Archive for November 2013
Weekend Reading: Because Money Edition
We recorded episode three of the Because Money video podcast on Wednesday and welcomed special guest Kerry K. Taylor, the blogger behind Squawkfox.com, to the program to discuss frugal Christmas gifts, the “one toy in, one toy out” rule, and money saving tactics at the grocery store. You’d think after three episodes I’d be a…
Read MoreOwning Your Home Vs. Renting
Owning your own home has always been an important part of the Canadian dream, but times they are a-changin’. The high cost of housing in many major cities and the more transient nature of the workforce often make people rethink this choice. Related: How much house can I afford? If you’ve already made the decision…
Read MoreFirst Time Home Buyer: HBP Or TFSA?
It can be a challenge for first time home buyers to come up with a down payment. With soaring Canadian real estate prices, crippling student loan debt, and low starting salaries, it can take years to save the required minimum down payment. Canadians do have some options to help them buy their first home. This…
Read MoreReader Challenge: Take A Day Off To Work On Your Finances
Many of us suffer from financial inertia because we can’t seem to find the time or desire to deal with our money problems. We put off decisions that, with some careful planning and research, could save us hundreds of dollars per year. So what if I told you that you could save $1,000 or more…
Read MoreWhat Is Your Investing Style?
Whether you are a do-it-yourself investor or you rely on a financial advisor you have an overall strategy of choosing your investments based on your profile, risk tolerance and beliefs that will enable you to achieve your objectives. Related: 5 Challenges DIY Investors Face What investing style fits you? Index investing An index is a…
Read MoreScore One For Active Management? Check Out These Index Beating Funds
The top mutual funds have trounced the Canadian index this year, which again opens up the debate of whether active management can outperform a passively managed portfolio after fees. Fans of passive investing say it’s nearly impossible to beat the market over the long term, and equally as difficult to pick the investments that will…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Tangerine Edition
Most of us were curious what would become of ING Direct Canada after it was purchased by Scotiabank last year. Scotia has kept its hands off so far, but one thing we knew for sure was that ING soon had to change its name. Last week the online bank unveiled the new name, Tangerine,…
Read MoreThe Scoop On Preferred Shares
I have always dismissed preferred shares. The definition I heard was that preferreds are a hybrid of both equity and fixed income investments with the worst characteristics of each, and who would want that? Plus their special added features – redeemable, callable, retractable, convertible, perpetual, cumulative – just seemed too complicated to me. Related: Why…
Read MoreI Can’t Afford It
My favourite chapter from David Chilton’s, The Wealthy Barber Returns, is the one where he offers four words of advice to someone who was spending too much money going out with friends. Chilton said, “Sometimes when people ask you to do something, you’ll have to reply, ‘I can’t afford it.’” It sounds so simple, but…
Read MoreBreaking Up Isn’t Hard To Do: Transferring Your RRSP
You’ve switched banks. You’ve moved. You want to start do-it-yourselfing in a discount brokerage account. Whatever the reason, you need to know how to transfer your RRSP, TFSA, or RESP money from one institution to another (or sometimes, from one part of an institution to another), and you want to make sure that it stays…
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