One resource that I check out every year is MoneySense’s “Best ETFs in Canada” guide.

They bring on a panel of experts to find Canada’s top ETFs for DIY index investors (like myself). I found this guide extremely helpful when I was first getting started in investing, and now, many years later, I still read it when it gets updated annually, just to be “in the know” of what’s happening when it comes to index investing in Canada, and to stay up to date on any significant changes like the updated fees, new ETF offerings, and any changes to existing top ETFs that you and I have in our portfolios already.

This podcast interview is different from you just reading the written version of the guide because we actually do a deep dive into the different ETFs that are in the guide. 

Definitely check out the written version of the guide as well, especially since it has some really useful tables that nicely summarize what the top ETFs are, in the different categories. But, definitely still listen to this interview as the writer of the MoneySense guide is on the show today to dive deeper into the findings, along with one of the top panellists and experts, Ben Felix from PWL Capital to provide his analysis on the different top ETFs.

Questions Covered:

1. Bryan, can you start by telling us about your background, as well as this annual initiative led by MoneySense to determine the best ETFs in Canada? Ben, can you tell us a bit about your background and the work that you do?
   
   
2. Bryan, how does voting work among the panellists before an ETF is admitted as one of the “Top ETFs in Canada”?
   
   
3. Bryan, there are a lot of different investing strategies out there. When you and the panellists are evaluating what the best ETFs in Canada are, what is the goal and strategy that you are all focused on and what kind of investor is this top ETFs list for?
   
   
4. Ben, before we get into the results, what should someone do if they are holding a past ‘top pick’, and now they no longer see that pick on this year’s list? In other words, when should we actually really consider swapping to a completely different ETF if we already have a good diversified index portfolio in place?
   
   
5. Ben, when it comes to switching from one ETF to another, what are the trading costs that we need to be aware of? The $5-$10 trading commissions are the one I think most people are familiar with, but what about the bid/ask spread, how much of a cost impact does that have? And are there any other costs we need to be aware of, when for example someone is tempted to switch ETFs because let’s say, a top pick for this year has a slightly lower MER?

Top Canadian ETFs:

1. Alright, let’s take a look at the top Canadian, total market, index ETFs that give you exposure to the Canadian stock market. I noticed that all three of the top picks have the same management fee.
   
   We have BMO with ZCN, Vanguard with VCN, and iShares with XIC. Ben, BMO’s ZCN and iShares’ XIC look almost identical to me. Are there any key differences between these two that we should be aware of?
   
   
2. The other thing that jumped out at me is that Vanguard’s VCN has fewer holdings, 181 vs 240 compared to the iShares and BMO ETFs. Would this be considered a concern by implying that the Vanguard ETF is less diversified than the BMO and iShares versions? i.e. Why would you go with Vanguard when you can get more holdings and be more diversified with XIC or ZCN?
   
3. Bryan, another top pick in this category is Horizons’ HXT ETF, which covers the S&P/TSX 60. You mention in the article that “it’s tax-efficient; and has a rock-bottom 0.04% fee after the rebate, until at least Dec. 31, 2022”. Can you explain what this rebate is, and why the “at least Dec 31 2022” timeline?
   
   
4. Ben, Horizons has this unique tax structure with some of their ETFs, like HXT, where you don’t receive the dividend payouts as income, but instead they get added to the fund so that you instead receive more capital gains. I realize that I’m maybe oversimplifying things a bit here, but essentially by holding an ETF like HXT in a personal taxable or corporate trading account, some Canadians save money by reducing their clawbacks when it comes to things like CPP, OAS, the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), and avoid the high tax rate when investing in a corporate account.
   
   Now in the past, the government closed this, (what I would consider a) loophole, but Horizons figured out a way to restructure their ETFs so that Canadians can still get these tax savings.
   
   This raises the concern of: What if the government changed things again, closes the 2nd loophole, and Canadians that were holding Horizons ETFs like HXT start selling off ETFs like HXT in large quantities because it no longer has this tax advantage? In this scenario, would the ETF plummet in price? Or no, because the ETF is still holding companies (in a way), and it’s not like the value of all those companies will drop because there is a massive sell-off of the Horizons ETFs.
   
   
5. The last time this closing of the “loophole” happened where the government changed the rules, I recall Horizons doing a press release where they said that if they can’t find a workaround, they may have to close down those ETFs. If that was to happen in the future, would Canadian investors be hurt by this?
   
   
6. Bryan and Ben: The other concern with HXT, is that it is only 60 Canadian companies, and I think most Canadians (myself included) would rather go for the total market approach with an ETF like ZCN, where they are now getting the entire S&P/TSX index with its 240 stock holdings.
   
   Do you think this tradeoff is worth it? (where you’re getting less diversification, but some potential tax savings and/or clawback reduction on government benefits).
   
