Listen, It's impossible to accurately imagine how your life will be different after you welcome a new human into your it, so there's no such thing as being fully prepared for becoming a parent. There is, however, such a thing as being prepared for what you know will happen (like the paperwork you'll need to fill out, and the gotchas to avoid) in or…

Are you as tired as we are of "the economy" being trotted out to support every tax and social policy argument? Do you wish that people who use the phrase "the economy" were required to specify exactly what they're talking about? Us, too. Timestamps:1:38 - Personal Economy vs THE Economy 10:57 - Revolution starts with imagination 22:33 - The Flat Ta…

Yes, we have socialized medicine here in Canada (and are grateful for it!) But if you or someone you love needs to travel somewhere for treatment, or medical supplies that aren't covered (like osotomy bags), or drugs that might cost $2,400 in one visit to the pharmacy or $0 in the next...you might be surprised at the financial and emotional toll it…

We truly believe that real conversations about money have the power to improve how we make decisions about our finances. In this episode, we're joined by Ian McNaughton, a seasoned coach and communications expert, to learn how to get better at having those conversations.Timestamps:4:12 - Ian talks about the effects of wealth6:48 - Ian talks about h…

Welcome back to season six of Because Money! Since we last spoke, the show itself and each of our co-hosts have experienced transitions - some minor, some very, very major - and we've adopted the theme of transition to shape our conversations for the upcoming season. Join us for an episode of updates, outtakes, and change.Timestamps:2:45 - Planning…

Impostor syndrome, squishy soft skills and the importance of real hard data... we talk about why we think the bigger conversation around money is so important.Timestamps:1:00 - Why did Sandi start this thing in the first place? 3:14 - The value in non-actionable conversations17:05 - John talks about the dangers getting lost in the data (for people …

How do you talk about money when you're by yourself? We didn't even know this was a question you could ask... but John does in a solo episode.Timestamps: 1:00 - How do you have the conversation alone 6:11 - The problem with the loudest voice in the conversation (the church of Bitcoin)11:49 - John talks about making pancakes…

John leads the charge on challenging some of the defaults we have in the financial world... and why they're sometimes complete phooey. Timestamps: 2:30 - John doesn't need to iron his shirts to feel like a grownup 9:00 - You don't have to buy a house for Aunt Jo 20:49 - What Kate thinks being an adult is 30:22 - How do you not fall into these defau…

Breakups suck and money doesn't make them any easier. We talk about how to talk about money in yet another situation where that's the last thing you want to talk about. Timestamps: 3:44 - The underlying conversation - What if we don't make it? 17:55 - You can't celebrate feelings and finance 18:35 - The difference in the definition of 'common law' …

Mental illness and money: both things that people don't talk about and both things that are really really important things to talk about. Timestamps:3:00 - Kate breaks down her last 6 months10:35 - At what point is the 'ideal job' a luxury you can't afford 15:05 - The things that help: setting the non-negotiables 26:20 - What are the right things t…

The world of finances has so many 'rules of thumb'. Most of the time they're pretty useful, but in some cases they can be really dangerous. Timestamps:5:30 - John talks about what averages are actually good for15:08 - Sandi breaks down how she figures out when you're going to die18:12 - Chris talks budgeting rules of thumb 24:11 - Rules of thumb vs…

Setting goals matters, both in our finances and in our general lives... but there's tons of ways to go through that process. We talk about personal goals, income goals and how we plan out our lives. Timestamps: 1:40 - Kate talks about how she sets goals8:40 - Why Sandi is resisting setting personal goals15:05 - Who are you when you're not working (…

The expectation is that we all understand taxes as soon as we start making income, but that's not what happens for most of us. We talk about weird tax stuff, our past mistakes and what we wish was different. Time Stamps:7:15 - It's your job to know, and we think that's stupid17:04 - Chris talks about the tax disasters in his past 23:19 - John talks…

It seems like retirement is the same for every one... but it's really not. John Stapleton joined us to talk about why retiring with low income is very different and requires a very different set of advice. Time stamps:8:50 - How the wrong advice can cost a low income earner up to $60,00012:10 - The issue of clawbacks (rawr)18:30 - Is the problem a …

We dearly love to interrogate couples about how they negotiate money, and for this latest round we caught Owen and Sue just before they went on a date and forced them to tell us how they talk about money with each other. Well, we say "forced"...but it didn't take too much effort on our part, because it turns out that this married couple with young …

Does everyone need the kind of comprehensive financial planning advice that Chris and Sandi offer their clients? We think not... and spend some time revisiting last season's finale about being the ones to encourage open conversations about money with people who (we bet you a thousand dollars) are just dying to talk about it without shame.…

We're big fans of Tim Nash, and you will be too! Tim is the founder of Good Investing, an advice-only investment coaching practice that helps folks create low-fee, diversified portfolios around their ethical values. 4:30 - What's in an anarchist's portfolio6:46 - How Tim does what he does15:15 - What's new in the SRI space? 21:20 - Ethical investin…

