Tag: Life’s Lessons

It’s 4:45 AM. I’m sitting here, not far from my gate, inside the restricted boarding area of the Winnipeg airport, where there happens to be a Starbucks. The airport is quiet, the Starbucks even more so. I’m lounging in a comfortable corner, and there’s Dylan—a more obscure, less recognizable version of Dylan—coming over the loudspeakers.… Continue reading What a Dumb Accountant Learned About Branding

I was chatting with my young son, a millennial you see. He’s telling me how different things are for people his age. He’s saying; even though there’s no shortage of part-time work, that good jobs—real jobs—are hard to come by.  And those part-time gigs, most of them are menial, low paying positions. It reminded me… Continue reading Eggs and Baskets

Last summer, at a BBQ, me and this retired fellow–let’s call him Tom–we stood chatting. Talk turned to investments, to the stock market and, finally, to retirement. When I pondered if retirement was as expensive as the so-called experts warned, Tom sort of chuckled. We talked some more, until I asked him if he’d jot down some common-sense,… Continue reading Retirement. From someone who knows

Just the other day, via LinkedIn, I happened upon another one of those studies. You know, the ones that correlate income and happiness. And just like most others, this analysis once again reinforced that the relationship between money and happiness is very reminiscent of that movie with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin, It’s complicated. Before getting to the refreshing–and perhaps just… Continue reading What price happiness? Apparently it’s $75,000

I’m a boomer. And boomers, most of us anyway, always bring up the same thing. Retirement. Some of us count down the days until that magical moment, “I’ve only got four years, twelve months and thirteen days.” Others fret about finances, “My advisor says I need a million bucks, I don’t think I’ll make it.”… Continue reading Retiremyth

This post is written by guest blogger Peter McMurtry. In this post Peter asks, “Are Your Investment Advisor’s Cookie Cutter Asset Mix Recommendations Hurting Your Performance?”   Most retail clients are very aware that “asset mix” is the single most important variable in investment performance, but they would be surprised to learn that their advisors… Continue reading How Not to Invest

  In the span of a month, two compelling, not to mention unfortunate, tales caught my attention. The first, captured in an Oscar-winning documentary called Searching for Sugar Man, portrays the life of a gifted, prolific songwriter named Sixto Rodriguez. With talent rivalling that of Dylan’s, Rodriguez toured the club and concert circuit, which led… Continue reading Going for broke

So, last week I told you I was an incurable car nut. And I also promised to share some (hopefully insightful) nuggets about the true cost of car ownership. Well, without further ado, here they are—the nuggets of course. (Click to zoom) A couple of details: In the interest of consistency, I standardized the cost… Continue reading The truth about car: redux edition

Cars. They’re my thing. From a very young age, they’ve always been my thing. The way they look, the way they sound; the telltale nuances in ride and feel and comfort as I drive them. It’s a long-term love affair, I suppose. And, like any love affair, it’s hard to explain why cars turn me… Continue reading The truth about cars

I got this in an email. Thought it was great. Reason I thought so is that it hit home, even for me (a numbers guy), just how reckless most governments are with their (our) money.