Barenaked Money

Episode 102: More Bad Advice | Part 2 of the Team's Stories of Terrible Financial Advice

"In this episode of Barenaked Money, our hosts Josh Sheluk and Colin White, along with guests from the team, delve into real-life stories of the worst financial advice they've encountered. From eight-year car loans to misconceptions about real estate investments, this episode is packed with cautionary tales and insights on making prudent financial decisions."

Episode 101: Talking About Money | Pt 2

Episode 100: The Worst Advice Ever | So Far

Episode 99: Talking About Money | Pt 1

In this compelling episode of Barenaked Money, join Colin White and guest Matt Kempton as we delve into the crucial conversation of money and estate planning. Discover the importance of discussing your estate plan with your family, the challenges and benefits that come with it, and how to navigate the biggest generational wealth transfer in Canadian history. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to make informed financial decisions for their future.

Episode 98: Pensions VS RRSPs

In this episode, Josh Sheluk and Colin White break down the complex world of retirement savings. They discuss pension plans, group RRSPs, and the key differences between defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Learn how each plan works, the benefits they offer, and why understanding longevity risk is crucial for your retirement strategy. Whether you're planning for retirement or just curious about your options, this episode offers valuable insights to navigate your savings p...

Bonus Episode: The Women's Book Club | Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke

In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss the book "Thinking in Bets" by Annie Duke. They introduce the book and its author, highlighting Duke's background as a professional poker player and her expertise in decision strategy. The hosts then share their initial impressions of the book, with one host mentioning how it changed their perspective on decision-making as a form of betting. They discuss the concept of resulting and how it can impact decision-making, as well as the importan...

Episode 97: The Population Trap | Catch & Release

In this episode, we're tackling the hot topic of Canada's population growth and its economic implications. We're discussing the concept of a "population trap", as highlighted by National Bank Financial, and the critical need for increased investment in our capital stock. Join us as we delve into how immigration affects the housing market and the significance of policy reforms in combating the housing shortage. We also examine the downturn in private sector investment and conclude wi...

Episode 96: Interview With the CIO | Our Investment Philosophy & Process

In this insightful episode, Verecan's VP of Marketing & Communications, Kathryn Toope, sits down with Josh Sheluk, Chief Investment Officer at Verecan Capital Management Inc., to delve into the core of Verecan's investment philosophy and process. Sheluk shares the firm's approach to navigating the unpredictability of the markets without engaging in futile forecasting. Through a blend of collaborative decision-making, diversification, and a keen focus on downside protection and risk ...

Episode 95: So Fetch | Our Thoughts on Projected Trends for 2024

In this episode of the Barenaked Money Podcast, join hosts Josh Sheluk and Matthew Kempton as they delve into key trends for 2024. Topics include the Canadian entrepreneurial renaissance, AI's impact on energy, the rise in centenarians, fertility trends, the future of private equity, changes in streaming services, and the growth of content creation as a career. They also discuss the importance of emotional well-being in retirement planning. Tune in for a lively debate and insightful...

Episode 94: Infinite Banking | How Does "Bank on Yourself" Really Work

In this episode of the Barenaked Money Podcast, we explore the "Bank on Yourself" or infinite banking concept. Our hosts scrutinize the marketing claims and shed light on the often opaque world of the insurance industry. They emphasize the significance of aligning financial decisions with personal goals and caution against blindly following investment trends. While not opposing life insurance, the episode clarifies its appropriate use and warns against its exploitation.

Episode 93: A Look Ahead | Our Predictions for 2024

In this captivating episode of the Barenaked Money Podcast, hosts Josh Sheluk and Colin White take listeners on a speculative journey into the financial year ahead. They approach the episode with a blend of scepticism and wit, reminding us that predicting the future is more art than science, and their insights are meant to stir curiosity rather than serve as concrete financial advice. Their discussions weave through an array of bold yet tongue-in-cheek predictions: a fleeting momen...

Episode 92: A Look Back | Scoring Our 2023 Predictions

Welcome to a thrilling new episode of the Barenaked Money Podcast, where your favourite financial wizards, Josh Sheluk and Colin White, revisit their predictions from yesteryear! Bonds danced to an unpredictable tune, interest rates whispered secrets of the future, and inflation played hide and seek with your savings. That's the world Josh and Colin will navigate you through. They'll dive deep into the enigmatic world of GICs and unravel whether the advice of billionaires can help y...

