Build Wealth Canada Podcast

Today I’m really excited to have Bruce Sellery on the show from MoneySense Magazine and Moolala.ca, to tell you all about how to save and invest for your retirement. Bruce is a bestselling author, and you might have seen him on TV as he’s been on CTV, CNN, BNN, MSNBC, as well as the Lang & O’Leary Exchange with Kevin O’Leary from Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank. He is also the author of the book “The Moolala Guide to Rockin’ your RRSP” which is a fantastic book that I’d recommend to everyone. In it, he actually does a great job of inspiring you to take action when it comes to planning and saving for your retirement (which is great if you know this is something you should be doing but just aren’t feeling motivated to do it). He also provides a great step-by-step guide that you can actually implement to pull it all off. Links and Resources Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.  Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest Bruce’s Latest Book: Moolala Guide to Rockin’ Your RRSP: Start Rockin’ in Five Easy Steps Bruce First Book: Moolala: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things with Their Money – and What You Can Do About It Bruce’s Articles at: www.Moneysense.ca Bruce’s Site: www.Moolala.ca Questions Covered 1. Why should Canadians even care about saving for retirement through their RRSPs and TFSAs?. 2. What are the top mistakes Canadians make when it comes to their RRSPs, and retirement planning in general? 3. Tell us about the 5 steps in your book that listeners can use to retire early. 4. For someone that is looking to buy their first home: They may want to save money for a down payment inside their RRSP since they can withdraw it when they’re ready to buy using the Home Buyers Plan. In this case, what should they put their money into? (i.e. bonds, bond ETFs, GICs?) Especially considering interest rates are low and Canadians are worried about getting hurt on bonds if rates go up. GIC rates are very low too so it doesn’t seem very appealing for most. What about those Canadians that are getting very close to retirement? Is the strategy different for them? In other words, what are the best safe options in the current low interest rate environment? 5. RRSP loans: What are they and when is it a good option? 6. How to factor in inflation when doing retirement planning calculations? (i.e. Would you just use the anticipated rate of return and subtract out inflation? Or use some other method?) 7. Is there a way to be able to take some of your spouse’s RRSP contribution room if you’re in a higher tax bracket? 8. Your thoughts on using annuities for retirement? (please define annuities first) 9. Your thoughts on using broad market index funds or ETFs vs buying smaller indexes like small cap stocks or different bond ETFs?

Join Julie Cazzin, Senior Editor at MoneySense Magazine and a financial planning expert, as she dives into the intricacies of early retirement strategies. Learn top tips for retirement readiness, including the significance of saving two years' worth of expenses and thoughtful asset allocation. Julie cautions against common mistakes both before and after retirement. She also discusses the benefits of annuities for securing steady income and the transition from saving to enjoying life in retirement. A must-listen for aspiring early retirees!

In this discussion, Julie Cazzin, a national award-winning finance journalist and Senior Editor at MoneySense, shares valuable insights on retiring early. She explains top strategies for budgeting and expense tracking, alongside the importance of diversifying income through investments. Julie also challenges the traditional view of retirement, suggesting it should be a time to explore passions and purpose. Listeners learn about common pitfalls to avoid in early retirement planning and the significance of consulting professionals to enhance financial decisions.

This is part 2 of the interview on How to Invest in Canada, with author and investor Dr. John Robertson. In Part 1 we covered the beginner to intermediate level questions. These were perfect for those just getting started on their investing journey. In part 2, we take it up a notch and get into the more advanced level questions. If you missed part 1, it's the episode right before this one. Links and Resources Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.  Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest John’s Blog: Blessed by the Potato Questions Covered Tell us your story and what prompted you to write your book. What are the most common mistakes you see beginner investors make when they’re just starting out? What about those in their 40-50s that have been investing for a while? In your book, you make a really strong case for investing in broad market indexes. For our listeners who are just starting off in investing, can you tell them what this means, and why this is a good way to invest? What is an “asset allocation” and how would you change the asset allocation for someone fresh out of school vs someone nearing retirement? You thoughts on investing in stocks versus bonds and on creating an all stock portfolio. In a low interest rate environment like we are in right now, what are your thoughts on investing in bonds? Especially considering rates are bound to go up eventually which would hurt the existing bond prices. How are you investing now? If you could go back to when you made your first investment, what advice would you give yourself. Over the years in your investment journey, what’s worked for you, and what hasn’t worked so well? Was there ever a point that you didn’t feel confident about what you’re investing in, and the investment choices you made? Your thoughts on investing in other indexes like small cap companies instead of just broad market? (many argue that they generate higher returns at the cost of higher volatility) Thoughts on dividend investing vs broad market index investing. What is the 4% rule and what are your thoughts on it? Do you prefer a variation of it?

