November 2026 - Shannon Pineau

One of the first financial books that I ever read as a younger person was the Wealthy Barber by David Chilton. It was filled with great financial advice and one of the concepts that really clicked for me was called “dollar cost averaging”. It was simple, it made sense, and even though I was just starting out, I could tell it was valuable advice.

WHAT IS DOLLAR COST AVERAGING?

Dollar cost averaging simply means that you are investing a consistent amount on a regular schedule – perhaps every month or 2 weeks – regardless of whether the markets are up or down.

When the markets are higher, your regular contribution buys fewer investment units. When markets fall, that same contribution buys more units.

Essentially dollar cost averaging allows you to buy more units when prices are low and, as the market grows over time, those extra units grow in value too.

Because you keep those gains invested and continue adding new units, your investment has the opportunity to grow on top of previous growth — creating the compounding effect.

SETTING UP REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS

This is very easy to do and comes with another simple financial strategy – make it automatic and PAY YOURSELF FIRST. If you wait until you have extra money to save or invest, competing priorities often come up and you can find that there is none left over at the end of the month. With regular contributions you set it up as a regular deposit coming from your bank account, you plan for it, forget about it and you’re paying yourself first. Now that money can be invested and start compounding over time.

You don’t have to break the bank. Regular contributions can be whatever you can afford – $25, $100, or $1,000. The great things is that once it’s set up, you start to see your progress and you can always increase it anytime you want.

SOMETIMES SIMPLE IS REALLY POWERFUL

We don’t know what the markets will do next week, next month or next year. Trying to predict them can be stressful – even professional investors don’t get it right all the time.

What we can control is how much we save, how regularly we invest and whether we have a sound investment strategy. That’s what I took away from the Wealthy Barber all those years ago and it’s a lesson I still believe in today – save regularly, invest consistently, give your money time to grow and don’t let emotions make your investment decisions.

And on that note…

HOW CAN YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DOLLAR COST AVERAGING AND BUILD YOUR RETIREMENT NEST EGG?

– Decide how you are going to invest – through TFSA, RRSP, Cash – or all three.

– Find a quality, low fee product to invest in – I can offer some great suggestions!

– Set up regular contributions.

– Stay invested for the long term.

– Watch your growth compound over time from regular contributions and dollar cost averaging.

TO SUM UP

Making regular contributions and taking advantage of dollar cost averaging can be a powerful strategy for long term wealth building. It also takes the anxiety out of trying to “time the market” and allows you to feel confident and take advantage of the downturns because you’re now buying units when prices are low.

You don’t need to be a sophisticated investor to build wealth – all you need is a good investment strategy, regular contributions and time.

CONTACT ME!

If you’d like to talk further about your investment strategy and your financial goals – contact me! I’d be happy to have a (no-obligation) conversation.

Book a 30-Minute Financial Discovery Meeting with Shannon

Thanks for reading!