Week 1 - Introduction

It is the year 2010 and I have decided to start a blog (you can tell what one of my New Year's resolutions was). The idea of my blog is that every Canadian will be able to have a better understanding of how to manage their own money. There are many people out there that are willing to take advantage of us when it comes to our financial affairs, thus the saying "a fool and his money are soon parted". I am hoping that these 52 chapters to my blog will give you a better idea of how to make sound financial decisions for yourself or along side other financial professionals.

I will say in advance that I am not perfect, obviously. I have been in the financial services industry for about 7 years, which means there are many others who know more about this stuff than I do. I am an Investment Advisor and Associate Portfolio Manager for a major Canadian financial institution, managing around $100 million for about 200 different families. My clients range from ages 16 to 90, in all different stages of life. This is also my first foray into the world of blogging (or writing, for that matter), so I apologize in advance for any writers' wrongdoings.

I have thought about doing this blog for a long time. I see examples each day of people that are making financial decisions that are simply not thought through. There are more ways than one to plan for the future, I understand that. But there are also many ways that we can make mistakes, take dangerous shortcuts or be taken advantage of, while trying to make these decisions. I will discuss everything from financial products, the different types of investment accounts that we as Canadians have access too, as well as fee structures, commissions, and many topics around investment management and financial planning.

If you have any thoughts of your own or ideas that you would like to see appear in the blog, feel free to drop me a line. The idea here is to get as much GOOD information to our fellow Canadians as possible. It is becoming more difficult to find professionals that we can trust with our affairs. Hopefully this will be a way that I can impart some financial wisdom upon you without you worrying about my motivation.

Next post will be about Tax Free Savings Accounts. These things are a slam dunk and absolutely every Canadian should have one. I will tell you why next week.

If you're interested in keeping tabs on the subjects, be sure to 'follow' me on the page, or subscribe to the blog by email... I'm not sure how this stuff works but we shall see.