By 2 Cents on October 22nd, 2010 | Category: Book Reviews | Saving for your child’s education will likely improve the odds that she will participate in post-secondary education by diminishing financial barriers and building a financial nest egg.
~ Mike Holman
Whenever I was looking for detailed information about RESPs, I would always end up at Mike Holman’s blog. It used to be called Four Pillars, but the name has since changed to Money Smarts Blog. Mike’s always had a very comprehensive section on RESPs on his site and it was my go-to reference on the topic.
Still, I’m a huge fan of physical books rather than their cyberspace cousins and I wished I could have a concise book about RESPs on hand to use as a reference. It’s so easy to forget the details of relatively complex financial products like RESPs given that you likely don’t revisit them more than once or [...]
Read on and enjoy … Book Review and Giveaway: The RESP Book
By 2 Cents on October 7th, 2010 | Category: Investing |  This is just a short post to let you know that discount brokerage Questrade is now offering commission-free GIC and bond trades. This issue came up during a discussion in the comments section of my 2010 Financial Plan Update for the third quarter. I’ve updated the comments with some of this information, but I just thought I would pass it along in case anyone else is interested.
Holding our sons’ RESP money in cash has been an issue for us for a while. It’s earning zero in a brokerage account, but I hesitated to buy a GIC because my brokerage (Questrade) charged about $30 for each purchase. It hardly seemed worth it with interest rates so low. Further, we may need some of that money within 3 years, and those rates are even lower than the 5-year rates. Unlike the GICs we have in our [...]
Read on and enjoy … Questrade Offering Bonds and GICs with No Commission
By 2 Cents on October 1st, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents | Another month has passed all too quickly and it’s time to round up a few of my favourite articles from September. How quickly 2010 is slipping away! It seems like just yesterday I was writing up a few ideas on 2010 What Ifs for the New Year. Now it’s time to start thinking about what 2011 might hold!
I read a lot of great articles everyday. I can’t include all of them here, but I usually highlight them on Twitter. You can follow me @BalanceJunkie.
1. Canadian Finance Blog has recently launched Money Index, a website that aggregates all kinds of financial content for you. It’s a great resource for anyone interested in personal finance and investing. I’ve added a widget to get you there on the right sidebar. In case you’re interested, you can find Balance [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from September 2010
By 2 Cents on August 23rd, 2010 | Category: Economics | When the elements of deflation combine in the right order, the central bank can print a boatload of money without bringing about inflation. And we may now be watching that combination come about.
~ John Mauldin
Update: This article was featured in the Canadian Personal Finance & Investing Carnival posted at Investing Thesis. Thank you!
I’m officially back from a 2-week vacation today, although I sort of cheated and put up a new post on Friday. It’s great to be back. I’d like to thank those who filled in for me with their thoughts and insights in my absence. In the meantime, however, the financial world went on without me while I caught up on some reading. I learned a lot as a result, and I’ll be sharing some of that with you over the coming weeks.
The inflation vs. deflation debate [...]
Read on and enjoy … The Periodic Table of Deflation: How Many Elements Do You See?
By 2 Cents on July 2nd, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents | We’re halfway through 2010 already. The kids are out of school and I hope to spend some quality time with each of them over the next couple of weeks. I hope you get to enjoy some R & R as well. In the meantime, I have 10 great articles for you to ponder as you sip a cold beverage on your patio!
1. Ryan at Lifestyle Shock encourages us to look at the really big picture by linking to a very thought-provoking video of Vaclav Smil in 9 Billion People + 1 Planet = ?. I would encourage you to read the post and watch the video when you’re in a state of mind to really let it sink in. I wonder if we’ll let this problem reach a crisis before we really get organized and do something about it. I hope not, but [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from June 2010
By 2 Cents on May 3rd, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents | I can’t believe how quickly April passed! It’s already time for the next edition of 20 Cents. This is a collection of 10 articles from around the web that I thought you might find interesting. Obviously, I can’t highlight every great post, but I point out some good ones each day on Twitter. You can follow me @BalanceJunkie. Happy Monday!
1. Don Sutton at Canadian Business had a great article asking this very timely and poignant question: Will You Be Pulled Under If U.S. Banking Reform Fails?
2. Canadian Capitalist posted Book Review: The Big Short on Michael Lewis’ newest book. It details the events in the mortgage market that lead to the U.S. housing crisis and subsequent economic meltdown. Check out the 60 Minutes video he has embedded at the end of the review. I watched the same [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from April 2010
By 2 Cents on March 14th, 2010 | Category: Financial Literacy | Before I get to this post, I’d like to thank Larry MacDonald for featuring me in this weekend’s Globe & Mail. I’ve had a number of people asking about the 3% 90 Day GIC that I have from ING Direct. It’s only available as an RRSP GIC. I believe it was part of an RRSP seasonal promotion. It’s still available as of early this morning, but I don’t know how much longer it will be there. If you look at their site, you need to look under “RSP Short Term Guaranteed Investment”. It’s for real – honest. Mine matures in April.
If you are visiting Balance Junkie for the first time as a result of the Globe & Mail article, welcome. Take a look around. I hope you like what you read and I hope you’ll visit again soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and your March Break [...]
Read on and enjoy … Financial Literacy Update #1
By 2 Cents on February 4th, 2010 | Category: Economics | The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced if the nation doesn’t want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance.
~ Cicero, 55 B.C.
DANGER: Submerged Obstacles
It’s hard to believe the above quote is from 55 B.C.. It seems like it could just as easily apply to the last couple of years, or even today. In my 2010 What Ifs post I identified debt (sovereign, consumer, and corporate) as my biggest economic concern. Where do we stand just one month into this young year?
Well, debt has indeed become a common theme, and not just in the financial pages where you would expect to find it. It’s gradually turning up more in [...]
Read on and enjoy … 10 Reasons to Be Cautious Right Now
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