This post is about Financial Tools Every Canadian Needs to Thrive during the pandemic and in a post-pandemic world.
The Coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the global economy. Countries around the world are completely shutdown and millions of people are stuck at home.
These are the 2 most important financial tools that I think every Canadian needs to have to survive pandemic and thrive afterwards.
Now for my disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links where the blog may receive a small commission on any sales from EQ Bank and Questrade.
Cash in a Savings Account
The pandemic crisis has shown just how vulnerable people really are financially.
Every financial expert says to always keep some cash on hand in an emergency account.
The purpose of that cash is to sit there and basically do nothing and earn nothing.
When the stock market is going up by double digits each year, it’s hard to keep some cash on the sidelines.
But when unforeseen events send the world into a tailspin, that’s the time when you want to have a little cash stashed safely in a savings account.
Right now I think EQ Bank’s Savings Plus Account offers Canadians the best overall value and flexibility for their savings. They are currently offering 2%* on savings account balances and the flexibility of paying bills and transferring money.
* Interest is calculated daily on the total closing balance and paid monthly. Rates are per annum and subject to change without notice.
Check Out What EQ Bank Has to Offer
Open an Investing Account
If you already have some cash on hand to weather the storm, then you should consider opening an investment account for your RRSP, TFSA or simply a stock trading account.
There are lots of choices when it comes to investment accounts and every bank offers one. But I prefer the low cost accounts at Questrade.
See My Questrade Review
The main advantage of a Questrade account is the low fees it charges to buy and sell stock. Most places charge anywhere from $9.99 and up, while Questrade charges $4.99 per trade. That’s an incredible value, especially if you’re investing $1,000 or less.
As good as that sounds, that’s not why I highly recommend Questrade. My main reason for constantly recommending them is that they offer free ETF purchases.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 years, ETFs are exchange-traded funds. They are kind of like mutual funds but have super low MERs and trade like stocks on the open market during trading hours.
The free ETF purchases allow the long term saver / investor to build a diversified low-cost investment portfolio.
Right now is a great time to take advantage of cheap asset prices due to the economic fallout from the pandemic.
While some stocks like Amazon have done great, others like banks, utilities, energy, REITs have been crushed. These stocks and ETFs that represent the sectors are trading at lows not seen in 5 or 10 years.
While I’m not financial expert, I do know that one day the world will recover and we will once again use things like banks and office buildings and apartment buildings will still exist. We will still use gas for our cars and heat our homes with electric and natural gas.
I am taking full advantage of this crisis to buy cheap stocks and ETFs and I think that now is a great time to start investing or to keep investing.
Open a Questrade Account
Thanks for reading and following along with my passive income reports to see where I’m investing and what I’m doing with my money.