Personal Finance

March is the time of the Vernal (Spring) Equinox, but we Canadians know that warm Spring weather may yet be some time away. Maybe you’ll be inspired by our Olympic athletes (record number of medals, yeah Canada!) and venture outside to do some skiing, skating or tobogganing. Not me though. I like to curl up…

February is a busy month for your personal finances. You start to think about taxes, RRSP contributions, and making good on those January resolutions. Here are a few items to consider this month. February is a good month to… 1. Get prepared for tax season You should be starting to receive your T-slips this month.…

I learned how to budget and got my finances under control back in 2009. Up until then I was like most working Canadians; my paycheque would come in, I’d pay some bills, go grocery shopping, maybe transfer some money into savings, and then (over)spend the rest on whatever. A budget not only helped track my…

If you’ve been reading this blog long enough you’ll know that I’m a big fan of behavioural finance – that is, combining psychology and economics to help us understand why we make irrational decisions about money. This relatively new field of study has produced ground breaking research and insight that has already made a big…

January rings in the New Year, a sign of optimism, and the annual promise of something new: adopting resolutions, setting goals and looking ahead. It’s also a time to reflect on the previous year. Making resolutions is common for many, but less than 40% will actually achieve what they set out to do. Nevertheless, for…

Would you prefer a lump sum of $300,000, or its equivalent monthly income stream of $1,000 for life? If $300,000 seems larger and more appealing to you than the monthly amount then you might exhibit a phenomenon known as the illusion of wealth. A 2014 study looked at the illusion of wealth and how it…

December often zooms by when you’re busy buying gifts, baking cookies, attending parties, and shovelling snow. It may be tempting to just enjoy the holiday season, but the last month of the year is also a good time to think about year-end financial planning. Luckily, you have plenty of time between now and the end…

Q. I would like to open a TFSA for my daughter, but I want to have control of it until she becomes more responsible with money. Is this something I can do? It’s great that you want to help out your daughter. You’re part of a growing trend of parents giving their children a financial…

We want to be financially free by the time I reach 45. That freedom will allow us to pursue our passions much earlier than traditional retirement age. To get there we’ll need to be debt-free and have sufficient assets and other income producing endeavours to allow me to leave full-time employment behind. Unlike some early…

Children start saving money at an early age. Eventually they will need an alternative to their piggy bank to stash their cash. One of the best ways to teach children basic money skills is to have them open a bank account. Once upon a time, youngsters would leave the bank branch proudly clutching a passbook…