Inspired by a conversation about shampoo, this one gets deep: what's our responsibility to make ethical choices if we can't afford them?4:30 - I feel like we should be paying more for things & nudges9:55 - Plastic straws vs A/C and low-stakes vs high stakes and virality11:25 - When you feel like you can afford to make ethical choices17:00 - Money i…

Inspired by a conversation Chris had at a recent workshop, we explore whether there's a financially optimal way to handle illness and catastrophe if you're caught before you're fully prepared.2:29 - What can you actually do when crisis hits? 8:23 - Chris brings up Universial Basic Income 17:51 - What supports are available in a crisis? 22:00 - Sand…

We're delighted that Kate is joining the show as a co-host, delighted to see each other again after a few months of summer break, and truly delighted to start having real conversations about money again. So much delight. ALL the delight.Join us for an episode of updates: Sandi talks about how building a business and building a family lifestyle at t…

Hey, fellow money nerds: how do you talk to people who don’t know or don’t care quite as much as you do? Kate Smalley is our guest this week because A) as a maker and marketer with lots of financial services clients and a paraplanner at Spring, she’s really interested in how people talk about money and B) we really like her. You will too, trust us.…

We’ve been angling to get our friend MYD on the show for a long time. If you don’t remember, he’s the nice guy who offered to convert the show to audio and list it in all the podcast places before Season Three, Well, we still haven’t managed to get him on the show, but here’s the next best thing: we asked him what he wanted us to talk about, and he…

While smack-dab in the middle of an emergency is kind of the worst time to start preparing for one, for most of us it’s the upheaval and chaos of just such an event that opens our eyes to the value of marshalling our resources before the next one hits... In this episode we talk about practicing for an emergency (kind of like a fire drill), what hap…

Listen, somebody is going to cry over socks in this episode, just so you’re prepared. We’re talking about how to have the conversations we need to have to make sure our parents are safe and happy as they age, and in the course of a short thirtyish minutes have at least three Eureka! Moments about youthful hubris, parental wisdom, and socks. You don…

So...did Chris get disability insurance since episode 4, or did he write a letter to Aunt Beatrice? Do you want to know how long it took and what happened? US TOO! Plus,friend of the show Julia Chung, who you may remember from An American in Paris (Ontario) returns to drop some insider insurance knowledge on us, including who to call when you need …

If you’ve never met Shannon Lee Simmons before, hold onto your hat, because there’s no one else like her. Founder of The New School of Finance, and author of the book Worry Free Money, Shannon joins Sandi and Chris to talk about how her family talked about money growing up, what the birds and the bees have to do with spending decisions, and why tha…

Sandi and Seth talk about money a lot, and it's interesting to hear about how they manage that. Of course Sandi lives in the world of personal finance and they spend a lot of time together, so we have to grade that one on a curve.And just to underscore how much there is no single right answer, we'll hear how their money systems have changed over th…

None of us are ready to imagine a future without our parents in it. Full stop, fingers crossed, wood knocked, etc, etc. We’d all prefer to have our parents around until we die, thankyouverymuch, with no inheritance to speak of because they spent every last red cent on living long, healthy lives.But - since this is the darkest timeline and our paren…

You might remember from our episode on robo-advisors in Season Three that Sandi and John have spent abnormal amounts of time thinking about robo-advisors, to the point where they built a calculator to compare all of the ones available in Canada. Well, they’ve sold the calculator (to our Season 2 host, Kyle and his partner in crime Justin), and in t…

What does Chris need but doesn’t want, Seth doesn’t need but Sandi wants, and John’s family want and need but couldn’t have? (It’s not Nanny MacPhee, in case you’re wondering, although that would be the Best Episode Ever).No, it’s...disability insurance! YAAAAAYYYY! Turns out, nobody here has enough or the right kind or even the right person insure…

You don’t want to miss the story of how David O’Leary started out as an English Literature major, got into the market as a newbie leveraged investor just before the 2000 tech bubble burst, went bankrupt and became a fund analyst at Morningstar, met his wife, decided to change the world, and started a financial planning company. You really, really d…

If you’re an opera fan (and who’s not?), you probably know Mireille Asselin, and if you don’t, you should. She’s also Chris’ Number One Favourite Person, and she’s on the show this week so we can have a real conversation about how they manage their money and how they decide who pays for what. Plus, we learn all about the lifecycle of an opera caree…

It’s Season FOUR of Because Money, can you believe it? Even more surprising: all three of us were in the same room together to record this episode, and the world didn’t explode (because of us...that we know of...so far)This season is all about conversations...real ones. We’re going to have some guests, we’re going to do some deep dives into concept…

It's the last episode of Season Three, and because we don't want to see you fall victim to the summer slide, we're talking to Preet Banerjee about enough interesting stuff to keep you thinking until Season Four drops this fall, like:0.33 - Why are there so many mutual funds? 1.36 - Preet explains everything (including why there are so many coffee s…

