by Rona Birenbaum BAS CFP®, CHFS | Aug 8, 2010 | All About Investing, Musings, Risk Management
I took my daughter to Great Wolf Lodge recently, which is a family resort built around an indoor water park. The park highlights are the water slides. They range from the kiddie slides to the high intensity Vortex. Now, if you really must know, if I could get away...
by Rona Birenbaum BAS CFP®, CHFS | Jul 12, 2010 | All About Investing, Risk Management
For most Canadians, a mortgage is the largest debt they ever take on. Much time and attention is given to negotiating the lowest possible interest rate, but typically much less time is taken determining the optimal amortization period. This is even though the length...
by Rona Birenbaum BAS CFP®, CHFS | Jun 29, 2010 | All About Investing, Musings, We Think You Might Enjoy...
Now I’ve seen it all. A friend of mine recently told me about a financial advisory firm that offers: A FREE financial plan OR A FREE Clublink golf lesson. All you have to do is book a meeting with the financial advisor and bring in your investment statements to...
by Rona Birenbaum BAS CFP®, CHFS | Jun 16, 2010 | All About Investing
It amazes me that millions of Canadians have billions of dollars invested in Money Market Funds (MMFs) that are earning no interest for all intents and purposes. In fact in the six months to the end of 2009, the average Canadian Money Market Fund earned just 0.02%...
by Rona Birenbaum BAS CFP®, CHFS | Jun 4, 2010 | All About Investing
We ask a lot of questions before developing an investor policy statement for our clients and one of them is about their rate of return expectations. But we don’t ask with the intention of developing a portfolio designed to achieve those expectations. So why...
by Rona Birenbaum BAS CFP®, CHFS | May 20, 2010 | All About Investing
A client of mine told me that her banker suggested that she might be able to reduce her account service charges if she switched to a “senior’s account”. My client was skeptical and had no intention to make the change. I asked her what she pays...