Helping Canadians with Personal Finance Since 2006 Learn how to save money, build an investment portfolio, and become financially independent - from a middle-class Canadian who has actually done it! Get Started Index Investing Dividend Investing Banking Robo Advisor Retirement Portfolio Smith Manoeuvre Tax Minimization Reviews Credit Cards All Categories As Featured On Toronto Star Forbes CBC The Globe and Mail Global The Financial Post Most Recent Articles all Articles Best 2025 Broker Promo...| Million Dollar Journey
Any Canadian who’s traveled to (or ordered something from) the US knows about converting CAD to USD. It’s never fun to watch every dollar of your hard-earned money suddenly turn to $0.75 (or less!), and with additional foreign exchange fees, it can really add up. And exchange rates aren’t going anywhere. The cost of one US dollar has remained above $1.25 CAD since 2018. At the time of writing (mid-2023), $1 USD costs $1.34 CAD. The bright side is that anyone already holding USD or loo...| Million Dollar Journey
Once you have taken a hard look in the mirror and decided what your target asset allocation should be (with some help if you need it), it’s time to look at just how you should go about actually getting money from your paycheque into an indexed investment. An index fund is a general term that covers a few different specific types of investments. When we talk about an investing “index” - that’s just code for “all of the assets in a given market”. That given market could be all o...| Million Dollar Journey
We've been writing about low-cost ETFs in Canadian index portfolios since 2008. Below is our 2025 update. ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, first entered the Canadian market over a decade ago. From day one, they impressed us as an excellent tool to help you build a low-cost, diversified portfolio. As time has passed, ETF providers have created tools that make index investing easier than ever. All-in-one ETFs, or “portfolio ETFs” mean that you’ll never have to worry about rebalancing you...| Million Dollar Journey
After writing a deep dive article on whether the 4% safe withdrawal rate still works for retirement at various ages, I received a lot of questions basically asking: “Ok, so 4% is a good rule of thumb, but when I actually go to withdraw money from my various investment accounts, to put into my chequing account & high interest savings account in order to pay for day-to-day expenses, what is the best way to avoid taxes?” Upon reading many of these types of questions, I realized that I wasn...| Million Dollar Journey
Options are one of the best ways to capitalize on market trends and enhance profitability - if you get your prediction right. While buying options has a limited downside on a per contract basis, it is also one of the “best” ways to lose your money in the market - or as WSJ put it “More Men are Addicted to the Crack Cocaine of the Stock Market”. Options trading is not for the faint of heart, and shouldn’t be used by novice traders. Honestly, the average Canadian investor has no need ...| Million Dollar Journey
What is TD Direct Investing Brokerage? The TD Directing Investing online brokerage is a solid option, even though it doesn’t quite make it to the top of my list of Canada’s best online discount brokerages. As Canada’s second biggest bank (and one of our largest companies, period) it’s probably not a surprise that the TD trading platform has evolved over the years and consistently gotten better. The problem (and it’s a problem not unique to TD Direct Investing, as the other Big Bank ...| Million Dollar Journey
NBDB has made changes over the last two years to make their fee structure competitive among other discount brokers, and have now dropped their commission fees altogether for those trading on their online platform. It seems as though they have taken customer feedback to heart and made improvements to make those customers want to stay as well as attract new ones. In 2019 they were ranked dead last, 8 out of 8, by J.D. Power, but merely one year later in 2020, they moved up considerably to 4th o...| Million Dollar Journey
Once the new disruptive force on the online discount brokerage scene, Robinhood’s “gamification” of commission-free stock trading changed the way millions of young people thought about the stock market. Robinhood’s commission-free trades, as well as their sleek and easy-to-use interface, appealed to first-time investors. However, the company has been vilified since it went public, perhaps most notably the star-laden film “Dumb Money” in 2023. Unfortunately for Robinhood investor...| Million Dollar Journey
With the government having launched the First Home Savings Account (FHSA) in 2023, more first-time home buyers should really be looking to take advantage of the tax-free benefits of the FHSA in 2024. The idea is obviously to make it easier for Canadians to buy their first home. In addition to the more straightforward benefits, there are a couple of unique ways that you can use your FHSA account. It’s also important to get the details right (especially when combining your FHSA with a partner...| Million Dollar Journey
If you have been like many investors and sticking with an easy, passive all-in-one ETF, but looking to try out something a bit more active, investing in commodities in Canada could be just the thing to scratch that itch. Commodities are consumer products such as energy, metals and agriculture tend to fare particularly well in times of high inflation. As inflation rates continue to rise worldwide, we can expect commodities to continue to surpass stock returns. So, now is the perfect time to co...| Million Dollar Journey
There is a TON of investment advice out there. Some should only be taken into consideration after a thorough investigation and planning. Some - like contributing to a TFSA - is just sound advice that should be acted on quickly. The reason? Two words: tax free. That is not something you hear often, and that’s why we want to help you start contributing to your TFSA as quickly as possible to achieve maximum money saving and investment earning results. If you turned 18 on or before 2009...| Million Dollar Journey
The best stock trading apps in Canada have really improved since I started Million Dollar Journey seventeen years ago. New fintech companies have really pushed the old school banks to lower their fees, improve their usability, get more efficient at bringing on new customers, and just creating a better mobile stock investing experience. While I’m still a big advocate of using a desktop for DIY investing, (hence my focus on that platform for my best online brokers in Canada comparison) I have...| Million Dollar Journey
Most Canadians never stop to consider when low risk investments are the most appropriate use of savings versus when higher-risk long-term investments are the better route. The truth is that most Canadians choose their investment by “gut feel.” You likely don’t need me to tell you, that’s not an ideal process. When choosing between higher risk and low risk investments, it’s important to consider your personal goals and risk tolerance. Personally, I think that if you need your money i...| Million Dollar Journey
