If I asked you to make a list of the dumb things you’ve done with money, would it be a two-liner or would you be reaching for a hundred-page booklet? OK, forget the list. Let’s focus on one incident. What is the most embarrassing, daft, what-was-I-thinking, I’m-a-complete-idiot thing you’ve ever done with money? Be brutally […]
Unexpressed rage and a financial conundrum: What Vanessa heard at Starbucks
Every once in a while, I get an email from a reader that makes me choke on my cup of tea. Today’s noteworthy moment came courtesy of Vanessa, an award-winning travel blogger who also happens to be a member of my team. Vanessa overhead something at a coffee shop that she simply couldn’t ignore, especially […]
Rethinking Emergency Funds
Does an Emergency Fund serve you well or give you the illusion of security? It depends. There seems to be a generally-accepted rule that having an emergency fund is wise and that the correct amount to hold is somewhere in the range of three to six months worth of expenses. Some advisors insist that a […]
Allowing Yourself to Learn About Investing
They looked like deer in headlights. After delivering the last of the content for the two-hour Women’s Money Group meet-up on investing basics, I actually said, “You look shell-shocked!” Normally, after the meetings, the room is abuzz with conversations and laughter as the women pack up their things and make their way out. This night […]
Minimizing Exposure and Financial Risk During Separation
Emily* is concerned. She is preparing to leave an abusive marriage and she’s worried that when she leaves, her husband will try to sabotage her financially using their shared credit accounts. They have a joint credit card, which has a balance in the low four-figures, but most pressing is their Home Equity Line of Credit, […]
TFSAs and RRSPs Are Not Investments
If you open a TFSA and put some money in there, is it invested? Is the money you put into that account guaranteed to grow? Can you simply pull money out of your RRSP to use it for other purposes, like paying down debt, without any issues? Is that possible? I’ve just had several conversations […]
How To Get Your Credit Score For Free – And What The Catch Is
A venture capitalist, doubling as a professor during a week of mini university for high school students, told my daughter the following: When you get something for free, you are the product. They were looking into free apps and how companies make money when they give their products away for free. There’s always a catch. […]
Financial Lessons From a Taxi Driver
I don’t know what it is about me and taxi drivers. Whenever I’m in a car alone with them – something that happens infrequently – they tell me their life story. Four years ago, I was told by a driver that he was too old to succeed and that I am really old. Well, that […]
Two Words for Women: Be Bold (A Rant)
Warning: Bold language ahead. Proceed at own risk. When I was in Grade 12, I was obliged to have a meeting with our school’s guidance counsellor about my future. I was applying to universities and his task was to help me make wise choices regarding my career. The results of my aptitude test (I did […]
When It Makes Sense To Rent a Home Instead of Buying
When I published my last blog post on the fact that it does not always make sense to keep the matrimonial home in a divorce, I received emails from people heading into a divorce for whom that issue was timely. Should they rent or buy another home, they wanted to know? Then I heard from a […]
