This page brings together the financial products and services I actually use, or have seriously evaluated, and for which I can get you a benefit when you sign up.
Investing
Wealthsimple* — the platform where I hold my own TFSA. This is where I buy my ETFs, with no trading commission and no minimum balance. The app is simple enough that it is where I recommend starting when someone tells me they do not know where to begin investing.
The offer: get a $25 bonus by opening your first account and depositing at least $1 within the first 30 days.
Open a Wealthsimple account* →
New: the step-by-step guide to opening your account, with how to choose the right account type and what to buy inside.
What I actually hold there: my TFSA, including QQC.F. My portfolio is visible in my articles — transparency is part of the deal.
Related articles: Dividends or growth · How many ETFs should you own? · ETF radar
Credit score
Check your score for free. In Canada, there is no longer any reason to pay to know your score, or to stay in the dark.
- Borrowell* gives you free access to your score and your Equifax file, with regular updates.
- Credit Karma does the equivalent for TransUnion. No affiliate link here, deliberately — I recommend it anyway, because checking both bureaus once a year is what lets you spot errors on file.
An important reminder: checking your own score is a soft inquiry — it has no impact whatsoever on your rating. It is the costliest myth in personal finance.
Related article: Your credit score, the number that costs you tens of thousands of dollars
Books that changed how I see money
Three books, three complementary angles: why accumulate, how the people who actually get there think, and the mindset for building from nothing.
Die With Zero, by Bill Perkins* — the book that made me rethink the very purpose of accumulating. Save, yes, but for what, and for when? A read that unsettles you in the right place.
Related article: my article on Die With Zero
The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko* — the classic study of real American millionaires: not the ones on social media, the ones next door, frugal, discreet, consistent. The data-driven demonstration that wealth is built exactly as this blog describes.
Start With Yourself, by Emma Grede* — from the co-founder of Good American and founding partner of Skims: an East London school-leaver who became one of the most accomplished businesswomen of her generation. A book about mindset, about dismantling the inherited old ideas about money, ambition and work. The one I recommend to the entrepreneurs who read me.
What you will not find here
No miracle cryptocurrency, no $2,000 course, no product I have not examined myself. This page will grow slowly, at the pace at which I test things — and that is deliberate.
If you use one of these links: thank you. Concretely, it is what pays for the hosting, the site tools and the coffee of the writing evenings. And if you prefer to sign up without going through my links, no problem — the articles stay free for everyone, either way.
The offers and bonuses mentioned are those in effect at the time this page was updated and may change without notice; check the terms directly with the provider. Informational content only — not official financial advice.