Category Archives: Personal Finance

Read this first. Doing a household budget is essentially Grade 2 math. Take what you bring in and subtract what goes out. There are many apps and programs to do this: EveryDollar, YNAB, and Mint are the more popular ones, but I recommend starting with paper, moving to Excel then an app if you reallyContinue reading “Basic Guide to Budgets”

People have been asking me lately what to do if you get an unexpected pile of cash. Legal settlements, inheritances, lottery winnings (ha!) or just finding a toonie on the sidewalk. Should you pay off debt? Put it on the house? Invest in cryptocurrencies? For most, any large lump sum of money is probably theContinue reading “Don’t Go Chasing Windfalls”

How to Get Out of a Mess Note: The following is real life example, name have been changed. Joe and Jane make $75000 per year, have 2 kids and 1 on the way. Jane is not working right now but plans to go back after maternity leave, and bring home an additional $1000 per month.Continue reading “Debt Elimination Case Study”

Hi everyone. Did you know that the average household income in Canada is about $70,000 per year? If you are reading this right now, chances are your household is above that so why do most people feel broke and live paycheck to paycheck? Not being on the same page with your spouse, trying to impressContinue reading “Getting Started”

What to Look for When Choosing a Financial Advisor It’s Your Money The first thing to remember about choosing a financial advisor is that YOU are the boss and they work FOR you. You are in charge of your finances and your future. The advisor is there to arm you with enough information to arriveContinue reading “Financial Advisors”

Practical Advice for the Current Situation                 Ok so it happened. Something we couldn’t have predicted occurred and is having far reaching economic impacts on people in a big way. As a refresher here’s the steps I recommend taking to get out of debt and take control of your personal finance: Change your mindset. WhatContinue reading “Coronapocolypse”

Vehicles “My car kept breaking down and I had no other choice but to get a new one, but it’s better on gas so I’ll be saving in the long run.” Let’s deconstruct this common sentiment. “My car kept breaking down…”       Every vehicle will break down at some point regardless of price, that’s aContinue reading “But Bro, I Know the Guy…”

            You have to have a credit card right? Maybe not. Like I mentioned previously, the credit card is one of the most marketed consumer products in history. Look at the skyline of any major city and you’ll most likely see at least one building with a Visa logo. Why do you use a creditContinue reading “Legal Loan Sharks”

            So what is a mortgage? Sophisticated catchphrases like: it’s good debt’ or ‘a smart use of leverage to obtain an asset’ come to mind. When translated from the Latin (see…sophisticated) it means ‘death pledge’. Either you pay it back or the loan is forgiven when you die. For most, house debt is the largestContinue reading “House Buying 101”

Debit cards do everything credit cards do except let you spend money you don’t have. If you’ve read my previous posts, you know that I’ll never recommend credit cards, but these days some type of plastic is pretty much a requirement. That leaves the debit card. How do they work? Advantages? Disadvantages? Pro tips forContinue reading “Debit Cards”