Investing

Learn to Trade Individual Stocks

While at a concert recently, I met a young woman who told me that she and her husband took a course a few years ago that taught them how to trade individual stocks.

She said, when she first heard about the training she almost didn’t take it, because the course was quite expensive, almost $9000.  However, they decided to take it despite the cost, and she said they were able to recoup the cost of the course within one year of trading stocks.

She recommended that married couples should take the course together, so that both partners are on the same page.  It is much more difficult if only one spouse understands what is going on.

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June 9, 2010
Investing

The Risk Of Investing In GICs

Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), are a common savings vehicle used by Canadians.  There are different types.  Some are locked in for a specific period of time, while others are cashable at anytime.

GICs provide the following advantages:

-Your principal is guaranteed.

-For most GIC types, you are guaranteed a fixed rate of interest for a specific period of time.

-They help people to save who would otherwise spend their money.  If their money is locked away, they have no way of accessing it, making it impossible to spend it on a whim.

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June 7, 2010
Investing

Why Inflation Matters

Inflation, the ever -increasing cost of everything over time, makes a significant impact on your savings.  In a normal, healthy economy, the inflation rate usually hovers around 3%.  Essentially, everything goes up in value except your money.  This is an important concept to understand as inflation impacts your purchasing power.

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June 5, 2010
General

A CGA Report On Canadian Finance – Are We In Trouble?

A recent report released by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada has shed some light on the current financial situation for Canadians, and it’s not all good news.

Here are some of the findings from the report:

*One quarter of Canadians would not be able to handle unforeseen expenditures but yet Canadians save even less than before. We need to plan ahead and  save some money each pay period in order to build up an emergency fund.  Who knows when you’ll need that $2000 root canal?

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June 3, 2010
Debt

Pay Down Your Debt Faster By Making Extra Payments

Although it may not seem like much, making extra payments towards your mortgage and loans can save you a significant amount of money in the long run.  Even just a few extra dollars here and there is worth the effort to put towards your principal.

For example, if you take out a loan for $5000 at an interest of 6%, it would take you 5 years to pay it off if your monthly payment is $96.66.  However, by adding an extra $50 to your monthly payments, you could pay off the loan in full within 3 years 2 months.  If you added $100 extra to every monthly payment, you would pay off the loan in 2 years 4 months.

To make this more meaningful to you, check out this loan calculator and punch in your own loan or mortgage information to see the impact of increasing your regular payments or by adding a one-time lump sum.

My husband and I found that by putting extra money down on our mortgage, it has saved us hundreds of dollars on interest charges.  Our goal is to aggressively pay down our mortgage while at the same time not neglecting to save for our future retirement and other goals.

It feels good to pay down debt as it lifts a burden from your shoulders.  If you have difficulty using your money wisely, help yourself by putting any extra money away towards the principal of your loans so that you won’t be able to spend it on things you don’t need.

Just think, the sooner you are debt free, the sooner you will be able to use that excess cash flow for the things you really want to do but without the guilt or burden of knowing you will eventually have to find a way to pay for it.

June 1, 2010