The Personal Finance Show

Episode 1 of The Unofficial History of Personal Finance.  In this new series, Beau goes back 12,000 years to the beginning of human civilization to attempt to answer the question:  "How did we get here?"     Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon  

Bob Lai (https://www.tawcan.com/) joins Beau at a conference in Washington, D.C. to share his personal finance story. (Recorded in-person on September 6th, 2019 before the pandemic. Published on April 11th, 2021.)  

In this solo episode, Beau attempts to answer the question: How does someone get into debt?

  Week 18 of the COVID-19 series features Acquania Escarne. Acquania is the creator of The Purpose of Money which is a podcast and an online community for women building generational wealth for their families one dollar at a time.   In this episode we discussed Acquania's COVID-19 experience so far and how as a US diplomat responsible for Asia, she has been working on COVID-19 related matters since January 2020.   Acquania will be back to tell her full personal finance story on a future episode(especially how she started saving at 16 and lived in many places around the world), but in the meantime, if you want to hear more about her background, please check out her podcast: https://thepurposeofmoney.com/podcast/ https://thepurposeofmoney.podbean.com/e/how-i-saved-80k-for-retirement-in-2019/  

Week 17 of my COVID-19 series is a solo episode where I talk about my experience being a parent during a pandemic. I don't pretend to know what it's like to be a single parent, have more than one child, or have older children, but I go through what it's been like for me since Henry was born almost 18 months ago. Links to the podcast episodes about parenting that I mentioned: Debt Free in 30 Episode 307 with Julie Wildman: https://youtu.be/pj2K5v5jMpo Because Money Podcast S6 Ep5 - Welcome to Parenthood: https://becausemoney.ca/s6-ep5-parenthood/ Not directly connected to parenting, but something I mentioned in the episode, here's Alan Whitton aka Big Cajun Man on the Maple Money Podcast talking about the Disability Tax Credit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan:   https://maplemoney.com/podcast/disability-tax-credit-rdsp/

Week 16 of the COVID-19 series features my friends Brynn Byrne and Aaron Yeger, co-hosts of the new podcast "That Was a Show?". We talk about Brynn and Aaron's COVID-19 experience and how the pandemic has affected their personal finances, but mostly I wanted them on to talk about their awesome new podcast.  I can't explain it better than them so here's the summary direct from their podcast page: The podcast about failed or forgotten sitcoms from the 80s and 90s. Many sitcoms have stood the test of time and have millions of adoring fans—but those shows were diamonds in the rough. This podcast is not about those diamonds, it's about the rough. Some sitcoms were briefly popular in their time, some were cancelled almost immediately. You probably won't recognize most of these, and you'll say 'that was a show?' As I said in the episode, it's important that podcasts promote other podcast, especially those of a different genre.  I listen to a lot of personal finance shows but I also listen to shows like This American Life, Invisibilia, "How Did That Get Made?", and other non-financial podcasts.  These podcasts are doing fine on their own but there are some podcasts that are excellent but people just don't know about them yet.  If you are a child of the 80s and 90s and enjoy talking about television, you will love this show like I do.   PODCAST Click below to listen to the first 4 episodes and subscribe today so you get the new episodes that are planned to drop every 2 weeks:  Anchor:   https://anchor.fm/thatwasashow Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmwWJWVBHOYLYSgpe1zqR?si=nXFtZok4ReKQVANhuvnmJA   CONTEST Until July 31st, you could win a "That Was a Show?" t-shirt, featuring the amazing show cover art by Brian Walker.  Head to Instagram to find the details on how to enter:   https://www.instagram.com/thatwasashow/   MERCHANDISE:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/thatwasashow/shop

Week 15 of the COVID-19 series features my friend Rubina Ahmed-Haq. Every Sunday for the last 15 weeks, right before I record The Personal Finance Show, Rubina and I record an episode of the Dear Rubi podcast.  Dear Rubi is a column podcast where we take questions from listeners and discuss the personal finance issues of the day that concern most Canadians.  So if you like the conversation that Rubina and I had today on the show, search for Dear Rubi wherever you listen to podcasts and click the subscribe button.   For Rubina's full personal finance story, check out episode 68 from back in February 2019:   https://www.thepersonalfinanceshow.com/e/rubina-ahmed-haq/ Dear Rubi Website:  https://dearrubi.com/ Rubina's website: https://rubinaahmedhaq.com/

Week 14 of the COVID-19 series features Danielle Desir. Danielle is the founder of WOC (Women of Colour) Podcasters, travel and personal finance blogger, podcaster, and author of 2 books (with a 3rd on the way). In this episode we discussed Danielle's COVID-19 experience so far, starting with her trip to China in December 2019 just before the pandemic; her level of anxiety about leaving the house (which I understand well), let alone travelling anywhere during this time; and, why it's more important now than ever to have a space for women of colour podcasters. Danielle will be back to tell her full personal finance story on a future episode, but in the meantime, if you want to hear more about her background, please check out this episode of the Money Nerds podcast (hosted by my pal Whitney Hansen): https://www.themoneynerds.com/danielledesir/   Danielle's Blog:  https://thoughtcard.com/ Danielle's Podcast:  https://podcast.thoughtcard.com/ WOC Podcasters:  https://wocpodcasters.co/ Danielle's Book about Iceland:  https://thoughtcard.com/iceland-travel-guide/ Danielle's Book about affording travel:  https://thoughtcard.com/affording-travel-book/

