Starting Out

As we see 2019 out and enter a new decade, we thought it only fitting to do a round-up of some of our shows this year. While we had 26 guests throughout the year, we chose 14 that best captured the sensible investing and education-focused spirit of our show.

One of the most common perceptions about investing is that it is risky. This is easy to state, but harder to defend when you get into the details. To decide whether or not investing is risky, we first need to think about what “risk” is. Depending on what you are investing in – and what you are investing for – there are different ways to think about and measure risk.

It has been more than a decade since the last U.S. recession. Prior to that, the longest gap between recessions was exactly a decade. Moreover, when I started drafting this post and its related video, the U.S. yield curve had briefly inverted, which means longer-term bond rates were lower than shorter-term bond rates. Besides this being a bit Alice-in-Wonderland-like, inverted yield curves also have been good predictors of coming U.S. recessions.

So … you’re thinking about retiring. Someday, anyway. To prepare, you’ve been saving to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). Maybe you’ve got a pension at work, and have been calculating what to expect from the government.

For most millennials, retirement seems like it’s ages away; a future you problem. The cards might seem to be stacked against us: the number of Defined Benefit pension plans are falling, we’re living longer, student debt levels are rising, and house prices are massive compared to our incomes. I break down the basic concepts of retirement planning in this video to help you get started.

I have discussed renting versus buying a home several times before – such as here, here, and here. Today, I want to correct a common misperception on that front, plus provide a sensible solution for helping you decide whether to rent or own your home. I call it the 5% Rule.

Hello everyone. Are you ready for a crash course in understanding exchange-traded funds (ETFs)? Today, we’ll kick things off by popping the hoods on a sporty collection of Canadian equity ETF solutions for your portfolio’s domestic stock allocation.

Another year is essentially over, but there is still time to get a couple financial items off your to do list before the year end. While there are lots of things to do when it comes to personal finance, there are a few that are time sensitive and have annual deadlines. Here are some items you’ll want to check off your list before December 31st.

In my last post, I shared four “qualifying” questions you can use to determine whether a financial advisor is a good fit for your needs. As we continue with our “Best of No Dumb Questions” series, let’s review five more questions to ask a financial advisor, to help you further narrow the field.

Do you have a mortgage? A lot of Canadians do. What about an investment portfolio? With any luck, you’ve got one of those too. So, when does it make sense to use some of your investments to pay off your mortgage? This is a frequently asked question.