Weekend Reading – Living better on less, retirement numbers and more

Welcome to the latest edition of my Weekend Reading list.  Before we get to the other articles, I recently shared some top Canadian dividend ETFs to consider for your portfolio and how we spent our tax refund this year.

Enjoy these articles and of course your weekend.

Andrew Hallam is going to live abroad soon, for months maybe years on end, and suggested you can live better on less.

Million Dollar Journey wondered how much you need to retire in Canada.   I think we know our retirement number and it all boils down to understanding your expenses.

DGI reviewed ConocoPhillips.

At Dividend Ladder, there’s a new ebook out called Smart Dividend Investing.  I’ll be reading the book soon and hope to have a review out sometime in June.

Dividend Growth Stock Investing offered some tips to create your own dividend growth investment plan.

Michael James on Money said taking CPP too early anchors Canadians thinking.

MoneySense Magazine said home affordability is becoming a stretch for many Canadians.

Big Cajun Man had another interesting take on debt and it’s clear he doesn’t like it.

The blogger behind Thirty Six Months went public.

This Couch Potato investor has found inner peace.

My University Money remains passionate about financial literacy.

I thought my 14-year-old car was old…this guy drives a car with over 300,000 miles on it.

Congrats to Roadmap2Retire who just bought a house.

On Master Your Portfolio, learn about the second biggest hidden fee Canadian investors pay.

Canadian Mortgage Trends, one of my favourite sites for mortgage news, wrote about sustainably unsustainable borrowing rates.

My name is Mark Seed - the founder, editor and owner of My Own Advisor. As my own DIY financial advisor, I'm looking to start semi-retirement soon, sooner than most. Find out how, what I did, and what you can learn to tailor your own financial independence path. Join the newsletter read by thousands each day, always FREE.

12 Responses to "Weekend Reading – Living better on less, retirement numbers and more"

  1. I am not sure folks are understanding the point I am getting across, I’ll have to try a different more direct statement about the RAW Hatred (like that of 6 imploding suns) I have for Debt. Thanks for the inclusion

    Reply
  2. Actually, it’s just the fact that people can take CPP at 60 that anchors their thinking to retiring at 60. Many of those who ultimately choose to work past 60 start with thoughts of retiring at 60. Thanks for the mention.

    Reply
    1. Yes, the opportunity to take CPP early as soon as possible is an anchor for early retirement. Do you think the same is true for age 55, when LIRAs and other accounts can be opened up?

      Have a good weekend!

      Reply
      1. @Mark: The bigger draw at 55 is people in defined-benefit pension plans. But they often really can afford to retire at 55. I’ve never worked with anyone who seemed to be anchored to retiring at 55 because of the LIRA rules, but I suppose it can happen.

        Reply
        1. That’s our goal, 55, another 15 years away but if we can somehow keep up a 20% savings rate, we’ll be close to retirement then. We’ll still work, just on our terms.

          Financial biases like anchoring are very interesting, as are the planning fallacy and a few others. I’m more and more intrigued about behavourial finance. I know Bernstein has written about this quite a bit.

          Cheers,
          Mark

          Reply

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