For many DIY investors the Wealthsimple vs Questrade comparison comes down to fees - but there are several other points of comparison that are worth considering given how important choosing your trading platform is. While both Questrade and Wealthsimple are both included amongst my personal rankings of the best Canadian online brokers, there are some major differences between the two platforms. Quick Note: It’s important to understand right from the beginning that Questrade and Wealthsimple...| Million Dollar Journey
Because I’ve been writing about dividend investing for nearly two decades now, I get a lot of inquiries every month about the best Canadian dividend ETFs vs the best dividend stocks in Canada. Obviously Canadians love their tax-efficient dividend income. The consistency of having those dividend payouts hit their accounts allows investors to better control their behaviors and stay focused on the long-term. What the dividend ETFs vs individual stocks decision ultimately boils down to for mos...| Million Dollar Journey
A Real Estate Trust (REIT) ETF is the most straightforward way to invest in real estate without becoming a landlord yourself or spending time researching the 30+ individual REITs on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This article will give you all the details about REIT ETFs: What they are and how they diversify your portfolio How they’re different from Real Estate Trusts (REITs) How to recognize good REIT ETFs Which Canadian REIT ETFs are the best picks for 2024 Top REIT ETFs in Canada: Quick...| Million Dollar Journey
Given the realities of skyrocketing interest rates it’s no wonder that interest in Canada’s Best Cash ETFs, high interest savings account (HISA ETFs), and money market ETFs has significantly increased as well. While Cash ETFs aren’t exactly the same thing as money market ETFs, the two are very similar. The terms high interest savings account ETF and Cash ETF on the other hand, mean exactly the same thing. While cash ETFs are a solid investment (more on that below), you really need to c...| Million Dollar Journey
Investing in Canadian REITs can help investors include real estate investments in their portfolios without radically changing their way of life. Sure, you can buy a property and become a landlord, but if that’s not your bag (or if you don’t have that kind of time, energy, and, let’s face it, cash), you can invest in Canadian REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and gain exposure to the real estate market in bite-sized chunks. Canadian REITs are fairly easy to invest in, given that they...| Million Dollar Journey
The best free stock trading apps in Canada can help you cut fees to the bone, and DIY invest yourself to a substantial nest egg. That said, there is no such thing as a truly free stock trading in Canada. We’ll go into detail about what “free” really means when it comes to investing in Canada, and how to compare the various DIY investing platforms in Canada. Since trading apps like Robinhood came onto the scene, DIY investment has given investors control over how they invest, and how m...| Million Dollar Journey
Canada’s all-in-one ETFs (also called portfolio ETFs) have been the single most important investment product innovation since I’ve started writing about this stuff nearly two decades ago. The Vanguard, iShares, and BMO all-in-one ETFs are the perfect marriage of index investing strategy, convenience, asset allocation math, and behavioural safeguards. These ETFs - which are actually a collection of smaller ETFs - are so diverse that they actually include several of the Best ETFs in Canada,...| Million Dollar Journey
Investing in Canadian Dividend Kings (sometimes known as Dividend Aristocrats) tends to come back into fashion when bond yields and GIC rates start to go down. With safer assets generating so little income, dependable dividend payers begin to look more and more attractive. Of course, staying committed to dividends can be a challenge when stocks like Nvidia are soaring. The real test for any dividend investor is sticking to the plan through thick and thin. Click here to jump directly to my 202...| Million Dollar Journey
What is Desjardins Online Broker? When it comes to Canadian online brokers, Desjardins Online Brokerage isn’t typically one of the first names that comes to mind. That being said, in the spirit of providing a full selection of broker reviews, our MDJ editorial team looked under the hood of one of Canada’s original discount brokerages. Desjardins is best-known among those living in Quebec and Ontario; however, it’s also active in western Canada as well. It often goes by the name “Disna...| Million Dollar Journey
Is BMO Investorline Safe and Trusted? In a word, YES. As one of Canada’s oldest and most trusted companies (founded in 1817) the Bank of Montreal is as safe, trusted, and legit as you can get. InvestorLine has been around longer than the internet - BMO introduced self-directed trading way back in 1988 before moving online in 2000. That’s an impressive history! BMO InvestorLine is IIROC regulated and CIPF insured. They use 128-bit encryption and multi-factor user authentication to keep y...| Million Dollar Journey
When I first launched Million Dollar Journey in 2006 and started writing about Canadian online brokers, the Qtrade vs. Questrade rivalry was already heating up. Fast forward nearly two decades, and not only has the rivalry intensified, but these two platforms have also solidified their positions as the leaders of Canada’s brokerage scene (leaving the big bank brokerages even further behind). As a DIY investor for the last 20 years, I’ve had firsthand experience with over a dozen brokerage...| Million Dollar Journey
As we look ahead to summer and the second half of 2025, it’s time for an updated look at the Best Online Brokerages in Canada. With RRSP season in the rearview mirror – and what might be shaping up to be another round of “tariff season” drama ahead – now’s the time to lock in the easy DIY investing wins. I’ve been writing about Canadian online brokers for nearly 20 years, and the changes in the space have been massive. Fees have plunged, platforms are smoother than ever, and com...| Million Dollar Journey
Picking the best Canadian Dividend Stocks for 2025 isn’t an easy task! After such a stellar year in North American equities in 2025, there is much more room to move down than up. That said, my dividend stocks portfolio is all about long-term cash-flowing companies with large financial moats to protect them. Each month I take a look at the stocks that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and I focus on the following key dividend stock comparison points: Dividend Yield Dividend Growth ...| Million Dollar Journey