Rushing to pay off student loans is a surprisingly common money regret. Why? Two reasons: One is that typically the interest rate you’re paying is quite low, lower than you could earn with investing in the market. So instead of putting every extra dollar toward your...

When people first start thinking about retirement, they often have a monthly dollar amount in mind. They want to be able to withdraw $3,000 or $5,000 or however much each month. That’s an okay place to start, but it’s almost never the right approach for actually...

Lots of financial gurus will tell you to focus more on the big financial decisions in your life, like your house, your car and your job, and to focus less on the small, day-to-day decisions like buying a cup of coffee and what you eat for lunch. I tend to disagree....

With all the headlines about rising interest rates and inflation, lots of people have suddenly woken up to the idea that they could be getting a far better rate on the cash in their savings account. In general, this is a great thing. If you can switch from an account...

Lots of people think the stock market is risky. But that isn’t necessarily the most useful or accurate way to look at things for a few different reasons. For starters, you might think putting your money into Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) or a money market...

Some people are reluctant to build up an emergency fund in cash because they think it’s a waste. They’d rather have all their money in the market. But there are ways to get good returns on your emergency fund, lots of hidden benefits, and non-financial returns to...

I’m not a huge fan of lots of the rules of thumb you see in personal finance all the time. Rules like: - Emergency funds must be 3-6 months of living expenses in cash - Housing shouldn’t be more than 30% of your income - You should spend 50/30/20 on needs/wants/saving...

One reason financial planning is so easy to put off is that you won’t feel lots of the benefits for a long time. The benefits of saving for your kids’ education or retirement. The benefits of having life insurance and an estate plan. That’s all years, maybe decades...

Lots of people are afraid of running out of money in retirement. Lots of times the root of that fear is that they don’t have a plan. They haven’t really thought about what kind of lifestyle they’ll lead, how much money they’ll receive from the government, or how much...

One reason risk can be such a confusing topic is that it’s not just one thing. There are many different kinds of risk. Risk is just the chance of something bad happening. Typically, when risk gets talked about in personal finance, people think of the risk of losing...

Some things we believe at Tallkirk Financial Group about money and personal finance: 1. Money should be easy to talk about, not taboo 2. Good financial advice should be easy to understand, not full of technical jargon 3. Every Canadian should receive help with saving...

If you’re paying someone to just manage your investments, whether that’s picking stocks or mutual funds, ETFs or otherwise, you’re likely overpaying. But if you’re paying someone to… - Help you manage cash flow, optimize your banking arrangements and minimize your...