Tag: investing

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!

 

May 1, 2022 Books

A Guide to Canadian Personal Finance Books – Part 2

In the first part of this series, I talked about two great introductory personal finance books – The Wealthy Barber and Millionaire Teacher. Today, I’m going to focus on two more general interest personal finance books:

  • Money Like You Mean It
  • Debt-Free Forever

Money Like You Mean It

Money Like You Mean It by Erica Alini describes itself as a book that offers “Personal Finance Tactics For the Real World.” It was published in 2021, so it’s a great book if you’re looking for something that reflects today’s environment – not how the world was twenty years ago.

Some of the things that Erica addresses in her book are:

  • How to navigate the crazy housing market, including the merits of renting versus buying.
  • Whether side hustles are worth it or not.
  • How to negotiate a raise.
  • How to invest so you can achieve financial independence and retire before you’re 80!
  • What to do about student debt!
  • How to handle complicated issues like family finances and unexpected changes in life such as a sudden job loss

This book can help anyone but mainly aims at Millenials and Gen Z.

Debt Free Forever

Gail Vaz-Oxlade wrote Debt-Free Forever. If this name seems familiar, it’s because she’s hosted several shows about getting smart with your money, including “Til Debt Do Us Part” and “Princess.” I’ll freely admit I’ve watched every single episode of both these shows. I’m such a fan of Gail I’ve even seen in her person – and she is FUNNY!

Gail is known for being straightforward and not mincing her words. Debt-Free Forever is an excellent choice if you are feeling overwhelmed by debt and don’t know how to start digging yourself out. Debt-Free Forever explains:

  • How to take control of your spending and determine where all your money is going.
  • How to list your debts and determine just how much you’re paying in interest every month.
  • Put together a budget you can actually live on.
  • Determine how to maximize your debt repayments.
  • Understand the importance of setting aside an emergency fund and how to get started building one.
  • How to get started setting short and long-term goals for a debt-free life!

If you are looking for a book that gets into the ins and outs of investing or negotiating for a raise, then Debt-Free Forever isn’t for you. If, however, you’re looking for a book that will give you hope and a clear plan to claw your way out of debt and stay that way, then Debt-Free Forever is an excellent choice!

Which book do you prefer?

If you’re starting on a financial journey, then Debt-Free Forever is a great place to start, with Money Like You Mean It being a great choice once you’re on the path to financial stability.

 

 

April 15, 2022 Books

A Guide to Canadian Personal Finance Books – Part 1

Despite all the options for online content, sometimes it’s nice to have a book. You can make your notes and highlight things that interest you, and you don’t have to try remembering where you found a specific tidbit of information on various websites!

A book is charming if you’re looking to give a gift to someone, such as a college or university graduate just starting in life! Getting a book focusing on Canadian finance planning is essential, as many savings options (such as RRSPs and TFSAs) are specific to Canada!

This will be a multi-series post, as I’ll cover several different books. I’m going to start with these two:

  • The Wealthy Barber
  • Millionaire Teacher

The Wealthy Barber

The Wealthy Barber, by Dave Chilton, is a personal finance book that’s been around for over twenty years. One of the reasons it’s so popular is that it provides financial lessons in an easy-to-understand manner.

The Wealthy Barber contains a series of stories told by the author’s barber about how to become financially secure. He covers various topics, from retirement to investing, and is very down-to-earthly. He doesn’t get into complicated financial terms that may seem intimidating or confusing – he explains things in a way that an everyday person can understand.

This is an excellent book for anyone just starting on their financial journey. Even if you’re comfortable with some aspects of financial planning (such as buying a house) but not others (such as investing for retirement), it’s a great introductory book.

Millionaire Teacher

The full title of this one is “Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules Of Wealth You Should Have Learned In School,” and Andrew Hallam writes it. Andrew was a teacher who noticed that most of the people he knew who we financially successful were also teachers. While teachers get paid reasonably well and have a good pension, they found that their success went beyond that.

So he looked at what he was doing and what his successful friends were doing and diluted it into the nine lessons in his book. He provides excellent, easy-to-understand advice and some general guidance on how to start investing (tip – try index funds!)  Whether you need to know what to look out for in a financial advisor (although you don’t necessarily need one) or what to avoid when investing (if it seems too good to be true, it is!), this book is a good choice for you.

These Are Both Great Introductory Books

If you’re unsure about the books, you can always take them out from the library and buy them once you know they’re a good choice for you. Have you read either of these books? 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!