Financial education is important. If you don’t know what to do with money, then you will always be running out of it and chasing for more. Rather than allowing money to build you the life you want, you will always be working for money just to survive.
1. Rule of 72
Without the knowledge of how money grows, you will never save or invest properly. Once you know and understand how money grows, and how it can create a worry-free retirement lifestyle, then you can better understand the importance of saving properly.
2. Paying yourself first
Before you pay anyone else, you need to pay yourself. if you never pay yourself, you will never have anything in the future, and you will need to work until you die. Wouldn’t you rather pay yourself today, and set yourself up to work less in the future?
3. Manage your credit card debt
Never just pay the minimum payments on your credit card. Otherwise it will snowball into a debt monster. Here I talk about how to manage and pay off your debt.
4. Emergency fund
You must always have an emergency fund. This is a non-invested savings account that you slowly build up and put money into but you NEVER TOUCH IT unless you absolutely need to: it will help you if you lose your job, if you have a major expense that you must pay (IE: fix your broken car, fix your broken refrigerator). This is NOT the same as saving for a vacation. This is for emergencies only.
5. Inflation
Learn about inflation, what is it, and what happens.
Here’s another video about inflation and the effects of inflation. Why do things get more expensive?
6. TFSA
What is the TFSA? How do I use it? What do I do with it? How is the best way to maximize it?
7. RRSP
What is the RRSP? How do I use it? Does it make sense for me to have an RRSP? What is the best way to use it?
8. Why you should always stay invested
Understanding how investments go up and down. We review something called an “Andex chart” which shows how different investments grow over time, for up to the past 100 years. This chart shows what happens in the world to make the markets go up or down.
9. What is a bull market? What is a bear market?
This video explains the different types of market terms — bulls and bears.
10. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – introduction to Diversification
Let’s learn about why DIVERSIFICATION is so important. It’s important to NOT put ALL your money into one thing.
11. Understanding the risks of investing
There are 5 main types of RISK when investing.
Market risk. Inflation risk. Interest rate risk. Currency risk. Credit risk. I talk about all 5 types of risk.
12. Building a financial foundation – the Financial Home
There are at least 5 ways to save in Canada. It’s important to build yourself a good financial home with a strong foundation. By understanding the different ways to save money, you can find the best strategy to achieve your goals.
13. What’s better? TFSA, RRSP, GIC?
14. What happens when you leave your job?
What happens to your medical benefits? Your group RRSP? What do you do next?
15. Measure your financial goals
How much money do you need to retire? Are you there yet? How much will you need? How do you get there? How are you tracking your progress to make sure you’re on-track and achieving your goals?
16. What is your net wealth?
Every year you should assess your financial well-being. How much do you have in assets? How much liabilities do you owe? Review your goals and see what next steps you need to achieve your financial goals.
17. Learn about Financial Discipline
How do you teach yourself to be financially disciplined? You know you MUST save money, you know you MUST plan for the future, but how do you stick to your plans?