What’s Busting Your Budget?
As our income has gone up we’ve allowed some lifestyle inflation to creep into our budget. It’s fine to indulge a guilty pleasure or to spend more on something you really enjoy, as long as it’s within reason. Here are some areas I’ve identified as potential budget busters: Cable We don’t watch a lot of…
Read MoreBuckets and Glidepaths: What to Do With Your Money After Retirement
Do you ever feel like you spend most of your life saving and saving and saving for retirement (or financial independence), worrying about how much you should have invested in stocks or bonds or mutual funds or GICs, and if it’s enough, but that what you do with your money after you reach that magical…
Read MoreBoost Income Yields With Split Shares
Many retirees are looking to boost their income through their investment portfolios. One way to boost your yield, while still maintaining a higher level of safety, is with split shares. What is a split share? A split share is a unique type of derivative investment product (also called a structured product). The “risk/reward” of common…
Read MoreCanadian Dividend Aristocrats and iShares’ CDZ
The 59 stocks that make up the Canadian dividend aristocrats are a good starting point for investors who are hunting for yield. These stocks must have increased their dividends for at least five consecutive years to make the aristocrats list. Becoming a dividend aristocrat shows that company management is committed – for better or worse…
Read MoreHow We Prepared To Live On One Income
This was my intro post for the now defunct Moneyville blog, where I wrote a column twice per week for 2 years. The blog was folded into The Star’s personal finance section in January, where I continue to write a bi-weekly column. Enjoy. As a thirty-something, single-income, two-child family, we are faced with plenty of…
Read More5 Challenges DIY Investors Face
Many investors like the “do-it-yourself” approach for one or more of the following reasons: To save money on fees They think they can do a better job than their advisor They enjoy the process Perhaps DIY investing was a lot of fun in the beginning. It felt good to fire your advisor. Maybe the prices…
Read MoreThree Rewards Credit Cards Worth A Look Today
There has been plenty of upheaval in the rewards cards space over the past 12 months. It started when TD bought MBNA Canada’s credit card business and promptly slashed the benefits on what was arguably the best cash back credit card in the country, the Smart Cash MasterCard. More recently, Capital One discontinued its Aspire…
Read MoreWhy I Save Outside Of My Defined Benefit Pension
The Financial Post featured a story recently about a man in his late 40’s who had the luxury of two defined benefit pension plans. The first pension was earned at the young age of 38, after twenty years of military service; the second plan is from his current employment with the federal government. In total,…
Read MoreThe Plight Of Generation Y
There’s been a lot discussed in the media recently about Generation Y and all the difficulties they are facing today. See this Globe and Mail article, for example. Who are these disadvantaged youngsters? There are differing time frames, but the generally acceptable one refers to the generation born during the 1980’s and early 1990’s –…
Read MoreMore Money For Beer And Textbooks Podcast
I had the pleasure of being a guest on the More Money for Beer and Textbooks podcast recently where I was interviewed by Kyle Prevost from My University Money. The topic was student banking and we talked about whether University students should get a credit card while they’re in school and what pitfalls they can…
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