Posts by Robb Engen
Beat The Bank: Simply Successful Investing
If there’s anyone who knows how to beat the bank at its own game, it’s 35-year banking industry veteran turned investor advocate Larry Bates. His new book, Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing, just hit the shelves and in it he reveals the winning formula to turn the tables on Bay…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Scanning Code of Practice Edition
I picked up three pints of ice cream from Save On Foods today, not because I’m a glutton but because they were on sale and I plan on eating one of them after I run 12 miles tomorrow (okay, so I AM a glutton. What of it?). At the check-out I noticed the items rang…
Read More3 Tips To Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards For Travel
Years ago when I first began collecting credit card rewards, cash back was king. I liked getting back something tangible to help subsidize our budget. Plus, I didn’t even want to think about getting on an airplane with a baby or a couple of toddlers. Travel rewards could wait. But now that our kids are…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Financial Facelift Edition
I enjoy reading the Globe & Mail’s Financial Facelift every weekend, if only just to goof on the idea that a couple earning $200,000+ per year with $3 million in the bank can be worried about their financial future. The tipping point of absurdity came when the Globe profiled Eric and Ilsa, the Vancouver couple…
Read MoreHow Much Will My Defined Benefit Pension Pay In Retirement?
I contribute to a defined benefit pension plan at work. How much will I get from the pension plan in retirement? That depends on when I retire or leave the plan. Hang on, we’re about to get math-y. Normal retirement age is 65 and I joined the pension plan in 2009 at age 30. Retiring in…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Canadian Financial Summit Edition
Last year hundreds of you signed up to watch me and dozens of other personal finance and investing experts speak at the Canadian Financial Summit. Well, we’re back with a fresh new line-up of information designed to make you better savers, investors, and take control of your financial future. Get your free ticket today to…
Read MoreMaking It Easy For Canadians To Start Investing
This post is sponsored by RBC InvestEase Inc. All views and opinions expressed represent my own and are based on my own research of the subject matter. Young investors want a simple solution to manage their investments at a low cost and with minimal hassle. They want automated advice and professional guidance – but on their own…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Renewed My Mortgage Edition
I wrote about my mortgage renewal strategy earlier this year. Since we don’t plan on moving in the next five years, my top consideration is to get the best interest rate possible. That meant looking at the best of either a 5-year close variable rate mortgage or a 1-to-2-year fixed rate mortgage. With my mortgage…
Read MoreThe Crash That Never Came
It’s been nearly 10 years since the global financial crisis bottomed out. Since then stocks have basically been on an uninterrupted tear, with the TSX doubling in value, and the S&P 500 nearly quadrupling in value. In that time, investors have survived the European debt crisis, Greece’s debt crisis, a Russian financial crisis, the Brexit…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Back To School Shopping Edition
As we head into mid-August my wife and I have started to look at the back-to-school lists that came home with our kids at the end of June. We like to freelance a bit from the recommended list of supplies, especially if we can find deals on similar items early in the summer. We utilize…
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