Week 13 of the COVID-19 series features Jackie Porter Jackie is a Canadian CFP, author of "Single by Choice or Chance", financial confidant, and recent winner of the Mackenzie Investments award for "Female Trailblazer of the Year". In this episode we discussed: -Jackie's book and the importance of financial empowerment. -COVID-19 stories from Jackie's financial planning clients and how "we're all in this together but differently". -The importance of being able to pivot and constantly having "beginner's mind" and learning experiences in business and in life. -Jackie's personal experience with racism in her industry and personal life and how she has been impacted by the anti-racist protests going on in the world right now. Jackie will be back to tell her full personal finance story on a future episode, but in the meantime, if you want to hear more about her background, please check out this episode of the Mind Your Business podcast:   https://www.themybpodcast.com/podcast/episode/79b3a9a3/153-jackie-porter-author-and-financial-confidant

  Week 12 of the COVID-19 series features Kassandra Dasent. Kassandra currently lives in Florida, was born in Trinidad and grew up in Canada (Montreal). In this episode we discuss Kassandra's experience with COVID-19 so far, and how it has affected her ability to see her mother in Montreal, and her step-child in Trinidad.  We also discuss the current anti-racist protests around the world, Kassandra's experience with explicit and implicit racism in her own life, and what we can all do to help change the way Black people are viewed in the US, Canada and everywhere. Kassandra will be back to tell her personal finance story on a future episode, but in the meantime, if you want to hear her story, please check out these podcast episodes: https://www.journeytolaunch.com/episode114/ https://paychecksandbalances.com/kassandra-dasent/ For more about the Black Tax, check out this interview on Journey To Launch with Shawn Rochester: https://www.journeytolaunch.com/episode158/

Week 11 of the COVID-19 series features Kara Perez from Austin, Texas. Kara's business Bravely Go was all about live in-person events, until the pandemic hit and she had to figure out how to pivot her business.  Kara decided to create an online event called the Financial Feminist Summit, which was at the end of May 2020 and attracted 3,300 registrants.  In the episode, Kara and Beau talk about the Summit, feminism, racism, intersectionality, and what the future holds for the events industry.

I resume the global tour in Week 10 of the COVID-19 series which features my friend Eric Wong in Singapore.  We discuss his personal experience with the pandemic so far, how Singapore is handling the situation generally, and how Eric's industry, hospitality, has been devastated by this global crisis, and what the future might look like.

Week 9 of the COVID-19 series is a break from the global tour.  Matthew Siwiec joins me from his home in Toronto to review the "alphabet soup" of Canadian emergency benefits there are out there.  From EI to CERB to CESB to CEWS to OCECRA, among others, we try to make some sense of them.  Since these benefits change all the time is a good idea to talk about them as much as possible.  Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode: Matthew's COVID-19 page – look for updates later this week TPL Event – May 27th 5 to 6pm EST  - this coming Wednesday, open to the public Benefits Finder for individuals – Didn't get to this in the episode, but it is a great resource Summary of benefits  CERB Questions and Answers

Week 8 of the COVID-19 series features my cousin Jay who lives in Berlin, Germany. Every week during the pandemic Beau will find someone in a different part of the world with a different personal pandemic experience to share their perspective and tell their story for others to hear.  In this episode Jay shares his COVID-19 experience so far in Germany, where he currently lives with my cousin Liz and their son Hudson.  Jay works for a company called HERE Technologies and Liz is an experienced travel writer, having most recently researched and written for 20 Fodor's guidebooks over the last 8 years. For Jay, Liz and Hudson, travel is their way of life.  Though they are ok financially during this pandemic and acknowledge their privilege in this regard, this doesn't diminish the fact that they may have to rethink how they live and earn in the "new normal" that emerges after the COVID-19 dust has settled.   (As we discussed in the episode, Hudson has his own Instagram account called Hudson in Hotels and can be found here:  https://www.instagram.com/hudsoninhotels/)

Week 7 of the COVID-19 series features James Mwombela from North Carolina.   Every week during the pandemic Beau will find someone in a different part of the world with a different personal pandemic experience to share their perspective and tell their story for others to hear.  In this episode James shares his COVID-19 experience so far in North Carolina, which is currently on lockdown but that is changing this week as they enter Phase 1 of "reopening".  James was already working from home so his work situation has not changed much.  In fact, an interesting effect of this global pandemic is that people who may have been less focused on their finances are realizing this is the time to really figure things out.  As a Certified Financial Planner in the US, James is well equipped to help people with their finances during normal times, and the pandemic has provided him the opportunity to reach more people and help them make plans to survive and thrive in the future.

Week 6 of the COVID-19 series features César Tánchez from Guatemala.   Every week during the pandemic Beau will find someone in a different part of the world with a different personal pandemic experience to share their perspective and tell their story for others to hear.  In this episode César shares his COVID-19 experience so far in Guatemala, which has less than 700 cases of the coronavirus and only 17 deaths as of today.  For comparison, the global numbers as of today are almost 3.5 million cases with nearly 250,000 deaths.   César also explains how there is no employment insurance in Guatemala and how the pandemic is changing the way the people of his country view saving for the future and personal finance in general. Search for César's podcast, "Trascendencia Financiera con César Tánchez", wherever you get your podcasts.

Week 5 of the COVID-19 series features Tom Drake from Alberta.   Every week during the pandemic Beau will find someone in a different part of the world with a different personal pandemic experience to share their perspective and tell their story for others to hear.  In this episode Tom shares his COVID-19 experience so far, which includes getting officially tested and having to isolate under quarantine law.  Tom and Beau also discuss investing during an economic recession like this and what to be careful of at a time when no one can predict how the economy will be affected and for how long.

Week 4 of the COVID-19 series features Jordon Cox of the UK.  Beau and Jordon discuss: -Jordon's trip to Disneyworld that was cut short and for which he's still trying to get some money back -His recent health issues and how that affects his susceptibility to the virus -How the UK is handling the COVID-19 pandemic and the rules in place to protect the British people -How 1/3 of the National Health Service (NHS) workers have been compromised by COVID-19 and the system is overwhelmed. -How the pandemic has affected Jordon's ability to make money and what financial relief exists in the UK -That a podcast host should never ask this question during a lockdown: "Where is your boyfriend now?" -How the British people are excellent at queuing(standing in lines) which is very evident during a pandemic.