Episode 91: A Journey Through Time & Space | Part 2

In this episode of the Barenaked Money Podcast, the hosts discuss various events and trends that have occurred over the past four years. They touch on topics such as delayed weddings due to the pandemic, the impact of the pandemic on the global economy, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, central banks raising interest rates, inflation rates, and the possibility of a recession in 2023. The hosts emphasize the importance of not being too confident in predictions and the global economy...

Episode 90: A Journey Through Time & Space | Shout-out to the Nerds

In the latest episode of "Barenaked Money Podcast," join us as we welcome the insightful Matt Kempton for a deep dive into the whirlwind of events that have shaped the last four years. This episode is a rollercoaster ride through time, revisiting landmark moments like the tumultuous COVID-19 pandemic, the gripping global recession, and the groundbreaking development of vaccines. Colin & Matt navigate the choppy waters of supply chain disruptions and the soaring waves of inflation wi...

Episode 89: Harvest Season | Tax Loss Selling

In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss the concept of tax loss selling and whether it is a valuable strategy for investors. They argue that while tax considerations are important, they should not be the primary factor in making investment decisions. They emphasize the need to consider the overall quality and performance of investments, rather than solely focusing on tax benefits. The hosts also discuss the potential risks and limitations of tax loss selling, such as the superfic...

Episode 88: What Are The Top 5 | The Stories We Care About

The hosts discuss various financial topics in this episode of the Barenaked Money podcast. They talk about the possibility of Canada experiencing a recession and whether the recent negative GDP growth could end the recession cycle. They also discuss the performance of bonds and stocks in the next five years, the unpredictability of geopolitical events, and their impact on investments. The hosts emphasize the importance of not trying to predict the future and instead planning for mul...

Episode 87: The Performance Episode

In this episode of the Barenaked Money Podcast, the hosts discuss investment performance. They talk about the challenges and opportunities in the current market, including high valuations and the attractiveness of bonds. They also share their experiences with specific investment decisions, such as buying Shopify and the frustrations of investing in high-growth stocks. The hosts emphasize the importance of having a balanced and patient approach to investing. They also mention upcomin...

Episode 86: Is FOMO Killing Your (financial) Mojo | Avoid the Traps, Retire Better

In this episode of our financial services podcast, we delve into the art of adapting your budget to the ever-changing economic landscape without compromising your long-term financial objectives. We explore practical strategies, from overcoming the fear of missing out (FOMO) to discovering cost-free means of entertainment and embracing home-cooked meals. However, our central focus remains on the power of keeping your sights firmly fixed on your future financial goals, ensuring that y...

Episode 85: Mama, I'm Comin' Home | CRAs New Option for 1st Time Homebuyers

In this episode of the Barenaked Money podcast, hosts Colin White and Mitch Silber discuss the First Time Home Savings Account (FHSA) in Canada. They explain that the FHSA is a registered account created by the federal government to help prospective first-time homebuyers save for their first home tax-free. However, eligibility criteria must be met, such as being Canadian, being 18+, and not having owned a home in the past calendar year or the previous four calendar years. The maximu...

Episode 84: Failure to Communicate

Does the industry do a bad job of communicating important things? Colin & Josh have opinions, as they usually do. 

Episode 83: You're So Wrong | Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Colin & Josh assault one another's deeply held beliefs in this week's episode of Barenaked Money. You might be surprised what is and isn't...true. 

Episode 82: Mortgage Misadventures | Wrestling With Renewals

If your mortgage is up for renewal, or your variable rate has been more variable than you expected, things might be a little stressful at the moment. (Or you might already be stressing about some renewal date in the future because linear time is a human construct, and so is anxiety...) Check out what Colin and Josh say about the options you may have before you and what they mean long- and short-term. 

Episode 81: ChatGPT is Ethical | & The Manufacturing of Sub-Optimal Outcomes

In this episode, Colin tries to get ChatGPT to admit its true nature, but Josh wants to talk about how companies employ super-smart people to help create products designed to produce optimal outcomes for them but are, unfortunately, mostly not designed to provide the best possible outcome for consumers. Are some of your service providers setting you up for failure? Find out in episode 81 of Barenaked Money. 

Episode 80: Taylor Swift VS Nvidia | A Deluge of Consciousness

If you've ever wanted to dive deep into the mind of Colin White, now is your chance! In this week's episode, Josh is confronted with Colin's stream of consciousness. Or perhaps it's a river. A deluge of consciousness. Enjoy!

