My Own Advisor

This past week I spend a couple days off-site in management meetings learning about our refreshed organizational strategy and our reorganization plans to support that strategy.  My takeaways from our workshop?

• organizational change is never easy.
• some people struggle with it much more than others.
• honesty throughout this process is critical.
• transparency during this process is essential.
• support to help individuals through this transition is a necessity.
• uncertainty is a fact.
• nobody knows all the plans or has all the answers.

I’m very optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead for our organization, excited in many ways actually, but at the same time the ambiguity is a tad unnerving.   What are your thoughts on reorganizations?   If you’ve experienced a few like I have, was the outcome a positive experience for you?

Hopefully next week I’ll get back to my regular blogpost schedule after a light week this week.  If you missed my May 2013 Dividend Income Update, well, here is the link.  Later this summer, I hope to be about 25% to my dividend income retirement goal.  I’m hopeful July will be the month that will happen.

I have a bunch of reader questions in my inbox to respond to (thanks for your questions folks) and I’ll do my best to get back to you over the next few days.

Enjoy this Weekend Reading list.

Boomer and Echo joked about saying goodbye to dividend investing.  I won’t be deviating from my strategy here.

Retire Happy said retirement is all about freedom.  Agreed, and you can read my post here on that subject.

Budgets Are Sexy wondered if you’d take a 10% paycut to take Fridays off work.  If I keep my job, uh, heck ya!

The Brighter Life offered some tips to take a dream vacation on a budget.

The Loonie Bin shared some great dividend income.

Give Me Back My Five Bucks asked what is your biggest weakness as an employee?

Big Cajun Man said tuition and inflation are not related.

The Dividend Guy wrote about a few stocks to consider.  I agree with most selections in this list.

Financial Samurai said it’s better to invest in growth stocks over dividend stocks (for younger investors).  Not sure if I agree with this thesis since total investing returns are what truly matter and no one strategy is really better than the other.

Financial Highway provided 6 strategies to protect your wealth.  Tax planning was the best advice in this list.

Making Sense of Cents tried to quantify how much your pet is worth.  Hard question to answer but I know we love our cat.

Dividend Growth Stock Investing bought some Wells Fargo recently (as did I) and wrote a book!  I didn’t write a book but I’m looking forward to reading his.

Dozens of Financial Post readers bragged about their Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) gains recently, including this investor who now holds almost $80,000 in this account.

Kanwal Sarai wondered if you practice safe investing.

Dividend Ladder identified some Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with strong growth potential.

Bet Crooks talked about withdrawals from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and using some money to buy a home under the Home Buyers Plan (HBP).

My friends at H&R Block Canada remind you the self-employment tax filing deadline is coming up on June 17^th and if you have any questions about self-employment income, check out www.hrbtaxtalk.ca.

Last but not least, my favourite post of the week, Money Bulldog wrote about how you can invest in whiskey.  I’m not convinced this strategy would work for me.  I don’t buy and hold alcohol

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.

Earlier this week, I learned The Dividend Ninja decided to say goodbye to the world of blogging.  Avrom started his journey almost 3 years ago with a small WordPress site about dividend investing, that quickly grew to well over 1,000 dedicated readers and followers.  Although becoming a financial writer was never something he said he aspired to do, I’m certainly glad Avrom gave it a shot since otherwise I would have never found this wonderful site.  The good news is, his articles will stay online for all of us to check for some time to come.

Avrom, thanks for the articles, the blog support and teaching me a number of things of about finance, investing and managing a website.  Whatever the future holds, I wish you happiness and success.

Before I get to the other articles, I also need to headline my friend Andrew Hallam is giving away 10 copies of his best-selling book: Millionaire Teacher.  Andrew’s says about his book “It’s no panacea, but I think you’ll enjoy its quirkiness and easy readability.”  It’s a great book Andrew, don’t be so modest!

Here’s a bunch of articles to check out this weekend.  I hope you enjoy them.

Mark

 

Dividend Growth Stock Investing was thinking about investing in Wells Fargo.  I recently did actually.

Canadian Couch Potato is not a big fan of dollar-cost-averaging.

Dividend Growth Investor said JNJ:US is a must own stock for investors.  He wrote:  “A 12% growth in distributions translates into the dividend payment doubling every six years. If we look at historical data, going as far back as 1972 we see that Johnson & Johnson has actually managed to double its dividend every five years on average.”

