Category: General Topics

  • Generational Differences

    Generations are a way to demographically categorize cohorts of the population in terms of the period which they were born. Each generation was influenced by different factors including education, environmental, social, and cultural factors, and the age at which experiences occurred. For example, several different generations lived through the COVID-19…

  • Financial Independence

    Financial independence is achieved when your income from personally established sources, such as investments exceeds the amount needed to sustain your lifestyle. Once your investment income pays for your living expenses, you can theoretically live off of your investment income forever. The lower your expenditures, the smaller your investment portfolio…

  • Home Renovation Considerations

    Remodelling a home might seem like a sure way to increase the value of your home, especially if you watch any home renovation shows on TV. The financial goal for any home renovation should be to maximize the increase in property value obtained by the work performed. Ideally, and what…

  • Is it what you want, or is it what is expected of you?

    We are all influenced by those around us and what we see others doing. Sometimes, we will make life-changing decisions for no other reason than because we think it’s the right thing to do. As Don Draper asks his colleague Lane in the series Mad Men – is it what…

  • Tax on Tax

    Most of us don’t consider that some of the taxes we pay – like sales taxes, fuel taxes, property taxes, and others – are paid from our after-tax income, meaning that we are being taxed on our money that has already been taxed! Sales tax rates vary by jurisdiction, and…

  • Taxation – Jurisdiction Considerations

    It is important to recognize all of the different taxes you pay. This is critical when considering moving to a new city or country. I was considering a move from Alberta, Canada to Texas, USA a few years ago. Texas to known to have low income taxes since income tax…

  • Tax Brackets

    Over the years, I have witnessed a common misconception about how income tax brackets work. In Canada, income taxation is progressive, which means that the tax rate increases the higher your income. The rungs on the proverbial taxation ladder are called tax brackets. The Table below is an example of…

  • Automobile Needs

    At 20 years old, I had a daily commute of 100 km to and from my office. I had convinced myself that my lifestyle including many outdoor hobbies, necessitated a pickup truck. I purchased a V8 Ford F-150 with oversized tires. It was a very ‘cool’ vehicle for someone who…

  • Automobile Depreciation

    Brand new cars will lose 20% of their value in the first year of ownership, and 60% in the first 5 years (Ramsay Solutions, 2023). This means that a car worth $40,000 will be worth $32,000 after one year and $16,000 after 5 years of normal use. In this case,…

  • Automobile Affordability

    Affordability is an interesting term; what does it mean exactly? Does “affording” something mean that you can pay for it with cash, or does it mean that you should be able to pay for the item twice (as Jay-Z famously said) – or does it mean that you have enough…

  • The Cost of Car Ownership

    Automobiles are a necessity in most North American cities due to their sprawling characteristics making it almost impossible for cities to develop mass public transit networks that service the low-density urban neighborhoods. If you live in an area offering public transportation – take advantage of it! As I will show…

  • Credit Cards

    I like credit cards, but they are not for everyone, and people should be aware of the dangers of using them to avoid unnecessary hardship. I only recommend credit card use if you can follow these guidelines: If you stick to the above guidelines as I have, your credit card…