Plain English Finance

Send us Fan Mail How do you know when you've saved enough? And what happens when your habit of saving starts getting in the way of enjoying your money? In this episode, Tré and Sierra explore financial goal setting and why a good financial plan needs to start with something more meaningful than an investment target or retirement number. Using a practical goal-setting exercise, they discuss ho...

Send us Fan Mail How much investment risk can you really handle? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast, Tré and Sierra go through a risk tolerance questionnaire together and use it as a way to talk about the psychology behind investing, how advisors measure risk, and why risk tolerance is only one part of the picture. Tré explains that risk tolerance is more about the emotional and...

Send us Fan Mail How do you know if a financial planner is actually the right fit for you? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast, Tré and Sierra talk through what it is like to work with Tré, who he does his best work with, who may not be a good fit, and what he believes a financial planner is supposed to do. This episode is designed to help potential clients understand the way Tré...

Send us Fan Mail Cash feels safe, but too much cash can become a problem. In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss why successful savers often end up hoarding cash in savings accounts or short-term GICs instead of putting their money to work. The issue is not that cash is bad. The issue is that cash needs a clear job, a clear ceiling, and a system that keeps th...

Send us Fan Mail Should you contribute to your RRSP just because tax season is coming? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss how to think about RRSP contributions more deliberately, especially if your goal is wealth creation rather than simply retirement savings. An RRSP can be a useful tool, but it is not automatically the right place for every available do...

Send us Fan Mail If you are making financial decisions for someone else, the bar is higher. In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss what it means to manage other people’s money responsibly. This can show up when you are acting as power of attorney, sitting on a condo board, serving on a not-for-profit board, or acting as executor of an estate. The common issue...

Send us Fan Mail You cannot judge the quality of a decision based only on the outcome. In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss how to make better financial decisions by focusing on the information you had, the range of possible outcomes, and whether the decision would still make sense if you repeated it many times under similar circumstances. The episode start...

Send us Fan Mail Why do couples keep having the same money arguments? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Sierra and Tré talk about the money conversations couples avoid and why many financial arguments are not really about the dollars. They're often about safety, security, freedom, control, fairness, guilt, or feeling unheard.  The conversation touches on money scripts, fi...

Send us Fan Mail What is it actually like to be married to a financial planner? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Sierra and Tré talk about the pros, cons, myths, and awkward social dynamics that come with being married to someone who works in financial planning. The conversation covers financial literacy, complacency, money mistakes, judgment, family expectations, lending mon...

Send us Fan Mail What retirement decisions should you make if you don't know where to start? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss a “default decision” framework for retirement planning. The goal is not to pretend there is one perfect answer for everyone. The goal is to start with a reasonable default, then ask: why might this not apply to me? This epis...

Send us Fan Mail Does your financial advisor have a clear investment philosophy? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss why your investment strategy should not be treated as a random collection of products, funds, trends or one-off opinions. The way you invest affects the rest of your financial plan, including tax planning, retirement income, corporate invest...

Send us Fan Mail Markets do not wait until investors feel comfortable again. In this Q2 2026 market review , Tré Bynoe, CFP®, CIM®, looks at what happened across Canadian stocks, U.S. stocks, international stocks and bonds from mid-2025 to mid-2026, then focuses on the more important lesson: long-term returns are never experienced in a smooth straight line. The past year showed why reacting emotio...

Send us Fan Mail Does it feel like staying safe online is getting harder? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra talk about one simple digital safety step that more people need to understand: using an authenticator app for two-factor authentication. This is especially important for bank accounts, email accounts, MyCRA, investment accounts, shopping accounts, and anyt...

Send us Fan Mail How do you know if the way you are managing wealth inside your corporation is actually working? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss three warning signs that a corporation owner may not have a real financial plan: too much idle corporate cash, an advisor who is not discussing taxes, and no clear exit strategy for the business. The episode a...

Send us Fan Mail Should you use your TFSA to buy a home, or leave it invested and use a different strategy? In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra work through a real planning puzzle: someone wants to buy a home, has money in both a non-registered investment account and a TFSA, and needs to decide whether using the TFSA creates a better long-term outcome. The answer...

Send us Fan Mail Investing gets more complicated once you move beyond RRSPs, TFSAs and simple registered accounts. For Canadian corporation owners, incorporated professionals, and investors with taxable accounts, the type of income your investments generate can matter almost as much as the return itself. In this episode of the Plain English Finance Podcast , Tré and Sierra discuss three core inves...

Send us Fan Mail Do you know someone who keeps saying they’ll start investing “later”? This episode is for the person who knows investing is important but feels overwhelmed by where to begin. Tré and Sierra talk through the simplest possible starting point for a young Canadian or beginner investor: understand compound interest, stop waiting to learn everything, open a TFSA, start investing, and le...

Send us Fan Mail RRSPs are not a scam, but using one without a withdrawal plan can create an avoidable tax problem. In this episode, we explain when RRSP contributions help, when they don't, and why retirement withdrawals need to be planned years in advance. What I cover: • Why an RRSP is best understood as a tool for moving income between years • The mistake people make when they spend their...

Send us Fan Mail Paying more for investing does not automatically mean you are getting better advice, better products, or better returns. In this episode, Tre breaks down what Canadians should understand about investment fees, advice fees, product costs, commissions, and the difference between active and passive investing. He explains why new fee disclosures matter, how fees can quietly drag down...

Send us Fan Mail What changes when a financial planner becomes a parent? More than you think—and less than you might expect. In this episode, Tre shares the practical money moves he made after having a child, from updating the family will to reviewing life insurance, adjusting cash flow, and setting money aside early for future needs. He also talks about the bigger parenting challenge: teaching ki...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever looked at an investment and wondered if it was too good to be true?  In this episode, we walk through the red flags that can show up in private investments, real estate deals, mortgage funds, and other “exclusive” opportunities. What I cover:  Why high returns with low risk should immediately raise questions   The problem with returns that look too smooth or consiste...

Send us Fan Mail Your calm self is not always a good judge of what your stressed self will do. In this episode, we talk about why smart people still make poor financial decisions under pressure. What I cover: Why good intentions do not guarantee good financial decisions How hot-cold empathy gaps affect investing, retirement, and estate planning Why people misjudge how they will feel during market...

Send us Fan Mail Most money advice is popular because it’s easy to follow — not because it’s right.  In this episode, I break down what academic research says about personal finance versus what popular financial books and gurus recommend. What I cover  Why “save 10–15%” is simple, but not always optimal   The difference between smooth consumption and rule-of-thumb saving   Why dividend investing i...

Send us Fan Mail Q1 2026 was volatile, but the headlines weren’t the real story.  Here’s what actually happened in the markets, and what long-term investors should take from it. What I cover  What happened in Canadian, U.S., international, and bond markets in Q1 2026   Why short-term market drops can look worse than they really are   Why crash predictions are easy to make and costly to act on   Th...

Send us Fan Mail Most bad financial decisions do not come from a lack of information. They come from inaction. In this episode, Tré Bynoe explains why “it depends” is technically true but often useless when people need to act. He lays out a better way to make financial decisions: start with a strong default, then look for reasons not to use it. Tré walks through three areas where people get stuck...