Debt & Frugality

As Didi says in the novel (Findependence Day), “There’s no point climbing the Tower of Wealth when you’re still mired in the basement of debt.” If you owe credit-card debt still charging an usurous 20% per annum, forget about building wealth: focus on eliminating that debt. And once done, focus on paying off your mortgage. As Theo says in the novel, “The foundation of financial independence is a paid-for house.”

An investing guide for beginners

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group elementary school students in computer classBy Robb Engen, Boomer & Echo

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Young readers often ask for investing tips and wonder how to get started. My typical response is that once you have a good handle on your finances – no credit-card debt, student loans fully paid (or close to it), some cash saved up for emergencies, short-term goals are funded (or on the way) – then it’s probably a good time to start your investing journey.

Finding the right investing approach can be tricky for beginners. There are plenty of options available, from GICs and bonds to mutual funds, stocks and ETFs. Then you need to consider your age and risk tolerance. Do you have the stomach to handle stock market fluctuations of 25 per cent or more, or would you prefer to see returns that are lower, yet less volatile?

If you’re serious about saving for retirement, you need an investing guide. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

First time investors: Building your portfolio

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20 different ways to use your tax refund

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Tax refund ahead clock

By Adrian Mastracci, KCM Wealth

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Let’s examine some wise ways to apply your tax refund in 2016. There are no shortages of sound possibilities for the personal finances.

Everyone can reap value from these practices. For example, refunds can be spent, saved and invested.

First park the refund into a saving account to resist impulse, say for 30 days.It gives you time to reflect and evaluate your needs and options. Try your best to get lasting value from this worthy source of cash. Many of the allocations you make are typically not reversible.

Here are 20 sensible ideas dealing with your tax refund: Continue Reading…

How to eat Healthily without Breaking the Bank

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By Sandy Cardy

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The price of groceries is on the rise again. However, there are ways you can limit the amount of money you spend when it comes time to grocery shop.

During the holiday season, I wrote an article about over-consumption – the gist being that the over-consumption of credit can leave us with debt troubles and how over-consumption of the wrong foods can leave us with harmful health debt.

There’s a general consensus that it costs too much money to eat healthily all the time. While it’s true that natural food products can be quite expensive, especially if you eat gluten-free or vegan packaged foods, there are ways to stretch your dollar at the grocery store.

The rising cost of groceries has made headlines again; in 2015 the average Canadian household spent about $325 more on food and is expected to spend an extra $345 in 2016, according to the University of Guelph’s Food Institute.

Meat and produce are expected to see the biggest price jump, with meat seeing a 4.5 per cent increase and fruits and vegetables rising between 4 and 4.5 per cent this year.

There’s good news though! Eating healthy doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. By stocking up your pantry on a variety of everyday superfoods and pairing them with fresh ingredients, dinners to feed the family can cost you less.

Stock Your Pantry Continue Reading…

Why retire if you still have mortgage or other debt?

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An image representing crushing mortgage debt.

My latest Financial Post article is available in the Wednesday paper and online under the headline Retiring with a mortgage? Why you might want to think twice about that.

As I confess at the outset, my bias is to what I often state in my book, Findependence Day: the foundation of financial independence is a paid-for home. Since Findependence is also a prerequisite to Retirement, to me it follows that seniors still weighed down by credit-card debt or even mortgage debt would be better off working at least part-time and use the proceeds to take down their debt to zero. After that, they can live rent-free and the pressure will be off to make the monthly nut (although of course property taxes and condo maintenance fees may remain for some.)

Payday loans an ominous sign for seniors

Check the reader comments at the end of the FP piece and it appears at least some seniors agree with me. Continue Reading…

Trading ETFs can just make dumb moves cheaper

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patmckeoughBy Patrick McKeough, TSINetwork.ca

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Trading ETFs can work just as well in facilitating dumb moves as it does with smart moves.

Most investors would agree when we say that Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs started out as the most benign investment innovation that has come along in our lifetimes.

The problem is that ETFs work just as well in facilitating dumb moves as smart ones. And there are all sorts of dumb moves that ETFs can facilitate.

In fact, if you get an urge to invest in oil stocks, or gold stocks, or Swedish stocks, or windpower stocks, or any of hundreds of other stock groups and themes, you can act on that urge without doing any messy and time-consuming research on individual stocks—research that may give you pause and keep you from investing.

Manage your portfolio successfully into retirement

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