Because Money Podcast

Listen, It's impossible to accurately imagine how your life will be different after you welcome a new human into your it, so there's no such thing as being fully prepared for becoming a parent. There is, however, such a thing as being prepared for what you know will happen (like the paperwork you'll need to fill out, and the gotchas to avoid) in order to make it easier to focus on the stuff that completely blindsides you (like the utter insanity of it all or how suddenly and fiercely you fall in love with your new human). Time stamps: 1:22 - Parenthood, uncertainty and unsatisfyingly true answers 14:19 - What to think about in the year before the birth 17:20 - Financial tools that people think are useful (like RESPs) 27:30 - Making sure to check for Income tested benefits 29:50 - CHILDCARE. IT'S EXPENSIVE... so what do you even do? 37:00 - John speaks with Sandi's voice about how society has it way wrong

Are you as tired as we are of "the economy" being trotted out to support every tax and social policy argument? Do you wish that people who use the phrase "the economy" were required to specify exactly what they're talking about? Us, too. Timestamps: 1:38 - Personal Economy vs THE Economy 10:57 - Revolution starts with imagination 22:33 - The Flat Tax Fallacy 39:00 - In the face of big structural issues ... what do we do?

Yes, we have socialized medicine here in Canada (and are grateful for it!) But if you or someone you love needs to travel somewhere for treatment, or medical supplies that aren't covered (like osotomy bags), or drugs that might cost $2,400 in one visit to the pharmacy or $0 in the next...you might be surprised at the financial and emotional toll it can take on you. Timestamps: 4:18 - Getting “comfortable" with uncertainty 6:08 - Bedside manner matters - in medicine and in finance (and not just for the practitioners) 13:48 - The unexpected cost of healthcare: A very … vivid picture of the function and cost of the ostomy bag 22:13 - Should you get extended health coverage?

We truly believe that real conversations about money have the power to improve how we make decisions about our finances. In this episode, we're joined by Ian McNaughton, a seasoned coach and communications expert, to learn how to get better at having those conversations. Timestamps: 4:12 - Ian talks about the effects of wealth 6:48 - Ian talks about how to talk about money between generations 21:20 - Ian talks about communicating in the really tough times and how to be with someone in the stress Introducing ‘respectful doubt’ into a conversation 30:42 - Ian makes Sandi and Chris cry (the perfect thing to say to someone you love when you can’t communicate about money) 44:45 - Ian’s story - wealth, crash, and building something different

Welcome back to season six of Because Money! Since we last spoke, the show itself and each of our co-hosts have experienced transitions - some minor, some very, very major - and we've adopted the theme of transition to shape our conversations for the upcoming season. Join us for an episode of updates, outtakes, and change. Timestamps: 2:45 - Planning for transitions that 'might' happen 8:50 - The biggest Because Money transition of all 10:15 - John talks about health, family, and taking a sabbatical 20:58 - Chris talks about stepping back from Opera 27:30 - Sandi talks about growing Spring 38:52 - Some cool news about Because Money (and how you can talk to use EVEN MORE!!)

Impostor syndrome, squishy soft skills and the importance of real hard data... we talk about why we think the bigger conversation around money is so important. Timestamps: 1:00 - Why did Sandi start this thing in the first place? 3:14 - The value in non-actionable conversations 17:05 - John talks about the dangers getting lost in the data (for people who have spreadsheets for brains) 18:30 - Kate and Chris talk about imposter syndrome and how hard it is to be in a conversation when you feel like you don't know enough 30:00 - Sandi talks about the importance of being seen

How do you talk about money when you're by yourself? We didn't even know this was a question you could ask... but John does in a solo episode. Timestamps: 1:00 - How do you have the conversation alone 6:11 - The problem with the loudest voice in the conversation (the church of Bitcoin) 11:49 - John talks about making pancakes

John leads the charge on challenging some of the defaults we have in the financial world... and why they're sometimes complete phooey. Timestamps: 2:30 - John doesn't need to iron his shirts to feel like a grownup 9:00 - You don't have to buy a house for Aunt Jo 20:49 - What Kate thinks being an adult is 30:22 - How do you not fall into these defaults? 45:25 - There's a social cost to forging your own path

Breakups suck and money doesn't make them any easier. We talk about how to talk about money in yet another situation where that's the last thing you want to talk about. Timestamps: 3:44 - The underlying conversation - What if we don't make it? 17:55 - You can't celebrate feelings and finance 18:35 - The difference in the definition of 'common law' 27:15 - What's the 'right' answer for mythical financially excellent adults? 37:02 - If communication is impossible... maybe it's time to bring in some help...

