Hello, and thank you for stopping by my blog. My name’s Steven Arnott, and I’m looking forward to learning with you. My goal for this blog is to take important information about managing your money and arrange it in a way that’s easy to find, understand and apply.

My fascination with personal finance began in 2012. I was finishing an undergraduate degree in actuarial science, which focuses on statistics and finance. To that point, I had always tried to save money from working a paper route, timekeeping hockey games and a long list of summer jobs. However, I had never applied the same thought and structure to my finances as what I was applying to the finances of businesses in school. I realized in my last year that much of what I had learned was transferable to individuals as well. Since 2012 I’ve focused much of my time expanding my understanding of personal finance and helping Canadians better manage their money.

This has included:

• completing licensing exams through the Canadian Securities Institute

• completing the three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst program

• filing my taxes each year, including reading through the paper forms that underpin tax filing software

• managing my investment portfolio

• researching topics while writing The Snowman’s Guide to Personal Finance

Along the way, I’ve held several positions within the financial services industry, where I’ve been able to support Canadian investors directly. I’ve also worked to develop a product that helps Canadians more easily save and invest toward their goals.

Over time I’ve noticed a disconnect between the amount of information available for Canadians to better manage their money and the challenges most Canadians face. My mission is to help bridge this divide to give more Canadians the information they need at the right time to make informed decisions about their finances.

The majority of the content I’ll discuss on this blog will be related to core personal finance topics, such as budgeting, investing, insurance and more. However, I’ll also discuss topics that may not relate at first glance but are critical to managing your money and enjoying life. These may include habit formation, the psychology of comparison, unintended side effects and more.

If you have questions, recommended topics to cover or feedback, I’d love to hear from you at steven@snowmansguide.com.

I hope you enjoy!