Weekend Reading: Do What You Love Edition

I’ve long been a proponent that people should pursue their dreams and not settle for a less-than-inspiring career. However, in many cases, doing what you love doesn’t necessarily put food on the table or pay the bills.

Take this woman, recently featured in the Financial Post, who wanted to quit her public sector career at 54-years-old in order to become a full-time artist. Simply put, she doesn’t have the means to up-and-quit her job tomorrow, but the simple solution is to begin pursuing her passion on the side. As someone in the comments section so eloquently put it, “take what you love…..and do it on the weekends.”

For those determined to take the plunge and become a full-time entrepreneur, check out this amazing infographic that shows why people choose to become entrepreneurs, how successful start-ups like Pinterest, Instagram, and Airbnb were created, and why it’s never too late to start.

This week’s recap:

I’ve been busy behind the scenes trying to put together the largest giveaway in Canadian personal finance blogger history (source: unconfirmed). To date, we’ve received 45 prizes with a total value close to $3,500.

We’ll be launching the giveaway contest on August 10th – which happens to be Boomer & Echo’s 5th anniversary. We’re excited to have so many amazing prizes and that we can reward so many of our loyal readers with a huge giveaway. Stay tuned.

On Monday I shared the FPSC’s most recent projections for inflation and investment returns. These numbers are useful for retirement planning, just remember to factor in fees and inflation to see your real return.

On Wednesday Marie wrote about financial scams that target the elderly. Helaine Olen, author of Pound Foolish, recently wrote in a column for Slate that the shameful problem of elder financial abuse is only going to get worse.

On Friday we shared a guest post from Dividend Earner about the birth of his dividend stock list.

Finally, thanks to Rob Carrick for linking to my article on pairing a robo-advisor with a fee-only financial planner.

Weekend Reading:

Remember to follow our Weekend Reading magazine on FlipBoard – that’s where I bookmark all of the interesting articles on personal finance and investing. There was a lot of great material to choose from for this edition of weekend reading, so let’s get to it:

What’s keeping this 30-year-old super saver from buying a home? He doesn’t feel comfortable buying in today’s housing market.

Watch Democratic Senator and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren humiliate the President of Primerica, who was brought to congress by the Republicans to defend the opposition to financial regulations, including instituting a best-interest duty of care for advisors.

Chartered Accountant and author David Trahair explains why his retirement portfolio is in 100% fixed income products.

Can you trust your advisor? Pattie Lovett-Reid shares some key signs your advisor might not be that into you.

MoneySense shares 10 telltale signs that you’re financially stable enough to retire.

Early retirement blogger Tim Stobbs answers the question: what’s the point of early retirement?

CMHC announced new rules to make it easier for homeowners to rent out property.

In light of my recent poor travel experience with a rental company, I was interested to read Young and Thrifty’s comparison of Airbnb vs. FlipKey – an accommodation service owned by TripAdvisor.

If you’ve ever tried and failed at budgeting then Sandi Martin has a message for you.

Carl Richards says you need to consider your emotional balance sheet when faced with hard-to-quantify financial choices.

Blogger John Robertson put together a cool personal finance reading guide with book selections broken down into categories such as get out of debt, general, and how to invest.

A contrite Nelson Smith at Financial Uproar wonders what happens if interest rates stay low for a long time?

A subject near-and-dear to me right now – how to teach your children about money – is tackled by Ben Carlson at A Wealth of Common Sense.

As a father of daughters, I’m well aware of the gender gap when it comes to salary and career growth. This article looks at how to prepare our daughters for the negotiation backlash.

Tim Cestnick explains why tax-free savings accounts play a key role in estate planning.

A great explanation from John Heinzl about the varying distributions of a dividend ETF like iShares CDZ, which follows the Canadian Dividend Aristocrats.

Some research from Vanguard about the 4% safe withdrawal rule in retirement.

Michael James on Money reviewed Your Retirement Income Blueprint, written by retirement advisor Daryl Diamond.

Big Cajun Man says that more Canadians have pensions today, which is surprising until you see the shift away from defined benefit plans and into defined contribution plans or hybrid pension plans that move the risk from employer to employee.

Finally, Daniel Teo explains how to unlock a vault of free entertainment from your local library.

Have a great long weekend, everyone!