Around the Blogosphere

It has been more than 10 years since I started offering financial planning advice – and more than five years since I quit my day job to work as an advice-only planner full-time. I have a soft spot for who I call regular Canadians with regular problems. That’s the majority of you who read this…

‘Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.’ – Henry David Thoreau I’ve fielded all types of questions from clients and readers over the years looking for that one magic hack or some shortcut to building wealth. Usually these half-baked ideas come from a friend, relative, colleague, or an unscrupulous advisor, or a random…

I used to be a hardcore credit card rewards junkie and wrote frequently on the subject (I even had a separate blog dedicated to it!). I considered it a game, and tried to win big each year by signing up for multiple cards with massive welcome bonuses, while optimizing rewards with specific cards for everyday…

One question I’m often asked about my investment approach is when it makes sense to switch my portfolio from 100% global equities (represented by Vanguard’s All Equity ETF – VEQT) to something less risky that includes bonds and/or cash. In other words, does it make sense to switch from VEQT to VGRO to possibly VBAL…

A few months ago I made an offhand remark in a weekend reading update that caught the attention of several readers: “You might be surprised to hear that if something happened to me, my wife has been instructed to hand everything over to PWL Capital. That’s how much I believe in the good work that…

I’ve fielded a dozen emails from clients and readers about the U.S. election and how it might impact their portfolios. The short answer: Who knows? A longer answer: The stock market probably doesn’t care as much about the election as you think it does. Besides, there has been an election every four years for the…

I’ve been toying with a savings concept that I’m tentatively calling the TFSA snowball. It’s a play on Dave Ramsay’s “debt snowball” method (his one positive contribution to society) where borrowers pay off their smallest loan balance first, then roll those freed-up payments into the next smallest balance. Rinse and repeat until debt free. Related:…

I swear half my job is to convince my frugal clients to spend a bit more money. I’m not talking about making a complete 180 degree turn to become a different person. But if you’ve always stayed at a Best Western, then an upgrade to the Ritz every once in a while won’t kill you.…

Canadians are nuts for home ownership, but with real estate prices soaring to unaffordable levels in many areas of the country it has become increasingly difficult to buy a home. Still, the prevailing narrative around renting vs. buying is that renting is throwing away money and buying is a surefire path to building wealth. That…

Retirement is often put on a pedestal – the pinnacle of achievement after a decades-long career. But the transition from full-time work to full-time leisure can be challenging, both financially and psychologically, if you’re not prepared to meet them. I’ve witnessed these challenges firsthand working with hundreds of retirees over the years. Here are four…