Mental illness and money: both things that people don't talk about and both things that are really really important things to talk about. Timestamps: 3:00 - Kate breaks down her last 6 months 10:35 - At what point is the 'ideal job' a luxury you can't afford 15:05 - The things that help: setting the non-negotiables 26:20 - What are the right things to say to the people in our lives living with mental illness 32:50 - You are allowed to be your whole self in all the places where you are

The world of finances has so many 'rules of thumb'. Most of the time they're pretty useful, but in some cases they can be really dangerous. Timestamps: 5:30 - John talks about what averages are actually good for 15:08 - Sandi breaks down how she figures out when you're going to die 18:12 - Chris talks budgeting rules of thumb 24:11 - Rules of thumb vs customized advise 32:24 - Global warming and looking out for 'future us' 38:23 - Does working with rules of thumb make finances seem more possible 45:00 - Is getting it wrong catastrophic?

Setting goals matters, both in our finances and in our general lives... but there's tons of ways to go through that process. We talk about personal goals, income goals and how we plan out our lives. Timestamps: 1:40 - Kate talks about how she sets goals 8:40 - Why Sandi is resisting setting personal goals 15:05 - Who are you when you're not working (and why that matters in retirement) 25:40 - Income goals and whether they work...or not 36:00 - The metrics that matter (spoiler... 'matter' is subjective') 43:40 - What we're working on for 2019

The expectation is that we all understand taxes as soon as we start making income, but that's not what happens for most of us. We talk about weird tax stuff, our past mistakes and what we wish was different. Time Stamps: 7:15 - It's your job to know, and we think that's stupid 17:04 - Chris talks about the tax disasters in his past 23:19 - John talks about what has surprised him in the tax world 37:40 - The misconceptions around deductions 45:05 - Some thoughts for people who don't file their taxes

It seems like retirement is the same for every one... but it's really not. John Stapleton joined us to talk about why retiring with low income is very different and requires a very different set of advice. Time stamps: 8:50 - How the wrong advice can cost a low income earner up to $60,000 12:10 - The issue of clawbacks (rawr) 18:30 - Is the problem a lack of advocacy or a lack of political will 22:40 - Could Basic Income help? 40:08 - The difference between tax credits and tax deductions

We dearly love to interrogate couples about how they negotiate money, and for this latest round we caught Owen and Sue just before they went on a date and forced them to tell us how they talk about money with each other. Well, we say "forced"...but it didn't take too much effort on our part, because it turns out that this married couple with young kids has their money communication strategy down cold. It's a beautiful thing to see, and we're excited to share it with you. Timestamps: 5:30 - Owen and Sue's amazing, incredible, all powerful money meeting 12:10 - What changed when they had kids? 15:15 - Why Sue budgets in a Word Doc (and Owen DOES NOT) 25:03 - What would Owen and Sue do with a surprise $3,000? 26:10 - How do they figure out what's 'fairsies'? 32:50 - What's the advice you would give to other couples managing their money?

Does everyone need the kind of comprehensive financial planning advice that Chris and Sandi offer their clients? We think not... and spend some time revisiting last season's finale about being the ones to encourage open conversations about money with people who (we bet you a thousand dollars) are just dying to talk about it without shame.

We're big fans of Tim Nash, and you will be too! Tim is the founder of Good Investing, an advice-only investment coaching practice that helps folks create low-fee, diversified portfolios around their ethical values. 4:30 - What's in an anarchist's portfolio 6:46 - How Tim does what he does 15:15 - What's new in the SRI space? 21:20 - Ethical investing, for-profit prisons and the CPP 24:40 - The effect of SRI on the market (and the evil companies you love to hate) 37:36 - What would Tim do if he won the lottery tomorrow?

Inspired by a conversation about shampoo, this one gets deep: what's our responsibility to make ethical choices if we can't afford them? 4:30 - I feel like we should be paying more for things & nudges 9:55 - Plastic straws vs A/C and low-stakes vs high stakes and virality 11:25 - When you feel like you can afford to make ethical choices 17:00 - Money is a thing that happens to people 25:00 - Can I afford to enact change? When is enough? 28:50 - My money is to create a barrier between me and work I don't feel safe at 36:30 - When approaching from averages makes sense

Inspired by a conversation Chris had at a recent workshop, we explore whether there's a financially optimal way to handle illness and catastrophe if you're caught before you're fully prepared. 2:29 - What can you actually do when crisis hits? 8:23 - Chris brings up Universial Basic Income 17:51 - What supports are available in a crisis? 22:00 - Sandi says something really smart about hindsight

We're delighted that Kate is joining the show as a co-host, delighted to see each other again after a few months of summer break, and truly delighted to start having real conversations about money again. So much delight. ALL the delight. Join us for an episode of updates: Sandi talks about how building a business and building a family lifestyle at the same time can be discouraging, John swipes left on going part time, Kate goes from freelance to full-time and talks about her unconventional budgeting based on values, and Chris got married!

Hey, fellow money nerds: how do you talk to people who don’t know or don’t care quite as much as you do? Kate Smalley is our guest this week because A) as a maker and marketer with lots of financial services clients and a paraplanner at Spring, she’s really interested in how people talk about money and B) we really like her. You will too, trust us. 14:13 - The power of vulnerability 19:40 - Why you don’t need to know all the things to help people 23:41 - How do you start a money conversation with people who have no interest in talking about money? 24:00 - How the personal finance world is kind of like a fandom, and can be inaccessible to non-fans 32:50 - How Kate has connected social media coaching with personal finance 38:08 - Does the work have to happy one-on-one? 44:39 - Should you tell your friends if they’re eating raw chicken? 58:55 - Chris rants so hard he gets a foot cramp

We’ve been angling to get our friend MYD on the show for a long time. If you don’t remember, he’s the nice guy who offered to convert the show to audio and list it in all the podcast places before Season Three, Well, we still haven’t managed to get him on the show, but here’s the next best thing: we asked him what he wanted us to talk about, and he sent us a long list of questions to answer about RESPs. There are a few 101 questions, lots of 201 questions, and even a few 301 and graduate level ones. Thankfully, we got the list before we recorded the show! 2:14 - Family Plan vs Individual Plan 5:28 - RESPs Basics and Terminology 14:09 - Why Scholarship Trust Funds are the absolute worst 20:02 - For gifted children is there a lower age limit to RESP withdrawals? 22:02 - What happens if you want to open an RESP later in life? 26:00 - What’s the best way to set up an RESP for a child that isn’t related to you? 31:08 - What if there’s a falling out between the subscriber and beneficiary? 34:54 - What happens to an RESP if you die before the child is ready for the money? 41:30 - Where should I go to open an RESP? 51:33 - How should you change your asset allocation over the lifecycle of an RESP?

While smack-dab in the middle of an emergency is kind of the worst time to start preparing for one, for most of us it’s the upheaval and chaos of just such an event that opens our eyes to the value of marshalling our resources before the next one hits... In this episode we talk about practicing for an emergency (kind of like a fire drill), what happens when an emergency hits after you’ve started preparing for it but before you’ve finished, and speculate wildly about how many people view withdrawing from their emergency fund as an event almost as bad as the emergency itself. TL;DR emergency preparedness is good 3:23 When you’re preparing for an emergency that arrives too soon 4:46 What Sandi did automatically when Seth’s boss stopped paying him 9:26 What constitutes and emergency, anyway? 17:11 The most stressful life events 18:46 Giving yourself permission to respond however you can 33:23 The rules are great until they’re not 36:10 What John did automatically when Kelly got sick 43:06 Playing the stress-test game on your lifestyle 44:06 What a prepared family looks like and how increasing flexibility & practicing what you’ll do creates emergency superstars