Episode 79: If I Had 100K | You Wouldn't *Hafta* Eat KD

Continuing with the Canadiana references (yes, there’s a difference between 100K & a cool mil – but still), what should you do? What would you do? Josh & Colin have some thoughts, none involving expensive Ketchup or tree forts, in this week's episode of Barenaked Money.

Episode 78: The One About Surprises | Our Dual 'Citizenship' Update

Well, there's a lot to think about in this episode of Barenaked Money. For one thing, Colin has jumped into a whole new arena...could Josh be far behind? Not to mention some surprising statistics that will, no doubt, leave you wondering why you still feel like (and some media folks are still talking like) the sky is falling!

Episode 77: Topics du Jour | Podcast Stew

From Colin: "I believe that's what we were calling it. Because we couldn't come up with a good theme, it was almost like leftover day at the restaurant; we took everything that was laying on the cutting board, and we throw it into a pot, we're calling it stew, and hopefully people will like it."

Episode 76: The Federal Budget | Lab Grown Meat

Much ado about the 2023 Federal Budget. 

Bonus Episode: Tax Planning | Recorded Live in Front of a Studio Audience

Join Colin and Dan on a journey into the realm of Canadian Tax Planning. This podcast is taken from a recent seminar, and will give you a sense of what level of knowledge and detail goes into being the Dan of our world. It'll also give you some basics on what to consider when filing your taxes this year and beyond. 

Episode 75: How Much!? | AKA: Do You Really *Need* That Much for Retirement?

You've probably read the recent headlines about how much you now *need* to be able to retire in Canada. For everyone. Apparently. We would like to provide some guidance on how you should view those headlines. 

Bonus Episode: Life in the Margins | Marginal VS Average Tax Rates

It's that time again! Tax time. (OK, maybe the exclamation mark was a little misleading.) If you hear people saying they're paying 40% or 50% in income tax...that might also be a little misleading. Join Colin and Dan as they talk about marginal VS average tax rates. 

Episode 74: Bank Failures? | Just Not As Interesting as COD

In this week's episode of the podcast, Colin & Josh talk about recent tribulations in banking and determine that, overall, they're just not as interesting (or distressing) as you might think. 

Episode 73: Diversification | A Deep Dive

When you're deeply involved in something, it's easy to forget what is and what isn't as obvious to others. We realized that we'd never really told you what diversification *is*, in detail. This episode will explain that jargon in detail...but not in painful detail. 

Bonus Episode: The A Team Takeover | Ainsley, Amanda & Amy on the Pod

Kicking off our brand new Book Club on International Women's Day, we're talking about the book Girls Just Wanna Have Funds. We're also discussing general advice for new investors and tips for choosing an advisor to work with to ramp up your path to achieving financial goals. Start where you are with what you have! 

Episode 72: Mutual Funds & ETFs | Same same or not so much? Hint: Same same(ish)!

Last week we discussed the big differences in things that are sometimes considered interchangeable. This week, we're going the other way! If you thought Mutual Funds and ETFs were apples and oranges, you might be surprised by this week's episode. Don't be fooled by the hype!

Episode 71: RRSP vs TFSA | Same same or not so much? Hint: Not so much.

RRSP vs TFSA? If you've always wanted to know exactly what a Registered Retirement Savings Account or a Tax-Free Savings Account is (but didn't want to ask a human and Google provided some contradictory search results) we've got you covered. Tune in and enjoy. 

Episode 70: Off The Wall | Some of the Wildest Financial "Opportunities" We've Heard

Every so often, we hear about "an exciting financial opportunity" that has been offered to our clients or even to someone on our team. While some of these ideas even made it within throwing distance of mainstream, to the well-trained eye, they didn't seem to make much sense. Let's find out what the common themes are among these "too good to be true" true stories. Of course, we're talking about SPACs, NFTs, Crypto and more. 

Episode 69: Questioning Inflation

It's on everyone's mind. Inflation and interest rates and what's gonna happen next?! Josh and Colin share what we are (and are not) absolutely sure will (or will not) happen in the next 24 months, and does any of it even matter? What's an investable decision, and what's just a bit more noise in our daily lives? Tune in to find out.

