Weekend Reading – Best early retirement blogs in Canada edition

Weekend Reading – Best early retirement blogs in Canada edition

Hello again readers!

Welcome to my latest Weekend Reading – the best early retirement blogs in Canada edition.

In case you missed my last roundup related to retirement and semi-retirement, check out the Become Your Own Advisor edition.

Weekend Reading – Best early retirement blogs in Canada edition

Here is some of my latest content, including posts that have triggered a good amount of discussion on this site:

I had this post about how to invest inside a corporation.

This is how I built my juicy dividend income portfolio – and how you can too!

Although dividend income is good, I have other goals. This is an update on our 2021 financial goals. 

Lots of other material and content to get into for this edition…so read on, enjoy and see you in the comments section!

Have a great weekend,

Mark

Weekend Reading – Best early retirement blogs in Canada

Headlining this week’s edition…very kind (and honoured) by Hardbaccon.ca to be named one of the best early retirement blogs in Canada.

I will keep doing what I am doing then – thanks for following along and your support!

My friend Robb Engen from Boomer & Echo asked: what’s in your wallet? Robb wrote:

“I don’t carry any loyalty cards in my physical wallet but my Apple Wallet contains the following loyalty cards:

• Aeroplan
• Air Miles
• PC Optimum
• Priority Pass
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Scene”

To answer his question, I have Aeroplan credit cards, I keep Air Miles and PC Optimum rewards cards on my phone, and I also collect Bonvoy rewards. As GenY Money knows, when it comes to rewards – it’s all about collecting and saving for The Maldives eventually!

GenY Money recapped her 2021 personal finance goals.

There are some “unheard of levels of excess capital” in our Canadian banking system.

Image courtesy of Financial Post.

Of course, companies can do many things to increase shareholder value. They can do mergers and acquisitions, they can pay down debt, they can reinvest that money into the business/grow the business in terms of products and services, they can execute share buybacks but they can also boost dividends.

You can read about all these strategies and why companies may pay a dividend on this dedicated Dividends page here.

Those options listed, I think the most likely scenario for all Big-6 banks sitting on billions and billions in cash, is…..drum roll please….dividend increases. Get your bank stocks now, those increases are coming….

Financial Independence – Retirement

As part of my ongoing commitment to share some financial independence, early retirement or retirement articles from the blogosphere, here are some links!

Speaking of dividend increases, did you know that Old Age Security (OAS) benefits are indexed for inflation, based on consumer price increases, and reviewed and potentially indexed quarterly? Yup.

Read on about all the OAS ins-and-outs here on Cashflows & Portfolios.

Another thanks to Jon Chevreau who highlighted my case study and post on his site – how this millennial couple can realize their financial independence dreams by age 50.

Don’t forget about my dedicated Helpful Sites page that includes FREE retirement and withdraw calculators on demand for your use!

(Rob Carrick from The Globe and Mail picked up on my page in one of his recent Carrick on Money newsletters. Thanks Rob!)

There are also dozens of Retirement stories and essays you can learn from here. 

More Weekend Reading…

MoneySense highlighted Questrade as their #1 discount brokerage.

Tanja Hester, a gifted writer, said we need to retire FIRE. There are many reasons in her blogpost, which are aligned with my thinking, but this one stands out:

“I believe that, at its core, the idea of pursuing FIRE or FI or a work optional life, or whatever else you want to call it, is about knowing what “enough” truly means, and stopping there. (It’s why we deride “one more year” syndrome, and talk about cutting expenses, not just earning more.) Whether you’d put it in these terms or not, FIRE is about leaving the rest of the money for others who need it, not hoarding it for yourself.”

I’ve always been a fan of the FI part – as dedicated readers know.

Check why you should strive for FI (Financial Independence) here.

Our Life Financial is killing it with growing her dividend income stream. Well done!

Get Rich Brothers continue to own both income and alternative investments to build their financial independence dreams. 

In a discussion on the Twitter machine recently, savvy investor and blogger Early Retirement Now (ERN) suggested your best bet against any inflation is to stay invested in stocks for the long-haul. I have the same plan…

Here is an older article from his site that remains VERY relevant today, as inflation inches higher. 

ERN wrote:

“Hedging against inflation is no easy task. It all depends on the horizon! Over the very long-term, equities are an extremely powerful inflation hedge. Makes sense because over long horizons, corporations have the power to raise prices and raise their corporate profits pretty much exactly in line with inflation. Over shorter horizons, commodities or commodity-linked equity seem like a great inflation hedge. But they both have drawbacks. Commodities have low expected returns and commodity-linked equities tend to have higher volatilities than the broad index.”

Dale Roberts made note of this major TSX milestone. 

Save, Invest, Prosper!

As always, check out my Deals page.

Some of these personal promos codes are unique in Canada – you can’t find these codes or deals anywhere else in Canada – to save on investing and more!

My very own personal BMO promo code remains available!  Use that BMO code to get hundreds in cash back when you open investment accounts with BMO like your RRSP, TFSA, taxable account and more! 

I’ve got a new partnership with EQ Bank – just look at the banner in the margin!

With 5i Research, take a no obligation FREE trial for your ETF and stock research.

With LegalWills.ca use my personal My Own Advisor promo code for 15% off any services – that never expires.  

I earn $600 in cash back every single year. Scroll down my Deals page to get the same credit card I use in your wallet. 

Thought of the week….

Courtesy of FS Blog:

“You’re entitled to your own opinion if you keep your opinion to yourself. If you decide to say it out loud, then I think you have a responsibility to be open to changing your mind in the face of better logic or stronger data. I think if you’re willing to voice an opinion, you should also be willing to change that opinion.”

— Adam Grant on rethinking your position

Reader question of the week:

Hi Mark,

Do you have any info on FXM (First Asset Morningstar Canada) ETF? Do you expect this to grow in the long term?

Thanks!

Thanks for your question! 

I don’t own this fund, but I do know it’s one of Canada’s leading active ETFs for the last few years. From the CI Global Asset Management fund overview page:

The Fund invests in equity securities of the largest and most liquid Canadian public issuers based upon proprietary research generated by Morningstar, and is designed to provide diversified exposure to Canadian issuers which are considered to be “good value” based on characteristics like low price to earnings and low price to cash flow ratios. The investment strategy of the Fund is to invest in and hold the constituent securities of the Index.

I don’t have it in my Top Canadian ETFs table but I have considered adding it in the past.

These are some of the Top Dividend ETFs to own as well in my opinion.

FXM is more actively managed, and has less holdings under that management than many of the funds I tend to highlight in those Top ETFs posts, but that doesn’t mean FXM might not continue to perform well. 

I don’t have too much of an opinion on it, only that the current sector breakdown is quite balanced and that might be part of the positive reason why the fund has done so well, and could continue to do so…

The fund is not as heavily weighted towards financials and energy like many cap-weighted ETFs are, so, maybe a bright spot to consider for future performance!

Image courtesy of FXM from CI Global Asset Management.

Thanks for your question and let me know what you decide!

Mark