Listen, somebody is going to cry over socks in this episode, just so you’re prepared. We’re talking about how to have the conversations we need to have to make sure our parents are safe and happy as they age, and in the course of a short thirtyish minutes have at least three Eureka! Moments about youthful hubris, parental wisdom, and socks. You don’t want to miss this one, but definitely bring tissues. 4:56 - The gang gets real about talking to their parents about money 11:36 - What are the important things for you to know about your parents money? 17:30 - What are the expectations around longterm care? 21:40 - Separating the money from the feelings 26:20 - Using technology as an excuse to start the conversation 29:33 - Sandi figures out something huge 38:04 - We make resolutions … and Sandi cries

So...did Chris get disability insurance since episode 4, or did he write a letter to Aunt Beatrice? Do you want to know how long it took and what happened? US TOO! Plus,friend of the show Julia Chung, who you may remember from An American in Paris (Ontario) returns to drop some insider insurance knowledge on us, including who to call when you need to make a claim, the nasty shock that might be hiding in your group policy, and how to get over fEeLiNgS and just get insured already. 7:25 - Debunking disability excuse #1 - “I could do my job with broken arms and broken legs” 15:56 - Do you have short term disability insurance 18:54 - Horror story #1 - Why you have to understand your policy 26:40 - What’s a non-evidence limit (and why does it matter)? 29:15 - What does your spouse need to know about your insurance? 36:16 - Reframing why you should get disability insurance right now (and the story of how Chris did just that) 43:26 - What happens to your employer disability insurance when you leave your job? 46:44 - A few thoughts on mortgage insurance 52:38 - Is long term disability insurance taxable? … it depends

If you’ve never met Shannon Lee Simmons before, hold onto your hat, because there’s no one else like her. Founder of The New School of Finance, and author of the book Worry Free Money, Shannon joins Sandi and Chris to talk about how her family talked about money growing up, what the birds and the bees have to do with spending decisions, and why that Ikea Story had to open the book. You - for real - do not want to miss this. 2:15 - How did Shannon grow up talking about money 10:13 - How to tell your friends you don’t want to spend $80 on dinner 14:24 - The words that matter in finance - safe and happy 20:40 - How to build habits of self reflection 32:15 - Curing the problem of financial struggle… instead of just treating it 35:10 - Professional vulnerability… how to be an expert while baring your soul. 42:31 - Letting go of past mistakes

Sandi and Seth talk about money a lot, and it's interesting to hear about how they manage that. Of course Sandi lives in the world of personal finance and they spend a lot of time together, so we have to grade that one on a curve. And just to underscore how much there is no single right answer, we'll hear how their money systems have changed over the years to suit their lives (like having kids) and as technology evolves (like YNAB). Time Stamps: 7:23 - How do you guys do money? 10:57 - Who does what in the Sandi/Seth money system? 16:09 - How often do you talk about money? 18:01 - How do you talk about buying big stuff? 24:57 - How do you talk about longterm financial planning? 28:35 - When do you want to retire? If ever? 30:29 - How do you guys invest? 32:37 - How do you guys talk about money with your kids? 40:35 - The Seth and Sandi dream vacation