In the third weekly episode of the COVID-19 series, Beau calls Australia to speak to Michelle from frugalityandfreedom.com to discuss: How COVID-19 has affected her life so far How Australia and New Zealand are handling the pandemic How Michelle's personal finances have been impacted Financial independence and frugality The live event industry and how it has been decimated The importance of staying positive and taking care of your mental health during times like this Building other forms of capital other than financial capital to help you adapt to changes in the world or your circumstances   Links to things Michelle mentioned in the episode: Rich & Resilient Living blog - Looking Beyond Financial Capital on the Path to Financial Independence http://www.richandresilientliving.com/looking-beyond-financial-capital-on-the-path-to-financial-independence/ Nomad Numbers - Nomad life during COVID-19: exiting Bali and home quarantining in Taiwan https://www.nomadnumbers.com/nomad-life-during-covid-19-exiting-bali-and-home-quarantining-in-taiwan/ Website & social links: FrugalityandFreedom.com Twitter @FrugalityFreedm Instagram @FrugalityandFreedom

  In the second weekly episode of the COVID-19 series, Beau talks about: Emergency-fund shaming and how we're in survival mode now and there is no point in telling someone they should have had an emergency fund Hopefully going through a pandemic without an emergency fund will give you the perspective to start saving once you have surplus income again What if you are in a position where you have no surplus income so you can't build savings? The dangers of relying on credit as your emergency fund This new world of video and how we need to be patient with those who aren't familiar with new technology, and how to protect yourself from hacking with online passwords for video meetings. How everyone's situation is different and we can't give blanket financial advice at a time like this, or ever, really.

  Beau returns from his podcasting sabbatical to provide a personal update and talk about the COVID-19 global pandemic in Canada as of March 29, 2020. Links mentioned in the episode: Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. Debt Free in 30 podcast on Apple Podcasts or YouTube Canada Emergency Response Benefit Infographic by Matthew Siwiec Podcasts for US Listeners:  Money With Friends, Stacking Benjamins

This is the 100th episode of The Personal Finance Show! My special guests today are Tanja Hester and Kara Perez, the hosts of my favourite podcast, The Fairer Cents, and James Mwombela, who is a CFP and Associate Planner at Grid 202 Partners. Episode 100 isn't about someone's personal finance story. It's about an important personal finance topic. Today's topic is financial privilege.   My goal with this episode was to encourage you to think about privilege and how it affects your life and your finances. Most people understand obvious financial privilege.   If you come from a wealthy family, you have an easier time than someone who doesn't come from money.   Having to work as a teenager to pay bills is very different than choosing to work as a teenager to buy the things your parents won't buy you.   Graduating with student loans puts you in a very different financial starting position from someone who's parents saved up and paid for their schooling.   Working to save for retirement is very different from working to pay your bills and make the minimum payments on your credit cards. But as we discussed in the episode, there are also less obvious layers of privilege, like your gender, the colour of your skin, or whether you are an immigrant, which may affect your ability to make money.   Like Darryl Brown from episode 93 of the show who didn't think that anyone would want him to be their financial advisor because he's black.   Or Nico Barawid from episode 67 who's parents were both doctors, but were discriminated against financially because they had immigrated from the Phillipines.   There is still a lot of work to be done to increase Indigenous people's access to culturally relevant financial education resources, as Bettina Schneider and I discussed in episode 95.  Women are 80% more likely to live in poverty in retirement than men, as Saijal Patel mentioned in episode 77.  This is not surprising if you consider that women only gained the right to open a bank account in the 1960s. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was only enacted in 1974, which made it unlawful for a creditor to discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, marital status, or age.   Think about that for a second -  45 years ago, it was so normal to financially discriminate against anyone who wasn't a white male, that they actually had to make a law to tell financial institutions to stop being racist and sexist. On the other hand, white men have been able to open bank accounts and get credit since banks were invented hundreds of years ago.  And it's not like everyone stopped being racist and sexist on the day the law came out. As we discussed in the episode, this discrimination still exists, though it's not as explicit as it once was. I've never met anyone who doesn't think this is a problem.  There isn't anyone I know who would explicitly say that they don't believe everyone should have equal opportunity to make money and build wealth. So let's do something about it. Let's talk about it on podcasts like this.   If you have the opportunity to use your privilege for good, to help someone who might have less advantages than you, do that. Remember that privilege is just perception.  There's no logical reason why gender or race or all of the other differences we mentioned should impact your ability to make money.  It's all in our heads and to stop it we need to change our thinking and our actions. So that's my 100th episode.  I'll be back soon with new episodes so if you haven't subscribed to the podcast, please do that now, so you know when the new episodes are up.  If you liked this episode, check out the other 99 episodes and please leave me a review on Apple Podcasts. And if you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can always email me at beau@beauhumphreys.com. Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon

Beth MacMillan wants you to prioritize travel. In 2011, Beth and her husband, Mark, decided to use their saved up money and take a 6 month honeymoon around the world. You don't have to save $20,000 and buy round-the-world tickets like Beth did, but if you're interested in travel at all, you can pick up a lot of tips by listening to Beth's story. To be able to travel, you need 2 things, time and money. Maybe you have the time, but not the money, so you feel like you can't afford to go anywhere. Maybe you have the money, but not the time, so you can just fly somewhere for a weekend or a week and it doesn't seem worth the effort. There will always be barriers to travel, and if you have disposable income, there are a million things you can spend your money on instead of travelling. However, if you have the desire to travel, there are ways to make it a priority in your life. Every time you have extra money, you make a choice to use that money for something that is important to you. It doesn't have to be a lot of money, as Beth and I discuss in the episode. For Beth, travel was always top of the list. Maybe you're the same. Maybe you don't even realize it yet because you haven't been anywhere. Personally I believe every dollar spent on travelling is totally worth it. The “return on investment” of travel isn't dollars but it's a higher quality of life. But that's just me. And Beth, of course. P.S. If you want to ask Beth any questions about travel or concussions, you can email her here. NEXT EPISODE 100 - Financial Privilege with Tanja Hester, Kara Perez, and James Mwombela Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Sarah Li Cain wants you to be open to opportunities and to make independence a priority. Sarah was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Canada, has lived in Australia, South Korea and China, and is currently in the US. Sarah worked mainly as a teacher, but the key to her survival and success was to be open to opportunities along the way. Knowing that she couldn't be a teacher in the US if she moved there from China with her husband and new son, Sarah looked into ways to make money online. Sarah ended up finding freelance writing as something she could do from anywhere in the world and focused on personal finance writing. Today, Sarah makes over $100,000 a year working part-time from home, creating content for financial brands and online publications. It's not easy to create in-demand content and get paid for it, but her desires to be independent and to be free to spend her time the way she wants, keep her on track. Sarah is also the host of the Beyond the Dollar podcast, where she has deep and honest conversations about how money affects our well-being. Sarah joined me from Jacksonville, Florida to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 99 - Beth MacMillan Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Bridget Casey wants us all to get rich together. The good news is that Bridget already did most of the work for you. All you have to do is follow her instructions. You don't have to spend years studying the stock market and get an MBA in finance. She already did that so you don't have to. Bridget took all of her personal finance skills and education and spent countless hours crafting online courses for you. Her stand-out course is called the Six-Figure Stock Portfolio. She created this course because there's nothing like it online right now and as you heard in the intro clip, her students are doing very well. Bridget started her website Money After Graduation in 2012 and today she has over 3,000 visitors per day. Bridget also makes personal finance videos on YouTube where she has over 6,500 subscribers and over 500,000 views of her videos. Bridget joined me from Edmonton, Alberta to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 98 - Sarah Li Cain Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Erin Lowry wants you to know that words have power, especially when it comes to your money. Saving and investing are not the same thing. For example, if someone is saving for retirement, they might not even be aware that they are actually investing their money. Very few people put their retirement money in a savings account. It's much more likely that if you have your retirement money invested in an index fund, or some kind of portfolio of stocks and bonds that are subject to risk and growth. But if we keep using the word “save” when we talk about retirement, we miss the opportunity to learn about our investments. If we say “invest” for retirement, you might be triggered to ask “What's my money invested in?” You might be thinking, Beau, everyone knows the difference between saving and investing, and people know where their retirement money is invested. Unfortunately, that's just not true. I read yesterday that 40% of Canadians keep their TFSA contributions in a simple savings account. Why are Canadians doing this? Well, it's in the name. TFSA stands for Tax-Free Savings Account. The Canadian government called it a savings account. But it's not a savings account. It's a tax shelter. Where the RRSP, or Registered Retirement Savings Plan, was created to save you taxes now, only for you to pay them later when you withdraw money in retirement, the TFSA allows you to take after-tax money you already have and protect it from ever being taxed again. So the TFSA is not for savings, because savings might grow, if you're lucky, at 1% per year. You can afford the taxes on 1%. What you want in your TFSA is your highest growth investments. If you have $10,000 in Canadian bank stocks, for example, and you say they are part of your TFSA, and then grow by 10% this year, you pay no tax on that 10%. Not this year or any year after that. That $10,000 could grow to $100,000 and you never pay any tax. So should this program created to shelter your investment growth from future taxes be called a Tax-Free Savings Account? Absolutely not. It's a terrible name and it's confusing Canadians. Words have power. Like the words "broke" and "poor" are not the same thing. This is something that Erin and I discuss in the episode, as she has now written two books: the first one is called Broke Millennial and the most recent one is Broke Millennial Takes on Investing. And there's a third book in the series coming soon, which we also discuss in the episode. Erin joined me from New York City to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 97 - Bridget Casey Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Bettina Schneider wants you to understand the impact your values, histories and life experiences have on your financial decision-making processes. Bettina has a PhD in Native American Studies and is currently Associate Professor and Associate Vice President Academic at First Nations University of Canada. Bettina spends a lot of her time contemplating the following questions: How can we increase Indigenous people's access to culturally relevant financial education resources? How can we reframe the way we talk about financial literacy and personal finance in order to make it more accessible to a wider audience? Bettina believes that financial literacy resources do not always speak to the varied values and experiences of their audience and would like to see more of those resources explore how people's "money culture" impacts the way they relate to money. Bettina joined me from Regina, Saskatchewan to share her personal finance story NEXT EPISODE 96 - Erin Lowry Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Joe Saul-Sehy wants you to learn about money, but he doesn't want you to think you're learning anything. Joe is the creator and co-host of The Stacking Benjamins Show, one of the top personal finance podcasts in North America. Joe also co-hosts a new podcast called Money in the Morning. The running joke on Stacking Benjamins is that you won't learn anything about money by listening to the show, and if you do learn something, you should keep it to yourself. Joe figured out a way to make personal finance fun and entertaining, and somehow got over 130,000 people to subscribe to the Stacking Benjamins podcast along the way. But Joe's history with money is not all sunshine and roses. He's made his share of money mistakes over the years and that's what makes him so effective as a host of a personal finance podcast. I'm very happy to have Joe on the show and I'm flattered that he has invited me to be on the infamous Stacking Benjamins roundtable coming up on a Friday sometime in the next few months. Joe joined me from Detroit, Michigan to share his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 95 - Bettina Schneider Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Darryl Brown wants you to stop complaining about bad financial advice and do something about it. If you walk into a bank, give them money, don't ask questions and do zero research on investing, then you've pretty much given up your right to complain if you're not happy with the results. Instead of complaining about things, let's be proactive. This is your money. It's important. You work hard for it. So why not spend a bit of time on it. Yes, I've said this a lot. I know it's hard to do the work yourself. It takes time and a personal interest in investing. So it might make more sense for you to pay someone a fee to help you figure it all out. And this is where a lot of people get confused. They think that walking into a bank or going to a company that sells financial products is the best way to invest their money in a way that achieves their financial goals. They don't charge upfront fees so that sounds great to most people. But as I've said many times, if a financial services company doesn't have the product that is best for your goals, they are not going to tell you to go somewhere else. They are never going to make money if they send business away. If you walk into a Mazda dealer and you start talking about how much Ford means to you and you love Ford products and it becomes really obvious to them that you are going to have a significantly better life if you buy a Ford, they will NEVER say, “I don't think a Mazda is the right car for you.” As a salesperson, that is possibly the worst thing you can do for your career. They will instead try their best to change your mind and fit your desires into their available range of products. Darryl started his company You & Yours Financial so that he could provide truly unbiased advice. He is not at all interested in forcing you into a box so that you fit the financial product he sells. He doesn't sell financial products at all. A quick glance at Darryl's Twitter feed and you can see that he has no patience for the financial BS that's out there. Darryl is only interested in providing you with a completely unbiased opinion and an investment solution that is truly right for you. Darryl joined me in the studio in Hamilton to share his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 94 - Joe Saul-Sehy Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Kelley Keehn wants you to feel good about your money. To feel good about your money, you have to educate yourself, ideally as early as possible. Before you sign up for a credit card, read a ton about credit cards and how they work. Before you buy a house or a condo, listen to podcasts about the pros and cons of buying real estate. There are so many personal finance resources out there today, and people like Kelley, who are dedicated to educating people about money. Kelley has written 9 books and has a 10th on the way called Talk Money To Me, which will be published in December 2019. When Kelley was younger, she didn't have the personal finance resources that we have today. She had to learn about money through trial and error. Today, Kelley spends a lot of her time trying to change people's thinking about money so that they don't fall into the same traps that she did. Kelley joined me from Edmonton, Alberta to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 93 - Darryl Brown Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Robert Brown wants you to not be afraid of a little hard work. Robert grew up on a dairy farm. His father worked the farm while also working a full-time job at General Motors. Robert learned about working for money early and also about patience and delayed gratification. There are a lot of things that we buy today with borrowed money that we could easily put off until we have money in the bank, and we might even get a better deal if we wait. Robert realized over time that many Canadians hadn't learned what he did on the farm and as a result they were spending money before they earned it, and doing things like buying houses they actually couldn't afford. They didn't understand the concept of compound interest or how to save for the future while still being able to live a comfortable life today. After over 25 years of working in the restaurant and food service industries, Robert decided to write a book about personal finance. He would write it in a way that Canadians would understand. The book he wrote is called Wealthing Like Rabbits and it's now a Canadian bestseller. Robert joined me from Ajax, Ontario to share his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 92 - Kelley Keehn Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

