Personal Finance 1🍁1

Upcoming Session:
Saturday April 5th 2025
1PM - 4PM

Desmarais Building 4th Floor
(Room TBA)
In Person Only

A practical, no-nonsense workshop on the fundamentals of Canadian personal finances for grads and young professionals.

$40

We are not taught personal finance in school.

Why are we not taught personal finance in university?

Why should your finances be a source of stress and anxiety, instead of empowerment and fun?

Why are we overloaded with information but not sure who to trust to help us?

What you will get out of this session?

  • Optimize your Canadian accounts (TFSA, FHSA, RRSP)

  • Do a live budgeting exercise together

  • Take home the financial tracking / budgeting Google Sheets I use personally

  • Learn how to start investing with $100

  • Unpack common financial fears and anxieties

  • Understand the "why” behind good financial habits

  • Actionable steps to gain confidence and empowerment for future you

This session is about more than money. It’s about feeling in control, prepared, and powerful for your next chapter.

Why should you care?


I am completing my Master’s in Finance, yet have never been taught about a TFSA vs. an RRSP in class.

I’ve worked in private equity (Goldman Sachs), investing (CPP Investments), and investment banking (BMO Capital Markets). I’ve lived different lifestyles in Ottawa, Toronto and London UK. Yet, I’ve still f*cked up with my personal finances.

Money is a psychologically-charged topic. We don’t have many “safe” spaces to discuss it openly. Our “trusted” sources are often biased, but we don’t know what we don’t know.

My goal is give you a fishing rod during the session, not the fish.

I want you to feel empowered, optimistic and fearless about your finances.

I want you to realize that it’s not actually as scary as it seems. It can be a simple system.

Testimonials

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 FAQs

  • NO! Many of my friends are respected financial advisors.

    Chefs are incredible, but shouldn’t you learn to cook some basics for yourself instead of eating out every meal?

    Personal trainers are fantastic, but shouldn’t you learn some basic curls and crunches to work out on your own too?

    I want to help you understand the fundamentals as early as possible, which we are not taught in school. Knowledge is empowerment and protection.

  • Nope, my aim is to give you a fishing rod, not the fish. I will guarantee you information, which you can choose what to do with as you wish.

    This is not a how-to-get-rich-quick scheme. This is how to build a consistent, growing system that builds wealth for you.

  • No. You need to have a willingness to learn.

  • The course is 3 hours long with a two 10-min breaks. Sorry - it’s a bit longer than a TikTok video.

  • In our digital-first world, I believe there is value to sitting in the same room together, especially when discussing sensitive topics like money.

    I want you to receive the full value of what you pay for this session instead of zoning out on your laptop. I want to connect with you and hear your thoughts and opinions.

    Maybe in the future we’ll have virtual sessions - send me an email (katyaberez@gmail.com) with your thoughts.

  • Check out my LinkedIn here.

    While the work experience with millions and billions to now over a trillion (hello federal debt) has been great, the best experience has been getting absolutely burned with my own money as I build my wealth.

    I’ve made many mistakes (which you’ll hear about in the session) but I am passionate about sharing the solutions I’ve found with others.

  • We can chat privately if you reach out, but this session will not focus on paying down high-interest debt.

    This session can help provide information on and strengthen healthier financial habits, but you must first fix the hole in your bucket (high interest payments) before you fill your bucket with more (build wealth).

  • It doesn’t matter where you start, it matters what you do with it. Learn to do well with the small amount you have before you’re responsible for more.

    We go over how to invest your first $100.

  • Yes, I’ve had two clients so far (starting somewhere!). Email me if you’d like to talk more about this.

Questions? katyaberez@gmail.com