Posts by Boomer
Financial Literacy Is A Lifelong Pursuit
Last year the results from a Task Force on Financial Literacy were published and the findings were totally not surprising to me. The Task Force defines financial literacy as “the knowledge, skills and confidence to make responsible financial decisions” that are applicable to the many decisions that people make on a daily basis – comparing…
Read MoreHow To Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster
Owning a home is one of the cornerstones of building financial assets for most Canadians. However, making mortgage payments for 20 to 35 years can take quite a bite out of your budget, even with low interest rates. It’s surprisingly easy to reduce the amortization – and the amount of interest paid. When you pay…
Read MoreTurning 60: Some Things To Consider
If you’re still working at age 60 you may be thinking of retirement now, or in the near future. Life as you know it will be over, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be trudging up to the Shady Rest Retirement Home. Retirement isn’t about wearing elastic-waist pants and knee socks with sandals and taking in…
Read MoreBeat Inflation With Rising Dividends
The generally accepted recommendation for retirees is to reduce risk and buy fixed income investments such as bonds. A common suggestion is to have the percentage of fixed income assets equal to your age. What is often overlooked is the risk of inflation eroding purchasing power. One way to beat inflation is to focus on…
Read MoreTurning 50: Some Things To Consider
When you get to your 50’s you’re probably in your peak earning years and you may have significantly lower living expenses. The expensive years of home purchase and parenthood are likely behind you and you’re in better financial shape. Think about how much of your income should go towards your retirement and contribute as much…
Read MoreHow To Manage Your Cash Flow
The start of a good financial plan is creating a family budget. When you review your income, chart your expenses and monitor your spending, you get a good idea of where your money is going. Whether you have an envelope cash system or use a spreadsheet format (or any other method), you can plan to…
Read MoreDecoding Your Company Pension Plan
How much is your money earning inside your company pension plan? If you change jobs, can you take your contributions with you? Don’t know? Don’t feel bad. Most people are wildly ignorant about company pension plans. But that’s your money working in the plan. You owe it to yourself to find out what’s going on. …
Read MoreWhy Baby Boomers Aren’t Prepared For Retirement
There’s been a lot of speculation recently about why baby boomers are so unprepared for retirement. It’s said that more than half do not have enough savings and will have to rely entirely on social programs that will be quite meager at best. Do we have to develop a taste for canned cat food? Why…
Read MorePersonal Money Management
If a close relative left you $1,800,000 you’d spend a lot of time and pay a great deal of attention to the care and management of the inheritance, wouldn’t you? Well, this is what you can expect to earn during your working years if you average around $500 a week take-home pay for the first…
Read MoreHow Did You Choose Your Career?
To be honest, I just fell into my career unexpectedly. After my husband was seriously injured, I applied for a secretarial position at a local bank branch to bring in some much needed money. This “temporary” job lasted for over 25 years when I finally retired as a financial advisor. I always envied those people…
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