Posts Tagged ‘Personal Finance’

Comedian Louis C.K. closed his 2013 comedy special Oh My God with a hilarious (albeit crude) bit called, “Of course . . . but maybe.” I thought it would be fun to apply the same thinking to personal finance and some of the situations we run into every day. On sense of entitlement Of course…

Everyone makes a few financial mistakes in their life. Maybe you took investment advice from your favourite barista and lost a bundle on a “hot” new stock. Or you said, “No thank you” to your employer’s pension plan, which matched your own contributions 100%, and now you’re retiring pensionless. Perhaps you have your potential wealth…

We shop at Costco about once a month or so. It’s about a 40-minute drive across the bridge and into Kelowna. One day, after we returned from our shopping trip, I noticed that we had been charged twice for one of our purchases – $18.99. The thought of going back over the bridge in rush…

There’s been a lot of talk recently about commissions (especially embedded fees) paid to financial professionals. In the past it was often hard to pin down just what financial advisers were making off their clients and how fees were calculated. Public pressure has made the fee collecting process more transparent, but there are still questions…

Grocery bills are on the rise and I’m always looking for ways to save money. I was recently intrigued when I read about a $5 a day meal planning program until I realized the writer was American. I don’t think it’s possible to shop the same way in Canada. Our food prices are a lot higher, and…

Millennials need to develop an entrepreneurial spirit in order to succeed in today’s economy. Gone are the days when you could graduate debt-free, get a job with a stable employer, work there for three decades, and retire with a healthy pension. Today’s workers change jobs every four to five years, and they’re no stranger to…

There’s a popular story told by banks and financial authors to encourage people to start saving for retirement at an early age. It’s called the Parable of the Twins and it goes something like this: One twin puts aside $3,000 every year into his tax free savings account starting at age 22, and stops at 32 –…

Have you received an inheritance? Are you a lucky lottery winner? Maybe you gained a sizeable amount from the sale of property or a business, or received severance pay? Do you know what to do with your windfall? There are many reports of fortunes squandered by people dipping too quickly or liberally into their windfalls.…

Determining your financial priorities is like having a battle between your present and future self. Decisions that make your present-self happy and content might have dire consequences for your future-self. Conversely, you don’t want to torture your present-self for the chance to be happy and prosperous in the distant future. We’re raising a young family and with…

When you prepared your budget did you account for only your basic necessities with all the remainder earmarked for saving? This kind of budget may be doable for a couple of months but probably not much longer. Living on a budget does not have to be the rigid “straight-jacket” you may assume it to be.…