Today we are going to learn all about how to invest if you’re living here in Canada. For all our non-Canadian listeners, we’re also going to cover best practices when it comes to investing so you can definitely start applying those too and get a lot out of the show. To make this series beneficial to everyone, we’re going to start with answering beginner level questions intended for those just starting out in their investing journey. As the interview goes on, we’re going to progress into more advanced level questions. This way if you are already investing you’ll still get a LOT out of the show by learning some best practices, and how to optimize your portfolio and save money by eliminating unnecessary fees. To help me with this, I’m very excited to have Dr. John Robertson on the show. John is a is a PhD scientist, a writer, investor, and he teaches newbie investors on how they can actually start investing. Links and Resources Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.  Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest John’s Blog: Blessed by the Potato Questions Covered Tell us your story and what prompted you to write your book. What are the most common mistakes you see beginner investors make when they’re just starting out? What about those in their 40-50s that have been investing for a while? In your book, you make a really strong case for investing in broad market indexes. For our listeners who are just starting off in investing, can you tell them what this means, and why this is a good way to invest? What is an “asset allocation” and how would you change the asset allocation for someone fresh out of school vs someone nearing retirement? You thoughts on investing in stocks versus bonds and on creating an all stock portfolio. In a low interest rate environment like we are in right now, what are your thoughts on investing in bonds? Especially considering rates are bound to go up eventually which would hurt the existing bond prices. How are you investing now? If you could go back to when you made your first investment, what advice would you give yourself. Over the years in your investment journey, what’s worked for you, and what hasn’t worked so well? Was there ever a point that you didn’t feel confident about what you’re investing in, and the investment choices you made? Your thoughts on investing in other indexes like small cap companies instead of just broad market? (many argue that they generate higher returns at the cost of higher volatility) Thoughts on dividend investing vs broad market index investing. What is the 4% rule and what are your thoughts on it? Do you prefer a variation of it?

This is part 2 of the interview with Justin on how he retired at the age of 33. In case you missed it, part 1 is the episode right before this one. In the interview, we talk about everything from how Justin was able to retire at 33, to what he invests in, and we even cover other subjects like how to save money on vacations and how he manages his money so that he never has to work again. Lastly, Justin gives us some great tips that you can start applying today to retire early. Links and Resources Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest Justin has a great blog at RootofGood.com where he talks more about how he was able to retire early, and gives more details on the strategies he uses.

Today I’m excited to have Justin on the show who actually retired at the age of 33! This is a huge 2 part interview where we talk about everything from how he was able to retire at 33, to what he invests in, and we even cover other subjects like how to save money on vacations and how he manages his money so that he never has to work again. Lastly, Justin gives us some great tips that you can start applying today to retire early. Links and Resources Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest Justin has a great blog at RootofGood.com where he talks more about how he was able to retire early, and gives more details on the strategies he uses. Questions Covered: Tell us your story and how were you able to retire at 33? How much do you need to make per year to retire? What did you do during the 2008 crash? How did that affect you? You bought a lot of equities during and after the crash, how did you know that it was the right time to buy? What was your asset allocation like before retirement and after retirement? How are you withdrawing your money during retirement so that you don’t run out? If you could go back to when you made your first investment, what advice would you give yourself? Are you an index investor, a dividend investor, or do you use another strategy? What would you do differently knowing what you know now? You earned 11 scholarships when you were in school, do you have any tips for students looking to get scholarships? On your blog you also talk about cost saving vacation strategies. Can you give us some tips on that? Is there any other wisdom that you can share so we can all retire earlier?

Today I’m excited to have financial planning expert Carl Richards on the show. Carl has been in the financial planning industry for over 20 years, has a column in the New York Times, the Morningstar Advisor, and he’s even been featured on Forbes.com and Oprah.com. I thought it would be nice to pick his brain a little bit and pick-up some of that knowledge that he’s gathered over the years. In the interview, Carl shares much of his 20 years of experience, and takes us through the  financial planning process that he does with his private clients. Links and Resources Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest Carl has a new book called “The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money” and you can pick it up from Amazon Here.

Welcome to part 2 of the interview with Matt Inglot (owner of Freelance Transformation and Tilted Pixel). If you missed part 1, it is the episode prior to this one.  In this session, Matt covers some critical tips on how to succeed if you want to earn money-on-the-side with Freelancing. Specifically, we discuss: How to differentiate your freelancing business from the competition How to compete with cheap labour overseas offering similar work for less (think China, India, etc.) The 1 HUGE mistake that can cut your income in half How much to charge for your services How to use the power of “being local” to your advantage How to add value through responsiveness The advantages and disadvantages of freelancing versus “passive income” businesses How to find buyers for your service The power of networking and referrals The common freelancing mistakes to avoid Links and Resources FreelanceTransformation.com – Matt’s company teaching the best practices in freelancing. Tilted Pixel (www.tiltedpixel.com) – Matt’s professional web development company. Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.  Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest

I’m really excited today as we have a very special Canadian entrepreneur on the show who is an expert on earning money-on-the-side with freelancing. In this interview Matt will tell us: How he was able to pay for his university by freelancing on the side and how he turned his company into a high end web development company The top mistakes to avoid when freelancing How to structure your freelance business so that you can work anywhere in the world, setting your own hours What to do if you don’t think you have any skills that you can freelance The number one mistake freelancers make when getting started The best steps to take when you’re just starting out And much more. Links and Resources FreelanceTransformation.com – Matt’s company teaching the best practices in freelancing. Tilted Pixel (www.tiltedpixel.com)– Matt’s professional web development company. Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.  Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest