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11 best Personal Finance formulae to live by

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What is one personal finance formula that you live by to help maintain expenses and create wealth?

To help you maintain expense and create wealth, we asked small business owners and professionals this question for their insights. From developing multiple streams of income to living beneath your means and giving back, there are several personal finance formulas that you can use to maintain your expenses and generate wealth.

Here are eleven best personal finance formulas to live by:

  • Develop Multiple Streams of Income
  • Set a Budget and Stick To It
  • Make and Save More Than You Spend
  • Seek Out the Best Deals
  • Overestimate Your Spending
  • Value and Invest in Yourself
  • Account For Every Dollar With Zero-Based Budgeting
  • Track Your Spending Monthly
  • Deposit Any Extra Cash to Savings
  • Set Clear Expectations With the 30/50/20 Rule
  • Live Beneath Your Means and Give Back

Develop Multiple Streams of Income

You need to develop multiple streams of income, if you can. Just trying to get wealthy from one source of income is not enough to build the sort of wealth you’re imagining for yourself. Starting with the income stream you have now, add to it. Invest, if you can, as dividends from the right stocks or mutual funds can be another income stream. In general, the more income streams you have, the greater your ability to create wealth. — Carey Wilbur, Charter Capital

Set a Budget and Stick to it

Setting a budget and sticking to it is a tried and true personal finance formula that works for anyone of any age, in any business. Fiscal responsibility is never overrated. Knowing how much you have coming in and going out, how much you can afford to spend and how much would be too much, can prevent you from making costly decisions. This is one of the key foundations of creating and maintaining wealth. — Randall Smalley, Cruise America

Make and Save more than you Spend

I live by the formula of making and saving more money than I spend. There’s no better way to create wealth than being responsible with what you earn. Save more than you spend, make smart investments when possible, and don’t deviate from your long-term goals. Work hard and stick to your budget, and your wealth will continue to grow. — Vicky Franko, Insura

Seek out the Best Deals

I try to save money wherever possible and always try to find the best possible deal on an item. A penny saved is a penny earned, after all, so I do my research in order to earn. If I see something I like, I shop around to be sure that I’m getting the best price. The same principle can be applied to anything, whether we’re talking about books, TVs or, like with us, insurance. — Brian Greenberg, Insurist

Overestimate your Spending

When creating my budget, I always overestimate my spending for each category. I round up every number so that there is a buffer for unexpected costs, and I’m never cutting it too fine. I find this removes the feeling of being too restricted by my budget and letting it rule my life by being in the way of spontaneous moments. When in reality, a budget is there to make your life easier and help you plan for the moments which bring you great happiness. It’s barely noticeable to put away a little extra for each spending category but combined this adds up and allows you space to live more freely. — Antreas Koutis, Financer

Value and Invest in Yourself

You are your own greatest and most important investment. That’s how I see it. Be sure that you’re paying yourself what you’re worth, commensurate with the value you bring to whatever you’re doing. Continue Reading…

Canadian Energy: An Industry in Transition

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Franklin Templeton/iStock

By Les Stelmach, Izabel Flis, Mike Richmond, Naveed Sunderji

Franklin Bissett Investment Management

(Sponsor Content)

This is an interesting time for the energy industry. Occasional reflexive selling based on emerging demand or supply concerns has been short-lived. Late last fall (based on January distribution), consuming nations like the United States tried to mitigate higher crude oil prices by releasing volumes from their strategic petroleum reserves to little avail.

More recently, higher rates of COVID infection in some European countries and the emergence of the Omicron variant sparked some selloff in oil prices, but this is likely to be short-lived as the trajectory for global demand approaches pre-COVID levels.

In addition, the ongoing focus on climate change concerns — most recently articulated at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, — has increased pressure on producing nations and companies to limit production. The current lack of a coordinated suite of energy alternatives that can deliver reliably at the necessary scale does little to deter demand. Arguably, this phase of the transition is contributing to higher prices for crude oil and natural gas. Prices for both commodities have supported greater returns and profitability for oil and gas companies, rewarding investors willing to ignore the volatility.

The path to net zero: journey of 1000 steps

While the last 20 years have seen significant improvements in cost-effectivenes and efficiency for renewable technologies, the sobering reality is that they are not yet able to carry the full load of global economic activity. Renewables still generate comparatively less energy than hydrocarbons, are less stable and vulnerable to demand shocks. An aggressive transition to renewables can backfire, as Californians discovered during last summer’s severe heatwave when their heavily renewable-reliant energy supply was unable keep up with the increased demand. The result was rolling blackouts.

The infrastructure created to support the extraction, production and transportation of hydrocarbons will not be transformed overnight, but in some cases it will become part of the transition to cleaner energy. Pipelines, for example, are essential conduits for hydrocarbons. Political controversy aside, from an environmental perspective they are currently the safest, most efficient, most cost-effective and cleanest mode of transport.

Some natural gas exports are already serving decarbonization efforts in developing nations. In the future, some pipelines may be converted to carry low-carbon recycled natural gas (RNG), hydrogen or carbon dioxide to be sequestered as these alternatives become more widely adopted. Longevity and cash flows for these assets are considered stable over the near future.

Energy and ESG: surprisingly compatible

For oil and gas companies, the emphasis on “E” in ESG (environmental) is really a “C” (climate change). The scrutiny around gas emissions does not isolate one measure to the exclusion of others. Water and waste management, turnover rate, injury rates: these and many other factors are part of a comprehensive ESG analysis. Continue Reading…

6 investment tips for Millennials

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Source: Unsplash (Edited on Canva)

By Hari Subramanian

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

From the ‘safety-first’ attitude of baby boomers to the ‘putting themselves out there’ nature of Gen Z, generational cohorts offer great insights into the evolution of the human psyche based on different experiences.  

Millennials are not exactly what you call ‘risk takers’ but are more open towards new opportunities, compared to previous generations. This characteristic of millennials can be seen in the way they invest their money: they are willing to move away from fixed deposits and RRSPs that the boomers swore by and are looking to invest in stocks, cryptocurrency, and other financial avenues. 

Why should Millennials invest?

While more and more millennials are dabbling into investing in different portfolios, almost 50% of the cohort is still waiting to invest until they earn more money. This data contradicts the popular belief that the best time to invest is yesterday, and those who wait are losing precious time to grow their money. 

If you are one of those who procrastinate about investing money for later or think you need a 6-digit income to substantially boost your financial growth, you couldn’t be more wrong. Start your investment journey as early as you can as your returns compound  with time, and you’ll learn the tricks of the trade to become a more component investor in the future. And, you can start investing with just a handful of dollars.   

Investment Tips for 2022

If you are a millennial just beginning to build your investment portfolio or a seasoned millennial investor, these 6 financial tips will help you stand in good stead for 2022:    

Robo Advisors to the rescue

Trading in stocks requires constant scrutiny of rising and falling stock prices and earnings, and a good understanding of how the stock market functions. In the recent phenomenon of a surge in GameStop shares created by a group of Reddit investors, many retail investors and short-selling hedge funds that were betting for the company to fail lost billions of dollars. 

While it is only human to jump on the bandwagon of a stock market frenzy in an attempt to earn substantial profits, it entails high risks and can cause a lot of damage to your finances.   

If you are new to the stock investment game or don’t have enough time to monitor the peaks and troughs of the stock market, then you should explore robo advisors to help you achieve your financial goals with minimal risks. 

For the uninitiated, robo advisors are digital portals that control and optimize your investment portfolios through the use of algorithms and data-driven strategies. Robo advisors are very easy to use, as they automate your investments based on your investment budget and long-term financial goals. 

They also are pretty inexpensive with an affordable minimal balance to open investment accounts for investors from all walks of life. With minimal human supervision, a robo advisor can adjust your investments automatically based on market fluctuations while focussing on your monetary goals. Thus, if you wish for steady growth of your investments without any undue risk, you can explore the web to find the right robo advisor for you.  

ESG Investments can make you a better investor

Source: Pixabay

As more and more millennials are standing up for environmental, social, and socio-political causes, it is time for their investments to reflect their thought process. ESG investments are defined as investments based on non-financial factors such as environmental, social, and governance impact of a company on society.

In ESG investments, millennials pour in money on the company stocks they believe will make a difference to the world they live in. Through ESGs, millennials extend their support to companies whose beliefs align with theirs and hope that it creates a sustainable future for their children. 

ESG investments also provide a great learning curve for investors. Since personal beliefs, values, and socio-environmental impact are involved, you as an investor tend to go the extra mile to learn everything about the company including its financial health and revenue model instead of just blindly buying stocks that are on the rise.

ESGs can help you understand how and why a company’s stock performs in a certain way and can teach you a lesson in becoming better investors.      

Ditch individual Stock Picking

Before we delve into why stock picking is not a good investment option, it is imperative to understand what stock picking is. Based on market research and analysis, stock picking is a strategy to find the stocks that are most likely to deliver favourable investment returns.  Continue Reading…

Getting your finances ready for the new year

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By Stuart Gray,

Director, Financial Planning Centre of Expertise, RBC

(Sponsor Content)

If you’re like many Canadians, with 2022 around the corner, you’re likely thinking about what you would like to achieve in this new year.

You can begin by having a good look at your current financial situation and the steps you can take to stay on top of your money.

As we consider what this year will bring, here are five areas of personal finances you can focus on to get 2022 onto solid financial footing:

• Make sure your financial plan still works for you

As the economy continues to recover and we look toward whatever this year holds, having a financial plan can help you take stock of where you are and what you need to do to continue to work toward your financial goals.

A financial plan can help strengthen your confidence when it comes to managing your money, both now and in the future. Taking the time to build a plan that works for you and your unique financial situation is a good start. Use your plan to identify your goals and objectives, evaluate your finances and put steps in place to achieve your financial goals. It’s also important to revisit your plan regularly, especially as your finances or priorities change.

• Stay on top of your cash flow

As inflation continues to impact Canadians’ purchasing power, cash flow will become an even more important part of managing personal finances in 2022. Here’s where having a budget, to complement your financial plan, is a huge help. A budget will give you a good picture of the money you have coming in and going out.

If you already have a budget, it’s a good time to review and update your expenses to account for rising costs: from gas and groceries to utilities and activities. This will help you see what you may have left over to put into savings.

Managing any debts and how you plan to pay them off is also an important part of managing cash flow. A piece of advice here: Don’t worry about paying all your debts at once. Instead, focus on taking care of higher interest rate debts first. This will have a good impact on your overall financial health, to help you worry less and save more.

New digital tools, like NOMI Budgets and NOMI Forecast can also help you stay on top of your money and avoid unnecessary expenses. Available to RBC clients through the RBC Mobile app, NOMI Budgets simplifies the budgeting process by taking a close look at your spending and recommending a personalized monthly budget based on your habits. NOMI Forecast learns from your past transactions and uses predictive technology to provide a rolling forecast of your expenses for the next seven days.

• Be prepared for the unexpected

One important lesson the pandemic has taught us is that the unexpected can happen at any time. It also has reinforced the importance of having an emergency fund that you can rely on to help cover the costs of unexpected expenses like loss of income or repairs to vehicles or flooded basements.

Setting up an automatic savings plan can make it easier to save regularly. Using a digital savings account like NOMI Find & Save can also help, as it finds extra money in your cash flow it thinks you won’t miss and automatically sets it aside. If a payment or transfer is due to come out of your linked chequing account, the money is automatically transferred back to ensure you have what you need to cover those transactions.

• Look past the headlines when investing

It can be tempting to do ‘emotional investing’ – reacting to negative headlines and market volatility by altering a well-designed investment plan. While selling off your portfolio may make you feel better, this decision could mean lost opportunities and not achieving your long-term investment goals. Continue Reading…

A new asset class for affluent investors: Cult Wines expands into the US

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By Atul Tiwari, CEO Cult Wines Americas

Special to the Financial Independence Hub 

Wine investing in North America is hitting the mainstream.

Historically, the wine investment category has been perceived as only for the wealthy or wine experts.

Although traditional HNW [High Net Worth] investors have been investing in portfolios of fine wine for years, it is still a new asset class for some.

However, new specialist services are opening up the fine wine investment universe. Cult Wines, whose story began in London, England in 2007, recently expanded into North America with offices in Toronto and New York. Known as ‘The Americas,’ our task is to build the awareness of fine wine and accessibility to the asset class.  In addition, Cult Wines recently introduced a new platform, new product structure and new technology to better serve our clients.

Our expension into The Americas is helped by fine wine’s strong track record of consistent returns and low volatility. Currently, the asset class is enjoying a sustained rally with year-to-date returns over 13.7% through the end of October, as measured by the Liv-ex 1000, an index of some of the most sought-after investment wines from around the world.

The U.S. is the world’s largest Wine market

The US, the world’s largest wine market, is a natural fit for wine investment. 49% of Americans drink wine and 431 million cases of wine were sold in 2020. The US has been making some investment grade wines for decades and to the end of October, the California 50 wine index is the third best performing wine region globally with a year-to-date return of 16.5%. Continue Reading…