Remember Christmas time last year when stocks were getting pummeled and everyone was calling a crash that looked like 2008? Well guess what? If you sold everything you owned at that point you just ended up realizing missing out on over 10% in gains. That’s exactly how much the markets have rebounded since hitting their…
Contrary to the popular belief of many Canadians, collecting CPP and OAS isn’t quite enough to retire on. That’s because the maximum benefit for CPP is only slightly more than $1,100 and the OAS supplement is around $540. That means the maximum amount the government will give you when you’re wrinkly and retired is around…
One of the hardest things I’ve learned while on my quest to achieving financial independence is how to avoid all the news. Everyday we are inundated by news articles stating the “facts”. Browse Facebook, LinkedIn or even look at the home screen on your Android phone and you’ll know what I mean. It’s not hard…
With 2018 in the rear view mirror it’s time to start looking forward at what the next year may bring. There are already quite a few known changes in Canada to the economic landscape that will affect our personal finances in 2019, so now is a good time to run down through the changes so…
I went back one year to see what I wrote about in 2017 and the headlines were all about Bitcoin. Well guess what? Last year I wrote about how I couldn’t give a damn about Bitcoin because it was just a one hit wonder with no longevity and not a proper way to reach financial…
No, that picture is not to scare you, it’s just used to described what people call a down market. A “bear market”. Despite the record setting years of the last decade, stocks are down this year. This is no surprise as I wrote about it at the beginning of the year. Interest rates are rising…
Black Friday came and went. It’s the holiday shopping season full of deals and lots of extra trips to the shopping mall or visits to Amazon to hunt for gifts for friends and loved ones. With all the extra time shopping, it’s not really a crime to actually want to get something for yourself. Maybe…
There were talks of $200,000. Investors said that currency as we know it today would cease to exist and we would be using digital money. Bitcoin was supposed to be the digital currency to rule them all. The defacto measure of wealth in the whole world. Alas, none of those predictions are coming to fruition.…
Stocks ended October with a thump. If you were holding Apple you ended down 9% in the month. This was never supposed to happen. Weed investors that held Canopy from $7 saw their investment hit ten fold to $74.75, only to feel the wrath of Mr. Market 14 days later when it took a 41%…
Three or four years ago people thought interest rates were going to go negative. There was talk about the bank actually giving you money for free because the interest rate was actually lower than inflation. Imagine… free money. Little did people know, there was no such thing as free money. Those that took the bait…
“Buy a house. It’s the best investment”. “The banks are crooks, they only benefit the rich”. Common words spoken by common people. Those are the popular phrases that have been drilled into our heads for as long as I can remember. It’s also been reiterated by man real estate agents and moms across the world…
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…
