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I'm Kyan, a third-year economics and finance student at McMaster. Everything here is for people working this out for the first time: what to open, what to skip, and what the numbers actually do. Nothing is sponsored and nothing links to an application form. Start with the basics below, or go straight to a department.
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Read these in order
- 1BANKING 101Student Banking Products in Canada: Accounts, First Card, and GICsLearn the student essentials: pick the right account, build credit responsibly, and grow savings with guaranteed-return GICs.Updated Sep 13, 2026 · 6 min read
- 2CREDIT 101Credit Cards 101: The Right Card, the Right Habits, the Right OrderMost people learn how credit cards work by getting it wrong first. This is the breakdown that skips that part: how interest compounds, what your card does to your credit score, and which Canadian cards are actually worth carrying.Updated Sep 14, 2026 · 10 min read
- 3TAXES 101Filing Taxes in Canada Without Losing Your MindFiling taxes doesn’t have to be scary, expensive, or confusing. This guide walks students and young adults through what to file, what tools to use, and how to submit your taxes step by step in Canada.Updated Sep 13, 2026 · 7 min read
- 4INVESTING 101TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, and Non-Registered: Which Investing Accounts Should You Actually Use?A practical breakdown of Canada's major registered accounts: what they do, how they're taxed, and which ones make sense for students and young adults right now.Updated Sep 13, 2026 · 5 min read
Departments
- Credit
Cards, scores, and the file the bureaus keep on you. Mostly it rewards being boring.
- Credit Cards 101: The Right Card, the Right Habits, the Right Order
- No Credit History? Here's How to Build It From Zero
- Good Debt, Bad Debt, and How to Manage What You Owe as a Student
- Credit Scores Without the Confusion
- Banking & Saving
Which student account actually stays free after you graduate, and which fees quietly come back.
2 articles - Student Money
OSAP and the provincial portions, what interest applies while you study, and when repayment starts.
2 articles - Investing
Registered accounts before tickers. TFSA, FHSA and RRSP, and what compounding actually does.
4 articles
The Economics of Everything
One business, product or headline taken apart.
- The Economics of StarbucksStarbucks isn't a coffee shop, it's a bank. And every time you reload your app, you're making a deposit worth $2.2 billion; to them.Updated Sep 5, 2026 · 9 min read
- The Economics of Buy Now, Pay LaterBNPL feels like free money at checkout, but somewhere in that transaction, someone is paying. Here's a breakdown of the economics behind Buy Now, Pay Later: why merchants willingly hand over 3-6% per sale, the psychology that makes installment payments feel cheaper than they are, and what Canada's booming BNPL market means for how your generation spends.Mar 9, 2026 · 9 min read
- Why Did Gas Get So Expensive So Fast?Gas prices jumped 40 cents a litre in a matter of weeks. Here's the step-by-step chain that runs from a narrow waterway in the Middle East all the way to your receipt at the pump: including the part where Canada's biggest oil producer ends up on the wrong side of the equation.Mar 23, 2026 · 7 min read
Archive
- LOANS 102OSAP Grants and Bursaries Nobody Applies For
- BANKING 102The Importance of an Emergency Fund (Canada Edition)
- CREDIT 101Credit Cards 101: The Right Card, the Right Habits, the Right Order
- CREDIT 103Good Debt, Bad Debt, and How to Manage What You Owe as a Student
- The Economics of Starbucks
- INVESTING 201Growth vs. Dividend Investing: Which Style Is Actually for You?
- TAXES 102Paycheque 101: How to Actually Split Your Money When You Get Paid
- Why Did Gas Get So Expensive So Fast?
- INVESTING 102The Most Powerful Force in Personal Finance (And How to Use It)
- The Economics of Buy Now, Pay Later
- CREDIT 102No Credit History? Here's How to Build It From Zero
- INVESTING 101TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, and Non-Registered: Which Investing Accounts Should You Actually Use?
- INVESTING 301The Complete Breakdown of XEQT: 8,400 Stocks, 47 Countries, One ETF
- LOANS 101Understanding Your Student Loans (Canada): The No-Stress Guide
- BANKING 101Student Banking Products in Canada: Accounts, First Card, and GICs
- TAXES 101Filing Taxes in Canada Without Losing Your Mind
- CREDIT 104Credit Scores Without the Confusion