  Sonya Smith-Valentine wants you to be Financially Fierce. Sonya has an accounting degree and a law degree. She is a CPA and a lawyer, and has worked professionally as both. Sonya has worked for legal aid in New York and Maryland, and later started a law practice specializing in Consumer Debt and Bankruptcy, winning cases against credit bureaus, credit card companies, banks, and collection agencies for unlawful activity. Today, Sonya is a Financial Confidence Expert and as President and CEO of Financially Fierce, LLC her mission is to improve the financial acumen of employees and managers to create financially savvy and highly productive workplaces. Sonya joined me from the Maryland/DC area to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 91 - Robert Brown Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

J. Money wants you to know that Budgets Are Sexy. That's the title of the personal finance blog that he started 11 years ago, and even though you may never think budgets are sexy, the point that J. is trying to get across is that personal finance doesn't have to be boring. In 2008 J. started posting monthly net worth updates in addition to his regular content. In 137 months, J. has grown his net worth from just under $59,000 to almost $920,000. And you don't have to wonder how he did it. Just go to Budgets Are Sexy and click on the Net Worth link. You'll see all 137 posts and can drill down on any one of them. J. has always been about full disclosure, which is one of the main reasons he still remains anonymous. As we discuss in the interview, I have met him at FinCon, but I don't know his last name or whether his first name is actually Jay or a name that starts with J and I don't know where he lives. Including Budgets Are Sexy, J.'s personal finance projects have reached over 30 million views, but most importantly, J. is just a great guy and we are lucky to have him in the personal finance community. If you like what you hear today, I recommend you sign up for J.'s daily emails. After 11 years, and now a father of 3, J. is still doing what he can to make personal finance fun and engaging. J. Money joined me from an undisclosed location in the US to share his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 90 - Sonya Smith-Valentine Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Ericka Young wants you to be intentional and have a plan before you spend any money. This applies to every single situation that involves money, which is pretty much everything. As Paula Pant says at the beginning of her podcast, you can afford anything, but not everything. Unfortunately because of loans and credit cards, we think we can afford everything. This happens to too many people. They make good money, and can pay the bills, but the bank account doesn't grow and the credit cards stay at the same level. When you start out in debt, that's what you know, and it becomes normal. But living on credit creates this mindless spending, which can easily get out of control. You make decisions without thinking and sometimes those decisions have consequences. There are so many people like Ericka who could easily break free of the mountain of debt that they are trapped under, if only they would step back and have a closer look at their financial situation and whether their spending habits align with their financial goals. One day Ericka looked at her low bank balance and her high credit balance and asked herself: What's going on here? The process she went through was so motivating that she knew she wanted to help others achieve the same thing. Ericka launched Tailor Made Budgets in 2005 and has been helping people change their money habits ever since. Ericka joined me from Indianapolis, Indiana to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 89 - J. Money Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Robert Farrington wants you to think before you click the button and accept your student loans. Getting an education is an investment and you should spend some time thinking about what you're investing in and what kind of return your investment will provide. For example, you may not even need a degree at all to work somewhere you like and that pays well. You may need a degree to get promotions and more responsibility but that might not be until later and who knows, your employer might even help pay for your schooling. We have been brainwashed over the years that to get a “good” job you have to spend a lot of money on school, and then eat ramen noodles while living in a tiny apartment and work 12 hour days to repay your loans. After the interview with Robert I realized that some part of me is still brainwashed, and it actually scared me a little. Robert worked at Target for over 16 years. He mentioned this right at the beginning of the interview and I totally didn't hear him say that he only stopped working there 2 years ago. So I kept asking him questions like “So what was your next job” not fully comprehending that he was always at Target until he decided he was making enough from his side hustles and he wanted to spend more time with his family. I realized that there's this part of me that still finds it hard to believe that someone would work in retail for that long and it's scary to think that I have these notions in my brain somewhere, when I don't actively believe this is true. But on auto-pilot, the notion that guided me to my next questions were that he must have got a better job. No one works at Target for 16 years. It really sucks but it seems I've been brainwashed to think that this is not a good job, without even knowing what it is that Robert even did for 16 years. Of course there are people who spend their whole lives in retail and are very happy. Robert actually ended up with a lot of responsibility, managing several hundred employees and millions in sales. But he shouldn't be any less valuable to me as a human being if he simply pushed carts and stocked shelves for 16 years instead. Especially when on the side he was building a web empire that now has millions of visitors per month. Even more ironic is that I've been driving for Uber since last September. And I'm sure there are people that think it's odd that someone with a university degree and 15 years working in accounting and finance would be an Uber driver. But I actually really like it and it fits with my flexible schedule. I decided that even though it makes me seem like a classist jerk, I needed to talk about this. Maybe you do this too and you don't even realize it. Talking about it openly is the only way to shake off these archaic notions about what is good or bad, what is the right path and all the other societal norms that seem to only cause us to spend money we don't have and take jobs we don't want. So as Robert suggests, before we just press a button and fund our future with debt, we need to spend more time thinking about what it is we want. Are you going to be able to pay back this debt? What kind of job will you get after you graduate? If you're going to take on tens of thousands in debt, shouldn't you at least have a general answer to these questions? Why is the default: get the loan and figure it out later. Personally I think we have it all backwards. We should try working in jobs in our areas of interest or curiosity, make some money, and then take whatever training or schooling is necessary to move forward in that area of work, if we enjoy it. Why is a 4 year degree the thing that everyone cares about? Logically it doesn't make sense. Most people hire someone who works well with others and then train them how to do the job. We're focusing on the wrong things and it's creating a society that is trapped by huge amounts of debt. As Robert wrote in a recent post on his site The College Investor, student loans should be your last option. If you do decide that you want to go to school before you have enough money to pay for it, there are so many options to explore before going straight to student loans. If you or someone in your family is in the process of deciding how to pay for school, I fully recommend going to thecollegeinvestor.com and reading everything. Robert joined me from his home in Southern California to share his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 88 - Ericka Young Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Stacy Yanchuk-Oleksy wants you to see a non-profit credit counsellor if you have credit problems. Stacy is Director of Education and Community Awareness at the Credit Counselling Society. If you've listened to episode 76 of the