   
7. Bryan and Ben, most Canadians do have a home country bias when it comes to their investment portfolio. Even when we look at asset allocation ETFs from all the major providers, they definitely hold more of Canada than Canada’s percentage of the world equity markets. Why is that, and what is your stance on what percentage Canadian stocks should make up of a Canadian DIY investor’s investment portfolio?

US Market ETFs:

1. Alright, let’s jump to the US market. XUU still appears to be the favourite here among the panelists, as far as Canadian listed, US total market index ETFs go. The runner-up seems to be VUN which is comparable in terms of US stock market representation, but has a higher fee of 0.15% vs XUU’s extremely low fee of 0.07%.
   
   Do you guys have any thoughts and comments on this one?

International ETFs:

1. Alright, let’s jump to international stocks. Can you give us your thoughts on these, while touching on some of the nuances when it comes to choosing the different combinations, from the different providers, when it comes to emerging and developed international markets?

More than half of Canadian adults don't have a will which can cause additional legal costs, family conflict, and unnecessary legal battles. 

Unfortunately getting a will done is very easy to procrastinate on as it can be a hassle to set up meetings with a lawyer, ask those difficult questions and be involved in all the back and forth that's required when setting up a will the traditional way by meeting with a lawyer face-to-face. 

As many long time listeners of the show know, I'm a big fan of technology companies that help automate or at least make it a lot easier to do some of the more tedious but important things that we need to get done. 

So in this episode, I'm excited to bring on Daniel Goldgut, a former tax and estate planning lawyer here in Canada, who together with his team over at epiloguewills.com has created a tool that you can use to get a will created in as little as 20 minutes. It's also a lot less expensive than what I paid to have our will done with a lawyer years ago before this tool existed. 

We cover what the top mistakes are that Canadians do when creating a will, as well as how and when to properly update it when different events occur in your life. 

We also cover designating a power of attorney and how to ensure that your will is actually legally enforceable here in Canada.

If you want to check out the tool that Daniel and his team have built you can go to epiloguewills.com, and Daniel's been kind enough to also provide Build Wealth Canada listeners with a $20 discount if you choose to use the service. To get that just use the promo code BUILDWEALTH20.

There's no affiliate or commissions for me on that, it's just a straight $20 off for all Build Wealth Canada listeners.

Questions Covered:

1. To start things off, why is having a will important, and what are the main negative consequences that we may encounter if we don't have one set up correctly?
   
   
2. What are some of the most common or most critical mistakes that Canadians make when it comes to their will? and how can we remedy them?
   
   
3. Before we go any further, for anybody that hasn’t heard of you or Epilogue before, can you give us a bit of a background on what you do?
   
   
4. I saw an article on your company in the Financial Post about how Epilogue is the first online will platform to give its customers the option to include their RESPs in their wills (Registered Education Savings Plans). Can you speak to why that is important?
   
   
5. I noticed you recently launched a free tool to create a Social Media Will. Can you talk about what that is, why it's important, and where can we go to have one created for free?
   
   
6. When we hear about wills, we often hear about also designating a power of attorney. Can you explain what that is, and are there any other elements like the power of attorney that we should be aware of?
   
   
7. When we set up a will, how can we ensure that it's actually legally enforceable, in case somebody ever challenges it in court?
   
   
8. In what scenarios should we be updating our will? And what's the best way to do that?
   
   
9. Whenever we do update our will, how can we ensure that the newest version of the will is what will get enforced?
   
   
10. What are the pros and cons of using a tool like Epilogue vs hiring a lawyer directly?
    
    
11. Are there any clauses that you think are especially critical to have in a will to prevent issues and conflicts in the future?
    
    
12. How important is it to use an actual Canadian lawyer or service like yours, as opposed to using something from the US or another country, or one of those “create your own” will packages that we may see in a store or advertised on TV or online?
    
    
13. How long does it actually take to create a will using Epilogue, and for anybody that doesn’t have a will or needs one updated, how can we get started?

If you liked the episode sign up for free to receive all new episodes as they get released, news on giveaways, and the free guide on the Top 5 Personal Finance and Productivity Tools.

Today we’re going to try something a little different in that I’m going to split today’s episode into two sections, covering two different subjects: 

First, we’re going to cover some questions that I’ve received from listeners of the show and from students of my investing course, so that you can benefit from the strategies and tactics too. These are specifically going to be in the area of investing.

Next, we’re going to bring on my guest who is our resident mortgage and real estate expert and best-selling author, Sean Cooper. Sean will explain the real estate situation here in Canada so that you can stay informed on how real estate has been affected in these COVID times, whether you’re an existing home-owner that is concerned about the value of their home dropping due to COVID, or whether you are a renter looking to potentially buy in the future. 

We cover questions like What should you know? And how can you maximize your chances of getting approved for a mortgage? 

