The Rational Reminder Podcast Ep. 29 – Clearing Up the Holiday Back-Up: Podcast Housekeeping and Round Up

November is Financial Literacy Month in Canada, with this week’s theme “Make Informed Decisions”. There are many ways you can make informed decisions, but I’ll focus on making informed decisions based on your personal spending. In this post, you’ll find the different ways to budget and the real reasons for budgeting.

I’ve always tried to stress that successful investing is about the right process, not the right products. But good products certainly help. In the latest episode of the podcast, my guest is Todd Schlanger of Vanguard Canada, who was one of the architects behind the firm’s asset allocation ETFs, launched earlier this year to great fanfare in the DIY investing community.

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.

This is episode 19 of the Rational Reminder Podcast, with Cameron Passmore, Benjamin Felix and very special guest Shane Parrish.

The investment industry regulators aren’t willing to stand up and require the same for your relationship with your financial advisor. That’s a problem.

PWL Capital has been producing its own projections of future stock and bond returns for the last five years. These projections are a key input in preparing financial plans for our clients. The bedrock of these projections is the estimated rate of inflation.

This is Episode 18 of the Rational Reminder Podcast, with Cameron Passmore, Benjamin Felix and very special guest Mark Sutcliffe.

Controversy continues to swirl around the Ontario government’s decision to torpedo a proposed ban on deferred sales charges (DSC) on mutual funds. A few weeks ago, Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli shocked regulators and investor advocates alike by coming out against the ban. Not surprisingly, some big names in the mutual fund industry have cheered the decision.

The RESP is a powerful tool to save for your child’s post-secondary education. The power comes from the Canadian Education Savings Grant (CESG), which boosts your child’s education savings substantially. I outline how the CESG works and how you can maximize the grants your child receives.

I’ll admit it. When I list all the ways investors have no control over portfolio performance, it does not make me the life of the party. I’m more the party pooper, telling investors they shouldn’t chase after hot holdings, dump declining ones, or jump in and out of the market based on whims and emotions.