Based on the (thankfully) limited time I have spent in and around prison, there is a clearly defined pecking order amongst inmates, with child molesters occupying the nadir and (failed) bank robbers at the zenith. My illegal immigrants and petty crooks generally fell comfortably in the middle. But I wonder where someone being sent to prison [...]
I keep a running list of life skills that I think every well adjusted adult should have, and ranking fairly high on this list is a basic understanding of investing. For many people, the markets can be quite intimidating and foreign, but basic investment and financial literacy is key to ensuring that you manage your [...]
My sister called me with an interesting investment question last weekend. She works for a large international oil company at their Calgary office and the company has just announced that it will be starting an employee stock purchase program. Under this program, she could arrange for automatic deductions from her pay (up to 5% per [...]
A lot of people in the personal finance blogosphere are at least ostensibly anti-debt. I’m not one of them. While I agree that no debt is better than any debt, I also believe that not all debt is evil and that borrowing can often serve some very useful purposes. Borrowing to purchase a house, to [...]
Last month, I wrote about my consternation over what to do with a bit of cash I had set aside for a future tax liability. I ultimately decided that this presented a good opportunity for me to set up a self-directed RRSP, something I had been planning on doing for some time. I rolled in [...]