Category: investing

October 1, 2020 Good money habits, investing, Kids

The best money decisions I’ve made – Part 3

Image by TheDigitalWay from Pixabay

If you’d like to know more about some of the best money decisions I’ve made, please check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. This will be the last post in this series for now.

Here are two more of the best financial decisions I’ve made:

  1. Switch to having my investments managed by a robo-advisor.
  2. Give my son hand-me-down toys and clothes.

1. Switch my from an investment advisor to a robo-advisor

I’m not going to lie – I still have some of my investments with banks for various reasons. But I have complete control over them – and no one is calling me up a few times a year to remind me that I need to make a switch in investments (without explaining why!) or trying to sell me additional products I don’t want.

With a robo-advisor, you can “set it and forget it”.  I got tired of getting reams of statements I didn’t understand and didn’t want – and if I did ask questions, my advisor would take forever to answer and then not really answer me at all.  Plus robo-advisors have much lower fees – so over the long term, you’ll get more of the money your investments actually earned instead of it going into someone else’s pocket!

2. Give my son hand-me-down toys and clothes

I’ve talked before on this blog about how to save money on clothes for your kids.  I’m lucky that he still has very little interest in what he wears – although he is big enough now that clothes for birthdays and Christmas isn’t going to cut it – he wants toys!  But the good news on this front is I’ve been lucky enough to get bags of clothes and even some toys in good shape from various people.

This has been particularly helpful during the pandemic. I didn’t have to order online or brave the few stores that were open to buy him new clothes – I just went to my basement to open up the bags that were there and had a whole new wardrobe!

In addition, my son has a second-hard store near his school.  He was initially interested in it because they had Halloween stuff outside – so he called it “The Halloween Store”. When I finally took him he was pleasantly surprised that it had more than just Halloween stuff!  It’s a great opportunity to allow him to pick his own toys at a reasonable price. As well  – I tend to limit him to one toy per visit so he’s learning to make decisions about what he does and doesn’t really want!

The Takeaway

It can be a lot of effort to make a new money habit – like moving from an investment advisor to a robo-advisor – but it’s well worth it in the end. You can also help your kids get started early by making them comfortable having everything not be brand new – and help them learn how to make money decisions early on.

What’s a good money decision you’ve made regarding your finances or your kids?

 

 

 

December 1, 2019 investing

What is socially responsible investing?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is a hot ticket item right now. A lot of investors are going beyond simply wanting to make money. They want to make money AND do it in a way that also helps bring about social and environmental change.

What can you tell me about it?

In this post, I’m going to:

  • Provide you with some background on socially responsible investing
  • Tell you how it works, and
  • Give you tips about how to get started with it!

So sit back, relax, and learn about how you can make money and help others!

Tell me more about socially responsible investing!

There are many ways to refer to SRI such as ethical investing, sustainable investing, or socially conscious investing. The goals, no matter what it’s called. are the same. The three primary goals of SRI are to:

  1. Make investors money.
  2. Avoid supporting industries that may be considered harmful – either to individuals or to the environment or both
  3. Help support social change and environmental responsibility. For example, SRI can involve investing in organizations that help support human rights or are developing clean energy sources.

The areas socially responsible investing focus on change over time and reflect the social and political “hot button” items.  In the 1960s, for example, a big focus of socially responsible investing was on civil rights and anti-war movements. Today, one of the biggest focuses of it is fighting climate change.

How does socially responsible investing work?

Socially responsible investing works by investing in companies that engage in positive corporate practices. These can include promoting the following:

  • Environmental responsibility
  • Human rights
  • Racial and gender diversity
  • Social justice
  • Economic equality
  • Community investment

Socially responsible investing also seeks to avoid investing in areas that could be considered harmful or having negative social effects. SRI funds may avoid investing in some or all of these areas:

  • Alcohol/Tobacco/Gambling
  • Weapons/Military
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Pornography

How can I get started investing in a socially responsible manner?

Lots of companies now offer socially responsible investing – the key is to determine what’s most important to you. Some things to consider are:

  1. What key causes that are most important to you? Do you want to invest in a fund that supports a variety of causes or do you prefer a fund that focuses on one or two specific areas?
  2. How much do you have to invest and how long do you want to invest it for?
  3. Are you willing to pay higher fees or have lower returns than you would if you were not considering SRI?

There are a variety of companies out there that offer SRI funds – everyone from WealthSimple to MacKenzie. The easiest thing to do is start with an investment company or bank you are already with and see if they offer an SRI fund!

You’re ready to get started!

You’ve now learned the basics of socially responsible investing. You’ve learned:

  1. What the goals of socially responsible investing are
  2. What types of companies socially responsible investing supports or avoids supporting
  3. How to get started investing in a socially responsible manner

It is possible to both earn money and help the environment and social causes!