Reading the Economic Tea Leaves
Posted on:An important retirement planning skill is having the ability to "sniff out" the future direction of various factors, such as inflation and interest rates for their potential impact on future household spending and savings efforts. "Reading the tea leaves" is a folk lore expression related to the practice of attempting to divine the future from the display of loose tea leaves at the bottom of a…
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Financial Self-Care
Posted on:Self-care is a popular buzzword, and it's an important one. It refers to the deliberate choice of thoughts and actions that are good for your mental and physical wellbeing. Financial self-care means practicing this with money matters to reduce your stress and increase your optimism. It's about making concrete plans, setting goals, and consistently practicing a mindset of possibility - that moves…
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Advice to a Future Widow
Posted on:Most wives outlive their husbands. Women live longer than men the same age and tend to marry men who are older than they are. So, if you're a wife, it is more likely you will become a widow than your husband becoming a widower. Knowing this, how can you prepare for it? First of all, when widowhood strikes, don't do anything drastic. Do not sell the house or car. Don't decide to move to another…
Read MoreWhat is a 'Stock Market' Anyway ?
Posted on:Imagine it is late Monday afternoon and you are wrapping up your day at a large pension plan, as you stretch, your elbow hits the sell button on the keyboard. The board lot (100 shares) of a large Canadian telephone company is quickly bought for $20 and is the closing price as the final trade of the day. The previous closing price was $30. The 6 p.m. newscasts lead off with the story about the…
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Cycle of Market Emotions
Posted on:Getting emotional about investments can easily lead to poor decisions as investors fall prey to negative thoughts and fears. The chart below helps to illustrate the emotional aspects of investing. The human brain constantly searches for trends or patterns in things, trying to make sense out of even random events and data. This essential life skill is not very helpful when it comes to investing…
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