The Personal Finance Show

Shannon Lee Simmons wants everyone to have access to unbiased and affordable financial advice.

In late 2010, frustrated that Bay street was only interested in clients that have tons of money, she left her high paying job to start the Barter Babes project. Shannon would offer her financial services in exchange for any good or service that she needed.

Over one year Shannon helped over 300 women and never once accepted cash for her services. Unable to go back to Bay street after that, Shannon realized her only option was to start the best fee-only financial planning firm in Canada.

She called it the New School of Finance and she never looked back.

When she's not helping people at the New School, you can find Shannon in just about every newspaper, and all over Canadian television, promoting her new book Worry-Free Money.

Shannon was nice enough to host me at the New School of Finance where we talked about her personal finance journey.

Shannon was also the first guest to agree to sing on the podcast! Look for that fun segment near the end of the episode.

29 - John Kalos

There are two main types of investing, active and passive.

Active investing is typically for people who have a deep understanding of the investments they are working with. They are trying to time the market by buying an investment when it is low, and growing it to the point where it's grown enough to achieve whatever profit goals they set, then selling that product for a profit. The classic buy low sell high strategy. You have to be paying attention to what's going on in the world and be ready for quick movement to avoid losses. There are people who are very good at this but it is highly risky and not for everyone.

Passive investment is when you buy something and hold onto it. You pay attention as it grows over the years and you control your overall risk by keeping your investments balanced based on the amount of risk you are willing to accept. A typical passive investment is an exchange traded fund or index fund. Passive investment can be done through robo advisors automatically, they take care of the risk management for a small fee, or you can open a brokerage account and do it yourself.

Typically passive investors fall into these two categories: You just want to keep it simple and live your life so you pay a robo advisor half a percent and they take care of everything. You decide you want control over your investments and also want to try to save money on fees and do it all yourself. Usually this type of person enjoys monitoring their investments and taking a hands on role, at least on a semi regular basis.

But what if you fall somewhere in the middle?

You don't want to spend a lot of time on your investments, but you also want to have full control and try to minimize your fees.

Brendan Wood and Brendan Lee Young fall into this category.

They wanted to invest their own money but realized there were so many tedious tasks that still had to be done manually through their online brokerage.

So they created a tool to automate all the manual stuff. A kind of Swiss army knife for do-it-yourself investors.

Both Brendans joined me from the province of New Brunswick to share their personal finance stories and talk about their new portfolio management tool Passiv.

5 Steps to Passive Investing for Retirement: https://getpassiv.com/blog/5-steps-passive-investing-retirement/

28 - Shannon Lee Simmons

By day, Matt Matheson is a teacher and assistant principal, but when the day is done he takes on his role of Canada's newest personal finance blogger.

Matt started writing at https://methodtoyourmoney.ca in October 2017 and since then has gotten the attention of some major personal finance publications.

In January 2018 he was published in MoneySense magazine and just recently he was a guest blogger on the popular personal finance site https://getrichslowly.org.

Matt joined me from Edmonton, Alberta to tell his personal finance story.

27 - Brendan Lee Young and Brendan Wood

Eric Brotman understands that a relationship with a financial planner is a multi-generational thing.

I talk about this a lot on the show, but it’s all about a holistic plan that takes into account all the financial aspects of your life, and it’s about reviewing the plan once or twice a year and changing it to match your goals and objectives as they change throughout the course of your life.

This is an ongoing thing. It’s not a one-time plan or a transactional thing. This is a lifetime deal.

In the interview, Eric didn’t list what he calls his “alphabet soup” of designation letters after his name. He’s got a lot of professional designations and that’s not a bad thing, but as he says, you can’t get a diploma in integrity and hang it on the wall. Confidence is something you earn.

So yes, credentials are nice, but never blindly trust someone because they have a lot of letters after their name. Talk to them and make sure that they’re listening to your story and working towards your goals.

And it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion.

I couldn’t make it down to Maryland anytime soon so Eric joined me online to tell his personal finance story.

26 - Matt Matheson

DISCLAIMER: Eric offers securities through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS are not affiliated with Brotman Financial Group or any entity referenced herein. Neither Kestra IS nor Kestra AS provide tax or legal advice. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra IS or Kestra AS. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regard to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results.​

In 2011, Cait Flanders had credit card debt of $30,000, no more available credit, $100 in the bank, and had to move back in with her parents.