And whether you’re an existing or future home-owner, there have actually been some mortgage rule changes that recently took place here in Canada so you definitely want to be informed about those so that you can easily renew that mortgage when it’s time. Or, if you’re looking to buy, so that you can have a smooth stress-free process in obtaining financing for your property, instead of struggling and potentially missing out on your dream home due to financing issues, due to these new mortgage rules that recently got put into place.

A Big Thanks To This Episode's Sponsor:

RBC's Small Business Navigator Hub: For practical resources, advice, and offers, visit RBC's Small Business Navigator hub at buildwealthcanada.ca/hub.

Business is anything but usual these days, and entrepreneurs are looking for support that goes beyond traditional banking to successfully re-open and manage their business. Now, they can access all of RBC’s practical tips, insights, money-saving offers and solutions to support their eCommerce, digital payments, payroll management, employee wellness needs and more – all in one place.

To learn more, check out the RBC Small Business Navigator hub, available online at BuildWealthCanada.ca/hub.

Resources:

• Get your mortgage questions answered for free by booking a meeting with Sean here.
• Get the real estate expense tool for free when it's released by signing up to the waiting list here.

Topics/Questions Covered:

Investing Topics:

1. Buying near all-time stock market highs. Should you do it?
2. Investing larger amounts of money: Buying-in all at once vs dollar-cost-averaging in.
3. How much to focus on dividends in your investing.
4. Socially responsible investing, and what to keep in mind before diving in.

Real Estate and Mortgage Questions:

1. Let’s talk about COVID and the real estate market. Are we seeing increases in home values?
2. How are things if you're looking to buy vs sell?
3. Is it a buyer's or seller's market?
4. There have been some Mortgage Rule Changes recently here in Canada. Can you take us through them?
5. What can we do that is within our control, to maximize the chances of getting approved for a mortgage, and getting the best terms and rate?
6. With these record low interest rates that we’ve been seeing, many Canadians that are currently in a fixed-rate mortgage are wondering, is it worth breaking their existing mortgage, paying the cancelling fees, and then getting a new mortgage at the lower rate. Can you talk about the analysis that we should be doing to actually mathematically figure this out?
7. What should we consider if we’re shopping around for a home right now, in Canada?

Don’t miss future episodes, giveaways, and free in-depth guides by signing up for free to the Build Wealth Canada Newsletter.

Whenever we talk about investments, savings for retirement, and early retirement, the subject of diversification always comes up, and for good reason. We obviously don’t want all our eggs in one basket. 

But what if we applied that concept to our income sources? 

Just how diversified are your income sources? Is 100% of your annual income coming from just one source: your job? Obviously, that’s not very diversified. 

One of the big things that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, is that our jobs are not actually all that secure. 

Join us as we go over the best (and my favorite) way to diversify your income sources: By starting your own business.

About Our Guest:

Our guest today is Lori Darlington, a Vice-President in the Small Business Division at RBC. Because she works for RBC (one of Canada’s largest banks), she has access to an incredible amount of data on small businesses in Canada, and when you have that much data, studies and reports on Canadian small businesses, you start to notice certain patterns between the small Canadian businesses that succeed, vs the ones that don’t. 

I wanted to ask what her findings were in regards to this so that you and I can structure and optimize our business in the right way, and not make some of the top mistakes that Canadian business owners tend to make.

We also cover questions like how to get set up properly as a new or existing small business in Canada and much more.

Links and Resources Covered:

Lori and her team have put together some great free resources, over on their site here.

One of my favourite sections, is the “Explore tools and services beyond banking” page, where they share other businesses and services that they found particularly helpful for helping small businesses thrive. I’m actually in the process now of going through it, and am particularly interested in the free business accounting software that they have on there.

In Other News: Free Tickets to the Canadian Financial Summit Are Finally Here!

The free tickets to the Canadian Financial Summit are finally available here.

In case you’re new to the podcast, this is a free event, it’s 100% online so no travel required, and it’s specifically for Canadians. It’s taking place this October 15th, and I’m bringing on some of Canada’s top personal finance experts to share their best practices to help you retire early, invest better, lower your fees, pay less in taxes, and help you learn the best practices when it comes to personal finance and investing so that you can hit your financial independence number years earlier.

Collectively, past guests of the Summit have been in hundreds of media articles from major news and financial publications in Canada such as the Globe and Mail, Financial Post, Global News, CTV, Yahoo Finance, and many, many more.

I’ve brought on some big hitters this year like the creator of the TFSA, Kevin McCarthy, and the Warren Buffett of Canada, Peter Hodson, just to name a few. I hope to see you there, it’s free to attend, it’s all online, and you can register for free here.. 

Questions Covered:

1. As the largest bank in Canada, I’m sure you have access to some really good data on small businesses in Canada, and the top mistakes and challenges that they tend to run into.
   
   Can you share some of these with us so that anybody starting or running a small business in Canada can hopefully better bypass some of these common mistakes? 
   
