If I have one secret vice, it’s reading advice columns. And I really enjoy the finances type, where people write in and ask if they can afford to buy a house or if they’re on track for funding their retirement. These make for interesting reading for a number of reasons:
- I like to compare our own income and expenses with other people. Do we make more? Do we pay more for housing? How do our choices about recreation and other discretionary expenses stack up against others?
- Related to the first point, I study other people’s expenses to look for ways that I think they could reduce them.
- I study the posts for constructive ways to coach other people about money and learn what financial advisers are recommending to their clients.
One reliable source of financial planning posts is the Financial Facelift from the Globe and Mail Investing. I always look forward to their articles.