Guiding you along your financial journey
August is typically a quiet month for the markets, with many traders taking time off. If any negative news comes out then markets tend to drop quickly. For most of August, markets looked like typical summer markets, until out of nowhere, the Chinese government devalued their currency and Chinese stocks started dropping. This sent waves of panic around the world […]
Like most investors, Canadians prefer to stick close to home. That is, most Canadians think of investing in their own stock and bond markets first, before venturing beyond our borders. That would be fine if Canada’s stock market made up a large part of the global stock market, but it does not. While the volatility of the Canadian Dollar can […]
Stock Options are a popular way for companies, especially startups, to compensate their employees. Although there is no guarantee of the success of a company, by fully understanding your stock options and specifically, the tax implications associated with them, you can avoid making common (and big) mistakes that can cost you thousands of dollars.
Last month we published a post comparing Zipcar, Car2go and Car Ownership, in which the car ownership option was a brand new car. We received some great feedback, and one of the requests was to compare a used car with longer trips. So – here it is. This time, we’re assuming you primarily need a car for weekend getaways. And instead […]
What is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)? REITs own real estate like shopping malls, apartment buildings, office buildings and even public storage. REITs make it easy for small investors to own real estate and takes away the headache of being a landlord. One of the main attractions for investors is the steady cash payments that REITs provide. When interest […]
According to the SPCA, the average cost per year to care for a small dog is approximately $1,300 and for a cat is $1,000*. Unsurprisingly, the high cost of pet care is one of the top five reasons people give up their pets. Fortunately, there are some simple steps that smart pet owners can take to reduce their costs. Here are […]
You might be thinking about adding gold to your portfolio since gold rices are at 5 year lows. In addition to gold prices being well of their 2011 highs, gold can provide diversification benefits to a portfolio of stocks and bonds. When priced in Canadian dollars, gold has often been negatively correlated to Canadian stocks and bonds. While the correlations […]
Last year, Canadians lost an incredible $70-million to money scams – which was an increase of $17 million compared to the year before. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center, this number only accounts for 5 percent of those affected – so the real size of this problem is huge, and growing. With this in mind, I want to share with […]
