Tag: funds

May 15, 2022 Books

A Guide To Canadian Personal Finance Books – Part 3

15Today’s post will cover two books focusing on personal financial planning areas. If you’re interested in more general books on personal finance planning, then be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this series!

I’ll cover these two books:

  • House Poor No More
  • Beat The Bank

House Poor No More

House Poor No More, by Romana King, focuses on everything you need to know about home ownership in Canada. Her book covers the following:

  • What you need to know about buying a home in Canada.
  • What home improvements will give you the most bang for your buck.
  • How to manage your mortgage debt, so you aren’t house poor.
  • What kind of tax deductions and credits you may be eligible for as a homeowner.
  • How to reduce the monthly expenses associated with owning a home.

So whether you’re thinking of taking the plunge into home ownership or already own a home and are trying to make the most of it, House Poor No More can provide you with the guidance you need to avoid being house poor!

Beat The Bank

The full title of this book is Beat The Bank: The Canadian Guide To Simply Successful Investing, and Larry Bates writes it. Once you’ve set up a budget and paid down debt, you’re ready to start investing to save for your future – but how do you get started?

Many people are intimidated by investing, so they either avoid it and buy only “safe” investments (like bonds) or pay high fees without realizing they are doing so. And high fees can cost you thousands of dollars every year, stripping away your gains!

With Beat The Bank, Larry Bates is trying to help hard-working Canadians keep more of their money. Larry’s professional background is in banking and investments, so he knows the ins and outs of investing. With his book, he can help you:

  • Learn how to avoid high fees, which means you’ll lose less of your returns.
  • Find out all the benefits of switching to low-cost investment products.
  • Put together a simple approach to investing that doesn’t take hours upon end to implement.
  • Gain the knowledge you need to achieve long-term investing success without paying high fees.

You work hard for your money and deserve to keep your investment gains – not lose them to high fees!

Both Of These Books Are Great For Focused Financial Learning

Once you’ve got a strong base for your financial planning, you’re ready to move on to more complicated topics like investing and making the most of home ownership. Which of these topics are you more interested in? Tell me in the comments!

 

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!