show, you know that I had credit problems 11 years ago. I filed a consumer proposal with a licenced insolvency trustee, under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act of Canada. My case was severe so I skipped the first step that many take and that's going to see a credit counsellor first to discuss options. There are a lot of great people out there looking to actually help you get out of debt. Whether you see a counsellor or a trustee, most will help you make the right move for your debt situation. As Stacy and I discuss in the interview, just make sure that you don't pay anything upfront for debt solutions and don't just click on the first link in the online search. There are websites and companies that appear to be offering debt settlement solutions, but they are just payday lenders in disguise. Make sure you find out about the company that you're dealing with. The legitimate trustees and non-profit credit counsellors have nothing to hide. They have names of staff and locations and they are active on social media. Stacy is very proud of the free workshops and educational resources that the Credit Counselling Society provides in order to try to prevent Canadians from getting into unmanageable debt in the first place. The most important thing to me is that you know what your options are when you're in trouble. And I fully recommend you take advantage of free consultations with as many organizations as you can handle. Go meet them in person and talk to them about solutions. Everyone's situation is different and the more information you have from multiple sources, the better you will be at determining which solution works for you and more importantly, the one you can live with. Stacy joined me in the studio in Hamilton to tell her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 87 - Robert Farrington Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Shanah Bell wants you to lead a happy, unorthodox life. You can be successful without following the traditional 9 to 5 career path option. It's true. But to get there, you have to be open to opportunity and change, and sometimes you have to be a bit of a PITA, which I recently learned is an acronym for Pain In The Ass. In fact, Shanah's new book is called The Art of Being a PITA. It guides new adults and recent college graduates through the ins-and-outs of living life the way they want to. The way that no one talks about. As she tells it, most people believe you are a pain in the ass if you do things that are contrary to societal norms. For example, if you don't follow this checklist: 9 to 5 job, marriage, house, kids, work until 65, retire and then finally do what you want, society is like, stop being a pain in the ass and just do what the rest of us are doing. Shanah's path is a bit different. She figured out how to do many, many different things for money, on her own terms. Because this show is about her personal finance story, we didn't spend a lot of time delving into the 56 jobs Shanah has had, but if you're interested in the details, pick up a copy of the book, where she goes through each job and the lessons she learned from each one. Since she wrote the book Shanah has added 4 more jobs: dog boarding, cooking classes, AirBNB, and, of course, author. Shanah joined me from her home in Raleigh, North Carolina to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 86 - Stacy Yanchuk-Oleksy Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Sandy Yong wants everyone to learn about personal finance so that their future self can thank them for it. Sandy figured out early on that if you give your money to the big banks, and don't know what you want to invest in, they will choose the ones with the highest fees. Makes sense, doesn't it? If you went to a car dealership, and said here's some money, I want a car, and didn't give them any parameters like fuel efficiency, or speed, or size or anything, they would sell you the car that makes them the most money. In fact, if they didn't do that, I would question if they are in the right business. Sandy figured out that if she learned the basics of personal finance, she could invest her own money, have more control over her risk, and save a ton on fees. She learned so much about personal finance that when the opportunity came up to publish a book, personal finance was the clear subject. Sandy's book, The Money Master, will be published in the summer of 2019. It's always great to have another voice in the personal finance community to help increase financial literacy and democratize personal finance. Financial wellness is nearly impossible to achieve if you are having mental health issues. Recognizing this, Sandy has decided to donate $2 from every sale of her book to CAMH, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. If you've heard my story of addiction and recovery, you know that this has a special meaning for me, so thank you Sandy for making this commitment. Sandy joined me in the studio in Hamilton to tell her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 85 - Shanah Bell Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Ed Rempel wants you to know that the conventional personal finance wisdom most people follow, might not be the best for your financial situation. Unconventional wisdom, as he calls it, might be your path to financial success. Ed has been a financial planner for over 25 years and a tax accountant for over 35 years. He is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Professional Accountant, and Certified Hedge Fund Specialist. Ed has spent the majority of his life actually creating comprehensive financial plans for Canadians and continuously building his knowledge base to help his clients reach financial freedom in the most optimal and efficient way. Ed has so much unconventional wisdom to share that one podcast episode wasn't enough. We didn't even get to talk about all of the really interesting investing and tax strategies that he has become an expert in over the years. So stay tuned for Part 2 of this interview in the coming months. Ed joined me in the studio in Hamilton to share part 1 of his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 84 - Sandy Yong Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Sandi Martin wants someone giving financial advice to be paid by the person who's receiving financial advice. And the someone giving financial advice should be paid a fee for the financial services they provide. Sandi worked at a bank for years and her job was to sell the bank's products. When people came to her office to ask for financial advice, they didn't have to pay her anything. The bank paid her. She worked for the bank and not for the people asking for advice. The bank would be happy if the people who came into Sandi's office purchased one of the bank's products before they left, and Sandi would be considered a success if she sold as many bank products as she could. A lot of the time, the products at the bank were not the best products for the people who walked into her office. They weren't terrible products, but they weren't the right fit for some of the people. But she couldn't recommend anything else because she would have lost her job at the bank. The more she found out about the variety of financial products that existed, she realized that a lot of the best ones for the people who walked into her office at the bank existed outside of the bank. So she left and created her own financial planning company, which is now called Spring Financial Planning. She decided she wasn't going to sell financial products at all. She would talk to people and find out what they need to achieve their financial goals. They would pay her a fee to help them make a financial plan that wasn't tied to any financial products. When the plan was done and they asked her how they should invest their money in a way that aligned with the goals in their plan, she could point them to a variety of suitable products that they could get from a variety of places. And they would be suitable for her clients because they would help them achieve their financial goals, not because she was getting paid to sell them. Sandi Martin joined me from somewhere in the middle of the province of Ontario to tell her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 83 - Ed Rempel Click here to book a FREE 15-minute personal finance consultation with Beau Humphreys, Personal Finance Coach Click here to become a patron of The Personal Finance Show via Patreon To register for my next available personal finance webinar click here.

