Personal Finance

I'm a huge fan of the Globe and Mail. I read it every day, and the finance section is usually full of good stuff including my boy Rob Carrick who has become a sort of Canadian guru in own right. We have even been featured in the online version of the publication on several occasions, so it is with extremely light feet that I tread on this topic of criticising one of their columns.

There is this cool thing that happens when you ignore all the stock picking stuff that people talk about, stop paying attention to the "experts" on TV and simply invest your money in a dispassionate and consistent manner. The aforementioned "cool thing" is that you end up with a lot more money.

Market index funds have become very popular; but a closer look at their flaws should make investors question whether they are right for them?

Market index funds have become very popular; but a closer look at their flaws should make investors question whether they are right for them?

when I began collecting hockey cards I didn't realize at the time I was getting my first education into the world of market bubbles and speculation

The road to retirement is long and perilous. If you can avoid the seven pitfalls below you will be in better shape than most.

how we can be so arrogant as to think that we stand a good chance of beating the market over an extended time frame. "The market" is the average rise and/or fall of the market you are trading within and there is a reason why it is the numerical average!

If you're blogging for the long term you will have to decide on whether to form a corporation, LLC, or remain as a sole proprietorship.

On the surface it appears that I am not thankful for what I have, and that "the grass always looks greener". Maybe there is some truth to that; however, I believe there is something else at work there as well.

I still can't get over why people put so much stock in gold when the stock market hits a recession or when international markets in general hit turbulence.  It makes little sense to me that this is what people do in order to feel more secure.

I still can't get over why people put so much stock in gold when the stock market hits a recession or when international markets in general hit turbulence.  It makes little sense to me that this is what people do in order to feel more secure.

When students arrive on campus for the first time with visions of red solo cups and shiny new student loan cheques dancing in their heads, few give much thought to the idea of when, where, and even if they should work as they pursue their post-secondary education.

The conventional wisdom in relationships is that opposites attract.  It seems very common for a compulsive spender to hook up with a compulsive saver

The conventional wisdom in relationships is that opposites attract.  It seems very common for a compulsive spender to hook up with a compulsive saver.

If you make more than you spend, don't buy stuff you don't need, and have a clue about how to invest, you will probably do just fine.

Controversy is brewing over the topless ladies adorning Canada's new polymer $20 bills.

This carnival includes topics on the individual mandate in the Health Care Act, Magic Formula Investing, Permanent Portfolio, investment planning strategies, and more.

Most personal finance-types out there have a real vendetta against those people that carry balances on their credit cards. They preach fire and brimstone to anyone that pays "low" credit card interest rates of 9-12% a month, and true eternal torment for those souls who get hit with the classic 19.99% rates. Not me, I love these people. THANK YOU

I think there are definitely aspects of boxing you can broadly apply to personal finance.  Plus, every "tough guy" out there thinks they can fight, and every guy at the water cooler who has read the business section thinks he's Warren Buffett - so they both have stupid male egos in common as well.

For people like that, university is a smart idea. But, it's clearly not for everyone. Let's take a look at some reasons why you shouldn't go to university.

I believe I finally have something that might stir some thought one way or another - The Smith Manoeuvre.  A couple of weeks ago I did a post about using leverage to invest in equities.  As I predicted, a large number of readers (including many authors of financial blogs) were uneasy about my use of house-backed leverage to say the least.  With all these details they will now really have ammunition to fire away with!

I truly don't believe that there are more than handful of people out there who can truly pick stocks with enough skill to beat the street on a long-term basis.

Just a short post today to announce the upload of my personal expense tracking spreadsheet.  If you are considering tracking your expenses in the new year to gain a better understanding of where your money goes,  or you want to abandon your pen and paper methods,  I believe this tracker can help you.