   
2. For anybody starting a new business or already running a small business, what are the most important essentials and best practices to ensure that we are set up correctly from the banking side and government reporting side, so that we don’t end up getting in trouble during tax time, or run into money management issues because we aren’t properly set up?
   
   
3. One of the pages that I really liked on your site was the “Beyond Banking” page where you list other companies that provide different services that small businesses need (like free accounting software for example), and then it looks like you were able to negotiate deals with some of these companies and give Canadians special rebates and discounts on their services.
   
   Can you talk about this page as well as some of the other free resources and tools that you have available on your site? (ex. Your Startup Cost, Cash Flow, and Loan calculators).
   
   
4. With COVID-19, we are in a very unusual time for new and existing small businesses. I imagine there are many Canadians who after seeing all these job losses that take place, are considering starting their own business on-the-side to provide that extra cash-flow and give them that extra stability so that they aren’t fully reliant on their employer for all of their household’s income.
   
   Do you have any advice for new and existing small business owner as we (hopefully), continue to recover from COVID-19 as a country?
   
   
5. With the thousands of small businesses that bank with you, I’m sure you’ve noticed some patterns between businesses that especially struggled during COVID-19, vs those that were able to minimize the negative impact that it had. Were there any lessons learned from the data and conversations that you’ve had, that can help us be better prepared for such storms in the future? (whether it’s another pandemic, or something like the 2008 financial crisis).
   
   
6. There is a fair bit of aid available to small business because of COVID-19. If somebody has questions or wants to see what their business is eligible for, is it better to reach out to a bank like yours, or should they be reaching out directly to the government instead?
   
   
7. Can you tell us more about where we can go to learn more, as well as any other free tools and resources that you have available for small business owners?

Don't miss future episodes, giveaways, and free in-depth guides by signing up for free to the Build Wealth Canada Newsletter

Today we’re going to cover the 4 ways that you can invest. Now why is this important? Well first, the benefit you gain from knowing this will differ depending on whether you’re an investor just getting started, or someone that’s already been investing for a while.

If you’re a new investor, then it’s critical to know the pros and cons of the options available to you, so that you can make the best decision that’s right for you. In other words, you really want to look at the menu before deciding, as your decision can mean the difference between retiring early, and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary fees over your lifetime.

If you’re a seasoned investor, then it’s still good to know what the options are as maybe the option that you selected when you first started investing is no longer the best option for you. You don’t know what you don’t know, and you definitely want to understand the pros and cons of each option so that you can evaluate which one is a better fit based on the level of service you want, how much time you want to spend keeping your portfolio optimized, and how passive you actually want your investing to be.

My expert guest today is John Kalos who is a fee for service financial planner, which means he isn't one of those advisors that are really just there to sell you investments so they can earn their bonus or commission. He actually doesn't get compensated to sell any investment products so his advice is totally unbiased and he is instead focused exclusively on providing quality financial planning to Canadians.

John has been in this industry for over 25 years, and his lack of bias and general concern for the financial well-being of Canadians has made him one of the few financial planners that I actually trust and go to whenever I want an unbiased 2nd opinion or some analysis done on my investments and financial plan.

If you do have some questions for John or if you'd like to discuss potentially having him take a look at your financial situation, just like he did with my family, then you can sign up for a free consultation with him by going to buildwealthcanada.ca/john. It's totally free, and there's no obligation or anything like that.

Get 1 Year Free to Canadian MoneySaver Magazine:

I also have a special bonus for you where for free, you can receive a 1-year free digital subscription to Canadian MoneySaver Magazine (Canada’s largest personal finance and investing magazine).

The magazine features Canada’s top experts on personal finance and investing, is a great place to learn best practices and stay up to date on changes that will impact your investments and financial situation for years to come, specifically here in Canada.

To get that, all you have to do is open up a free savings account with my favourite bank (and the bank that I personally use, EQ bank).

Now the reason that I personally use EQ bank, is that they have one of the highest interest savings rates in Canada. In fact, in all the years that I’ve been with them, I haven’t been able to find a higher interest rate anywhere.

Plus it’s free to sign up and keep an account with them, so you’re not paying a monthly fee like you do with many of the other banks out there, and you get 5 free Interac e-transfers every month as a bonus.

So because of those reasons, I’ve been with them ever since they launched in Canada years ago, and it’s where I keep my entire emergency fund and spending money.

To get the free account and a 1 year free subscription to Canadian MoneySaver magazine, just go to buildwealthcanada.ca/eq, open the free account, and once you’re done, forward any email that you get from EQ to bonus@buildwealthcanada.ca and I’ll send you a coupon code that gets you a free one year subscription to the magazine.

Enjoy, thanks for supporting the show!

Today I have Gene Simmons on the show, from the rock band KISS.

Now while you probably first heard of Gene from his music, he’s also very involved in a multitude of investments and different business.

