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Every financial expert worth their salt has long ago memorized mantras like, “Pay yourself first,” and, “start savings while your young and watch your money grow.”  In most cases when these testimonials are presented with religious fervor they are accompanied by slick presentations that include multi-coloured bar graphs, arcane mathematical computations (well, arcane if you were educated using today’s public school mathematics curricula anyway, but I digress), and promises of a life of plenty.  The only thing you have to do in order to one day walk in this promise land is start saving a little bit of money, make it automatic, put it in a jar, reinforce frugal habits, something about 10%, no wait 15%, or is it 20%+?  Yes the only thing you have to do is look at the world with the hard-fought wisdom of a forty-year old financial advisor when you are 20.  That shouldn’t be so hard right?

Of course the “eternal optimist” George Bernard Shaw revealed a much more realistic view of young people and personal finance when he stated, “Youth is wasted on the young.”

While the charts and projections that we personal finance know-it-alls love to throw up are statistically true, they fail to take into consideration the most important factor in the equation – humanity.  Sure, logic and reason have their place in the minds of most young adults that I know, but they aren’t the only ones setting up shop there.  In fact, immediate gratification, YOLO-ing, and material satisfaction (Google “flossing”) might have the run of the place as it pertains to most of us.

This represents an unfortunate reality.  You can hardly blame the logical and reason-driven angels on our shoulder for investing their energy into the more important matters like getting an education, pursuing a career, and maybe even finding a long-term mate.  Personal finance often gets delegated to the dark side.  This is how luxury trips abroad get put on credit cards, 3,000 square foot homes get purchased with that maximum amount the bank will give for mortgages, and brand new luxury cars purchased with only “84 monthly payments of $299” end up in garages that have been built with home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). Continue Reading →

Whether your life insurance policy will cover you when you travel overseas will depend on a number of factors. As with most questions associated with life insurance, the answer lies in the small print. While some life insurance providers will extend their coverage to offer protection wherever you are in the world, some will only cover you within your country of residence. The important thing to do is always check with your specific insurance provider.  Your insurance provider may very well have travel coverage, but then again, several do not – or are charging you ungodly rates for the privilege.  We recommend comparing rates and coverage specifics with  Suncorp by clicking this link since it is once of the largest and most well-known insurance companies on the market.

Related: What Is Insurance and Why Do You Need It? 

If you live in the United States, you will find that most life insurance policies do not provide cover when you leave the country. Unlike in some other countries, such as Australia, where life insurance cover will usually follow you overseas, most US life insurance policies will only cover you in the US.  This is due to the travel patterns of the average American traveler.  However, there are exceptions to this, so it’s worth checking out the small print in your policy to find out for sure. Read the terms and conditions of your policy, and it  should tell you where you stand.

If you are still unsure – small print isn’t always easy to understand, and who the heck wants to give up their weekend anyway! – give your life insurance provider a call, and they will let you know whether overseas travel is covered by your policy.  If they can’t provide decent customer assistance, are they really worth staying with? Continue Reading →

Looking at Statistics Canada’s table concerning the average Canadian household expenditures, it is obvious that many family expenses are inevitable and hardly modifiable. Indeed, the two most important areas of spending – namely, shelter and income taxes – have to be budgeted no matter what: from the moment you earn a living and want a rooftop to live under, these two kinds of expenses are pretty much unavoidable! Saving money remains possible in other expenditure areas, however. Let us see which ones are the most promising.

1. Transportation

In 2011, the average Canadian household’s expenditures totaled just over $73,000. From that number, shelter was the most important spending area (about $15,200) and was closely followed by income taxes (almost $12,500). These two kinds of expenditures, as we just said it, can hardly be diminished due to their very nature. But there is some hope that ought to be vested in the third most important spending area: transportation. With more than $11,000 spent on it every year, the average Canadian household should yearn for some savings right there.

Although many will be quick to claim that their car payments and gas expenses are unavoidable and that, therefore, transportation is not the key to saving money, it is possible to turn this situation around and see the glass half full. In effect, changing your driving habits is one of the easiest ways to cut down on gas: driving the speed limit, avoiding quick accelerations and abrupt stops, minimizing idling, avoiding useless weight such as golf bags when they are not needed, driving with the windows up and – of course – using your car just when walking or biking is unfeasible are easy-to-implement tips that will make your gas tank last longer on its latest supply. Continue Reading →