Financial Planning Simplified
I’m Robb — the guy behind Boomer & Echo. I’ve been a personal finance blogger since 2010 and an advice-only financial planner since 2015. I help regular Canadians with regular problems make smarter decisions about their money — without selling them a thing.
My philosophy is simple: Money shouldn’t be complicated.
You don’t need 17 bank accounts, 12 ETFs, or a side hustle to retire comfortably. You just need a good plan, grounded in what really matters to you.
By reading this website you're joining more than 250,000 people who stop by here every month to get tips on how to save money, invest well, and retire comfortably. And, if you choose to subscribe and receive new posts by email, you'll join a growing list of more than 12,000 email subscribers who are the first to get these tips sent straight to their inbox.
New Articles from Robb
Net Worth Update: 2017 Mid-Year Review
Robb Engen | June 25, 2017 |
We’re nearly halfway through the year and so it’s time for my bi-annual net worth update and review for 2017. I was happy to surpass the $500,000 net worth milestone last year and, after paying off our car loan in October, looked forward to cranking up our savings rate and refilling our TFSAs this year….
Weekend Reading: The Canada Project Edition
Robb Engen | June 24, 2017 |
The Canada Project, a survey launched by Maclean's to mark Canada's 150th birthday, explores what Canadians love about their country, and what they'd like to see improve. There's some fascinating information coming out of the survey: how we feel about travel and transportation, about our patriotic drinking habits, and why we hate Nickelback. Several other…
From The Boomer & Echo Mailbag: Understanding Withholding Taxes On Foreign Investments
Boomer | June 22, 2017 |
Q. What types of foreign investments can Canadian investors invest in their RRSP, TFSA and Non-Registered accounts that don’t charge withholding taxes? Canadian investors get enormous benefit from diversifying their portfolios with U.S. and international stocks, but it can come at a cost – foreign withholding taxes. In a nutshell, many foreign countries including the…
The Hierarchy Of Financial Needs
Boomer | June 20, 2017 |
If you’ve ever taken a psychology course you may be familiar with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In ascending order, the needs are: Physiological Safety Social / Belonging Esteem / Achievement Self-Actualization / Reaching your potential The theory states that people need to fulfill their basic needs before devoting energy to the higher levels. So,…
How We Save For A Spend-y Summer
Robb Engen | June 18, 2017 | Comments Off on How We Save For A Spend-y Summer
Pay yourself first. It’s one of the core tenets of personal finance. Treat your savings like an obligation – your number one priority, in fact – and you can spend what’s left in your bank account guilt-free. I’m a bit of a misfit when it comes to saving money. I don’t actually pay myself first…
Weekend Reading: Checking In On My Goals Edition
Robb Engen | June 17, 2017 |
We're almost halfway through 2017 already and it's a good time to reflect on my financial goals for the year and check in on my progress. To summarize, I wanted to max-out all of my unused RRSP contribution room, start catching up on TFSA contributions, pay off our home equity line of credit, max-out the…
