Buying a House

So, as you might know, we live in Canada in the Great White North.  That means purchasing a house is actually quite a reasonable and financially prudent option.  You see, the cost of renting here is very, very high – we are talking between $1,100 – $1,500...

Canada Pension Plan – increasing contributions

Let’s talk about the Canada Pension Plan or the CPP. What is it? It’s a government backed retirement plan that provides funds after 65 (or 60 at a lower rate) if you have worked in Canada.  The amount you get is dependent on the amount you contributed...

Emergency Funds

It’s strange, the question of an emergency fund rises up a lot.  If you don’t know what an Emergency Fund is, it’s a pool of cash you set aside for emergencies.  Most financial advisors recommend between $1,000 to $5,000. The reasons for an emergency...

Raise the Rates Idiocy

So, saw a post going around about raising the welfare rate in BC from $610.  What a lot of people don’t read and they don’t list in the petition is that they want to raise the rate from $610 to $1,300 (found on the website for the ‘Raise the...

10% Returns

10% sounds like a huge return.  It is.  In fact, it’s higher than most mutual funds will be able to provide, higher even than most hedge funds.  However, it is possible to do so, I have for nearly 8 years now.  Yes – even through the huge market crash in...

Retirement Savings & Compound Interest

So, I want to discuss something that is dear to me.  Compound interest and retiring. Did you know that if you can get a 10% return on your investments, your initial investment will double every 7 years? Or flip it around, if you get 7% interest; your money doubles...