Janine Rogan wants you to know that no one is born with an understanding of personal finance. Janine got pretty good at making money early. Queen of the side hustle, they called her. But somehow her bank account was always empty and her credit cards were always maxed. This is, unfortunately, not uncommon in our society. Making good money, but somehow the money disappears. Some people tell me this like it's some kind of unsolveable mystery. Luckily for Janine, she had a friend who pointed her to the world of personal finance books and blogs, and she was hooked after that. Today you can find Janine's personal finance writing all over the internet. Janine joined me from Calgary, Alberta to share her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 82 - Sandi Martin

Michael Kruse wants you to not be afraid of changing your career. We usually go to school for one thing. One field of study. One industry. Then we work hard to find jobs and build experience in that industry. We become experts. After 10 or 15 years we become well known for doing one thing very well. Maybe you've been in the same job or industry for that long and you're totally fine. You're paid well, you enjoy the work - there's no reason to move on. After 10 years working as a lighting designer in the world of Canadian theatre, Michael Kruse wasn't fine. Among other issues, he couldn't see himself ever reaching a comfortable retirement or financial independence making the money he was making. So in his early thirties, Michael left his long career in theatre and decided he was going to pursue something completely different...he was going to become a paramedic. Michael joined me in the studio in Hamilton to share his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 81 - Janine Rogan

Ellen Roseman has been sticking up for Canadians as an advocate for consumer rights for the past 35 years. If you're interested in Canadian personal finance, there's a pretty good chance you've already read something written by Ellen Roseman. Ellen's been a personal finance and consumer advocacy columnist at the Toronto Star for over 20 years and though she officially retired from the Star in 2015, Ellen agreed to stay on in a freelance capacity to write a weekly column, featuring consumer issues she believes will have the most impact for Canadians. Ellen has written 8 books, including Money 101, Money 201 and her latest book Fight Back: 81 ways to help you save money and protect yourself from corporate trickery. Ellen also teaches investing and personal finance courses at the University of Toronto Continuing Studies and currently sits on the board as co-chair of the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights, which we talk more about in the episode. Ellen joined me in the studio in Hamilton to tell her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 80 - Michael Kruse

