From the category archives:

Kids and Money

A lifetime of kid sports. Know what you’re paying for parents.

January 17, 2012

As a parent – or as someone who aspires to parenthood – you may be interested to know that in Canada the average cost of raising a child from infancy through high school is about $182,000. If you foot the bill for another two to four years of college or university for your child, you [...]

Read the full article →

It’s good to talk about finances with kids.

October 25, 2011

‘If your children are clueless about your household finances, it’s your fault. That’s what makes a survey from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) so significant.’ To read the full article click here .

Read the full article →

What’s a babysitter worth?

September 1, 2011

Among parents, questions abound these days about what to pay babysitters, especially if babysitting is frequently required within a household. Answers are available. There are norms providing guidelines. But before I get to them, I’d like to offer a few comments about the subject in general. With babysitting, it’s not just a matter of getting [...]

Read the full article →

Back to school. How would you brand your teenager?

August 23, 2011

A mass migration is about to occur in Canada involving well over two million citizens. Well, teenagers, actually. Call them Millennials, Echo Boomers, or Generation Y if you like. They are 13 to19-year-olds who are preparing to leave the carefree days of summer behind and march back to school. It is a momentous occasion not only [...]

Read the full article →

Yes, it’s a word that comes in handy now and then: No.

June 28, 2011

Around the office, I’m known as a stern and frugal manager concerning cash outlays. If certain parties, say business suppliers, don’t have a thoroughly convincing case for why they want me to give them more money for some reason or other, I don’t hesitate to say no. Period. So why is it that I sometimes [...]

Read the full article →

RESPect.

June 21, 2011

What about them Bruins, eh? When my nephew first started playing little league hockey his team was called the Canucks. It was all very cute and miniature but there was a kid on his team whom I freaking hated with a fiery passion. Let’s call him number twenty two because that was his number. At [...]

Read the full article →

Smart kid. Smart money. Kayla’s story.

June 2, 2011

Consider a teenager who for the sake of today’s discussion I will call her Kayla. She is 14 years old, and she is a living, breathing example of a savvy money manager. In fact, she started demonstrating personal money management skills at age three. Does that make her a child prodigy like Pablo Picasso, who [...]

Read the full article →

Let’s talk about spiritual food and dining out.

April 28, 2011

Friend to the frugal, foe to the spendthrift – these are among my traits as Executive Director at Credit Canada. So it might surprise you when I say that one of the keys to managing debt wisely is to spend money on pleasures every now and then even when you don’t have a lot of [...]

Read the full article →

Are you an indulgent parent?

March 4, 2011

One day on a crowded bus I overheard one woman talking to another about how she was indulging her children.  The conversation went on about how this woman was giving into her children’s every whim from exclusive (read expensive) summer camps, to laptops, to cell phones, to bedroom makeovers etc. I couldn’t believe my ears. [...]

Read the full article →

My ham sandwich gave me financial freedom.

February 28, 2011

Being a student at one of Toronto’s finest Universities, I find myself very broke. I also find myself spending more time there then at home. I also don’t have the same class hours each day. Some days I start very early and I’m home mid afternoon. Other days I start in the afternoon and I’m [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries