Around the Blogosphere

Walmart took a shot at Visa last weekend by announcing it would no longer accept Visa cards in its more than 400 stores across Canada. A statement issued by the retail giant blamed Visa for charging unfair fees on credit card transactions – which Walmart claims are four times higher than what consumers pay in other…

A while back I wrote about how target date funds could be a smart solution for your RESP. Turns out a new robo-advisor called Justwealth had the same idea and is now offering custom Education Target Date Portfolios: “a unique investment solution that transforms itself automatically over time, eventually “maturing” in the exact year that your…

The number of dual income families with at least one child has almost doubled since 1976, according to new research released this week by Stats Canada, rising from 36 percent to 69 percent. Meanwhile, the number of single income families dropped from 59 percent to 27 percent. More families are dual-income today for two reasons;…

The TSX had been in a bit of a funk since June 1st 2015 when it closed above 15,000 for the last time. Canada’s major stock market index reached its depths this January 19th when it finished the day at 11,843 – a drop of 21 percent from that June 1st high. Both my RRSP…

May long weekend is traditionally for camping, gardening, or venturing out for some of the first outdoor activities of the summer. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been kind to those of us in southern Alberta who were looking to spend some time outside enjoying the long weekend. So we’re staying indoors and fortunately there was plenty of great reading…

It’s unusual for a big bank to go out of its way to offer something for free but to my surprise that’s exactly what happened when I called TD Direct Investing this week. You see, before I sold all of my individual stocks and moved to a two-ETF portfolio at the beginning of last year, I had…

Our hearts go out to the residents of Fort McMurray who earlier this week were forced to abandon their homes and flee the city as a massive wildfire continues to devastate the northern Alberta community. The fire, which is said could double in size by Saturday, has sent 80,000 evacuees to nearby work-camps, hotels, and recreation centres in…

Millennials are experiencing FOMO – or the fear of missing out – a social angst driven phenomenon that appears when something exciting or interesting may be currently happening elsewhere. FOMO, a close relative of YOLO, is fuelled by social media and the desire to stay constantly connected with what others are doing. When it comes…

It’s always a bit sad when someone unsubscribes from our newsletter, especially when a long-time reader moves on. But I couldn’t help but get a warm feeling this week after receiving a notification that one of our loyal readers unsubscribed: “You helped inspire me toward retirement with good financial planning over a several year period. I’ve been…

One of the founding fathers of personal finance blogging – J.D. Roth – returned to his roots this week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Get Rich Slowly. J.D. hits the highlights in taking readers through his own journey to financial freedom, starting 10 years ago buried with $35,000 in consumer debt and living paycheque…