Chris knows all the buttons to push to get John, our resident housing bear, to pull out his rent vs. buy calculator:1:37 - How should we start thinking about real estate6:30 - Is renting just a phase of life10:24 - Is there an equation for rent vs buy15:33 - What is ‘pride of ownership’ worth?19:25 - How to live in a housing bubble24:24 - Rent vs B…

This episode has everything: a quiz that Sandi spectacularly loses, a guest that digs into the nitty gritty of communal living, and a fight with a (housing) bear.Join us and our guest Rob Bancroft if you're at all interested in the idea of living in a community. Highlights include:-Rob talks about his communal living experience - 12:14-Housing as a…

It's the one, the only Avraham Byers, Personal Financial Trainer, here to ring your doorbell every morning with $150, make awesome beard jokes, and talk about his recent (and fabulously simple) ebook Your Magic Number. Highlights include:2:14 - Avraham's Chewbacca Story7:20 - What's a financial trainer8:59 - Will more money solve all my problems?11…

Can Regulation Make Advice Better?"How can you be certain that the advice you're getting from a professional (an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor...a financial planner) is trustworthy? Is it enough to judge the advice based on how well you know and like the person giving it?You might think that the regulation of ""trust"" industries, is somewhat of a…

In a departure from our normal format, Chris and Sandi spend this episode talking through their thoughts about RRSP Loans…twice. Why twice? Turns out we had more to say. Why audio-only? Chris wanted to test his show-editing skills. Why no John? Why this weird question and answer format?Why don’t you just listen and find out?For full show notes plea…

Change is hard, and since it’s just about time for all those resolutions to start making you feel guilty, we’ve put together an episode that includes what we’ll all look back on and remember as the single best piece of financial change advice in 2017. (Also: John is an evil genius.)For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/s3-ep8…

Starting a New Business with Jessica OmanWe're back after our holiday hiatus (so good!) with an episode designed to answer one question for all those aspiring entrepreneurs out there: what's stopping you?Join us as we pepper Renegade Planner Jessica Oman with questions about how she turns emerging entrepreneurs into confident owners, like:Why she d…

So everyone agrees that financial literacy in Canada could get better… but how? Now that’s something that people don’t always agree on, and that’s why Kyle Prevost is the most interesting man in Canada when it comes to financial literacy. For years people have talked about how we should ‘really be teaching this stuff in school’ but he’s the only gu…

Sandi and John built a cool tool to compare robo-advisors across Canada, and in this show Chris asks us all sorts of questions about it. We're all pretty excited about the calculator and the fintech revolution in general, so if you've been hearing about places like Justwealth, Wealthsimple, or one of the many other companies who offer portfolio man…

We've managed to convince Season One co-host Robb Engen of Boomer and Echo (and Rewards Cards Canada) to hang out and talk about what he's been up to and draft a fantasy portfolio. No, really: we could have spent an entire episode just talking about it. Fortunately for you, our dear listeners, we did not.We thought Alberta, with its recent and rapi…

An American in Paris (Ontario) with Julia ChungWe're delighted to be joined this week by Julia Chung, CFP extraordinaire at JYC Financial, cross-border planning enthusiast, and all-round cool person.In this episode we start with a rousing game of Financial False Equivalents (spoiler alert: the IRS is always the IRS), and then start peppering Julia …

Dungeons and RatiosWe’re joined by erstwhile co-host Jackson Middleton for a quest deep into the dark heart of determining someone’s financial health, aided by only a few trusty ratios. We may not have a twenty-sided die, but we are going to fight over whether net worth, credit score, and the total debt service ratio can tell someone’s whole money …

It’s a brand new season, and in our first episode we’re introducing our new co-host (Chris Enns), new on-air producer (John Robertson), and new format. That’s right, the wait is almost over: Because Money Season Three, plus all 38 episodes from Seasons One and Two, are going to be available on iTunes soon thanks to our new off-air producer Muhammad…

On this final episode of Because Money Season Two, we thought we’d spice it up and talk about something we don’t necessarily agree on: advertising, brand partnerships, and advertorials on personal finance blogs, and – bonus – we’re joined by Season One co-host Robb Engen.For full show notes please visit: http://www.becausemoney.ca/1003-2/…

The Journey Towards MinimalismHow do you deal with “stuff”? You know… the “stuff” that surrounds you… all the time. Do you have boxes of “stuff” that you haven’t looked in for 27 years but simply can’t bring yourself to get rid of? This episode is for you. This week on the Because Money podcast we are joined by the incomparable Cait Flanders as she…

Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs MakeThis episode we’re joined by Richard Finnie, founder of thelaunch.ca, and initiative designed to encourage collaboration with entrepreneurs. He’s no stranger to podcasting himself, since as part of thelaunch.ca he hosts his own show called — you guessed it — the Launchcast. For full show notes please visit: http://…