Cait decided to reboot the blog she had previously deleted, called Blonde on a Budget, hoping that writing about it would help with her debt repayment and struggles with overspending.

Since that first post in June 2011, on what has now become https://caitflanders.com, Cait paid off her $30,000 in full, got a job offer because of her blog, and came up with this crazy idea of going on a one-year shopping ban.

And then after a friend wrote an article on Forbes.com about her shopping ban, she was contacted by 6 different literary agents asking if she wanted to write a book.

And she did!

It’s called The Year of Less, and it came out in January 2018.

Cait joined me in Toronto’s Trinity-Bellwoods park to talk about her personal finance journey.

Update for 2021:  Cait has a new book called Adventures in Opting Out and a new podcast called Opting Out with Cait Flanders

25 - Eric Brotman

Carrot Rewards is a free app for your smartphone or Fitbit that helps you earn your favourite reward points by making healthy lifestyle choices.

What if I told you that you would get a reward every time you went for a walk?

Ok, sometimes I'll reward myself by walking to the donut shop, but I'm not talking about that kind of reward.

My favourite part of the app is the steps section. It tracks the steps I take every day to come up with my average daily steps and then rewards me with a few points every day I exceed my average.

But healthy lifestyle choices aren't just about walking. As I discussed in episode 20 with Canada's Financial Literacy Leader Jane Rooney, financial wellness is just as important as physical and mental wellness.

And let's not forget environmental wellness which is about living a lifestyle that respects our surroundings. For all of these other wellness topics Carrot Rewards sends you offers in the form of quizzes and surveys within the app that take only a few minutes to complete.

Megan Nobrega introduced me to Carrot Rewards at the Canadian Personal Finance Conference in November 217 so I decided to visit her at her office and find out more about her personal finance story and how she ended up at Carrot.

Update: Carrot Rewards now has over 750,000 users in Canada!

P.S. Once you get the Carrot Rewards app, use my code to get bonus rewards: beauh1933

24 - Cait Flanders

Update: Carrot Rewards now has over 750,000 users in Canada! What if I told you that you would get a reward every time you went for a walk? Ok, sometimes I'll reward myself by walking to the donut shop, but I'm not talking about that kind of reward. Carrot Rewards (www.carrotrewards.ca) is a free app for your smartphone or Fitbit that helps you earn your favourite reward points by making healthy lifestyle choices. My favourite part of the app is the steps section. It tracks the steps I take every day to come up with my average daily steps and then rewards me with a few points every day I exceed my average. But healthy lifestyle choices aren't just about walking. As I discussed in episode 20 with Canada's Financial Literacy Leader Jane Rooney, financial wellness is just as important as physical and mental wellness. And let's not forget environmental wellness which is about living a lifestyle that respects our surroundings. For all of these other wellness topics Carrot Rewards sends you offers in the form of quizzes and surveys within the app that take only a few minutes to complete. Megan Nobrega introduced me to Carrot Rewards at the Canadian Personal Finance Conference last November so I decided to visit her at her office and find out more about her personal finance story and how she ended up at Carrot. NEXT EPISODE If you liked this episode please subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts, google play, soundcloud or whatever app you use to listen to podcasts. It would mean a lot to me and it only takes a few seconds. For the show notes and any links from the episode, head over to my website investwisely.ca, and while you're there please feel free to send me a message on my contact page. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the personal finance show. I'll be back next week with blogger, podcaster and author of the brand new book The Year of Less, Cait Flanders. P.S. Once you get the Carrot Rewards app, use my code to get bonus rewards: beauh1933

Since he was 20 years old, Richard Peddie dreamed about being president of an NBA basketball team.

In November of 1996 his dream became reality when he was offered the job of president of the Toronto Raptors.

In 1998, the Toronto Maple Leafs bought the Raptors and Richard became President and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment or MLSE.

Richard ran MLSE for 14 years and for 6 of those years, I worked there as Event Accountant in the Live Entertainment department, or as we liked to say, the E in MLSE.

What I remember most about Richard was that he always seemed very approachable. He was always very appreciative of our work in Live Entertainment, and probably the biggest fan of the company band, which I was lucky enough to be part of for 6 years.

I got to play on stage at the Air Canada Centre several times, and one time I even got to do a live performance with Alan Frew from the band Glass Tiger. I doubt that any of this would have happened if Richard didn’t approve.

