How do I manage my money?

Great question! I start by putting the income I receive into my money magnifier calculator. This has all of my needs, wants, and goals on it. I then transfer the money to the relevant accounts. Full article describing my process included here.

What if I don't make enough?

One of my favorite books, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker, mentions that it is not the amount that matters, it is the habit of managing the money that comes into your life. Even if after all your expenses, all you have to divide is a dollar, that is something that empowers you to have control over your money, not the other way around.

That being said, there are times when there simply is not enough coming in. Personal finance has one simple rule: spend less than you earn and invest the rest. Easy to say, not easy to do. Ultimately you need to find a way to raise income or lower expenses. You can find my tips on both of those topics here.

Do I need a financial advisor?

My opinion is the vast majority of financial advisors are salesmen/women. Not that it makes them bad, I myself am in sales and I love the impact I create. Yet it does mean there tends to be a bias in what they recommend for you. There are simpler and cheaper alternatives if you are just looking to invest in the market.

Here is a litmus test to see if you need to talk to someone about your finances:

1) Do I have 3-6 months of an emergency fund/plan?

2) Am I free of consumer debt? This includes credit cards, payday loans, anything financed from a store.

3) Have I maxed out my TFSA and RRSP? Mainly, am I taking advantage of known tax shelters?

If your answer is no to any of those three, you can start on those and you will be on the right track.

What should I invest in?

Unfortunately, I cannot answer that for you. There are some good questions you can ask yourself though, courtesy of David Stien's "Money for the Rest of Us."

What Is It?

Is it Investing, Speculating, Or Gambling?

What is the Upside?

What is The Downside?

Who is On The Other Side of the Trade?

What is the Investment Vehicle?

What Does it Take To Be Successful?

Who is Getting a Cut?

How Does It Impact Your Portfolio?

Should you Invest?

Why does this even matter, why can't I just ignore money?

Money is like oxygen, if it leaves you notice very quickly. My mission is to help less people have to work at places they do not love in their golden years. I am not huge into the FIRE movement, but I do think that we need to be conscious of how our lives will look if we invest adequately. Regardless of which model you use, many of us underestimate how much we will need to retire. An accumulation based strategy using historic market returns means you *could safely retire with a 1.4 million dollar portfolio comprised of index funds. At a 7% avg return to retire in 15 years would require investing 4500/mo without fail. That is a lot of dough for most folks. However, if you want to retire in 50 years that means investing a much more achievable 278/mo. Starting early matters and I am here to help. You can do this! Others have walked this path before and it is worth it!