Episode 68: Boldly Into the Future | The World Continues to Be Interesting

Colin and Josh covered some ground in this episode of Barenaked Money. Crypto, Tesla, Real Estate, Inflation...you name it, they talked about it. As Colin says, "Just accept the fact that the world is going to continue to be interesting." He's not wrong; listen in to find out everything that captured the guys' interest this week.

Episode 67: The Barenaked Medium | Predictions for 2023

As we do at the beginning of each year, we channel our inner psychics and reach out to the spirit world to determine precisely what to do for the next 12 months. (Hashtag sarcasm.) Jokes aside, Josh & Colin take some time to discuss what they think may happen in 2023, and they've got a pretty decent track record. To make these predictions, they use a combination of experience, credentials, and historical data. Tune in for the ins and outs of 2023.

Episode 66: 2022 | In the Rearview Mirror

A look back at what did and didn't happen in 2022. It was the best of times. It was the...well, we don't need to elaborate too much on that front. You were there. We're talking about the biggest stories of the year! The guys also go over the predictions they made for 2022, join us to see whether they're prescient or just very clever. (Spoiler alert, you'll want to listen to their predictions for 2023 in the next episode...)

Episode 65: Tax Policy Changes | Booyah

Colin wants to tell you about some relevant tax policy changes...for...entertainment? Apparently? Some changes were announced in February, and some things are lurking...you should know about these things. So we're gonna tell you and be interesting at the same time. It's a tall order, but the guys are up for the challenge. Joint bank account with a parent or kid, for convenience? You might want to pay attention to this week's episode of Barenaked Money.

Episode 64: That's Ridiculous | Josh is Riled Up

We all do it - you hear something on the news or see a policy change and, if it's in your wheelhouse and you really 'get it' you think: "That's a load." Well, if you're interested in finding out what it is that gets Josh's goat, listen in on this week's episode.

Episode 63: It's Been a Wild Ride | What's Going On, Up & Down in the Markets.

Josh & Colin talk about the latest market movements, the headlines and the recent rally. Were you feeling optimistic about October, or were you more pessimistic? There was a lot of pessimism baked into the market, as Josh says. Also, there's no better word for "knee-jerky."

Episode 62: The Enemy Within | Market Update Event, Fall 2022

In this week's episode, we're sharing the single greatest destroyer of wealth. Care to guess what that is? This is an audio recording of our quarterly client presentation and market update.

Episode 61: Stocks VS Real Estate | Mortal Confab

This episode is subtitled: "Josh is right, Colin is wrong, for the first time ever." What if every house on your street had a ticker tape running to tell you what it was worth last week, month, or year? What if it was as easy to sell a piece of real estate as it is to sell a stock? Join us this week as Josh & Colin discuss why we treat an investment like real estate differently than our stock portfolio and whether that difference is merited.

Episode 61: Special Guest Geoff MacDonald | Edgepoint Wealth

If you've ever wondered what combination of experience, training, aptitude and skills it takes to become a renowned portfolio manager and blueberry farmer, now's your chance. Join Colin & Josh as they pick the brain of one of the best. Geoff MacDonald of Edgepoint Wealth is an award-winning portfolio manager who was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a "Young Global Leader" and named by Barron's as one of the top 50 Portfolio Managers in 2007. Aside from those accolades and th...

Episode 59: Safe as Houses? | Canadian Banks & Real Estate

There are few things that Canadians hold in as much esteem as their banking institutions. We Canadians are pretty fortunate to have a banking system that is robust and regulated, but are those handful of publicly traded institutions the best place to invest your hard earned money? What about Real Estate? We're tackling the big questions today on Barenaked Money.

Episode 58: An MF PM | The Role of a Mutual Fund Portfolio Manager

What does a Mutual Fund Portfolio Manager do all day? As it turns out, it's not as much Wolf of Wall Street as you're probably hoping. Still, with the help of guest James Gauthier, Vice President, Investment Products & Platforms at iA Private Wealth, Josh & Colin cover the excitement and the hard work that goes into the job. In a very down-to-earth and realistic way, you'll hear how decisions are made and what they mean.

Episode 57: The Dirty Word | Recession

You're hearing rumblings from all the big news outlets and all the big players in the world of finance. Whether they're whispering like it's a bad word or shouting it like Henny Penny - does the fact it's being discussed endlessly make it a problem for a well-constructed plan? Listen to what Colin & Josh have to say in this week's episode.