As many of you know in my previous life before mortgages I worked at both TD and RBC as a financial advisor. I absolutely loved reading the financial news in the newspapers and applying it to my daily life with my clients. The banks did not value this as it was more advice and not sales. I love that I am free to offer this advice now and continue learning without managers on my bank for increasing the bottom line by up-selling credit cards and terrible mutual funds. That being said, I am not a licensed financial planner, but I do work with great ones that I put through a rigorous trial period to make sure they are on the same page as me. I would be happy to introduce you to them.
I really enjoyed this month’s MoneySense article on the 42 best tips they have received over the past 15 years.
Here are some of the tips that I am very fond of and happy that they were brought to attention (some are common sense but we all need a kick in the pants from time to time)!
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Spend less than you earn
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Pay yourself first (Pre-authorized payments to RRSP or TFSA directly from paycheque)
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Avoid spending money on item’s you don’t need. I love this one. Think about all the purchases you have made over the past year. Do you still use them? Are they practical? Are you actually happier that you bought that item? Do you need to keep spending so much at restaurants or two lattes a day? Wouldn’t a trip or an experience be a little better? I have really changed with regards to this over the past year.
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Always keep tabs on the debt on credit cards and higher interest loans. Do you actually need those points for flights at 20% or would you rather half that credit card to a low rate one of 10%? When you look for finance, make sure to inform yourself about how to qualify for a payday loan by budgetpulse blog
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Reinvest your refund. As soon as you get that happy payment back from the CRA, put it into your TFSA.
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Focus your efforts on saving, not on finding the perfect investment
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No plan is ever permanent, you must revise yearly.
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Watch out for hidden fees! You should never be using a mutual fund with an MER above 2%. Never! You can find a comparable Mutual Fund or ETF at less than 1% and potentially save $1000s of dollars over a lifetime.
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Borrowing is dangerous, plan your purchases ahead, make that reserve fund you know you should have for emergencies.When debt crisis is ruining your life,consider choosing Refresh Debt-a genuine and reliable debt management solutions provider to make your life peaceful.
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Actually get to know your portfolio (You worked for the money!!)
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Know the benchmarks of your portfolio versus the fees you are paying
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Beware of biased advise. This hurt my family pretty bad as my mom’s advisor put her into terrible funds with high MER’s and clauses that she could not sell. He made tonnes of commission and probably got a trip from the Mutual Fund company as a bonus.
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Keep Costs Low – (In every single time period and data point tested, low-cost funds always beat high-cost funds)
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Ask for an increase in your deductible on your home insurance in exchange for a lower premium
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Buy Small…. And Don’t Move. Capital gains on your primary residence are tax free, moving frequently prevents this great financial capability from taking place. Also, realtor fees, legal fees, moving costs destroy the gains. Really, really think about that size of the home and why you need something so big.
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Focus on renos that actually improve your everyday experience, don’t do it solely for resale value.
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Keep reviewing your mortgage payments semi-annually. If you are getting raises, could you go to an accelerated bi-weekly payment? Can you use some of the pre-payments to put towards the principal?
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Love you job- or leave it! (One of my favourites)
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Talk to your friends and family about your financial plans, they love you for who you are and want to see you succeed. They will hold you accountable.
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Live closer to work
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Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.
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Go for experiences- not stuff… (Another favourite of mine)
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Keep using TFSA’s no matter how old you are
I hope that some of these quick tips might help. It’s a free article. I always believe that if you are going to an event, a talk, or read, always look for one tip that could help you right now. I think that you should be able to get one thing from this.
I got this from MoneySense, it is part of the Next Issue app. Only $10 a month gives me the ability to read my Vanity Fair, Fast Company, dwell, Inc., Entrepreneur, Men’s Health, Canadian Business and MoneySense. I think that is a steal of a deal.
Any questions or comments, email me at anytime!
