It's about developing the habit of investing in your future
Our younger clients have told us they’d like more material focused on tech, lifestyle and how financial investing can be more sustainable.
- Going Terminally Offline: Social media is a cesspool. Why swim in it? Social media algorithms (see the data) prioritize the most extreme views because they get the most engagement.
To Learn More Click Here - The Condo Crash: In Canada, the condo bubble has popped, leaving behind thousands of unsellable, unlivable units. And it is going to get worse.
To Learn More Click Here - ASC panel sanctions Ponzi schemer who raised $150 million from investors for day trading, factor investing: Stop chasing the get rich quick schemes.
To Learn More Click Here - What Powered the World in 2024? Not what I expected. May surprise you as well.
To Learn More Click Here - 24 Fascinating Fact About Europe
To Learn More Click Here - Are Your Smart Devices Really Spying on You?
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Bonus video:
- The Return of Nuclear Power? Imagine a world where we have all the energy we need without any carbon emissions. A world with dependable clean energy 24/7 — not just when the wind blows or the sun shines. No pollution. No carbon emissions. And, because the power plants are so small, barely even any impact on the land.
To Learn More Click Here - The (Invisible) Ways the World is Getting Better: The good news you don’t hear from the media.
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Mark has taken our disparate investments and created a focused portfolio that has seen steady growth. Mark is very proactive, keeping us up to date on all of our financial matters, from investments to estate planning. His explanations are always concise, easy to understand, and engaging. Mark is now helping our 2 sons start investing and teaching them the basics of investing...which we think is so important for our family. I highly recommend Mark Hougen and his team to anyone needing an investment advisor.”
-Brad Macson, VP Operations Total Energy, Calgary, AB
Archives
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- The Big Guide to the Best Cash Back Credit Cards
To Learn More Click Here - Iron Laws of the Stock Market
To Learn More Click Here - Guilty plea in crypto Ponzi case: the scam promised high returns from AI-powered trading bots.
To Learn More Click Here - Online fraudster gets jail time: Scheme raised $20 million from Canadian investors, promising access to locked-in funds. You are not going to find reliable and legal investment advice online.
To Learn More Click Here - Ontario couple booking anniversary trip to Jamaica out over $4,000 after mistake: Another Expedia nightmare.
To Learn More Click Here - Court to consider RESP dealer settlement: Class action against group RESP providers in Quebec alleges excessive fees. To Learn More Click Here
- Top 59 Canadian public golf courses: 5 of the top 10 are driving distance from Calgary.
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Bonus video:
- Was Online Sports Gambling a Mistake? If 50% of their revenue comes from just 3% of gamblers, the uncomfortable truth about sports betting is that it is a business model that depends on addiction.
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- The Big Guide to the Best Cash Back Credit Cards
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3 Human Skills That Make You Irreplaceable in an AI World.
To Learn More Click HereHow to Get Rich When You’re Young.
To Learn More Click HereVery Bad Advice: Excellent article from Morgan Housel, this generation's greatest financial writer.
To Learn More Click HereGICs are simple and safe – and a lousy way to build wealth.
To Learn More Click HereBank reps under pressure to sell. You are NEVER going to get independent financial advice from a bank owned firm. The Bank's interests always come first. This is one of the many reasons that so many Wealth teams have fled bank owned firms for the INDEPENDENT wealth management firms in Canada like Raymond James (and others).
To Learn More Click HereThe 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century according to the New York Times: a great list.
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Bonus podcast:
- The Death of Durable Appliances: Appliances don't last as long as they used to, but not for the reasons you probably think. And how to buy new appliances that will last you longer.
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The Separate + Joint Method: How My Spouse and I Manage Our Money
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The Definitive Story of The Tesla Takedown
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How To Pay Attention Again: attention has become a currency and every algorithm is designed to compete for it. And they're really good at it. The loss of control over our own attention is not about willpower. It's about neuroscience.
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Depreciating Financial Assets: vehicle ownership costs are staggering.
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When Housing Was Affordable: why don’t we build starter homes anymore? Is HGTV to blame? We don't build enough small houses anymore and we don't build enough affordable houses. Great article on why we don't.
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Lots of People Apply Sunscreen Wrong. Here’s How to Do It Right. Get ready for the sun with this NY Times consumer report.
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Bonus Video:
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Everything About America’s Success Was Unlikely: the world's leading economy, the most powerful military force, a superpower. But this country nearly fell apart… more than once.
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7 Attributes of The Millionaire Next Door: The 7 common denominators among people who successfully build wealth.
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First Trip to Europe? What to Expect
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Packing Smart and Traveling Light
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The trouble with finfluencers
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Why does risk matter in investing? Great perspective for all levels of investor knowledge.
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Ranked: World Carbon Emissions by Country
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Bonus podcasts:
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They Bought Dream Homes in Tulum. Then Came the Nightmare: the dark side of a pandemic-era development spree in Tulum that has left a trail of ripped off investors, millions of dollars in missing cash and even two bodies in its wake.
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The Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of: Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. The World for Sale helps shine a light on physical commodity traders. Great podcast...so interesting.
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Top Scams of 2025: What to Watch For
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The Things That Make You Money: "It's not the things you buy and sell that make you money; it's the things you hold." And many other important lessons.
