Gifts for the cost-conscious

Gifts for the cost-conscious

As our finances ebb and flow, we will sometimes face a festive season where we have to think out of the box for holiday gifts. Gifts are a wonderful way to let our loved ones know how much we appreciate and value them, but they can be expensive and out of reach if we...
Taking stock and talking stocks

Taking stock and talking stocks

Anyone with a mediocre knowledge of investing will be familiar with the term “stock”.  But few people are aware that there common stocks and preferred stocks. And they’re fundamentally different. Stocks have been traded for over 400 years – the first common...
Three ways to survive a bear market

Three ways to survive a bear market

What do you do when a bear attacks? For many of us, we don’t live near any bears, so we’re likely to be unprepared. When it comes to a bear market, the situation is not too different. No one can predict a bear market, and for some it’s not even easy to recognise when...
Planning reduces anxiety

Planning reduces anxiety

We don’t plan because we fear the future. We plan because we realize we can enjoy today more by reducing the anxiety of tomorrow.  Most people accept that planning offers us a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. When we plan, we map out the...
One of the worst things to plan for…

One of the worst things to plan for…

In Western culture we have become very detached from the cycle of life and death. Only those who work in specific industries will be accustomed to the fragility of life, but for most of us it’s something that will happen in the unforeseen future, so we try not to...