The Wealthy Barber says Canadians face more opportunities—for profit and peril

David Chilton was down on his luck. In 1988, the aspiring author decided to cash in his RRSP and self-publish a book about a savvy barber who dispenses financial advice—like not to cash in your RRSP—to curious, wisecracking customers. “The one time I was struggling—badly—in finance was when I was writing the original ‘Wealthy Barber,’” he said.

Surrounded by faded wood panelling, Chilton penned it by hand on a brown, lamplit card table in the basement of his home in Kitchener, Ont., carrying on despite “very mixed reviews” on the initial chapters from industry experts. Guided instead by the feedback of a dozen “beer-swigging” softball teammates, he emerged from the cellar over a year later with a personal finance classic now on more than two million Canadians’ bookshelves.

The Wealthy Barber gets a modern update

Although much of the advice from “The Wealthy Barber” feels timeless, an alphabet soup of TFSAs, RESPs, and FHSAs has since emerged as real estate prices soared ever higher, all amid a cacophony of online personal finance pundits and stock pickers. An update for modern eyes was due.

The investor, businessman, and former “Dragon’s Den” star has now fully rewritten—on that same card table—a new edition of his 1989 hit that, like the original, unspools in folksy reminiscences and frank but humour-flecked conversations about personal wealth and investing. Released last month, “The Wealthy Barber” addresses questions for a new financial world, tackling topics ranging from investment vehicles to home purchases to life insurance, with simplicity as a theme throughout.

Young Canadians today face a tougher financial landscape marked by sky-high housing prices and social media “finfluencers,” but it’s one also replete with opportunities that can make anyone from hairstylists to shift workers well off, Chilton said.

Saving first is more crucial than ever

In an interview, he reiterated that his “golden rule”—to pay yourself first by squirrelling away 10 per cent of your gross salary—is more important than ever given how quickly that money can be spent on living costs that refuse to go down. “It’s never been easy to save, but it’s harder now,” he said. “It’s not just real estate prices, it’s the cost of everything … You see it if you go to a restaurant, you see it when you pay your car insurance.”

Chilton’s book counsels younger Canadians to seize on newer financial tools such as index funds and tax-free savings accounts, avoid fee-heavy funds, accept money from the bank of mom and dad—if it’s offered—and beware the TikTok finfluencer.

His affable prose references Canada’s central bank in one sentence and Kitchener’s former Central Meat Market the next. It rattles off catchy truisms—“invest for success,” and “procrastination is compounding’s biggest enemy”; dark humour—“Let’s talk death!” says one character in a section on wills; and plenty of quips, including from the narrator’s fictional wife: “the other night she threatened to ground our unborn child for giving her so much heartburn.”

Chilton walks readers through how to avoid “cashtration”—becoming financially impotent through a real estate purchase that renders them “house poor.” Buyers might well be able to manage a mortgage, property taxes, and upkeep, only to find they have “nothing for ‘negative surprises,’ nothing for fun, and nothing for saving,” he noted.

“It’s sad that we’re in a time when ‘choose your parents wisely’ has become such an important commandment. But if you do have parents who can help, don’t let your pride block you from accepting it.”

Small homes, smart finances, and side gigs

Aside from parental largesse, side hustles offer a way to salt away a sizable chunk of cash. “I’m not talking about necessarily driving for Uber,” but rather “monetized hobbies” such as walking dogs, teaching piano or French, or selling handcrafted products or used furniture online.

Like the eponymous barber, Chilton, 64, evinces empathy for the predicament many millennials and gen Zers find themselves in. “The complaining of the younger generation is justified,” he said, pointing to housing that can feel perpetually out of reach. A 20% down payment on a $700,000 home works out to $140,000. “That is hard to do.” Hence the need for alternative solutions, such as renting a room in your home or simply settling for a smaller one.

“I’ve been lucky to do well, and I still live in a 1,300-square-foot house. I find them cozier,” he said.

Stick to simple strategies, ignore online noise

Chilton also highlighted how online marketing and dubious financial advice from social media influencers come with their own perils, tapping into “human weakness and making us overwhelmed by temptation, with one-click buying,” he said in the interview. “Giving into all of our impulses now is easier than ever.”

He qualified that plenty of helpful educators—often chartered financial professionals—can be found on social media, citing Canadians Richard Coffin, who runs “The Plain Bagel” YouTube channel, and fellow YouTuber Ben Felix.

“But there’s also a lot of garbage out there,” he said. That includes AI slop. Since 2022, artificial intelligence has offered amateur investors across the globe the chance to consult AI-generated videos or a chatbot on financial strategies and portfolio choices.

AI may be getting more useful by the month via virtual assistants such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, “but it’s not there yet,” Chilton said. “You still get wrong answers. And when it comes to finance, you don’t want a wrong answer,” he stressed, cautioning against relying on AI for a comprehensive financial plan.

Rather than asking cyber-seers or hunting for super stocks, most Canadians would see far better returns through a passive investment strategy, a message he drives home repeatedly in “The Wealthy Barber.” “The returns paradox,” as one character frames it: “The less you know, the better you do.”

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