In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, we explore how even high-earning households can feel “house poor” and why lifestyle inflation, low savings rates, and heavy debt can quietly erode financial flexibility.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Colin and Blair walk through a case study of “Linda,” a 55-year-old investor with a $780,000 balanced portfolio.

When markets fell 18%, she panicked and sold half her equities, only to miss the 22% rebound that followed.

It’s a powerful reminder that the hardest part of investing isn’t picking the right fund. It’s sticking to the financial plan when headlines, social media, and fear tell you to do the opposite.

Markets recover but emotional decisions can be permanent.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Colin and Blair continue their financial planning series by examining the Canadian macro environment, from housing and household debt to interest rates and inflation.

Using a real-life style case study, they explore how someone can have strong net worth on paper while still feeling monthly cash flow pressure.

It’s a reminder that financial planning isn’t just about assets. It’s about context, options, and clarity.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Colin is joined by Blair, Director of Financial Planning at Canvas Wealth, to kick off a new series focused on the role planning plays in long-term financial success.

They explore how financial planning turns money into a life tool, replaces guesswork with clarity, and helps people navigate major life transitions with confidence, not just better returns.

A conversation about outcomes, behaviour, and building freedom over time.

From wars and sanctions to trade disruptions and surprise political events, global markets react quickly to uncertainty.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Greg and Colin walk through decades of data on geopolitical shocks, what typically drives market drawdowns, how long recoveries tend to take, and why most sell-offs fade faster than headlines suggest.

They also explore what these events mean specifically for Canadian investors, including impacts on oil, the dollar, and global portfolios.

Every January, investment firms release their top picks and bold projections for the year ahead.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Greg and Colin look back at the stock lists published in early 2025 and ask the question most people forget to ask: how did they actually perform?

By comparing forecasts to real-world outcomes, they unpack why confidence doesn’t equal accuracy, why benchmarks matter more than opinions, and what investors can learn from hindsight.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Greg and Jacob reflect on how the reality of wealth advising differs from what’s taught early on.

Technical knowledge matters, but it isn’t what ultimately sets wealth advisors apart. Listening, understanding, and guiding people through uncertainty are what define the work.

Throughout the episode, they explore the lessons that only experience teaches, and what it really takes to build a career that lasts.

If there’s one lesson that kept showing up over nearly 300 episodes, it’s this:

being reasonable beats being brilliant.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Colin reflects on five themes that have shaped the show over the years, starting with why behaviour matters more than intelligence, forecasts, or clever strategies.

It’s a reminder that long-term success rarely comes from bold moves. It comes from consistent, disciplined decisions made over time.

When markets move, our instincts kick in fast. ⏱️

In this episode, Colin and Greg share a real example of a new investor reacting to a small short-term loss, and use it to explain why checking your portfolio too often can do more harm than good.

They break down volatility, time horizons, and why investing isn’t meant to feel like watching a savings account.

We’ve become far more comfortable with debt than we used to be.

In this episode of The Free Lunch Podcast, Rob Carrick, one of Canada’s most trusted personal finance journalists and longtime columnist at The Globe and Mail joins Greg and Colin to talk about how consumer culture has reshaped our relationship with money.

They discuss frictionless spending, social media pressure, and why debt often builds quietly, without a clear moment where things go wrong.