None of us are ready to imagine a future without our parents in it. Full stop, fingers crossed, wood knocked, etc, etc. We’d all prefer to have our parents around until we die, thankyouverymuch, with no inheritance to speak of because they spent every last red cent on living long, healthy lives. But - since this is the darkest timeline and our parents won’t be around forever - should we be accounting for their money in our financial plans? Is it silly to pretend that there will be nothing (unless there really will be nothing)? In this episode, we’re talking inheritances: who expects one, who doesn’t, whether we should incorporate them into our financial plans today, and the difference is between expecting an inheritance and expecting an inheritance. 6:58: Should we be considering our parents money when doing retirement planning? 8:56: Can factoring in your parents money get you kicked out of the will 12:11: What assets are necessary for my parents to use in their later life? 13:53: Considering the family cottage 19:33: What’s reasonable to expect? 22:04: What if talking about it makes it worse? 24:54: What’s the consequence TODAY of you counting on or not counting on your parents money? 29:58: John says side hustle… everybody drink 32:12: Does the conversation change when your parents get older? 37:16: What to do first? Start talking… 38:21: Apples to Apples - aging parents edition

You might remember from our episode on robo-advisors in Season Three that Sandi and John have spent abnormal amounts of time thinking about robo-advisors, to the point where they built a calculator to compare all of the ones available in Canada. Well, they’ve sold the calculator (to our Season 2 host, Kyle and his partner in crime Justin), and in this episode we talk about what the robos have done right in the last three years and what they can still improve on. Time Stamps: 5:28 - What are robo advisors doing wrong 9:10 - Why ‘time on device’ is not a great metric 13:19 - Is it a robo advisor’s job to educate their users? 20:03 - A rant against being ‘better than nothing' 23: 53 - Do robo advisor’s really provide advice? 28:58 - How do we want to see robos grow in the future? 32:31 - Debunking the idea of ‘transparent fees’ with robo advisors 39:53 - The responsibilities of an industry that bills themselves as a disruptor 47:55 - Portfolio complexity leads to fee complexity

What does Chris need but doesn’t want, Seth doesn’t need but Sandi wants, and John’s family want and need but couldn’t have? (It’s not Nanny MacPhee, in case you’re wondering, although that would be the Best Episode Ever). No, it’s...disability insurance! YAAAAAYYYY! Turns out, nobody here has enough or the right kind or even the right person insured...so...BoOoOo, I guess. 2:17 - John makes things get real… real fast 4:02 - Why don’t we talk about Disability Insurance? 8:07 - Sandi explains to Chris why he doesn’t have disability insurance yet 16:34 - John breaks down his thought process on both life and disability insurance 18: 23 - John talks about why this issue is so real for him 20: 53 - A quick note on emergency funds 21:45 - The difference between long and short term disability insurance 25:28 - What do self-employed people need to prove income when applying? 27: 35 - What do you do if you can’t qualify for disability insurance? 29:32 - Chris makes more excuses 31:06 - What non-insurance stuff can help in the case of disability 36:31 - John changes Chris’ life with a letter to his aunt Beatrice 39:11 - Sandi says 'side hustle' ... everybody drink (also we talk about whether diversifying your income can help in the case of disability ) 47:07 - A little bit on the cost of long term disability insurance

You don’t want to miss the story of how David O’Leary started out as an English Literature major, got into the market as a newbie leveraged investor just before the 2000 tech bubble burst, went bankrupt and became a fund analyst at Morningstar, met his wife, decided to change the world, and started a financial planning company. You really, really don’t. Trust us. 1: 20 - David’s Origin Story 7:55 - What David learned by being going bankrupt at 22 10: 51 How to protect yourself against a market crash 17:25 - Chris talks about his therapist 24:50 - Why John from Burlington won’t beat the market 29:49 - Is the bad advice that come from banks the employee’s fault? 39:50 - How to financially plan based on the causes and values you support 48:00 - What is impact investing?

If you’re an opera fan (and who’s not?), you probably know Mireille Asselin, and if you don’t, you should. She’s also Chris’ Number One Favourite Person, and she’s on the show this week so we can have a real conversation about how they manage their money and how they decide who pays for what. Plus, we learn all about the lifecycle of an opera career, why Mimi likes real estate, and what it’s like to get a regular economy lecture on the way to ballet class. Time Stamps: 3:15 - the long (and stupidly complicated story) of why Mimi pays more rent than Chris 9:38 - Managing money with a partner who makes a bunch more money than you do 14:24 - Why it bothers Chris to not be able contribute as much as Mimi… 16:31 - Digging into how we grew up financially… 20:02- How dating Chris helped Mimi become a better saver 26:13 - Do we give each other advice? 29:07 - Planning for career transition and what’s ‘retirement’ for a couple of opera singers? 35:20 - The stuff that we don’t have to talk about 37:09 - We talk about whether we’ll even change the system

