A Big List Of Behavioural Biases
There’s a fascinating link between psychology and money that tries to explain how we think and behave when it comes to saving, spending, and investing. It was Meir Statman’s book, What Investors Really Want, that first opened my eyes to behavioural biases and how to make smarter financial decisions. Later, it was Carl Richards’ The Behavior Gap that showed the…
Read MoreWhat Is Your Credit Score? (Should You Know It?)
One way to determine your financial creditworthiness is to know your credit score and how it is calculated. You can get free credit reports from Canadian credit reporting agencies such as Equifax and TransUnion once a year, but they do not include a credit score. Until recently, you either had to pay for this information…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: New Mortgage Rules Edition
The big news out of Ottawa this week saw the federal government taking steps to cool the housing market by introducing a financial stress test to all insured mortgages and closing a tax loophole for foreign real estate buyers. Starting October 17th all home buyers must qualify at the bank’s posted rate, or the Bank…
Read MoreBuilding Your Confidence As A DIY Investor
Whether you’re a novice investor or experienced trader, most of us can stand to gain more knowledge about the stock market and different investing strategies. Investor education is exactly what Scotia iTRADE had in mind when it launched a series of free direct investing courses online. Through the Scotia iTRADE U education platform, investors can…
Read MoreI Am Still A Dividend Investor
Mark Seed recently wrote in his blog, My Own Advisor, that his thoughts on his dividend investing style haven’t changed. This was actually a rebuttal of the post by our own Robb Engen, aka Echo, who described why he switched to an all ETF portfolio a short while ago. It’s apparent that readers of both…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Ending Canada Savings Bonds Edition
Canada Savings Bonds are still a thing? The legacy savings program that was built to fund the Second World War is now in its 70th year of sales and costs the federal government $60 million per year to run. But savings bonds that once paid double-digit interest rates now yield a paltry 0.5 percent in today’s low rate environment.…
Read MoreFrom The Boomer & Echo Mailbag: Retirement Planning For Single Women
Q. I am a single woman, by choice. So much financial advice is written for couples. How can I invest for my retirement when I have to cover all my living expenses by myself? Women are already at a disadvantage when it comes to saving for retirement. They often face lifestyle and economic issues that…
Read MoreFinancial Planning For Couples: Protecting What You Have
Insurance is one of those expenses we all hate to pay for, but we are very glad we have it if we ever have to make a claim. Auto insurance is a necessity for all drivers and if you have a mortgage on your house, home owner’s insurance is a requirement by your lender. All…
Read MoreAdvice To Millennials: Starting Your Investing Journey
I was born in 1979 – a year that places me at the tail-end of Generation X but still makes me cool enough to give advice to Millennials about investing. My mom worked in a bank and encouraged me at an early age to save and invest. I started investing in mutual funds at 18…
Read MoreDo You Live Next Door To A Millionaire? Or Is It You?
Two decades ago, Thomas Stanley and William Danko set out to interview wealthy people for their best-selling book The Millionaire Next Door. They started out in the affluent neighbourhoods on streets dotted with extravagant homes with luxury vehicles parked out front and in-ground swimming pools in the backyards. They were shocked to find out that the…
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