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The Simon Abundance Index 2025: Earth was 518.4 percent more abundant in 2024 than it was in 1980. Good news happens slowly!
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Misbehaving in a Volatile Market: we all have Behavioural Biases, and we should be aware of them. Really valuable article.
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Investors duped in $300 million Ponzi scheme sue Royal Bank, B.C. financial regulator: yet another real estate/mortgage Ponzi scheme and obvious fraud.
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Best Cars of the Year: 10 Top Picks of 2025 by Consumer Reports, the gold standard for research and recommendations.
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Bonus podcast:
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The Memecoin Casino: Crypto is a joke. A website making Dogecoin and other memecoins becomes even more unhinged, all while generating small fortunes for foul-mouthed children. Classic Pump & Dump. "Thanks for 20 Bandos."
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Visualized: Where Automakers Build Cars Sold in America: Surprise, surprise...look who benefits the most from tariffs.
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Keep calm and heed Warren Buffett — history shows market meltdowns are short-lived.
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As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more US companies say retailers turning away their products.
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Alberta at odds with its biggest craft brewery after substantial beer tax hike: Dear Government, please get out of the way. Thank you from all Albertans.
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The Diabolical World of Phone Scams.
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Bonus articles:
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Tired of scrolling? This Calgary club is helping people reconnect in real life.
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Why I Joined an Intergenerational Housing Experiment in Calgary: a student moved into a retirement home in Calgary to get affordable housing and the seniors get companionship (and tech support).
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Finding a Good Hotel in Europe: Rick Steves guidebooks are my go to resource for hotels in Europe.
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The Best Fire Extinguisher: both are available in Canada on Amazon. Hope you never need to use it.
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Protesters target Tesla showrooms in US over Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting.
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The 30 best Netflix original movies: Always a good debate.
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The real reason it costs so much to go to a concert: we can’t just blame Ticketmaster and scalpers.
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Bonus videos:
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Congratulations Mike Hasinoff (and team) on your truly impressive and award-winning work. It has been 5 years since the Covid 19 pandemic first hit us and the message of your video remains: We are never lost if we can find each other. Take care of yourself. Take care of each other.
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We are Canadian.
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The New Housing Market Premium: yesterday's luxuries have become today's necessities. A new home in 1950 was 983 square feet. In 2023 it was 2230 square feet. And fewer people are living in these homes since families are smaller than they were in the past.
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Addiction Economy: Restaurants are smoke-free, but phones are ubiquitous at every meal. Today we spend 70% less time with our friends than we did a decade ago. We're addicted to our phones, and they keep notifying us on average 46 times per day for adults and 237 times per day for teens.
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CFA vs. CFP: Very interesting for anyone joining us in the Wealth Management profession.
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Michael Lewis: Tobacco, Opioids, Sports Betting: the list of the worst things to negatively effect our society. And again, the regulators are years (maybe decades) behind the evil industries.
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There Goes My Hero: a very thoughtful article by the great writer, Ben Carlson.
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NFL Game Cost Inflation Over the Last 10 Years
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How to Rehearse for an Important Presentation
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Founder of failed global crypto lending platform pleads guilty to fraud charges
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Good News Stories You Didn’t Click On in 2024: maintaining an accurate perspective on the world takes work—reading this will help.
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Planning Your Trip: tourists with too little (or outdated) information run out of money, fly home early, and hate the French. Don't let this be you. Plan your trip for success.
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The Cost of 1 GB of Mobile Data Worldwide: Surprising to see where the USA and Canada place on this list
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How to Answer “Why Should We Hire You?” in an Interview
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The Surprising Power of Questions: the Surprising Power of Questions...and most importantly, how to ask great questions
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Aaron Wagner And Wags Capital: From Pro Football To Utah’s Latest Disgraced Financial Influencer: Yet another "Finfluencer" revealed to be a Ponzi scheming huckster and get rich quick carnival barker.
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What Are ETA and ETIAS, Europe’s New Visa-Waiver Programs? Canadians will need to have an ETA to enter the UK as of January 8, 2025. Most of the EU will require ETIAS mid-2025.
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A Little Perspective: The world has never been better but it feels like things are getting worse. Let’s look at the data.
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AI Detectors Falsely Accuse Students of Cheating—With Big Consequences.
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What’s the Right Way to Find a Mentor?
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Is working from home a dying trend? A growing list of companies ordering employees back to the office.
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B.C. man seeks court help after buying house with friend who now won't sell it.
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OPP warns about new extortion message sent via email.
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How to Get Your Resume Noticed (And Out of the Trash Bin)
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The 30 best documentaries on Netflix. Since this list was published, also added to Netflix is the documentary Daughters: four girls prepare to reunite with their fathers through a special dance at a DC jail in a moving documentary about the healing power of love. At the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Daughters won two awards: Festival Favorite and Audience Choice: U.S. Documentary Competition.
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15 Ways to Lose Money in the Markets
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The Most Reliable Car Brands, According to Consumer Reports: a lot of surprises
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Driverless cars may already be safer than human drivers
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Canada’s Best Affordable Places to Live: Ten cities on the rise where you can still buy a house for less than $700,000
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