It’s been a long time.
9 months, 1 day to be exact. I’d like to say it was due to some higher purpose, but I’ve been lazy. Thank you to my sister Kate for reading my posts and making me realize that a post like this was missing. I love you sis. I’m going to stitch together some of the posts on this page which have to do with personal finance. The purpose is so if you want to direct one of your friends to a decent guide to finance that is easy to read, this is where you should send them. Let’s begin.
Must read section
What are the real differences between an RRSP and a TFSA and how do I get most out of both
This was my first post ever. The point of this post was to show the difference between different investment vehicles and show the differences between tax exemption and tax deferral. The tax man will always get his money, but we can determine when he gets it and how much he gets.
In Canada we have RRSPs and in the US, there are 401Ks. Additonally, we have TFSAs while the US has Roth IRAs. Both have advantages and it’s very important to know the differences and how it affects you taxwise.
The post also has two of my favorite frameworks. The rule of 72 and the rule of 2. You will have to read the post if you want to learn more about those.
Now that I have a TFSA/RRSP, what should I invest in? – Boring, but correct and responsible answer
This post discusses how most people, including myself should not pick stocks because it’s too risky and why mutual funds are too expensive when it comes to their fees. The best approach is using a mix of index funds and ETFs. These should be your main long term investment strategy.
The post goes on to explain how these funds are composed, their fee structures and compares them to the above other options.
How to: Buy Stocks the easy way
This was my first how to post which was inspired by one of my friends. It’s a step by step guide to actually opening up an account and how to purchase index funds. I used RBC as the bank in the example because that’s where I currently bank but most banks will have a similar process.
Buying stocks or index funds is a daunting task the first time you do it, so this post was meant to show that it is not that hard and anyone can do it.
As I’ve always said
Knowledge is only potential power, actioned knowledge is the only true form of power
One thing that is really hard to do is time the market. If you could sell high and buy low everytime, you wouldn’t be reading this blog. However, what does happen about once a year is a massive drop in the stock market. This is called a correction. When this happens, you should view it as an opportunity. It’s the equivalent of a sale. Who doesn’t like buying things when they go on sale?
This posts goes over three key elements of investing.
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.
Leave some on the table for the next guy
Invest what you can afford to lose
For extra credit, bonus section
If you already are doing the above and you want to pick some stocks, I wrote the following posts that I’ve used in the past.
How to pick stocks without having to pick stocks
This post describes how instead of betting on any one company in a growing industry, a way to hedge your bet is to invest in the entire ecosystem or the technology that enables the industry.
All boats rise in the tide
Getting your Friends to pick your Stocks
Another fun strategy is based on listening to what your friends are talking about. And I mean not just some of your friends but ALL of your friends Since the site is dedicated to HENRYs, there are some common tendencies of this demographic. HENRY’s tend to be early adopters ahead of the general population, so they can provide some good insight into what people will be consuming a lot of.
Who doesn’t like eating at Chipotles and watching Netflix.
Thank you as always for reading and I look forward to writing more frequently again.
Henry Bill 