It was over 40 years ago that Paul Simon urged “Stan” to “Make a new plan” in his song “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”. Did Stan ever make a new plan? I have no idea, but I do know this – when it comes to his personal finances – it’s unlikely that Stan ever had a plan in the first place. I can hear you, “yeah, yeah, yeah…. plan, plan, plan… is it really that important?” I think it is. In this episode we’re going to talk simple basics about a financial plan and included in the message is […]

When I speak at client events for financial professionals – every single event is different – tailored to the audience demographic each firm has. That said, each client event ends the same way, with me asking the audience to consider the question “Was it all worth it?”. It’s the most important question we are likely to ever ask ourselves. Was it worth doing uncomfortable things? Was it worth changing one’s behaviour? Was it worth following a financial plan? Was it worth setting goals? Was it worth working with/building a relationship with a financial professional? You’ll hear me discussing this concept […]

As someone who spends a great deal of time speaking to Canadians about the concepts of personal finance and how to create a successful financial future, I’m often asked what is “the big secret” for personal financial success. They are often disappointed when I tell them there is no big secret, no magic pill, and no quick fix that will bring them financial success. What I ask them next is: “How bad do you want it?” I find it interesting that every time someone tells me they want to be financially successful, they can never define it in the terms […]

Much of my last two months has been spent helping my father adjust to Life 2.0 – coming to grips with life after losing your spouse of 56 years. It’s not the household stuff like groceries, cooking, cleaning, etc. It’s the financial side – banking, paying bills, mail and phone calls – all of which were Mom’s domain. In addition to these issues, I’m trying to make Dad aware of all of the scam issues that seniors need to be concerned with. For those of you who are helping parents (or grandparents…) with Life 2.0 & Scams, I hope that […]

Thank you for your patience podcast listener – I’ve taken a bit of a break to focus on being the host of a new TV show called “WE Talk Money” which airs on WE-TV.ca and also at robertgignac.com. “WE Talk Money” has some overlap to the podcast in terms of content – and as such – in Finances and Leadership I’m sharing a conversation with a recent guest. Rick Denley is the owner of Peak Performance Leadership Services – a leadership expert, speaker and author (see rickdenley.com for details…). Our conversation is around the concept of leadership as it relates […]