Posts by Robb Engen
How To Make Saving A Priority
Do you want to save more money next year? Most people do. But how do you save more when there’s nothing left over at the end of the month? Try turning the problem on its head. Instead of trying to save what you don’t spend, treat saving like an expense you can’t avoid. That means…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: 2 Million Pageviews Edition
I don’t write much about the business of blogging but I’m constantly amazed by the growing community of readers who stop by here for their weekly dose of personal finance info. It has been a record year for viewership here on Boomer & Echo with an incredible 2 million + pageviews so far in 2019. …
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Bill Negotiation Day Edition
I’ve long advocated for people to take a bill negotiation day – a day off work once a year to call their bank, telecom provider, and other other service providers and negotiate their monthly bills. These companies are not known for voluntarily offering loyalty discounts. Banks add new service charges and increase monthly account fees…
Read More2010-2019: The Decade In Review
With the ’10s quickly coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the past decade and list our accomplishments. Looking back, this was an incredible decade of growth and happiness for me and my family. We are so grateful for what we’ve been able to achieve. 2010 was a big year for…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Misguided Sh!t Advisors Say Edition
I love sending readers and clients on a mission to test their financial advisor. I get them to ask about lower cost portfolio options such as index mutual funds or ETFs. The responses are typically hilarious – so much that I wrote an entire post on the sh!t my advisor says. A reader I’ll call…
Read MoreKicking Debt Down The Road
Canadians started piling on the debt after the financial crisis in 2008. Back then our household debt-to-income ratio was sitting around 150 percent ($1.50 owed for every dollar of disposable income). Today that number hovers around 177 percent. We are kicking debt down the road, instead of kicking it to the curb. It can be…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Market Volatility Edition
The last quarter of 2018 was a miserable time for investors. The S&P 500 had reached an all-time high on September 21, 2018. Three months later it had fallen nearly 13 percent – erasing 18 months of gains along the way. The TSX also fell more than 13 percent. Panic ensued, with many pundits predicting…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Model Investment Portfolio Edition
My investing philosophy is pretty straightforward. Invest in a low cost, globally diversified portfolio of index funds or ETFs. Add bonds to help smooth out the volatility in your portfolio. Contribute regularly to meet your savings targets. Ignore everything else. This approach comes from the belief that investing has become largely commoditized. Index tracking ETFs…
Read MoreDon’t Make This Life Insurance Mistake
Life insurance is a must if you have a spouse or children who depend on your income to get by. But asking a life insurance agent if you need more life insurance is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. Of course the answer is going to be ‘yes’. Indeed, the life insurance…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Salary vs. Dividends Edition
One big decision I need to make as I transition from salaried employee to entrepreneur is whether to take a salary from my business or pay myself dividends. I set up a corporation for my online business back in 2012. My wife and I are 50/50 owners of the small business, and we’ve used the…
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