With decades of experience under his belt, I thought it would be great to pick his brain on what drives him to keep going after already achieving this high level of success. We also dive into how he selects his investment and business opportunities, how he maintains peak performance, and lessons he would pass on to a younger version of himself.

Links & Resources Covered

Gene’s Site

Invictus MD

Don't miss future episodes, giveaways, and free in-depth guides by signing up for free to the Build Wealth Canada Newsletter

Receive your free 1-year digital subscription to Canadian MoneySaver Magazine.

Question's Covered

1. You've already achieved a lot of success in different industries, and could have easily retired long ago. What motivates you to keep going, and continue to start and expand on your different ventures?
   
   
2. Tells us about your rags-to-riches story, and what were the key things you did, that you feel were instrumental in allowing you to achieve this higher level of success?
3. Do you have any morning routines and specific activities that you do, to ensure that you're always performing at your highest level in business and life?
   
   
4. I'm sure you're constantly bombarded with options for investments, projects and partnerships. How do you screen them initially, and then how do you decide which ones on your shortlist you're actually going to pursue?
   
   
5. What do you wish someone told you before you started in investing, and before you entered the world of business in general?
   
   
6. Speaking of opportunities, one company that you really decided to invest yourself and your personal brand in is Invictus MD. As someone that doesn't drink or do drugs, what made you decide to become so invested in a cannabis company?
   
   
7. There are lots of Cannabis companies out there that you could have partnered with. Why did you choose Invictus MD specifically, and what is the thought process you went through to make that decision?

If you liked the episode sign up for free to receive all new episodes as they get released, news on giveaways, and the free guide on the Top 5 Personal Finance and Productivity Tools here in Canada!

Today’s guest is Alex Grodnik from Wall Street Oasis which easily one of the largest and best sites out there, for anybody looking to have a career on Bay Street or Wall Street.

Alex also hosts their podcast which is called “Moving Up”, but what’s also really interesting about him is he actually quit his really well-paying job on Wall Street to start his own business, so I thought this would also be a great episode for anybody who's maybe a little dissatisfied with their job, and is considering a career transition.

We talk about why he decided to quit, his top advice for somebody looking to earn some money on the side through their own business, how he’s learned to handle rejection really well and use that to propel his career, and much more.

It was an absolute blast to talk to Alex, the interview went great, and I’m sure you’ll like it.

In other news, I wanted to tell you about something that’s actually pretty time sensitive, and that is that I’ve been asked to speak again, at the Canadian Financial Summit and I have free tickets for you!

This is a fully online personal finance and investing conference, so you don’t have to travel anywhere or buy anything. You can just watch the speakers in your pyjamas if you want and stream the talks right from your computer, tablet or phone.

This is the biggest conference of its kind in Canada, and has just about every big hitter in the Canadian personal finance space speaking at it. For example, there will be Rob Carrick from the Globe and Mail, Preet Banerjee from CBC’s The National, Ellen Roseman from the Toronto Star, Robb Engen from Boomer and Echo, and many more.

It’s a real honour to be included again in this group of top experts, and for a limited time I have free tickets for you! To get your free tickets, go to buildwealthcanada.ca/tickets, and there you will find the link to the free tickets.

Now what they’re going to be doing soon, is transitioning to regular paid tickets so if you’re even a little bit interested in attending any of the talks, then go to buildwealthcanada.ca/tickets right now, and secure your tickets. I have absolutely no control over how long they’ll be letting me give you free access to the tickets so jump on your phone or computer right now to do it so you don’t miss out. All they need is your name and email to send you the tickets so it’ll literally take you maybe 20 seconds to do.

My talk will be on the three pillars that my wife and I used to become financially independent at 32, so I’ll be sharing lots of tips and strategies that have worked well for us in the areas of reducing our spending, increasing our income, and how we optimized our investments to pay the lowest fees and tax which let us reach that financial independence number a lot faster.

I hope you will join me, and that link again to get your free tickets for a very limited time is buildwealthcanada.ca/tickets.

See you there!

Kornel

We hadn't had an entrepreneurship/small business episode for a while so I thought it would be great to have the CEO of CanSpace on the show to share some best practices on running your own site, and top mistakes to avoid.

This episode is for you if you already have, or are considering having your own online business, a blog, or even as a place to showcase your portfolio to recruiters and companies that you may want to work for.

Now I definitely consider having your own business on-the-side as one of the core pillars of personal finance. When we were first getting started, I used a small online business as a tool to help us get financially independent and pay off our mortgage quicker, because we could use the profits from that business to help pay for our vacations and discretionary spending. This way, my income from the day job could go towards investing or paying down the mortgage.

Because of how much having a side business has helped us financially, this is definitely a subject near and dear to my heart. With this episode, my hope is that it'll help you prevent some of the mistakes that I made when first getting started.

