Three little words. These three small words have the power to change your financial destiny if you make the choice to implement them in your life. Invest the difference. What does that mean? In a nutshell, it means you should be living below your means. The LBYM-lifestyle translates into always having a gap between what […]
Before you get too far into the craziness of the Spending Season, take a few minutes to reflect back on the past year. The next 6 weeks will be filled with the AdMan’s best efforts to get you to part with your hard-earned money. His one and only goal is to make you spend. Cash […]
A very popular shopping day will be arriving near the end of November. How do I know this? Rest assured – the Marketing Machine will not allow me to forget about it for one single instant! Everywhere I go online, there’s an ad about the “low, low prices!” I’m encouraged to “act now” so that […]
Hear me now! Your TFSA should be for investing. Don’t use it as a savings account for your emergency fund or as a sinking fun for stuff. In 2024, the contribution room for the TFSA will go up to $7,000. Please don’t tell me that you can’t afford to save $7,000. What can you afford […]
Today, I read a very sad story about a 76-year old man who sold his home when his mortgage payment went up. Presumably, the story was about the impact of rising mortgage rates and the lack of affordable housing in Calgary. In reality, what I took from the article was an appreciation of just how […]
People like to talk about their salary when asked about how much they earn. This is hardly surprising, since annual salary is nearly always a larger amount than what you take home. Net income is what you received after taxes and deductions have been subtracted from your gross salary. Whether you get direct deposit and […]
Many people think of retirement as a function of age. They think that it arrives at the age of 65 or 70, and that retiring sooner means an “early retirement”. To my mind, this is wrong. Your retirement date is a function of your money. If you don’t have enough money in the bank to […]
Regret has no place in your financial plan. You’re not perfect and you will make mistakes with your money. Once you’ve identified a money mistake, don’t spend your time regretting it. Simply make a course correction to stop making that mistake and move forward. The past cannot be changed so learn from your mistakes and […]
I love money. I always have, mainly because it allows me to buy all sorts of things. Hard money is good too, but easy money is better. Hard money is the kind you have to sweat for. It’s what shows up in your paycheque after you’ve traded away a portion of your very precious, very […]
This week, I gave myself a $600 annual raise. No, I didn’t get a promotion or take a different job. Instead, I simply increased my passive income by buying some bank stock. As I’ve said before, salary and income need not be the same thing. There are always ways to increase your income even if […]