Personal Finance
10 Financial Lessons To Share With Friends
The personal finance community can be a bit of an echo chamber, reinforcing and repeating the same ideas on how to save, invest, and spend our money. This sort of tribalism can be intimidating for outsiders who are eager to learn but afraid to ask questions or know where to start, especially when it comes…
Read More8 Habits That Are Killing Your Retirement Dreams
A growing number of Canadians plan on working longer because they haven’t saved enough for retirement. We see it at a macro-level; Canadian households owe a record $1.69 in debt for every dollar of disposable income, meanwhile the personal savings rate in Canada stands at a paltry 3.4 percent. There are plenty of reasons why…
Read MoreIs A Sweet Offer Enticing You To Switch Banks? Think Again
Canada’s big banks are trying to lure new customers to switch banks this summer by offering juicy incentives such as free iPads or hundreds of dollars in cash back. Don’t take the bait. To get the sweet bonus you’ll have to sign up for an expensive monthly plan, and/or apply for other products such as…
Read MoreFinancing A Vehicle? Here Are Some Pitfalls To Avoid
Information asymmetry occurs when one party in a transaction has more or better information than the other. I can’t think of a situation where this imbalance of power is more often on display than when it comes to buying a car. Think about it. The salesperson shows you a couple of vehicles, you take one…
Read MoreThe (Renewed) Case For GICs
**This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of EQ Bank. However, as always, all opinions are my own. A guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) is unlikely to spark an exciting dinner party conversation but when stock markets are reeling, like they were earlier this year, investors often seek safe havens to wait out…
Read MoreShould An Allowance Be Tied To Chores?
Raising financially savvy children is important to me and I’ve found that the best way for my kids to learn about money is to give them an allowance. One of the first questions my wife and I asked each other – after determining how much to give and how often – was whether the allowance should…
Read MoreFinancial Freedom 45 Update: Still On Target
It’s been two years since we’ve checked in on my freedom 45 goals. I’m happy to report that we’re still on track and financial independence is only six-and-a-half years away! Financial freedom to me doesn’t necessarily mean retirement – more like the ability for me pursue other opportunities without the constraints of full-time employment. I’m…
Read MoreDear Generation X: Here’s How To Fix Your Finances
The number of financial responsibilities facing Generation X – those ages 37 to 52 today – seems overwhelming. Getting married, having kids, and raising a family can be expensive enough. Now factor in building an emergency fund, paying down the mortgage, setting aside money for retirement, saving for your child’s education, and everything else that…
Read MoreMoney Trade-Offs And Opportunity Costs
Newly engaged Jared and Maryam are excited to be planning their future wedding. The average cost of a wedding in Canada in 2017 was over $42,000. That’s a lot of money for a party. They could go all out and have the wedding of their dreams and conform to what’s expected of them. Or, they…
Read MoreMay Is A Good Month To Do These Things
In the early 1990’s, a phrase came into being: “The Mother of all….” to mean the ultimate. This is a nod to the power of motherhood. Mother’s Day is a salute to all moms. Caring children make it a point to pamper their mothers with gifts, brunch or breakfast in bed. Sales of cards break…
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