In a recent conversation the topic of renting versus buying came up for a retired couple. This said couple decided to sell their home and rent rather than downsizing or continuing to live in their own home. You can imagine the blasphemy that erupted from the table. “Why are they renting? Why would they sell…
Five years ago Canadians, particularly those in Toronto and Vancouver, went on a buying spree for homes. Interest rates were dirt cheap at 2% and homes could be bought with a 5% down payment and 25 year amortization. Heck, if your household income was around $80K to $90K, you’d qualify for buying a house. Fast…
40 years ago trying to invest by yourself was almost unheard of. Buying stocks and trying to invest in companies always involved a lengthy conversation with your broker. Only the rich would do it, since employing a broker to work for you was always an expensive endeavour. Fast forward a decade later and the advent…
Individuals who want to achieve financial independence earlier in life may find it difficult to accomplish with just their normal salary. That’s why some try to find alternative means of making money, whether through extra overtime hours at work, or through side jobs and gigs. This almost seems like a no brainer, if you want…
Over the last decade or so there have been large public and political movements to get greater representation of women in executive roles. There has also been a wide acceptance of gays and lesbians into our communities. People continue to stand up for equal rights in the Black Lives Matter movement. And we also see…
The popular belief of every homeowner is that the house will become a great investment and that it will be the asset they can rely on to help them retire. The truth? Quite the opposite. Homes have an emotional attachment. On top of that, there is a prestige to being a homeowner that you can’t…
Everyone says to follow your dreams. Warren Buffet says to follow your passion. There’s always a debate about whether you should work for money or work for passion. If this was a blog about building a successful career, or finding happiness in the workforce, the answer would be simple. Work for happiness. However, this blog…
Every good investor knows that you should have balance in your investment portfolio. That means there should be a good mixture of equities, bonds and even cash in your portfolio. Over the last ten years, though, the pace of growth in equities have far outstripped the growth of interest provided by fixed income assets. In…
The biggest question that many Canadians will be facing over the next couple of years is whether to go with a fixed rate mortgage or a variable rate mortgage. Unlike our distant North American cousins in America, Canadians have the ritual to renew mortgages every 5 years. It’s too bad that Canadians don’t get the…
The sad part of learning about personal finance is realizing that the past generations before you did it all wrong. When I get a chance to sit back and think about all the learnings and values that were taught throughout my life, it becomes quite apparent why we never “got ahead”. Perhaps it’s the failing…
Many people believe that real estate is the best investment. That includes those that buy Apple stocks, weed stocks or even Bitcoin. From a historical perspective, real estate has always had a steady upward trajectory in price, very much similar to stocks and equities. However, real estate has suffered less significant and frequent crashes that…
The million dollar question that every Millennial wants to know is “how much house can I afford?” That’s because despite the high prices in two of Canada’s major cities, the majority of Millennials still want to buy a home. With house prices rising much faster than income in their respective cities, just how much can…