Today we’re going to talk all about dividend investing for Canadians, including shedding some light on using dividend investing as part of your investing strategy. We’ll take a look what to look for, and of course the different types of dividend investing available to Canadians.

Now if you’re a long time listener of the show, then you know that there are quite a few investing strategies out there. Dividend investing is definitely one of the really popular ones, especially among those that like the idea of their investments spinning of passive cashflow on an ongoing basis, as opposed to you having to sell-off some of your ETFs or stocks to generate the cashflow you want.

And so today's guest is Nick McCullum from the site Sure Dividend. They specialize in dividend investing whether it’s through ETFs or individual stocks so I thought it would be great to have him on the show, so we can learn and to help us make an informed decision on whether having a dividend focus within our portfolios is something that may be a good fit for you.

Nick and his team do a ton of research on dividend investing, and specific dividend investing stocks and ETFs so if this is something of interest to you, and something that you’d like to learn more about, then you can check out the resources page that Nick actually created specifically for Build Wealth Canada listeners where you can actually do a free trial to see their research and advice, and really see if this type of investing is the right fit for you. To learn more and get a free trial to any of their newsletters, you can go to the custom page that they created for us, over at suredividend.com/kornel.

Today we have a very special guest who has worked as an advisor for some of Canada’s largest banks, giving him some great insider information on how we can all save money when dealing with the Banks.   

His name is John Kalos and he is an unbiased, non-commission, fee-for-service financial planner. John is the financial planner that I used before executing our early retirement, and he offers all Build Wealth Canada listeners a free 30-minute consultation so that you can get some of your financial questions answered too. You can sign up to speak with him for free over at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/john

Links and Resources

• You can get a free 30 minute call with John to get some of your questions answered by going to www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/john
• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest

Questions Covered:

You mention in your podcast that there is potential conflict of interest between banker/advisor and their clients. Can you elaborate on this and give us a few actual examples?

What does a financial planner do at a bank vs someone like a fee for service or fee-based financial planner?

My guest today is Miranda Marquit who is at the top of the heap when it comes to being a freelance writer and professional blogger. She is the author of her book called Confessions of a Professional Blogger, and has basically achieved what many freelancers just starting off are hoping to achieve.

I thought it would be great to get her on the show to give some advice to aspiring freelancers and bloggers. Miranda is also very honest, so it’s really great to hear someone tell it like it is, instead of hearing some fairy-tale advice that doesn't coincide with reality.

Miranda also talks about the importance of having a website to build your brand (whether you’re a freelancer or someone who is trying to have their own business).

You can check out my free step-by-step video course on how to build your own website here: Buildwealthcanada.ca/build or if you want to learn what is involved in started a side-business in Canada you can learn it all here: BuildWealthCanada.ca/business.

Links and Resources Covered

Miranda’s Book: Confessions of a Professional Blogger

Free Video Course: How to Start a Side Business in Canada

Free Video Course: How to Build a Website from for your Freelancing Practice and/or Side-Business

Miranda’s Sites:

• mirandamarquit.com
• plantingmoneyseeds.com

Today I have Dragon’s Den winner Lee Renshaw on the show, and we’re going to talk all about tips and strategies that you can implement if you want to start your own business on-the-side here in Canada.

One of the things I noticed based on the emails I received from listeners of the show, is that a lot of Build Wealth Canada listeners would actually like to start their own business on-the-side here in Canada but aren’t exactly sure how to do it and how to set it all up since a lot of the information out there is specifically for the US, and there isn’t a good step-by-step guide out there specifically for Canadians.

Because of this, I decided to built a free step-by-step video guide for you about everything you need to know about setting up your own side business here in Canada. You can check out the full video guide over at BuildWealthCanada.ca/business.

In addition to that, it’s a good idea to have your own website for your new business on-the-side, so I’ve created a 2nd free video guide showing you step-by-step on how you can easily build your own website whether you’re looking to start a blog, provide a service, or sell a product.

What’s also neat is that in the guide, I’m actually building a real-life website for a real business, and I recorded step-by-step how I do it so that you can follow along, and build your own website.

I’m sure you’ll love it, it’s totally free, and the link to that guide is BuildWealthCanada.ca/site

Link’s & Resources Covered

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• How to Start a Side Business in Canada Video Guide: Buildwealthcanada.ca/business
• How to Build Your Website Video Guide: Buildwealthcanada.ca/site
• Lee’s Site: www.risegear.com/

Question’s Covered

1. Tell us your story and how did you end up dominating Dragons’ Den?
2. Let’s fast forward. What kind of an impact did being on Dragons’ Den have? How is your business doing now?
3. For those wanting to have a business-on-the-side, or eventually their own full-time business, what are some tips you have for them when they’re just getting started.
4. What specifically did you have to do to start your own business here in Canada?
5. What are some top mistakes you made, and how would you have done things differently knowing what you know now?
6. What are your key success factors that got you to where you are today?
7. When it comes to marketing and promoting your business, what is working well for you now? (marketing channels, specific tactics, etc.)
8. If you had to start over completely from scratch where your business didn’t exist, and all you had was $500 saved up, where would you invest your time and money to start your business
9. Where can we learn more about you and Rise Gear?

