April Is A Good Month To Do These Things
Bye bye winter blues. Warm weather is approaching soon (I hope). When the weather starts warming up in April my thoughts turn to spending more time outdoors. Garden centres are opening, and many campgrounds are already accepting reservations, giving us something to look forward to. This year, admission to Parks Canada is free for kids…
Read MoreWillful Review: Online Wills For $99
This is a review of Willful Wills, a digital platform where clients can create a will online for as little as $99. (Boomer & Echo readers will receive 10% off any Willful plan purchase by entering the promo code: Boomer.) Technology disrupts many industries by driving down costs and increasing accessibility. Just like how Netflix…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: What Market Volatility Edition
The first quarter of 2018 was a tough one for investors. It started on February 5th with the worst single-day point drop in history for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell 1,175 points that day. Indeed, market volatility was back and, according to some pundits, here to stay. Stock markets can be manic, prone…
Read MoreBaby Makes Three: A Boomer & Echo Financial Makeover
Megan (28) and Aaron (29) have been married almost four years. They both have well paying jobs and are living the good life. They feel that since they have little debt, are meeting their retirement savings goals, and keeping up with the bills why not have fun with their excess cash? They regularly surprise each…
Read MoreGenerating Retirement Cash Flow From Your Investments
Once you stop working your objective shifts from growing your investment portfolio to generating income from it. Many retirees obsess over generating enough retirement cash flow from their investments. They prefer a predictable stream of income to partially replace their previous salary income. Here are some strategies for getting cash flow from your retirement portfolio:…
Read MoreEndy, Casper, Bear: Three Online Mattress in a Box Companies Compared
How do you disrupt a mature, billion-dollar mattress industry? Take the mattress out of the store, put it online, and deliver it right to your door with a money-back guarantee. That’s exactly how a growing number of online direct-to-consumer start-ups led by Endy Sleep and Casper have begun to nibble away market share from traditional…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Get LIT(erate) Edition
Financial author Rob Brown, of Wealthing Like Rabbits fame, is on a cross-country financial literacy tour. His mission: target universities and colleges across the country and speak to post-secondary students, new graduates, and young alumni about the importance of financial literacy. There’s a lot of talk about developing and improving financial literacy curriculum in high…
Read MoreHow Families Can Get More Out Of The Canada Child Benefit
The Canada Child Benefit is a tax-free benefit paid monthly to eligible families. It was introduced by the federal government in July 2016, replacing the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) and the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB). The Canada Child Benefit provides a maximum annual benefit of $6,400 per child under the age of six,…
Read MoreOur Ever-Rising Grocery Bills and the Cost of Convenience
One of the reasons why our grocery bills are getting higher is our increasing reliance on convenience and pre-packaged foods. Yes, I get that they can be, well, convenient when we’re busy but let’s face it, we get lazy and unprepared and often they’re the first things we throw in the cart. The problem with…
Read MoreI Did The Math On Your Investment Fees And The Results Weren’t Pretty
A few weeks ago I invited readers to share their portfolio details with me so I could help ‘do the math’ on their investment fees. Many of you did, and the results weren’t pretty. From accounts loaded with deferred sales charges (DSCs), management expense ratios (MERs) in the high 2 percent range, and funds overlapping…
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