Posts Tagged ‘Personal Finance’

Everyone has heard of the latte factor – how your daily vice can become a long-term financial burden if you don’t keep it in check.  The concept got a bad rap for concentrating on small behavioural changes instead of looking at the big picture. Related: Does your spending need tending? The latte factor concept isn’t…

We’re taught to value experiences over material things but unless you plan to never leave the house you’re going to need a whole lot of willpower to avoid buying stuff today. Have you been out window shopping lately?  There are some seriously amazing products and innovations on the market – things that weren’t even around…

Back in 1913, the assembly line workers at the Ford Model-T plant in Detroit were paid the princely sum of $5 a day. Henry Ford wanted reliable workers, but he also assumed they would want to buy the Model-T themselves, rather than taking the streetcar to work. It would still take some serious saving to…

When we last checked in with ING Direct CEO Peter Aceto he said the company had until May 2014 to shed the ING name and rebrand itself.  The online bank was purchased by Scotiabank in November 2012 and recently announced its new name – Tangerine – which is ready to officially launch on April 8th,…

Whether it’s healthy or not, we all make comparisons in many aspects of our lives – where we live, what we do for a living, what kind of car we drive, even how we raise our kids.  But society doesn’t talk openly about money and so we look to the experts to set benchmarks and…

Canada is widely considered to have one of the safest banking systems in the world.  The “Big 5” banks have proven to be safe and stable companies, both for depositors and stockholders, and neither have any worries about their money. Related: How Baby Boomers Changed The Banking Industry However, the 1980’s saw one of the…

In the 18th century, French philosopher Denis Diderot received a gift of a beautiful scarlet dressing gown.  I know it’s not something your typical guy today would get too excited about, but remember this was the 1700’s.  In any case, he was delighted with his gift and promptly discarded his old dressing gown. Within a…

Many investors these days have become disenchanted with their investment advisors who don’t keep in contact, sell a pre-determined model of products, and give abysmal service, not to mention their poor returns.  They are deciding they can do a better job themselves.  But how do you know you have the right skills to manage your…

Fraud is the number one crime against older Canadians – hitting as many as one in five seniors – according to bankrate.com. People over the age of 65 are especially vulnerable to fraudulent schemes for a number of reasons: They often live alone and are home most of the day to answer the phone and…