Bf Blog

“A short sentence or phrase chosen as encapsulating the beliefs or ideals guiding an individual, family, or institution.”

Happy Holidays from all of us at Bell Financial!

Life is expensive and without some form of post-secondary education it’s nearly impossible to get a job that will cover these expenses. That’s why so many parents start saving to help educate their bundles of joy while they are still, well, bundles of joy. But what is the best way to save?

Some people do their own taxes, some people manage their own investments, and some people don’t know where to find their bank balance. There are countless resources available online that will help you get smarter and savvier with your money. Here are 3 online resources that are user-friendly, informative, and that can be trusted to give you honest and helpful information.

If you are looking for a financial advisor (and if you are we hope you aren’t one of our clients), you may find yourself drawn more to the sales pitches of the advisors you should avoid, than to the sincere words of a potentially great advisor. Here’s five questions you might want to ask to help sort that out.

Much ado is currently being made about who can/should call themselves a “Financial Planner,” and it is safe to assume that this will continue to be a very hot topic as the financial services industry tries to keep pace with a rapidly changing regulatory environment.

We’ve all heard from a neighbour, friend or colleague after they’ve made an impressive investment. Proudly boasting about a recent purchase of Shopify, gold bullion, or maybe Tesla, ably raking in double-digit returns. When asked about their impressive foresight, the response is often dismissive “I just knew it was a good buy” - obviously referencing their super-power investment sense. Or they provide, in perfect hindsight, a suspiciously-specific record of all that is now known to have driven the investment’s past success. It’s Nostradamus-like really.

In this digital age, I still value a good book. Not on a Kindle or e-reader of any kind, an actual book that you can physically hold in your hands on the dock at the cottage. One that, if it’s any good, will inevitably end up with frayed pages and a little warping from water damage.

Snail mail… It’s used less and less these days. It has become a weekly (or sometimes monthly) duty to check it and find piles of pizza coupons and real estate brochures. But, if you are on our mailing list, four times a year you receive the Bell Financial Newsletter.

One of the most common questions asked to financial advisors is something along the lines of “should I be paying off my mortgage, or putting money into my RRSP?” If that’s a question that keeps you up at night, then the answer is almost certainly, “Yes.”