Alyssa Davies is a content manager and published author living in Calgary, Alberta. She is the founder of the two-time award-winning Canadian Personal Finance Blog of the Year, Mixed Up Money.
2023 Homebuyer Sentiment Survey: Rising Prices, Inflation, and FOMO
Homeowners and buyers in Canada have been through a lot in the past few years. So, it’s no surprise that the homebuyer sentiment for Canadians may come with feeling anxious and pressured about homeownership.
What is Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)?
Alyssa Davies from Mixed Up Money shares her insights on a savings trend that has swept across the internet.
You'll often hear people referring to their retirement planning as some distant worry they don't need to focus on. So, they'll set up their automation, take their employer Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) match, and do what they're told they need to do to save enough money for retirement.
I used to think the same way until I realized that saving enough money for retirement is ...
Mixed Up Money’s Alyssa Davies on striving for CoastFIRE, the value of time, and more
There’s a tone of healing and self-care in everything the Calgary-based author does—from her most recent book, Financial First Aid, to her new podcast, Money Feels, which she co-hosts with her friend and fellow finance expert Bridget Casey. Davies talks about having “healed” her own relationship with money, and now she has goals of CoastFIRE—an offshoot of the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement for those who want to secure the ability to live well in retirement long before t...
Canadian Homeowners Ready to Weather Economic Storms Thanks to Rainy Day Funds
Being a homeowner is a big responsibility. You must make regular mortgage payments, cover your property taxes, and continue paying for all your other day-to-day expenses. But you also have to do the work to maintain your asset.
As November is Financial Literacy Month, we were curious how secure Canadian homeowners feel when facing an unstable economy. We also want to know whether homeowners are ready for potential increases to their mortgage payments if they’re close to renewal time. To deter...
Pandemic Home Buying, Not Panic Buying — Survey Shows Pandemic Buyers Have No Regrets
News segment after news segment, we’ve heard about the financial shock and awe of the housing market throughout the pandemic, and it’s no mystery why. Finding a bright side in home buying news can be challenging when news feeds are full of stories about skyrocketing prices, bidding wars, and pandemic home buying regret after a rushed process.
But is the reality of homeownership for those who broke into the market during this pandemic that bad? We set out to find that by interviewing Canadian ...
From Nursing Bras to Chinese Takeout, Here Were My Biggest Expenses as a New Mom
When you’re about to become a parent for the first time, it can be overwhelming to navigate all the new expenses you’re about to add to your budget.
You quickly learn to balk at the price of diapers, scavenge yard sales for hand-me-down onesies, and start an endless inner dialogue about the cost benefits of breastfeeding over formula. But there are lots of other expenses that nobody tells you about.
My husband and I are pretty frugal by nature. I work from home, so we don’t pay for a sitter, ...
Should You Buy a Starter Home?
Looking for your first home can feel like a full-time job. From choosing the right neighbourhood to finding the best real estate agent, there is always something to do. Not to mention, the money side of things can feel impossible.
How will you come up with a reasonable down payment and still manage to afford your current lifestyle? Well, some experts might suggest a starter home.
What is a starter home?
A starter home is a smaller property, like a condominium or townhouse, that is more afford...
How Much Do Baby Diapers Cost in the First Year?
Among all of the new experiences you’ll face as a new parent, perhaps one of the most important to prepare for is diapers. Changing a baby any hour of the day, sometimes in the dark, is a journey. Not to mention, the cost of diapers is quite significant. You can guarantee this will become a regular monthly expense for your family budget for at least two years.
Whether you plan to go the disposable or reusable route for diapers, we want to help eliminate the unknown by sharing some real number...
The Ultimate Guide to Adjustable-Rate Mortgages in Canada
When it comes to buying a house, the laundry list of choices you’ll have to make can feel overwhelming. How much mortgage can we afford? What should we offer? Does this house suit our needs for the next several years? But, in many ways, home buyers are lucky that so many options exist.
Mortgages are built so that the homeowner may choose a personalized plan that works with their financial situation and lifestyle. To select the perfect mortgage, one of the most important questions you’ll have ...
How to Find Sold Home Prices in Canada
In Canada, sold home prices are becoming more accessible for home buyers and sellers. In the past, no brokerage, agent or discount brokerage could publish sold data or historical information about a property. This has made it challenging to determine the sold home prices or how much a buyer paid for the property.
Typically, this is also why pictures of sold homes are blurred out or removed. It’s also why virtually every real estate firm asks you to contact an agent to get more detailed inform...
Financial First Aid
Essential Tools for Confident, Secure Money Management
OVERVIEW
A practical guide for handling life's financial emergencies for the cash-strapped, the meticulous budgeter, and everyone in between.
What do a layoff, a medical emergency, a broken appliance, and a natural disaster have in common? Each scenario has the potential to upend your personal finances, no matter your financial situation. Money can be an intense source of stress, especially when you suddenly don't have enough of it. This ...
My 9 streams of income bring in $10,000 a month: Here is my best advice
Earning
"I figured out my earning potential."
I used to worry all the time about my finances. I constantly wondered about what might happen if I lost my job, whether I had saved enough and how I could protect myself from financial emergencies. And I was far from alone in my concerns. After all, 56% of Americans don't have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency.
I didn't want to constantly live with this uncertainty, so I started to think about ways that I could make more beyond my 9-to-5 ...
I went from owing $15,000 to a net worth of over $130,000 in 6 years: Here’s how
When it comes to money, so many of us feel significant pressure to assess our personal value in terms of milestones like buying a house, excelling in a career, getting married, or having kids, all while consistently saving and investing for your future. The need to meet these marks can feel overwhelming. I certainly felt that way.
In 2015, my net worth was negative $15,000. The way I was managing my money felt unsustainable. So I started a blog called Mixed Up Money to hold myself accountable...
The Dream Team
Manjit Minhas and Alyssa Davies lead the Dream Team, a group of experts who help Canadian entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. A Paid Content series by IG Wealth Management.
How Much Should I Save For My Child's Education? — Mixed Up Money
Before my daughter was born, I did make sure to write a checklist of essential tasks I'd need to accomplish the month or two after she arrived. I needed to add her to our online will, assign her as a beneficiary on all of my work documents, and of course, open a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).