It’s Season FOUR of Because Money, can you believe it? Even more surprising: all three of us were in the same room together to record this episode, and the world didn’t explode (because of us...that we know of...so far) This season is all about conversations...real ones. We’re going to have some guests, we’re going to do some deep dives into concepts, but through it all, it’s going to be real. We won’t always tie things up in a nice tidy bow (have we ever?), so you’re going to have a front-row seat to hear (or watch, up to you) how an opera singer, a financial planner, and a scientist think about all things money. 3:18 - Chris talks about submarines 5:15 - Sandi explains why she always does things the hard way 8:26 - the whole point of Season 4 10:18 - The first mention of Star Trek (but not the last) 13:10 - John explains why humans are not robots 15: 21 - Why there’s value in every kind of conversation 17:38 - How to play “Would you rather” Finance edition 31:40 - The difference between goals and direction

It's the last episode of Season Three, and because we don't want to see you fall victim to the summer slide, we're talking to Preet Banerjee about enough interesting stuff to keep you thinking until Season Four drops this fall, like: 0.33 - Why are there so many mutual funds? 1.36 - Preet explains everything (including why there are so many coffee shops on the same corner) 7.06 - Does investor literacy affect prices? 8.52 - Do advisors or investors drive poor investing decisions? 10.56 - Is ‘financial advising’ a real profession? 14.00 - How do you measure the value of financial advice? 21.10 - Can you measure ‘qualitative’ results? 23.00 - What’s the difference between Phenomenon and Data? 26.00 - Financial literacy… what is it good for? 31.00 - Decision fatigue - chocolate cake or fruit? 42.24 - Cash flow management - the foundation of it all For full show notes please visit: https://becausemoney.ca/s3-ep14-season-finale-with-preet-banerjee/

Chris knows all the buttons to push to get John, our resident housing bear, to pull out his rent vs. buy calculator: 1:37 - How should we start thinking about real estate 6:30 - Is renting just a phase of life 10:24 - Is there an equation for rent vs buy 15:33 - What is ‘pride of ownership’ worth? 19:25 - How to live in a housing bubble 24:24 - Rent vs Buy when you’re not living in Toronto or Vancouver 27:25 - John breaks down the rent vs buy math 33:07 - Is a house a tool for forced savings? 38:21 - The social pressure to own a home as a Canadian 43:51 - How does longterm renting work? 54:18 - Defining Step Zero For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep-13-chris-and-john-talk-rent-vs-buy

This episode has everything: a quiz that Sandi spectacularly loses, a guest that digs into the nitty gritty of communal living, and a fight with a (housing) bear. Join us and our guest Rob Bancroft if you're at all interested in the idea of living in a community. Highlights include: -Rob talks about his communal living experience - 12:14 -Housing as a social phenomenon VS an economic term - 15:47 -Creating community when you’re far from home - 23:25 -The cold economics - 25:39 -Communication logistics (how do you make sure people don’t kill each other) - 27:44 -What happens if you own a house communally? - 33:15 For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep-12-communal-living-with-rob-bancroft/

It's the one, the only Avraham Byers, Personal Financial Trainer, here to ring your doorbell every morning with $150, make awesome beard jokes, and talk about his recent (and fabulously simple) ebook Your Magic Number. Highlights include: 2:14 - Avraham's Chewbacca Story 7:20 - What's a financial trainer 8:59 - Will more money solve all my problems? 11:15 - What's your magic number? 15:12 - John says eight words 16:15 - Finding your magic number 24:08 - How to become the kind of person who actually follows through 28:41 - Six more words from John 30:26 - What to do when (not if) you fail For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep-11-your-magic-number-with-avraham-byers

