In a previous post we talked about why governments cannot just print money. You can read the post here but essentially we explain very rationally that a government could choose to print money, spend it for whatever they wanted and it would work briefly. But, given the oversupply of money, inflation would occur and the currency would be devalued vis a vis other world currencies. Zimbabwe in 2015 is our favorite example of this actually happening and we love to show the Zimb

I was speaking to a friend the other day. He’d just been to China as was mentioning that the Chinese Yuan was a “weak” currency as it was 7 Yuan to the US Dollar. This started a 30 minute long conversation where I tried and failed to convince him that the conversion rate really had nothing to do with the strength of the currency. I’ll try to replicate that explanation here - will be easier with some facts Let’s look at some currencies and their exchange rate against the Ca

In our last post we talked about the danger of credit card debt and how it should be avoided, if possible. But what are the alternatives? As for all things Finance related, it does vary by person but for most people the following represent better choices than racking up credit card debt, from approximately the best to approximately the worst (approximately as even the ranking would vary from person to person). Save. If you can defer your purchase until you have the money to a

You’ve probably heard the advice to avoid credit card debt at all costs. But most of us have borrowed on our credit card either intentionally or accidentally. So, why are we so scared of credit card debt anyway? It’s so easy to get. Credit card companies generate fees from merchants as a primary source of revenue. But they also make millions on interest charges on its customers and this is actually the largest source of their revenue. So, most people’s mail is filled with

On the financial news report, ou might have heard, “the yield on a 10 year Government of Canada Bonds has dropped to 1.23%” What does that mean? First let’s remember that a bond is essentially a loan from either the government (in this case) or from a corporation (called of course a corporate bond) that pays interest to you for the risk of holding that loan. At the end of the term, you get your principal back (the money you originally invested). More information here. It is

With all the recent press about China devaluing their currency, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. In this case, it is mostly political. With Trump’s tariffs set to go into effect, China is looking to retaliate by devaluing their currency – thereby making their products cheaper. Here’s how the math goes. Before the latest devaluation, it cost about 6.9 Chinese Yuan for every US Dollar (USD). So, let’s say something was selling for 6.9 Yuan and an American co

You’ve come into a little money. Perhaps you received a bonus at work or a small inheritance. This is enough money where you get to decide what to do with it but not so much that you can do everything – you need to make a choice. Should you invest the money or pay down debt? Generally, the answer is to pay down debt but, as with all things financial, it depends on your specific circumstances. Let’s explore this a bit more and understand when it is actually better to invest

Tip #1: Do a bit of planning Are you planning to work part time into retirement? Do you have a company sponsored pension? Are you staying in your home? Are you planning to become a snowbird? These days, people’s retirement dreams are all over the map. Now would be an excellent time to sit with a Financial Advisor and put all of your financial resources and your retirement goals on the table and make sure they all match up. A few easy adjustments often make the difference bet

People (and the market) reacted to what is called an inverted yield curve. So what is the yield curve and why do people worry when it becomes inverted? First, let’s explain the yield curve. This is simply a graph of how much it costs to borrow money versus the length of time you are taking the loan. As you might expect, as the length of time of the loan increases, the risk that it doesn’t pay back increases and therefore the interest rate that is required for someone to give