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 4th, 2010 | Category: Planning | Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.
~Author Unknown
If you’re new to Balance Junkie, I outlined our annual financial plan for 2010 back in January. I update the plan each quarter so that readers can have an idea of how one family handles their finances. I don’t claim that the way we do it is the right way, but offer it as a sample for beginners who may not know where to start. I also use it as a way to make sure I actually review our finances every quarter!
Budgets and financial plans should be as unique as the lives that define them. Our life has included some very fortunate years followed by a recent period of tumult. Things have settled down and Mr. Cents likes his new job. Still, as I mentioned last quarter, we continue to worry [...]
Read on and enjoy … 2010 Financial Plan: Q3 Update
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 2nd, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents | Today is a Civic Holiday for many people in Canada. If you are one of those, I hope you’re enjoying your long weekend! Once again, I was amazed by the number of really great articles out there in July. Here are just 10 of my many favourites. Enjoy!
1. Brett Arends at The Wall Street Journal gets the top spot this month for pointing out Ten Stock Market Myths That Just Won’t Die. There are some real gems here. How many times have you heard these pearls of wisdom? (Sarcasm intended.)
2. Thicken My Wallet offered some ideas on Avoiding Overexposure to the Equity Market. This is a great look at some of the reasons we may come to have too much equity exposure and a few ways to avoid them.
3. The omnipresent Miranda Marquit wrote [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from July 2010
By 2 Cents on June 1st, 2010 | Category: 20 Cents | It’s time for the next monthly installment of 20 Cents. Is it just me or did it seem like May was only 12 days long? Here are 10 of my favourite articles from around the web for May, 2010.
I try to include a fairly well-rounded selection each month, but 10 slots is just not enough to cover all of the great writing that gets served up each month. I highlight a lot of great articles each day on Twitter. You can follow me @BalanceJunkie.
1. Political Calculations spelled out Three Signs of Economic Trouble in the Modern World. Read the article and find out how many you recognize in today’s economy.
2. Jabulani Lefall wrote about Financial Fear Factors at Wise Bread. The author laments the disappearance of the middle ground along with the middle [...]
Read on and enjoy … 20 Cents from May 2010
By 2 Cents on March 23rd, 2010 | Category: Investing | The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.
~ Frank Hubbard
Last week a reader asked a question about how to get started with online investing in Canada. I directed her to The Globe and Mail’s online brokerage review for details about the offerings of individual brokerages. I said I would try to write about some general issues to consider too, so here goes:
What Type of Account Will You Open?
Do you want to open an RRSP, RESP, TFSA, or just a regular brokerage account? Most of the larger brokerages will offer all of these, but double check to make sure the broker you’re considering offers the products you need. Make sure you check out the fee structure for each type of account as well. Some brokerages will charge annual fees [...]
Read on and enjoy … Online Investing: How to Get Started
By 2 Cents on January 29th, 2010 | Category: Book Reviews | People on commission cannot be trusted.
~ David Trahair, Enough Bull, p. 121
This book came out in August of 2009. By that time, the market tailspin had finally subsided and many investors have since felt comfortable diving back into the investment pool. David Trahair would probably advise against that.
This book was billed as “the one book your bank really does not want you to read”. When you understand Mr. Trahair’s position, you can see why. Many of the ideas he proposes in this book would be considered sacrilegious in many circles, including some parts of the personal finance blogosphere, and of course, the financial services industry.
My first impression was that Mr. Trahair’s views were a little too extreme and that the book probably wouldn’t even have been published if it weren’t for the panic instigated by the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The thing is, [...]
Read on and enjoy … Book Review: Enough Bull
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