Where should I start saving money first? How to choose between Savings Vehicles in Canada

We've discussed some of the various savings vehicles and types of investments that can be made in some earlier posts. Armed with that knowledge, a logical next step to ask is "Are these saving vehicles all the same?". Well, not exactly. Not only can you prioritize different saving vehicles depending on your income, but as you …

Study Up On: Building Wealth

Last week I talked about how I'm starting a new job. I was only at my current job for about 8 months before providing my notice, so I wanted to give at least 3 weeks notice for proper transition of projects and give them a bit of time to fire up the ol'hiring process. The …

Interview – Smith Manoeuvre (With Robinson Smith)

This post will be the first interview for the Frugal North! I'm very excited about this one as I think it's an important topic to discuss for the Canadian FI community. I had the great pleasure to ask Robinson Smith a few questions about the Smith Manoeuvre (a topic I touched on here) which is …

How Do I Create an Investment Strategy That Fits Me?

My last post outlined the semi-dull (really dull?) fundamentals of investment and savings vehicles available to Canadians. This material can be dry, especially to those not interested in risk, yield, investing, finance, etc. But I urge Canadians to do their homework on it as it is important to, at the very least, have a basic understanding …

Study Up On: Canadian Savings & Investment Vehicles – Where To Start?

Do you think saving and investing looks something like the laptop screen in the picture above? I can safely say it does not - not even close. Nowadays, platforms are super easy to use from Tangerine Banking to Questrade (Credit Unions and the Big Banks also have pretty intuitive sites from what I hear, but I …

Housing – Should I Buy or Rent?

Buying or renting your place of residence - what should you do? There are probably hundreds of thousands of articles contrasting the two paths scattered across the web. These articles will give you anything from in-depth analysis to general guidelines. Buuuuut regardless of the amount of content out there, I like sharing my own point …

The Big Three – Part Three: Housing

Now for the final installation of my Big Three series! For the finale, we will be talking housing. As discussed in the kick-off to this series, shelter* makes up 14.7% of median income, or $17,509 (2015). The Frugal North's StatusThe FN household is currently paying $1,860 a month for shelter costs. This amounts to $22,320 …

Study Up On: Personal Finance 101

Sigh... I'm now in my late twenties, and I notice that A LOT of people around my age group have little to no understanding of personal finance. Do you struggle to quantify your short, mid, and long term financial goals and dreams of being Financially Independent? If you answered yes, you may have been tricked …