Michael James on Money wondered why more investors aren’t pushing to reduce their foreign exchange fees.  Not sure, those fees really suck actually.

The Financial Blogger said a new month means new priorities.

Preet Banerjee said you can’t blame Mark Carney for our dismal savings habits.

Rick Ferri wrote about an unconventional failure – if you followed the Yale Endowment Fund Model.

Canadian Mortgage Trends had a good article about variable vs. fixed mortgage rates.

A new site, Dividend Growth Investing & Retirement who followed me this week (thanks for that), told me about his Canadian Dividend All-Star List.  Some great companies short-listed here for you to consider for your stock portfolio.

Million Dollar Journey experienced another sizeable increase in his net worth.

Mr. CBB also shared an update on his net worth.

Vix Money runs a tight ship when it comes to her budget.

Boomer & Echo said some decisions don’t many any financial sense.

A new blog I recently checked out, argued why bother investing in bonds?

Big Cajun Man said you should never buy a car at night.

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.

On Thursday, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) raised its dividend, after announcing its Q2 profit rose to $876-million, from $811-million a year ago.  The dividend hike today was only by $0.02 but that little amount will add another $15 this year to my dividend income without doing anything.  The retirement plan is slowly coming together…

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney is on his way out…with his last interest rate decision this week.  I had to chuckle when I read about Marty Cej’s take on this event:  

“Don’t bet on a misty-eyed wistful farewell, though. That’s not how Carney rolls. Have you ever seen James Bond stifle a sniffle or blink away moistening eyes? Exactly. A decision needs to be made, it will be made and a brief good-bye – if that – will be delivered. Then he’s off to MI5. I mean the Bank of England.”

Thanks for keeping the Canadian economy afloat during your tenure Mr. Carney or at very least, not doing anything crazy during your term, encouraging all of us to ride out the messy economic storms.

Whatever your plans are this weekend I hope you enjoy reading some of these articles when you get the chance.

Enjoy and see you here next week!

Boomer and Echo said the golden age for gold plated pensions might be over.

MoneyCone listed the 10 commandments of personal finance.

Tom Bradley from Steadyhand said getting out the market is likely a losing proposition.  Agreed Tom.

Dividend Ninja told us high yielding investments are risky.

Michael James on Money wondered if Hertz was into the currency exchange business.  Seems like a #ripoff.

Million Dollar Journey wrote about consumer problems and recourses.

The Blunt Bean Counter is reaching new heights, he made a guest appearance on BNN recently.  #greatworkMark.

Financial Highway wondered if you think like a rich person.

Freedom Thirty Five blog wrote about abysmal savings.

Big Cajun Man wondered about term insurance over 50.

Simply Investing brought you a great lineup of top blogs.

Dividend Growth Investor wrote about how Warren Buffett made his fortune.

Y&T discussed compound interest in your 20s.

Canadian Couch Potato answered the question, should I buy now?

Invest It Wisely had a few fees you should never pay.

Passive Income Earner provided some questions to answer when selecting a discount brokerage.

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.

Well, from a real high to a major low.  Reality hit my Ottawa Senators earlier this week, losing 7-3 to the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.  At the time of this post, our team is down 3-1 in the best-of-seven game series and the pivotal game # 5 is Friday night.  Last week, I said Ottawa would take the series in seven gruelling games but I must admit, I have my doubts now.  So, while I still believe in our team that belief is admittedly fading because the fire-power from the Pens seems just too much.  If this was the last home game of the season, at least our long-time Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson has the last puck he ever played on home ice as souvenir – TV replays showed he got it after the end of game # 4 from the linesman.

White flag ready to wave or not, it’s been a great year for the Senators and they deserve tons of credit gutting it out through an injury-plagued season and growing a young team at the same time.  Regardless of the outcome I’ll be cheering for you boys during game # 5.  You can follow my tweets during the game here.

Here are some recent posts by yours truly followed by some of the best articles I read from the personal finance blogosphere over the last week or so.

April 2013 Dividend Income Update

Canada’s Top Performing Companies 2013

3 Great Ways You Could Have Spent Your Tax Refund

 

Prairie EcoThrifter said not to waste too much money on your garden.  No, that’s what my lawn is for….

In enjoyed this post about solving a debate over bonds, on Michael James on Money.

