Weekend Reading: Housing Buys, Booms, and Busts Edition
Check out this fantastic piece by Financial Post reporter Garry Marr on wild tales of buys, booms, and busts in the Canadian housing market – including a video interview with 100-year-old Ralph Etigson who discusses his housing purchases in Toronto over the last 75 years. Mr. Etigson bought a bungalow for $3,500 in 1945, sold it…
Read MoreGood Habits In Fitness And Finance
Recently I’ve become more aware about how often I sit throughout the day. Research even suggests that too much sitting can be worse for you than smoking. I sit a lot! Since I work in an office environment, I can be sitting at my desk for hours during the day and then come home and…
Read MoreDIY Investing: How Successful Are You?
Many of our readers are DIY investors and, with the multitude of financial blogs and online information available, there is obviously a huge growing interest in managing your own investment portfolios. Investment do-it-yourselfers generally fall into two categories: Investors aiming to reduce fees. Over the last several years the media reports of high and hidden…
Read MoreDeceptive and Misleading Advertisements
It drives me nuts when I see deceptive and misleading advertisements in the financial services and investment industry. Personal finance can be complicated enough without having to bring a lawyer and a magnifying glass with you to interpret the fine print of every deal. Worse, still, is that many consumers take the bait without fully…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: New Look Edition
Our blog got a bit of a makeover during the holiday season thanks to Justin Bouchard at Top Shelf Web Solutions. We’ll call it a new look and feel, but with a layout similar to the old design so readers won’t get lost while navigating around the site. Let us know what you think of the update, and give…
Read MoreThe Index Card: Book Review and Giveaway
Last year, author Carl Richards taught readers to simplify their finances with The One-Page Financial Plan. Now comes The Index Card by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack – a financial plan boiled down to nine simple rules that fits in your pocket and can help you navigate the all too often complex world of personal finance and investing.…
Read MoreMy 2015 Portfolio Rate of Return
Every year I track my portfolio rate of return to see how my investments measure up to specific benchmarks. Prior to 2015 I invested primarily in Canadian dividend paying stocks and measured my stock-picking prowess against the iShares Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF (CDZ). Last year I sold all of my dividend stocks ($100,000 in…
Read More16 Financial Habits For A Prosperous New Year
A Fidelity Investments study discovered that setting specific financial goals does help get your fiscal house in order. 56% of those surveyed said their finances had improved, a much better result than most New Year’s resolutions. Give yourself a financial checkup and see where you can improve your saving and spending habits. Here are 16…
Read MoreHow Much Do You Really Need To Retire?
I’ve given you the challenge of thinking about what sort of retirement lifestyle you want to have. You’ve also determined, as well as you can, what income you may be likely to receive when you retire. It’s quite frustrating to try to figure out how much money you will need for your desired retirement. How…
Read MoreNet Worth Update: 2015 Year-End Review
With 2015 wrapping up I wanted to take the time to update my net worth statement and check in on my financial progress. It’s another year down and another year closer to achieving my goal of becoming a millionaire by 41, and reaching financial freedom by 2025. Even though I’ve been frustrated that the past…
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