Posts by Robb Engen
Do You Need A Real Estate Agent to Sell Your Home?
Any real estate agent will tell you the service he or she provides is worth every penny. But in a hot real estate market like Toronto, do you really need one? According to the latest figures from the Toronto Real Estate Board, the average home sells in just 20 days, so you can see why some home…
Read MoreA Simple Way To Boost Your Retirement Savings
One of the core tenets of financial planning is to pay yourself first. Automating your savings is a painless way to save for retirement and, in all likelihood, you’ll barely notice that you’re living on less. Most experts suggest putting away 10 percent of your income for retirement, but that number might seem out of…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Cash Is King Edition
Fans of credit card rewards have seen a bunch of changes in the travel rewards space over the last 12 months, but not much has happened on the cash back side. That’s unfortunate because, in the battle for space in your wallet, banks and credit card issuers lost sight over what was really important to customers – how…
Read MoreWhy Investors Should Embrace Simple Solutions
I stumbled on a thread from Reddit’s Canadian personal finance community where a young investor sought feedback on his investment portfolio. He held a low cost and diversified portfolio consisting of seven ETFs inside his tax free savings account. The allocation was broken down like this: Canadian equity (ZCN) – 25% U.S. equity (VUN) –…
Read MoreA New Look At The RRSP vs. Mortgage Debate
Most debates over whether to pay down the mortgage or contribute to an RRSP boil down to one thing. If the interest rate on your mortgage is less than the expected return of the investments in your RRSP, then go with the RRSP. When rates are higher, then paying down the mortgage makes more sense.…
Read MoreNet Worth Update: 2014 Midyear Review
This year has been heavy on spending with not much focus on saving. The spending is purposeful, though, as we borrowed $35,000 on a line of credit to develop our basement, which will increase the value of our home. The interest rate on the line of credit is 3.5 percent, so using it to pay…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Messy Aeroplan Transition Edition
Part of the new Aeroplan credit card agreement meant that some CIBC Aerogold accounts were sold to TD. Those affected by the move were to receive a letter from TD, along with a new Aeroplan credit card, prior to June 16th when their CIBC Aerogold account would be deactivated. Related: Three Rewards Credit Cards Worth…
Read MoreManaging The Gap Between Wage Growth And Inflation
The gap between wage growth and cost of living continues to be an issue as inflation reached 2.3 percent in May, led by higher gas and energy prices. The latest Stats Canada data revealed that wages grew 1.4 percent year-over-year. That means there’s a decline in real wages when you adjust for inflation. How have…
Read More5 Lessons Learned About Investing
Five years ago I opened a discount brokerage account – transferring $25,000 from my HSBC mutual fund account to TD Waterhouse – to start investing in individual stocks. Here are 5 lessons learned about investing over the last five years: A rising tide lifts all boats I’ve learned to recognize the difference between skill and…
Read MoreWater Heater Rentals: Do Ontario Residents Get Hosed?
As an Albertan who writes a column for an Ontario-based newspaper, I’m often reminded of the many differences between our two provinces. Health care premiums, HST, and land transfer taxes aren’t part of the Alberta landscape. Another difference I’ve observed is that many Ontario residents rent a water heater for their home, but in Alberta…
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