Today I have author Valerie Rind on the show and we’re going to talk all about how to avoid getting into difficult financial situations when it comes to friends and family.

Valerie has interviewed a ton of people who have actually gone through these types of problems in their lives, and is going to share with us how we can avoid some of these catastrophic financial issues that can creep up when we’re dealing with friends, family and co-workers.

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• Valerie’s Book: Gold Diggers and Deadbeat Dads: True Stories of Friends, Family, and Financial Ruin
• Velerie’s Site: valerierind.com

Questions Covered:

1. You’re very involved in helping others get out of debt. Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, and how you started helping others in this area?
2. Getting out of debt has a very large psychological component. What are some of the psychological barriers that you found keep people in debt?
3. Can you tell us more about the methodology that you follow in your life and your program to help others get out of debt?

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• Book: Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence

This is part 2 of the interview on The Student’s Guide to Personal Finance and Post-Secondary Education with Kyle Prevost. If you missed part 1, it's the episode right before this one.

Today we have arguably the #1 expert in Canada when it comes to personal finance for students. Whether it’s about saving money as a student, or setting yourself up for success with your post-secondary education, we cover it all in this in-depth two part series.

My guest Kyle Prevost is not only a teacher, but has also been featured in the Financial Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto, Star, MoneySense Magazine, and many many more.

He is also the co-author of the book “More Money for Beer and Textbooks” where he teaches students who are about to enter post-secondary education (and those already there) how to:

1. Make the right decisions so that you can have a successful career after graduating
2. Make your dollars stretch further while you are in school
3. Set yourself up for financial success both during school, and when you graduate

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• Kyle’s Book: More Money for Beer and Textbooks

Today we have arguably the #1 expert in Canada when it comes to personal finance for students. Whether it’s about saving money as a student, or setting yourself up for success with your post-secondary education, we cover it all in this in-depth two part series.

My guest Kyle Prevost is not only a teacher, but has also been featured in the Financial Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto, Star, MoneySense Magazine, and many many more.

He is also the co-author of the book “More Money for Beer and Textbooks” where he teaches students who are about to enter post-secondary education (and those already there) how to:

1. Make the right decisions so that you can have a successful career after graduating
2. Make your dollars stretch further while you are in school
3. Set yourself up for financial success both during school, and when you graduate

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• Kyle’s Book: More Money for Beer and Textbooks

Today I’m excited to have one of the top personal finance bloggers in Canada on the show.

Tom Drake is the president of Drake Media Inc. and the owner and manager of dozens of personal finance sites, including his primary site: MapleMoney where you can learn more about the best credit cards in Canada, as well as other personal finance best practices.

He has been called the godfather of personal finance, and today I’m thrilled to have him on the show to talk all about the best practices when it comes to using credit cards, as well as the top credit cards that he recommends.

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• Tom's site: MapleMoney (formerly Canadian Finance Blog)

Questions Covered:

1. What are some best practices when it comes to credit card use?
2. Some credit cards have perks like extended warranty on purchases or travel insurance. How do you take advantage of these benefits? Is it a hassle to claim them?
3. Many credit cards are free while others have a fee but have better rewards. Is there an easy way of determining whether it’s worth to get the paid option?
4. What if you can’t pay off your entire balance at the end of the month? What are some options you’d recommend if you actually need to borrow some money (i.e. HELOC, secured loan, unsecured loan).
5. Your thoughts on saving for an emergency fund vs paying off credit card debt.
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having credit cards?
7. Should we be concerned about credit limit utilization? (ex. keeping credit limit utilization under 30%)
8. What are the top credit cards in Canada that you’d recommend?

Today I am REALLY excited to have none other than Julie Cazzin on the show, who is going to tell us all about how we can retire early.

Julie is a national award winning business and personal finance journalist. She is a founding member and Senior Editor at MoneySense.

While she consistently writes some of the most popular columns for MoneySense, she’s also written for Readers Digest, Canadian Business, Maclean’s, and many others.

Julie has also appeared as a television guest on CityTV, Rogers and CTV as well as several radio shows throughout the years, speaking on a wide range of personal finance topics.