Mr. Money Moustache said the financial media has it all wrong.  Instead, focus on where you can save money and then invest that money and make it grow.  Some savings tips?  “There is no difference in the speed at which a 2004 Honda Civic and a 2013 Honda Accord will get you to work, but the difference in operating costs will add up to many hundreds of hours of your work over the cars’ lifetimes. Bikes improve your life even while reducing your need to pay for cars. Bringing your own lunch to work provides you with healthier food while allowing you to keep much more of the money earned while working.”

Boomer and Echo said Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) can make you rich.  They very well might, if you use the account effectively over a long investment period.

The Passive Income Earner listed some top stocks to consider.

Preet Banerjee reminded us to forget the latte-factor for a minute, spending money on booze could be much more painful to your retirement plan.

Thirty Six Months wants to give you $10,000, if you’re a superstar saver.

Big Cajun Man recalled a good ol’ saying from his father, when dealing with telcos.

Dividend Mantra is starting to look at more Canadian bank stocks for his portfolio.

I like what Steadyhand wrote about being a better investor: “1) being realistic, 2) having a long-term plan, 3) committing to a routine, 4) being prepared for extremes, and 5) being a good CEO of your portfolio.”

Rick Ferri said there is a good reason to own bonds:  a bond allocation helps protect a portfolio from its owner.

Outlier Model wondered if Encana was a good choice for the TFSA.  It could be, just be mindful some Canadian companies pay their dividends in USD and the consequences of that.

Dividend Ninja told us what happens to bonds when interest rates rise.

Canadian Budget Binder revealed what are realistic investment returns although I’m not convinced “good long-term investors can probably make 15% a year…”  If I can get between 5-7% real return (after inflation) I’ll be very happy over the next few decades.  In The Random Walk Guide To Investing by the legendary Burton Malkiel:  “It turns out that the longer you hold your stocks, the more you can reduce the risk you assume from investing in common stocks. From 1950 through 2002, common stocks provided investors with an average annual return of a bit more than 10 percent…”  “Even during the worst 25-year period you would have earned a rate of return of almost 8 percent — a quite generous return and one that was larger than the long-run average return from relatively safe bonds. This is why stocks are a wholly appropriate medium for investing in long-term retirement funds.”

The Blunt Bean Counter said finding a great business partner is similar to finding a spouse.

Justin Bender from PWL Capital Inc. shows us keeping bond ETFs in your non-registered account is painful exercise, tax wise.

Dividend Growth Stock Investing wrote about the killer compounding factor offered by reinvesting dividends for decades.

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.

That’s right, I wrote it.  My Ottawa Senators will beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.  Although they lost game 1 of the series (4-1), I’ve got a great feeling they can rebound in game 2 on Friday night and come home with the split.  Who’s with me?

The “lawn weekend” will be filled with yard work and studying for an HR course I need to write an exam for soon but some relaxation is also in store as well.   Until my next post, enjoy these articles.  Have a great long weekend!

Mr. Money Mustache had a cool post about a lawyer calling it quits and a despondent millionaire.  The lawyer has more money than he can spend and now, realizing this, is quitting his job and selling his McMansion.  The despondent millionaire has been somehow programmed to think he has been financially unsuccessful by his family despite owning two homes and holding a bunch of investments.

Prairie EcoThrifter had some tips to simplify your life.

Garry Marr said too many eggs might be in the housing basket.

Modest Money offered what you might want to know to improve your credit score.

Avoid these mistakes, when starting your investing journey courtesy of Boomer & Echo.

Financial Highway wondered when do you like to splurge?  I don’t splurge very often, but when I do, I splurge on travel, and Dos Equis.  For the most part, stay frugal my friends.

Dan Bortolotti wondered if some potatoes can be socially responsible index investors.

Big Cajun Man scoffed at some bloggers seeking to retire by age 35.  I missed my chance.  The Financial Blogger on the other hand, is wondering if he can still make it.

My University Money offered a few ways your campus bar can become a rockstar.

Rick Ferri said on his blog this week:  “Wise investors do not try to time markets. They create an asset allocation to stocks based on their needs, invest in the asset allocation using index funds, and rebalance occasionally. A low-cost buy, hold and rebalance strategy has the highest probability for meeting future financial goals.”

The Passive Income Earner shared some mortgage strategies.  9 more years to kill mine, so the math says, can’t wait.

Dividend Growth Investor shared the world’s best dividend portfolio.

Dan Mac had a great post about reinvesting dividends.

My friend Steve has a way to shop at Costco sans membership – read more here.

Susan Brunner reviewed Power Financial.

Thanks for reading and sharing this article.