Can Regulation Make Advice Better? "How can you be certain that the advice you're getting from a professional (an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor...a financial planner) is trustworthy? Is it enough to judge the advice based on how well you know and like the person giving it? You might think that the regulation of ""trust"" industries, is somewhat of an inside baseball topic for Because Money, but we think that equipping yourself with an understanding of what's going on beneath the surface while you're sitting across the desk from your advisor can only make you a better, savvier consumer. Be warned: we get a little...er...passionate in this episode, so there's some slightly salty language ahead. Plus, we put together a good set of contrasting articles to broaden your understanding of some of the issues we're talking about, just in case you're interested in further reading." For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep10-can-regulation-make-advice-better

In a departure from our normal format, Chris and Sandi spend this episode talking through their thoughts about RRSP Loans…twice. Why twice? Turns out we had more to say. Why audio-only? Chris wanted to test his show-editing skills. Why no John? Why this weird question and answer format? Why don’t you just listen and find out? For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep-9-chris-and-sandi-think-through-rrsp-loans

Change is hard, and since it’s just about time for all those resolutions to start making you feel guilty, we’ve put together an episode that includes what we’ll all look back on and remember as the single best piece of financial change advice in 2017. (Also: John is an evil genius.) For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep8-how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-maria

Starting a New Business with Jessica Oman We're back after our holiday hiatus (so good!) with an episode designed to answer one question for all those aspiring entrepreneurs out there: what's stopping you? Join us as we pepper Renegade Planner Jessica Oman with questions about how she turns emerging entrepreneurs into confident owners, like: Why she doesn't need to take any Four Tendencies Quiz to know she's a dyed-in-the-wool rebel [02:30] How she kicks entrepreneurs out of the nest and walks them out of their fear [06:50] When to stop planning and start doing when you're paralysed by money fears [08:30] What to do if your startup dreams exceed your startup costs and how to get realistic about it [11:05] Why to start with a stand at the farmer's market instead of a restaurant [16:00] How to raise money if your own pockets aren't quite deep enough [17:00] Why $400 was enough to start two (2!) businesses [20:30] What Jessica's one piece of advice is [23:00] For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep7-starting-a-new-business-with-jessica-oman

So everyone agrees that financial literacy in Canada could get better… but how? Now that’s something that people don’t always agree on, and that’s why Kyle Prevost is the most interesting man in Canada when it comes to financial literacy. For years people have talked about how we should ‘really be teaching this stuff in school’ but he’s the only guy we know personally that’s actually doing it! Join us for a rousing edition of Chris’ new game, Financial Literacy Trivia, and to find out how hard it really is to get financial literacy into the high school curriculum. For full show notes please visit: http://becausemoney.ca/s3-ep6-someone-should-teach-this-in-school-and-kyle-prevost-is

Sandi and John built a cool tool to compare robo-advisors across Canada, and in this show Chris asks us all sorts of questions about it. We're all pretty excited about the calculator and the fintech revolution in general, so if you've been hearing about places like Justwealth, Wealthsimple, or one of the many other companies who offer portfolio management at a fraction of the price of average Canadian mutual funds, but don't know where to start comparing them, this episode is for you. Highlights include: John's starter guide to investing (in under 5 minutes): 2:18 Is a robo-advisor a robot? 7:27 Why are the fees so low? 9:06 Is my money safe?10:33 What are the differences between the many companies in Canada? 13:10 Why build a calculator? 15:38 The 'best' robo-advisor vs the best robo-advisor FOR YOU: 18:43 How we compared all the Robo fees: 19:58 Do they offer financial planning? 27:24 Should you consider investing with one of them? 31:05 Please come and play around with the new calculator at http://autoinvest.ca/ http://becausemoney.ca/s3-ep5-autoinvest-ca-comparing-robo-advisors

