Is Charitable Giving Part Of Your Financial Plan?
Charitable giving is often an important part of a sound financial plan. In fact, philanthropy is one of the top four characteristics of wealthy people (the others are – spending wisely, investing for the future, and having multiple streams of income). Many people have a cause they care deeply about – specific charities, research organizations,…
Read MoreMy Four Biggest Investing Mistakes
I was 19 years old when I first started investing. I diligently set aside money every paycheque, starting with $50 every two weeks and eventually increasing that to $200 per month, to save for retirement inside my RRSP. Sounds like I was off to a great start, right? Wrong! Even though my intentions were in the…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Good Traffic Edition
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been writing about personal finance and investing here at Boomer & Echo for six years! Thanks to all of our subscribers and readers for following along on this journey. This week we reached an incredible milestone – 4 million page views all time! Despite all the success we’ve enjoyed with our blog,…
Read MoreHow We Juggle Competing Financial Goals
If your thirties are (or were) anything like mine, it can be a juggling act to try and balance all of your competing financial goals. We can’t afford to make the maximum contributions to each of our RRSPs, TFSAs, and the kids’ RESPs – let alone top-up our mortgage payments and still have money left…
Read MoreTell Us Your Frugal Dating Stories
It can get expensive when you’re dating. Going out to a fancy restaurant, movie and overpriced bars for drinks afterwards can really do a number on your finances if you do it often. Do you: Really need to maintain an image of having plenty of money? Always dress to the nines on a date when…
Read MoreFinancial Independence Update: Still On Track For Freedom 45
It’s been a while since we checked in on our financial freedom goals. Three years ago I had the audacity to say that I’d be financially free by 40. Then a few unplanned expenses came up, reality set-in, and I pushed findependence back five years to age 45. Here we are today, a week from…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Heads I Win, Tails I Win Edition
Do you think you’re an above-average investor? Most of us do, and that’s the premise of Heads I Win, Tails I Win, a new book by Spencer Jakab, the former stock analyst who now writes the Heard on the Street column for The Wall Street Journal. In the book, Jakab refers to Lake Moneybegone, a place…
Read MoreCreating Retirement Income: A Fixed Payment Strategy
Once you stop working you may want to simplify your investment strategy. Your objective shifts from growing your investment portfolio to generating income. Flat and unpredictable markets, combined with historically low interest rates, can make this a challenging time in terms of creating retirement income. One idea for creating a reasonably consistent level of monthly…
Read MoreFinancial Planning For Couples: Buying A Home
Buying a home will probably be the most expensive one-time purchase you’ll ever make. It can also be one of your best investments (housing values have historically increased over the long run) as long as you choose wisely and pick a house you can afford. Saving for a down payment How much money do you…
Read MoreMy TFSA Dilemma and Solution
I embraced the tax free savings account with open arms when it was first introduced back in 2009. I made the maximum $5,000 contribution in 2009 and again in 2010. My TFSA game was strong, indeed, as I invested those funds in Canadian dividend paying stocks and quickly turned $10,000 into $15,000. But then I…
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