My Own Advisor

In courting dividend stocks get to know your dates

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Mark | 7 Comments

In the world of courting and finding Mr. or Mrs. Right, a critical part of this journey is dating. Same goes for the dividend investor. Any do-it-yourself (DIY) stock investor, who is planning to live off their stream of dividend income,…

June Update – 2012 personal finance and investing goals

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Mark | 17 Comments

Over the last couple of years, we’ve written down our personal finance and investing goals in black and white. I figure you can’t fix what you don’t know let alone keep track of. So, sharing our goals on My Own…

History repeats…some ETFs seem like Mutual Funds to me…

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Mark | 6 Comments

History repeats…some ETFs seem like Mutual Funds to me… For years, the financial industry has promoted and used mutual funds for personal and institutional portfolios. Actually, it’s been more than years, centuries in fact. The advent of mutual funds dates…

Age 50 is too late to start saving for retirement

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Mark | 37 Comments

Age 50 is too late to start saving for retirement We’ve all heard the same song for some time now: Canadian debt loads are too high. Canadian savings rates are dropping. Canadians expect to work past age 66, not because…

My plan for a prolonged low interest rate environment

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Mark | 10 Comments

My plan for a prolonged low interest rate environment No doubt interest rates play an important role in the economy. They are a vital tool of monetary policy. Interest rates affect all of us but not necessarily in a good…

May 2012 Dividend Income Update

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Mark | 9 Comments

May 2012 Dividend Income Update “I am an advocate of investing in individual, high-quality stocks, provided you can take care to avoid certain pitfalls. Historically, stocks have proven to offer as good as return as any other investment vehicle –…

Square Foot Gardening 101 – Investing In Your Health

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Mark | 10 Comments

Don’t have a green thumb? Are you a novice gardener? Don’t have lots of space for a garden but still want one? Square Foot Gardening (SFG) might be for you. Developed by Mel Bartholomew in the mid-1970s, Mel invented Square Foot…

Favourite Takeaways – Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful in Canadian Investments Today – Part 2 of 2

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Mark | 2 Comments

Favourite Takeaways – Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful in Canadian Investments Today – Part 2 of 2 Last week, I started to share my favourite takeaways from Rob Carrick’s Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful…

My Favourite Takeaways – Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful in Canadian Investments Today – Part 1 of 2

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Mark | 6 Comments

My Favourite Takeaways – Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful in Canadian Investments Today – Part 1 of 2 I’ve been meaning to post a review of Rob Carrick’s Guide to What’s Good, Bad and Downright Awful in…

April 2012 Dividend Income Update

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Mark | 20 Comments

April 2012 Dividend Income Update Last month in my dividend income update, I wrote “as an investor, I should never lose sight of the risks direct stock ownership can mean.” How true, because active money management comes with more risks than…

Featured Posts

Why would anyone own bonds now?

Should you have 100% of your portfolio in stocks?

How your part-time job can support your retirement

Watch out for RRSP and RRIF taxation

Why the 4% rule is actually (still) a decent rule of thumb

The Best All-in-One Exchange Traded Funds

Why my goal to live off dividends remains alive and well

I’m single – is it possible to retire at age 55?

If you spend that RRSP refund then TFSA makes more sense

2023 Financial Goals

How much do you need to retire on $7,000 per month?

How are you going to navigate a recession?

How much cash should you keep?

ETFs to generate retirement income

How much do you need to retire on $5,000 per month?

Can I retire at age 55 with higher inflation?

How and when to withdraw from RRSP and TFSA

How to Beat the TSX (BTSX)

How I built my dividend portfolio

Millennials want to FIRE at age 50

My Financial Independence Plan

I’ve maxed out my TFSA and RRSP. Now what?

Does the 4% safe withdraw rate still make any sense?

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