Posts Tagged ‘Personal Finance’

I know it can be tough to save money. It’s even more difficult to up the ante and save more year-after-year. But saving is necessary to meet both our short-and-long term financial goals. Without any savings, you’ll live paycheque-to-paycheque (or worse) every month with no retirement plan whatsoever. Related: Retirement planning for late starters So…

Should you contribute to your RRSP or your TFSA? It’s one of the most frequently asked questions here and on other financial forums, yet the answers couldn’t be more divided. Furthermore, there is a growing sentiment among Canadians that somehow RRSPs are a government scam because you’ll be forced to pay tax on any withdrawals…

I’m a self-proclaimed rewards card junkie and always try to optimize my purchases to get the most points or cash back on regular spending. I watch for juicy credit card welcome bonuses and time my new credit applications around big annual purchases like our home or auto insurance so I can easily meet any minimum…

Economists have long argued that, given the choices available, people will make rational decisions that provide them with the greatest benefit or satisfaction. Then behavioural economics, led by the likes of Daniel Kahneman and Richard Thaler, came along and showed how people behave irrationally all the time due to psychological, cognitive, and emotional factors. For…

One of the first issues that couples face in a serious relationship is how to handle their finances. Dividing up the household bills is one thing, but what happens when one partner brings other financial baggage – such as credit card or student loan debt – into the equation? In marriage, what’s yours is technically…

I’ve made my share of bad financial decisions over the years, but nothing feels worse than when a salesperson convinces you to buy something that’s not in your best interest. These kinds of rip-offs usually occur when one party has more or better information than the other. Think about the first time you bought a…

The financial services industry takes a keen interest in promoting financial literacy as a do-good service for Canadians. November is Financial Literacy month, and the big banks and their PR machine are busy pushing out survey after survey explaining why Canadians are struggling to save. The situation is dire, according to many economists and financial…

Anyone born before 1990 should remember Columbia House – the “world’s largest record club” – whose claim to fame was offering dirt-cheap music upfront to members who joined its mail-order subscription service. The company made billions by using something called ‘negative option billing’, a process by which the customer agrees to have goods or services…

There are some fees we just love to hate and so we try to avoid them at all costs. Whether it’s bank fees, credit card annual fees, or late fees at the library, the idea of voluntarily paying a fee is anathema to anyone with a frugal mind. But some fees can be worthwhile if…

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…