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• Julie’s Articles on MoneySense

Questions Covered:

1. What are some top tips you can give to Canadians that want to retire early?
2. How can we figure out if we have enough to retire early?
3. What are some top mistakes someone can make if they want to retire early?
4. What are some top mistakes someone can do if they are already retired? (whether it was early retirement or not)
5. While saving for an early retirement, would you recommend index investing by purchasing broad market ETFs or funds, or do you recommend a different strategy? (ex. dividend investing)
6. While saving for an early retirement, would your asset allocation be different compared to someone that is planning on retiring early?
7. What are some of the unique challenges that we have to worry about if we are planning to retire early vs doing the more traditional retirement at age 65. (i.e. Impact of CPP, OAS, and pensions come to mind).
8. Once we manage to retire early, what suggestions can you make in terms of asset allocation?
9. Your thoughts on a safe withdraw rate?
10. How would you suggest using TFSA, RRSP, and unregistered accounts while saving?
11. How would you suggest using TFSA, RRSP, and unregistered accounts while retired early?
12. What are annuities and is it possible to purchase annuities here in Canada if we are a young retiree?

Welcome to part 2 of the interview with Matt Inglot (owner of Freelance Transformation and Tilted Pixel).

If you missed part 1, it is the episode prior to this one. 

In this session, Matt covers some critical tips on how to succeed if you want to earn money-on-the-side with Freelancing. Specifically, we discuss:

• How to differentiate your freelancing business from the competition
• How to compete with cheap labour overseas offering similar work for less (think China, India, etc.)
• The 1 HUGE mistake that can cut your income in half
• How much to charge for your services
• How to use the power of “being local” to your advantage
• How to add value through responsiveness
• The advantages and disadvantages of freelancing versus “passive income” businesses
• How to find buyers for your service
• The power of networking and referrals
• The common freelancing mistakes to avoid

Links and Resources

• FreelanceTransformation.com – Matt’s company teaching the best practices in freelancing.

• Tilted Pixel (www.tiltedpixel.com) – Matt’s professional web development company.

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest

I’m really excited today as we have a very special Canadian entrepreneur on the show who is an expert on earning money-on-the-side with freelancing.

In this interview Matt will tell us:

• How he was able to pay for his university by freelancing on the side and how he turned his company into a high end web development company
• The top mistakes to avoid when freelancing
• How to structure your freelance business so that you can work anywhere in the world, setting your own hours
• What to do if you don’t think you have any skills that you can freelance
• The number one mistake freelancers make when getting started
• The best steps to take when you’re just starting out
• And much more.

Links and Resources

• FreelanceTransformation.com – Matt’s company teaching the best practices in freelancing.

• Tilted Pixel (www.tiltedpixel.com)– Matt’s professional web development company.

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest

This is the comprehensive guide to all the ongoing costs you need to know about before purchasing a home. This guide will help you prepare for and budget for all these ongoing expenses.

In the guide, I also give you some actual cost figures so that you at least have a ballpark figure on what the different items can cost.

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest
• As mentioned in the episode, there is a fantastic guide written by Romana King from MoneySense that breaks down all the maintenance expenses that you’re likely to incur in your home. You can view the full article here: Ultimate Home Maintenance Guide. This should give you a great idea of all the different items that you should maintain, which ones to maintain yourself, and which ones to save up for (such as a roof replacement, furnace replacement, etc.).

This is a comprehensive guide to all the costs you need to know about before purchasing a home. This guide will help ensure you don’t get caught off guard by surprise expenses, or get tricked into paying any unnecessary extra fees.

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest

• As mentioned in the episode, having a downpayment of less than 20% will require you to obtain mortgage insurance through the CMHC (the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation). The amount will vary depending on how small your downpayment is. You can get the current rates directly from the source here: CMHC Mortgage Insurance

  When getting your mortgage ready, you can also get the exact amounts that you’ll need to pay by speaking with your potential mortgage provider or mortgage broker. Since publishing this episode, we now have a resident mortgage expert on the show. If you have mortgage questions, you can get them answered for free at www.buildwealthcanada.ca/sean

In this session, you’ll learn everything you need to know before deciding to rent or buy a home. Nothing is left out as we dive into the financial and lifestyle factors that you need consider before making the big decision.

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments.
• UPDATE: We now have a resident mortgage expert that can help you with your mortgage questions for free. You can book a free call at www.buildwealthcanada.ca/sean
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest

This is the audio version of an article that got published on us on how my wife and I became mortgage free just after I turned 29. In it, I share some practical tips that have helped my wife and I achieve debt freedom at such a young age and they’re tips that you can start applying right away in your life too.

As this podcast and blog continues, I’m going to share more and more tips and guides to how we did it as well as some best practices from other experts but in the meantime, think of this as the first few steps that you can start applying immediately.

Links and Resources

• Top Tools and Resources for Financial Independence (for Canadians): Sign up anywhere on www.BuildWealthCanada.ca for a free guide on all the top tools and sites that I’ve personally used to help us achieve financial independence in our early 30s. They’re also what we use now to optimize and manage our finances, and ensure that we’re paying the lowest fees while getting solid returns on our investments. 
• Kornel's investing course with free sample lessons at www.BuildWealthCanada.ca/invest