Of Blogging Edition
We started this personal finance blog seven years ago – on August 10, 2010 to be precise. Blog years are like dog years, and seven years is an incredible amount of time to be blogging. We’re still going strong, and that’s in no small part thanks to you, our readers, for continuing to follow along…
Read More38 Thoughts On Turning 38
I turned 38 today and I wanted to share some random thoughts about money and life, along with some lessons I’ve learned along the way. 38 thoughts on money and life 1. Start the habit of saving when you’re young – I started putting money away for retirement when I was 19 years-old. Every paycheque…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Longevity Risk Edition
Longevity risk, or the risk of outliving your money, is the biggest threat facing the majority of retirees. As gold-plated company pensions slowly disappear, millions of Canadians must carefully manage their retirement nest-eggs (on their own, or with the help of an advisor) to make sure they have enough to meet their needs as they…
Read MoreWhy You Should Avoid Mortgage Life Insurance
If you own your home, chances are you were offered mortgage life insurance from your bank. This type of insurance is sold by the banks as a flexible, low-cost way to protect one of your largest financial obligations. If you die, get a terminal illness, or suffer an accident, your mortgage life insurance can pay…
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