We've managed to convince Season One co-host Robb Engen of Boomer and Echo (and Rewards Cards Canada) to hang out and talk about what he's been up to and draft a fantasy portfolio. No, really: we could have spent an entire episode just talking about it. Fortunately for you, our dear listeners, we did not. We thought Alberta, with its recent and rapid transition from boom to bust, might be an interesting case study at as we explore the concept of total capacity and how the choices we make to strengthen (or weaken) our personal economy might not be in step with what's going on in the wider world. Robb shares whether the kinds of questions his Alberta readers are asking now are different from the kinds of questions they've asked in more enthusiastic economic conditions, and we dig deep into how learning the hard way might be the only way some people can learn...or is it? For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep4-alberta-then-and-now-with-robb-engen/

An American in Paris (Ontario) with Julia Chung We're delighted to be joined this week by Julia Chung, CFP extraordinaire at JYC Financial, cross-border planning enthusiast, and all-round cool person. In this episode we start with a rousing game of Financial False Equivalents (spoiler alert: the IRS is always the IRS), and then start peppering Julia with questions, including: -The difference between residency and citizenship for Americans in Canada (and who decides which applies) -What you should do if this is the first you've heard of having to file taxes even if you don't live in the US anymore -What happens if you've contributed to Social Security and the Canada Pension Plan, -Whether Americans in Canada can own TFSAs (and whether they should, which might be a difference question) -Why Sandi is going to get her kids to fill out a US tax return before applying for their citizenship And - just like every episode - we take a few minutes to talk about the interesting stuff we read, watched or thought about this week. For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep3-an-american-in-paris-ontario-with-julia-chung

Dungeons and Ratios We’re joined by erstwhile co-host Jackson Middleton for a quest deep into the dark heart of determining someone’s financial health, aided by only a few trusty ratios. We may not have a twenty-sided die, but we are going to fight over whether net worth, credit score, and the total debt service ratio can tell someone’s whole money story, or if we need to expand the questions a little. In this episode, we find out what Jackson’s been up to (hint, he recently had to decide between between a chicken coop and buffing the hallway floor), Chris plays dungeon master to three grumpy dwarves and Sandi throws the board across the room. For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep2-dungeons-ratios-jackson-middleton/

It’s a brand new season, and in our first episode we’re introducing our new co-host (Chris Enns), new on-air producer (John Robertson), and new format. That’s right, the wait is almost over: Because Money Season Three, plus all 38 episodes from Seasons One and Two, are going to be available on iTunes soon thanks to our new off-air producer MuhammadYasir Dewji. For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep1-welcome-to-season-three/

On this final episode of Because Money Season Two, we thought we’d spice it up and talk about something we don’t necessarily agree on: advertising, brand partnerships, and advertorials on personal finance blogs, and – bonus – we’re joined by Season One co-host Robb Engen. For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/1003-2/

The Journey Towards Minimalism How do you deal with “stuff”? You know… the “stuff” that surrounds you… all the time. Do you have boxes of “stuff” that you haven’t looked in for 27 years but simply can’t bring yourself to get rid of? This episode is for you. This week on the Because Money podcast we are joined by the incomparable Cait Flanders as she shares her journey towards minimalism. This episode is packed with golden tidbits… you might learn how to know when it’s time to purge, or when you should keep stuff, you could learn how to evaluate need, I bet you can even learn how to effectively steal from your kids (for their own good). All you have to do is press play on that video right there, and follow along on the transcript in case the video audio quality leaves you less than impressed. For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s2-ep10-the-incomparable-cait-flanders/

Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make This episode we’re joined by Richard Finnie, founder of thelaunch.ca, and initiative designed to encourage collaboration with entrepreneurs. He’s no stranger to podcasting himself, since as part of thelaunch.ca he hosts his own show called — you guessed it — the Launchcast. For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/941-2/

Freshbooks. This Entire Episode is About Freshbooks. Period. Although this episode was supposed to be a roundtable Brady bunch type discussion about our favourite financial apps (we did kinda get there), the first half of this episode is spent extolling the virtues of Freshbooks. So if you are a small business owner, go to freshbooks.com and support a Canadian company that is doing all kinds of things right. For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s2-ep8-heres-the-story-of-an-app-by-kerry-k-taylor/