Car-buying is a skill you can learn. Aside from a home, the car you drive might be your biggest expense. So, it pays to develop some car-buying skills. Of course, there are many more posts that could be written about how to choose a car, mechanical inspections, negotiating tactics, etc. but I wanted to write about some lesser-known financial aspects of the deal. Having just bought a 2-year-old SUV from a dealership that tried even harder than usual to separate me from my hard-earned dollars, I thought I’d share six tips that might empower you. 1. Don’t overpay Negotiate hard, but sometimes ..read more

It’s that time of year when Christmas decorations are put away and one more row is added to my Beating the TSX Results spreadsheet.  It’s like writing a story, one sentence every year.  This narrative began back in 1987, the first year David Stanley started tracking the results of this simple but powerful investment strategy.  Since then, there have been ups and downs, twists and turns, doubts and exuberance.  Over 36 years, a story has emerged: individual investors can outperform professionally managed funds.   The secret lies in the words of the world’s most q ..read more

When I help people one-on-one with their financial planning needs, there is one financial goal that comes up more than all the rest: “I don’t want to have to worry about money.”  Most of us, even if we have an interest in personal finance and investing, would rather spend our time doing things we enjoy rather than agonize over financial decisions.  Fortunately, there’s a very reliable way to avoid the stress and improve our outcomes.  All it takes is a little planning up-front along with annual maintenance and you can have a stress-free financial life.  I’d like to make t ..read more

“The 60/40 portfolio is dead!” How many times have you heard this? This statement has been repeated so often, that many investors have taken it as truth without understanding the fundamental principles involved.  But repetition doesn’t make it so. I understand the sentiment.  On the surface, investing in bonds has been a dismal proposition.  When interest rates were low, bonds offered little appeal.  Back in November of 2020, I wrote, “bond prices are too high to be safe and yields are too low to provide income.”  Bonds were simply not fulfilling their traditional ro ..read more

In the world of finance, you need confidence.  Without it, you’re paralyzed but too much of it amplifies errors and undermines financial progress.   Better decisions can be the difference between financial success and ruin.  I’ve written frequently about how human psychology often plays a significant role, leading to cognitive errors that cloud judgment. I write about it because I’m just as vulnerable as anyone else.  Among these psychological traps, overconfidence stands out as a particularly formidable foe, exacerbating other cognitive biases and amplifying the ris ..read more

Reality will pay you back in equal proportion to your delusion Will Smith A few weeks ago I was interviewed again by TD Inside Investor to discuss some lessons I have learned as a BTSX investor.  You can watch the interview HERE. We talked about the importance of diversification, the pitfalls of trying to make market predictions, and how to manage dividend cuts, among many other things.   In hindsight, the underlying theme of the conversation was one of transparency.  I firmly believe that we make better decisions when we have good information – and sometimes good info ..read more

Tom is recently retired and is taking a close look at his investments.  He needs to make sure his nest egg will last.  Dividend-paying stocks make up a portion of his portfolio but another option has caught his eye: covered call ETFs.  These products claim to offer high yields, monthly income and lower volatility than the stock market.  When Tom starts asking around he finds out that covered call ETFs have exploded in popularity in recent years.  Has he been missing out?  Is this the retirement income solution Tom’s been looking for? I’ve had several ques ..read more

Spring is here and I’ve been swamped with family responsibilities, springtime jobs around the house and a surge in interest in one-on-one mentoring, which is great – no complaints here.  Ideas for blog posts bloom like the dandelions on my lawn, but setting aside the time to write has proven difficult.  Fortunately, David Stanley has come to the rescue – even though he’s equally busy preparing his gardens for the season. “The more grocery prices go up, the bigger the garden gets,” Dave tells me.  As you will read,  planting more tomatoes isn’t the only way to fight inflat ..read more

“Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with the 130 IQ. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.” – Warren Buffet If you’re a zebra grazing on the savannah, what would trigger your stress response?  Perhaps you spot a lion approaching in the grass and in a moment everything changes.  You snap to attention, cortisol surges, pupils dilate, your heart starts pumping, nerves and muscles prime themselves for action.  At the same time, blood is shunted ..read more

I read a lot and I write a lot but, weirdly, I’ve never written about a book that I’ve read.  So, today I thought I’d try something new and tell you about a finance book that I recently finished.  This is one that had been recommended to me by several readers of this blog, in fact: Retirement Income For Life by Frederick Vettese. Why you might need this book Most financial books are about how to accumulate money.  This one is about how to “decumulate” your money in retirement – essential knowledge for those who plan to draw on their investment accounts to fund their lifestyle ..read more