Richard taught me the importance of having a vision and values in business but also in the rest of your life as well. Knowing my core values helps me feel confident about big decisions I make.

And I believe it’s important that when you’re applying for a job that you make sure that at least a few of your top values align with those of the company.

Since retiring from MLSE, Richard has written two books.

Dream Job is his autobiography and takes you through his journey in detail.

21 Leadership Lessons is his second book and though at first you might think it is a book reserved for business leaders, after reading it I realized how applicable these lessons are to everyone.

I wanted to have Richard on the show because I believe his lessons about values, leadership, integrity, and yes even thank you cards, are important for everyone to hear, and can be applied to your personal life as well as your career.

Today, at 71, Richard is a passionate city builder and philanthropist. He is active on Twitter and regularly writes posts on his website forabettertoronto.ca.

I feel very fortunate to know Richard and grateful that he agreed to host me in his home for this interview.

23 - Megan Nobrega

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Lindsay and Graham Plumb want you to be unstoppable with your personal finances.

If you’re 30 to 45 years old, for example, and you have a couple of kids, and a mortgage, maybe unstoppable is not the first word that comes to mind when you think of your finances. But this is actually the most important time of your life financially.

This is the time when tracking your spending, paying down your mortgage, having the right insurance and building up that emergency fund is crucial.

And then there’s the investing part - do you want to put some away for the kids’ education in an RESP account, and what about investing for retirement? Lindsay and Graham know how hard it is to wrap your head around all this stuff.

They were working in the traditional mutual fund and insurance business and realized there wasn’t a whole lot of holistic financial planning available. Holistic financial planning is when someone looks at your whole financial picture.

Do you have debt? Do you have existing investments that cost too much?

What are your goals around money? Do you want your kids to have a education fund or would you rather they take out loans themselves in the future and learn something in the process?

Do you have an emergency fund? Do you have insurance?

And when Lindsay and Graham tried to help clients with basic personal finance stuff like tracking and budgeting, the company they worked for told them: We don’t do that here.

How were they going to make you unstoppable, if all they were allowed to do was sell you products and then send you on your way?

This is the story of Lindsay and Graham Plumb and their company Moola Financial Coaches and Advisors.

22 - Richard Peddie

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Did you know that Canada has a Financial Literacy Leader?

It's true.

Jane Rooney was appointed Canada's Financial Literacy Leader in 2014 within the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC).

Yes, there is a government official whose main job is to make sure Canadians are financially literate.

Jane is awesome and she's joining me in the second half of this episode.

But first let’s talk about the only reason I even know Jane exists, and that’s because of the Conference Board of Canada.

Earlier this week, February 21st and 22nd, 2018, they hosted a conference called Financial Wellness and Retirement Readiness.

While preparing for the conference I found out the FCAC was a sponsor and they offered me an interview with Jane Rooney.

From the Conference Board I was offered an interview with their Vice-President of Industry, Strategy and Public Policy, Louis Thériault.

Louis gave a great presentation about the current state of financial wellness in the workplace.

After the presentation I sat down with Louis and asked him how he got into this world of economic and policy analysis.

As Louis says in the interview, there is a quadruple gain with financial wellness programs: The employee gets financial information and support to get out of financial trouble or to prevent them from getting into it in the first place; the employer benefits from less down time and more productivity; the insurers save money when overall health is improved; and, overall wellness is good for society as a whole.

So companies are making positive changes, what about the government?

When I started researching Jane Rooney for this interview, I was totally surprised by the commitment the government has made to strengthen the financial literacy of Canadians.

A common theme at the conference and in the discussion with Jane is the importance of overall wellness.

Whether you go through what I did and have mental health issues that caused addiction which led to financial problems, or whether you have unanticipated financial issues, which in turn may cause mental health issues, we now understand that one can’t be addressed without looking at the others.

And though we didn’t focus on it, physical wellness including healthy eating habits play a huge part in overall wellness as well.

I would like to thank Jane and Louis for taking the time to share their stories and insight. It’s comforting to know that there are people out there who are looking out for us and trying to improve the overall well-being of Canadians.

Here's the link to the FCAC hotline that Jane mentioned in the episode: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/corporate/contact-us.html

21 - Lindsay and Graham Plumb

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.