The Money Savvy Blog

Imagine you’re on vacation. The weather is perfect. The resort is beautiful. Someone offers you complimentary breakfast, a free excursion, or tickets to a local attraction in exchange for attending a “short” presentation. Ninety minutes later, you’re signing paperwork for something that will cost you thousands of dollars, along with annual fees that may continue for years—or even decades. How…

Loyalty programs have become part of everyday life. Whether you’re shopping for groceries, filling up your gas tank, booking travel, buying cosmetics, dining out, or going to the movies, chances are you’re earning points along the way. Two of Canada’s most popular rewards programs are PC Optimum and Scene+. Both reward everyday spending, but they differ in where you earn points, how you redeem…

When people think about improving their finances, they often assume they need to make major lifestyle changes. Cut out restaurants. Stop buying coffee. Never treat yourself. In reality, creating financial margin often starts with something much simpler: reviewing your recurring expenses. Subscriptions, in particular, deserve a closer look. The Subscription Trap Subscription services have…

Dining out has become significantly more expensive in Canada over the past several years. What once felt like a casual night out can now easily cost far more than expected after drinks, tax, and tip are added. Higher food costs, wages, rent, and operating expenses have pushed restaurant prices upward almost everywhere. Even simple add-ons like cocktails, appetizers, desserts, or extra sides can…

There’s no shortage of financial advice online. What’s in much shorter supply? Qualified people giving it. Confidence isn’t Competence Scroll through social media and you’ll see people speaking with absolute certainty about: Investing strategies Debt decisions Tax approaches Real estate “hacks” But pause for a second and ask: What are their qualifications? Do they have formal…

When markets become volatile, it doesn’t just affect portfolios—it affects people. Headlines get sharper. Opinions get louder. Predictions become more urgent. And suddenly, doing nothing feels like the hardest decision of all. But this is precisely where long-term financial thinking matters most. Market turbulence is not an exception. It’s part of the design. If you zoom out, every long-term…

There’s no shortage of financial advice. It’s everywhere, and much of it sounds smart. Simple. Actionable. Easy to repeat. But that’s part of the problem. Some of the most common financial advice people follow isn’t necessarily wrong—it’s just incomplete, taken out of context, or applied too broadly. And in practice, that’s often enough to lead people in the wrong direction. Here are some…

Groceries have become one of those expenses where the total never quite matches what you think it will, based on the items in your cart. You go in for a few things, and somehow it’s $80. Or $120. Or more. And while prices have clearly gone up, most of the advice around saving money on groceries hasn’t necessarily caught up — or doesn’t apply in Canada to begin with. Instead of trying to…

Last week I shared a post about “that time I wrote a book.” At the time, the project was still making its way through the final stages of publishing. Today, I’m happy to say that it’s now official. Money Without the Noise: A Canadian Guide to Clear Financial Thinking in A Clickbait Era is now published and available! Writing a book is a strange process. For months (or in my case, much longer),…

Like many people, I learned about personal finance the slow way. Through trial and error. Through small mistakes and the occasional “I probably should have known that earlier” moment. Over time, those lessons started to add up. And eventually I realized that many people struggle with the same questions about money that I once had. So I started writing and created this blog in 2014. Why I…

My first post about the costs of owning a dog dates back to 2017. Back then, I was still thinking about getting a dog. Fast forward to 2026, I do have a dog. It basically took me almost a decade to put my thought into action. Now that I actually have a dog, let’s revisit and update the costs of owning a dog. As stated in my initial post, I didn’t go through the “rescue road”, in case you are…

If I could summarize my year in a nutshell, I’d say it was the “in-person year”, and by extension, the “offline year”. And it was exactly what I needed after the pandemic, professional challenges and the passing of my beloved Father; all happening in a 4-year span. This year, I purposely chose to be offline, hence the few posts on my blog. Work This year turned out to be lucrative as well. I…

In a world where social media flaunting and luxury branding dominate, a quiet counterculture of wealth exists—one that thrives on discretion rather than display. Stealth wealth is the practice of keeping financial success under wraps, choosing a lifestyle of understated elegance rather than ostentatious excess. But why do some of the world’s wealthiest individuals adopt this approach? And what…

Your words can either build trust or create red flags in the eyes of your mortgage broker/lender. While many common missteps have been covered elsewhere, here are 12 examples of phrases you really should avoid when applying for a mortgage—and what they might signal to your broker/lender. 1. “I’ve already been pre-approved by another lender—so if you can’t beat their offer, I’m moving on.” This…

I wrote a few posts about scams, and more importantly how to protect yourself from them. Sadly, these not only remain true to this day, but scams are in fact becoming more and more sophisticated, primarily because of AI. Here are the latest scams you need to be aware of in 2025 so far. AI Generated Scams With the use of artificial intelligence becoming more widespread and easy to access,…

A reverse mortgage is an increasingly popular financial tool among Canadian homeowners aged 55 and older. It allows you to unlock the value of your home without having to sell it, providing you with funds to supplement your retirement income, pay off debts, or cover unexpected expenses. Here, we’ll break down how reverse mortgages work, their benefits, and potential drawbacks to help you make an…

Here’s is a snapshot of how I spent some of my money last year. Snapshot is the key word here. I am not disclosing my full financials. Top Expense: Housing Like most people, housing is always my biggest expense. I live in a suburb of Vancouver, which is considered a high-cost-living area. Vancouver is the most expensive city in Canada, and its suburbs aren’t much cheaper. In 2024, I spent $ 28…