Posts by Robb Engen
Money Bag: Cell Phone and Data Options For Travellers, and a No-More Air Travel Pledge
Today I’m answering reader mail for a feature I call the Money Bag. I’ll answer questions and address comments from readers on a wide range of money topics, myths, and perceptions about money. No question is off limits, so hit me up in the comments section or send me an email about all the money things you’re…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Money Gaps Edition
One of the great joys of running this blog is that I’ve been able to help so many Canadians take control of their finances and gain a greater understanding of their relationship with money. The blog comments, emails, and daily interactions on social media is what ultimately led to the start of my own fee-only…
Read MoreVBAL vs. Mawer Balanced Fund For One-Stop Investing
Investors could have done a lot worse over the past 30 years than investing in the Mawer Balanced Fund. Mawer, which epitomizes the art of boring investing, has been nothing short of consistently brilliant – with annual returns of 8.5 percent since the fund’s inception in 1988. Investment giant Vanguard doesn’t have the same longevity…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: FIRE In Moderation Edition
I write a lot about seeking financial independence rather than early retirement. That’s intentional. I don’t necessarily want to retire – not anytime soon – but what fires me up is the idea of working on my own terms. My goal is to be financially free by age 45. That means I’d be free to…
Read MoreWhen Investment Returns Are So Bad They Make GICs Look Good
The research firm DALBAR has been studying the behaviour of mutual fund investors for 25 years. Each year the firm reports how poorly investors fared relative to their benchmark index over time. What the data repeatedly shows is a ‘behaviour gap‘ that leads to significant investor underperformance. It suggests that investors lack the patience to…
Read MoreLong Weekend Reading: Ikea Trip From Hell Edition
“Shipping and delivery comes to $160? Forget it!” That was my reaction to the idea of placing an online order for Ikea furniture to be delivered to our home in Lethbridge. Besides the high price tag, the items would also take weeks to arrive. I had to find another option. You see, we don’t have…
Read MoreStop Asking $3 Questions. Start Asking $30,000 Questions
Frugality can only take you so far on the road to financial independence. That’s because there’s a limit to how much you can save. We all need a place to live, food to eat, Netflix to watch. It’s right there on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Strip your budget down to the bare bones and you’re…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Upside Down Mortgage Rates Edition
In a normal interest rate environment, fixed rate mortgage tend to be more expensive than variable rate mortgages. Borrowers pay a premium for predictability – knowing exactly what their interest rate and mortgage payment will be for a five-year period. For that reason, a common strategy for saving money on your mortgage has been to…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Disappointing TFSAs Edition
A study published in the Canadian Tax Journal raised doubts about the effectiveness of Tax Free Savings Accounts and whether TFSAs really help Canadians save more. The study showed that one-third of TFSA contributions would have otherwise gone into RRSPs – something the authors called a displacement effect. Furthermore, the remaining 66 percent of contributions…
Read MoreThe Easy Way Or The Hard Way
It’s hard to find a direct flight from Calgary to Dublin. WestJet offers one that leaves Calgary at 8pm and arrives in Dublin the next morning at 11am – a total flight time of eight hours. The problem was cost. A round-trip flight for our family of four was nearly $5,000. I decided to try…
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