Money Archives - Page 48 of 55 - The Outlier Model

Tackling my student loans

student loans, paying off student loans, student loan program

CF / June 12th, 2012 / 8 Comments

Student loans are like the opposite sides of the same coin. The growing student loan debt held by young people has been a major topic in recent news. On one hand, it’s a great equalizer because it helps to provide access to post secondary education for individuals who may not be able to afford it otherwise. Having student loans also gives you access to bursaries and scholarships not available...

Posted in: Money Tagged with: avoid interest, jobs after college, loan terms, saving, staying out of debt, student loan debt

Living on the poverty line

CF / June 7th, 2012 / 8 Comments

Every once in a while, a group or charity will call out the government and complain that it is impossible to live on minimum wages or that people at the poverty line can never expect to improve their lives. Is this really true? I would argue not. Let’s take a look at some real numbers. Say you’re an average British Columbian with a high school diploma. You don’t want to take...

Posted in: Money, Philosophy Tagged with: budget, Grocery budget, housing costs, living on less, poverty line, saving

Questrade fee increase

Recommended Forex Brokers, forex brokers, stock market, trading, investing, Questrade fee, questrade, stock exchange

CF / May 17th, 2012 / 5 Comments

Last week, my Questrade newsletter arrived in my email inbox. Usually, I just delete it but for some reason last week, I clicked on it. Among other things, it had this statement: Inactivity fee As of July 10th, 2012, an inactivity fee of $9.95 per month is charged to clients with under $5,000 in combined equity for any month in which the client does not complete one commission-able trade. Clients...

Posted in: Money Tagged with: fee increase, new fee structure, online brokers, Questrade

New job, new budget

new budget, new job, avoiding lifestyle inflation, adjusting

CF / May 8th, 2012 / 4 Comments

Brian and I are both starting new positions this May. As a result, we’ve updated our budget! I mentioned before how it was important for us to avoid lifestyle inflation and I think we’ve done that. At the same time, we want to give ourselves room to enjoy a small bit of our success. Our bills and rent stay the same, so there are only a few changes that needed to be made. Original...

Posted in: Money Tagged with: budgeting, irregular expenses, living with less