Owen Winkelmolen wants you to talk to someone...anyone...before you make any investment decisions. Ideally it would be someone in the personal finance realm. A coach like me, or a financial planner or advisor. But please just talk to someone, because if you do, you might save yourself from making the huge financial mistake Owen made in his late twenties. You'll have to listen to the episode to find out exactly what happened, but let's just say it was a bad enough experience that Owen decided to start learning as much as he could about personal finance which ultimately led to the creation of his company PlanEasy.ca. Owen joined me in the studio in Hamilton to tell his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 79 - Ellen Roseman

Saijal Patel wants you to know that women are 80% more likely to live in poverty in retirement than men. This is a terrible statistic. Seriously, why is anyone living in poverty in retirement. If someone is retired, that means they have either worked at a job or a business their whole life, or have supported someone else who worked, in one way or another. And this person now gets to live in poverty? Why is this acceptable? Saijal doesn't think it's acceptable. She started a company called Saij Elle where she helps women build the right money mindset and skills so they can own their financial independence and achieve true financial wellness. And the thing about Saijal is that she comes from the business world, and knows how to talk to businesses as well as individuals. She knows that the system itself needs to be changed, and one of her mandates is to encourage businesses to build effective financial wellness programs. Financial wellness takes a village and everyone has to be on board: individuals, companies, the media and the financial industry. There is a shift in the way personal finance is being delivered to the public and Saijal is leading the way by helping reduce the money stigma and shame many women feel every day. Saijal joined me in the studio in Hamilton to tell her personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 78 - Owen Winkelmolen

For this episode, the host becomes the guest and my wife becomes the host! I decided that after 75 episodes it was time to become the guest and tell my story. I've talked a lot on the show about my history with addiction but just bits and pieces here and there. I asked my wife, Kaila, if she would take over as the host for an episode and she agreed! We talked about how I got into my gambling addiction, how I got out of it, and what I learned about personal finance, and life in general, along the way. It all started with a Super Nintendo… NEXT EPISODE 77 - Saijal Patel  

For my 75th episode I decided to record a 75 minute episode with 74 1-minute (or less) segments, one for each of the 74 shows published so far (leaving 30 seconds for the introduction and whatever is left for the sign-off). Each segment has an introduction/commentary and a short clip of the show. So if you want to experience the evolution of The Personal Finance Show without spending 75 hours, now you can get a taste of the first 74 episodes in only 75 minutes. NEXT EPISODE 76 - Beau Humphreys (Yes, I'm the guest next week!)

Larry Bates want you to Beat The Bank. That's the title of his new book and it's all about challenging the status quo of Canadians paying the highest investment fees in the world and believing that the financial industry has their best interests at heart. You see Larry spent his whole career on the business side of the banking and investment worlds. One day he was sitting up in his ivory tower and a phone call from his sister changed everything. That's when he decided to use his knowledge about the financial industry to become an advocate for Canadian investors. Larry is all about transparency and making sure you don't pay high investment fees and he proves in his book that you don't need to be an expert to be an investor. You just need to know the basics. Larry joined me in the studio in Hamilton, to share his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 75 - Recap of Episodes 1-74

John Lanza wants to help families raise money-smart, money-empowered kids so that they can live happier, more fulfilled lives. John is the creator of the Money Mammals and the author of The Art of Allowance. I want to tell you everything about the Money Mammals because I like them so much, but it's probably best that you listen to the interview and then go to Youtube and search for the Money Mammals. Describing them as puppets who are in a band and sing and play songs about money, just doesn't feel like I'm doing them justice. There is a Money Mammals DVD, 3 books for kids and now for parents the new book The Art of Allowance, which provides an allowance framework to find the right way for you to set up an allowance system for your kids. There is also a companion Art of Allowance podcast where John interviews parents about their allowance systems and what's working, or not working, for them. The thing I noticed most about all of John's money resources for kids is how well designed and produced everything is. From the websites to the videos,songs, interactive games, and books, it's just an amazing collection. John joined me from Los Angeles to tell his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 74 - Larry Bates

The Loonie Doctor wants to keep new doctors from falling into the lifestyle inflation trap. The Loonie Doctor prefers to remain anonymous so all I can tell you is that he is a doctor and he lives somewhere in Southern Ontario. As you may have heard, doctors are always the best at managing their own personal finances and it's not surprising. I want my doctor to be really good at being a doctor. They have tons of information in their brains and for many, there is no more room for finances. And it may seem like doctors don't need help because they make so much money, but the sad truth is that the more money you make, the more debt and subsequent trouble you can get into. The path to getting your medical licence is often very long. You get your undergrad, then 3 to 4 years of medical school, and then 3 or more years of residency, before you start making what you and I would consider to be real doctor money. So the shift from the student/resident lifestyle to the doctor lifestyle can be shocking for some and can lead them on a path of spending money they think they have, but really don't, not tackling their debts right away and not thinking about saving money at all. Often they end up working longer than they need to, and burning out as a result. The Loonie Doctor decided to start a blog to try to help new doctors get a handle on things as early as possible in their careers. He joined me in the studio to tell his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 73 - John Lanza

Tom Drake is known as the godfather of Canadian personal finance bloggers. In fact, Tom just hit his 10-year blogging anniversary this month, February 2019. Originally Canadian Finance Blog, Tom rebranded to Maple Money and now even has a podcast called the Maple Money Show (I was on as a guest in November 2018). Tom has created thousands of personal finance posts over the years and he did it all while working a full-time job during the week, at a company that he started with 18 years ago and still works at today. If you've listened to the show, you've heard me talk about FinCon, North America's largest personal finance conference. I did Episode 51 live from FinCon 2018 in Orlando. Well, Tom has been to every single FinCon since 2011, and I'm sure I will see him again this year in Washington, D.C. Tom joined me from Calgary, Alberta to tell his personal finance story. NEXT EPISODE 72 - The Loonie Doctor