Posts by Robb Engen
Net Worth Update: 2019 Mid-Year Review
I started posting my net worth updates several years ago with the audacious goal of reaching $1M in net worth by the end of 2020. It’s motivating to see this goal becoming a reality with each passing update. Last year ended with a net worth of $691,000, falling short of my goal thanks to the…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Update From Ireland Edition
Greetings from Ireland! We’re on day 11 of our two-week stay on a beautiful farm in Kilkenny, Ireland. Our trip has been amazing so far, with stays in Edinburgh and Inverness, a day trip to the Isle of Skye, and an overnight road-trip to Killarney National Park. Along the way we’ve visited castles and cathedrals,…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Summer Break Edition
We leave for Edinburgh this week, the first stop in our epic 32-day summer break in Scotland and Ireland. As we get closer to departure I’m starting to realize that I don’t know what I don’t know. For instance, I forgot to select our seats until recently (long story!) and now the flight is close…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Best New Ideas In Retirement Edition
The financial news outlet MarketWatch has been collecting ideas for a feature it calls the best new ideas in retirement. The goal is to explore the most innovative thinking on the subject, from how we save for it, to how we spend it, to what it all means. “Preparing mentally for retirement may be as…
Read MoreInvesting A Lump Sum vs. Dollar Cost Averaging: What To Do When Markets Are At An All-Time High
Despite the odd blip over the last decade, Canadian and U.S. stocks continue to reach all-time highs. Investors are understandably worried about the next correction or crash. In particular, investors who are sitting on large amounts of cash are nervous about deploying their capital at today’s frothy valuations. Research has shown that, since stocks are…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Student Loan Forgiveness Edition
It’s graduation season for university and college students across North America. The biggest story of the week came from tiny Morehouse College in Atlanta, where Morehouse’s commencement speaker and tech billionaire Robert Smith pledged to pay off the student loan debt of the entire Morehouse Class of 2019. Smith’s generous gift will wipe away student…
Read MoreLong Weekend Reading: Canada Pension Plan Solvency Edition
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board manages $392 billion in assets on behalf of some 20 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. Operated at arms-length of the federal government, the CPPIB is the 11th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world (Norway’s trillion dollar pension fund leads the way). While questions about Canada Pension Plan solvency…
Read MoreKOHO Review: Get Up To 1.5% Cashback
KOHO is a prepaid, reloadable VISA card, plus an app that can be used to access full feature banking services to help manage your finances right from your mobile device. While a prepaid credit card doesn’t sound all that special, KOHO takes it to the next level (and then some) with a product that is…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: A Few Bad Apples Edition
We’ve heard arguments that misconduct only happens with “a few bad apples”, while the rest of the industry is full of good guys and gals looking out for their clients’ best interests.
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Your Advisor Doesn’t Like Index Funds Edition
A client is moving her portfolio to the robo-advisor Wealthsimple, where she will save a minimum of $5,000 in annual fees. Her former advisor is not happy about this, as you’d expect, and sent an email filled with all the reasons why she’d be better off staying invested in his actively managed mutual funds. Most…
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