It’s still surprising that we discuss money here every week.
Historically, we haven’t had the luxury of doing this for that long.
Jean Lesage, the Quiet Revolution, Quebecers who go to university, who specialize and have access to careers that allow them to live well, to have an impact on society, to get rich…
It didn’t happen 100 or 200 years ago. It was the 1960s. Many people reading this lived through that era. They are part of the first generation of Quebecers who were able to begin to see money other than through the prism of short-term subsistence.
All this to say that it’s okay to make mistakes with money. Even if we have studied for a long time. Even if we are successful. This is correct, because it is ultimately a new subject. And also because our parents rarely helped us understand concepts that they often did not understand themselves.
Speaking of wealth, I hope you didn’t miss the recent column by my colleague Francis Vailles on the income of Quebec families. It really makes you dizzy.
Read the column “What the average family earns in Quebec”
Far from the debates about the cost of housing and inflation, the average family is doing pretty well, thank you. According to the most recent data available, the median net income of couples with two children was $119,820 in Quebec in 2021, after taxes and transfers.
And after inflation, the Quebec couple with two children had almost 26% more income in 2021 than in 2011.
This demonstrates once again that the golden age of income in Quebec was not 30 years ago, or during Expo 67, or when a hamburger cost 5 cents. The golden age of income is now.
I see it in my inbox. Hundreds of you have sent me your questions about finances and investing. Unfortunately, I cannot answer everyone. But I have a suggestion to recommend to you.
What if I told you that university professors are ready to share their knowledge about money?
This is because a free online course on personal finances has been set up by professors from the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. Launched in 2019 just before the pandemic, the McGill Personal Finance for Everyone course aims to give people tools to understand money and financial investments.
Visit the Personal Finances for All course website
“The basic idea is to prepare young people aged 15 to 29 to better understand personal finances so that they can make better decisions for their future,” explains Benjamin Croitoru, associate professor of finance and academic director of the course. That said, people of all ages are welcome to take the course. »
More than 276,000 people in total had registered for the course given in French and English as of September 30, a number which should reach around 300,000 today, estimates the professor. Surprising fact: 8.8% of people who registered come from abroad.
The course is made up of eight modules which each include one or more video clips of approximately 20 minutes. At the end of each module, you must answer 10 multiple choice questions. You can repeat the test as many times as necessary. The entire course lasts approximately two hours.
The course offered by McGill is sponsored by the RBC Foundation and by the daily The Globe and Mail. “If someone told me that, I would be suspicious,” Mr. Croitoru said. But it has been clear from the start, the sponsors did not intervene in the choice of content, which was decided by McGill professors. We do not promote any financial products. »
Topics covered include an introduction to personal finance, debt, budgeting, the art of investing, the characteristics of RRSPs, TFSAs, real estate and behavioral finance, including .
“For example, in the investment module, we learn the difference between active investment and passive investment,” notes Mr. Croitoru. It also discusses the three most typical mistakes investors make: not diversifying their investments, paying too many fees, and trying to synchronize with the markets. »
One fact that surprised me is the probability that, in a couple aged 65, one of the partners will live to be 94 years old.
The answer ? The probability is 50%. So it’s far from extreme to think about living 30 years or more in retirement – and being an investor throughout that period.
I also noticed that the course is sometimes kinder than this section.
For example, it talks about car loans, without specifying that absolutely no form of terrestrial life should use them. A car is like a television or a pair of jeans, it is a consumer good.
At current rates, nearly 30% of car loan payments are used to pay interest, wrote my colleague Marie-Eve Fournier. We’re talking about $10,000 to $20,000 thrown out the window for a $40,000 to $60,000 vehicle that depreciates every day.
Read the column “The end of shortages favors motorists”
If our savings are not enough to buy a vehicle, then the solution is to accumulate a few thousand dollars while we can afford a nice 2011 Honda Civic (and make myself jealous). Or we take the bus, the bike, anything – everything except spending money that doesn’t belong to us to zigzag on the roads of the province behind the wheel of a motorized La-Z-Boy with pedals, in the words of financial blogger Mr. Money Mustache (which you should read).
Read a text from blogger Mr Money Mustache (in English)
Offering an online course on personal finances is not new: the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) also offers the free course “Financial and tax literacy open to all”, training which lasts five weeks, 4 to 6 hours per week.
Visit the course website Financial and tax literacy open to all
If you already have good knowledge of personal finance and investing, I suggest you instead consult the videos on YouTube (in English) of Benjamin Felix and Justin Bender, from the Canadian investment firm PWL Capital. They delve into several themes, such as the different all-in-one exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the 4% rule for retirement disbursements, the importance of diversifying your investments internationally, among others.
See Benjamin Felix’s YouTube channel (in English)
See Justin Bender’s YouTube channel (in English)
It’s ideal to become interested in finances early in life, because time is our main ally in growing our assets. But there is no age to sort things out.
As Bonne-Maman, the grandmother of my friend Alexis, said: “Money is because you pay attention to it that you have it. »