Welcome to my latest Weekend Reading edition, where I share some of my favourite articles and money news from the week that was.
We reached a new milestone on our dividend investing journey – almost halfway to our goal.
Striving for an income or investing goal is useless if you don’t have your health. I believe health is your ultimate form of wealth.
Last but not least congratulations to the three (3) winners of this recent book giveaway on my site – I have just sent you some emails to respond to so I can send those books in the mail. Write me back!
Enjoy the rest of these articles from the personal finance and investing space this weekend.
Take good care,
Mark
Brookfield announced dividend increases here (BIP.UN) and here (BEP.UN).
Manulife recently boosted their dividend by over 11%.
ModernAdvisor shared some RRSP reminders. I hope to post a few of my own next week!
Michael James on Money discussed money skills between spouses. I remain very appreciative and happy my wife takes an interest in a) where our money goes, b) keeping our investing costs low and c) staying investing long-term.
Friend Stephen Weyman said this is the year you start investing. Agreed, I believe the best time to invest was actually yesterday.
According to The Globe and Mail here is what we should be watching for in the upcoming federal budget. I just hope they don’t put a lifetime contribution cap on the TFSA anytime soon. I can see those days coming…
Big Cajun Man provides a nice Family Day weekend reading roundup here.
This new blog looks at ETFs like an assorted box of LEGO bricks.
Ben Carlson disagrees with Charlie Munger.
John Heinzl and I invest in a similar way – he invests in about “…two dozen companies — including banks, utilities, pipelines, power producers, consumer products makers, insurers and real estate investment trusts — plus a handful of low-cost exchange-traded funds….”. He believes if investors don’t know how many stocks they need for diversification, then index invest.
I’ve recently added this Canadian Retirement Income Calculator to my “Helpful Sites” page.
The Financial Tech had some thoughts about budgeting.
Financial Samurai asked if you want to be rich or debt free?
Andrew Hallam says watch out for expensive ETFs. Lots of them exist.
Mark
My name is Mark Seed - the founder, editor and owner of My Own Advisor. As my own DIY financial advisor, I'm looking to start semi-retirement soon, sooner than most. Find out how, what I did, and what you can learn to tailor your own financial independence path. Join the newsletter read by thousands each day, always FREE.
Carlson:”My guess is that most investors can handle a 10% correction, people start freaking out a little once we hit the 20% level, the panic sets in at 30% losses and anything over 40% is ‘get me out no matter what I don’t even care anymore’ levels.”
That’s the problem with investing for “growing the pot” They are happy when the pot is growing and they panic when it’s not. We haven’t worried about market drops for years as our income keeps growing during ups and downs.
That’s the psychological benefit I feel I have with dividend investing, as long as the dividends are paid, I stay the course. I’m trying not to worry about anything unless the cash flow goes lower. Thankfully, it has not!
re: Dividend Advisor newsletter — as the intelligent and successful Larry Swede says, “There is literally no logical reason for anyone to have a preference for dividends.” I agree.
re: Health is your ultimate form of wealth — of course it is. It’s what all else is based upon. Just think about when you have a simple common cold how much sheen is taken off every day life. Or the moments after banging your toe on the coffee table…again, how crappy life seems. However, there are many forms of health — physical, mental, financial, social, spiritual — all of which need attending for an overall enjoyable quality of life.
re: Federal budget/TFSA cap — a good reminder that anything can change at any time (I think Trump is reminding us daily of that fact). Best not to base your future on things you cannot/do not control and to take advantage of them while they exist.
re: Family Day — we here in BC enjoyed Family Day LAST weekend, apart from the rest of Canada, thanks to the once again indomitable intelligence of our government.
re: LEGO — the world’s most powerful brand and one of the world’s blockbuster private companies.
(Perhaps I shouldn’t hex Lego by describing them as ‘blockbuster’, considering what happened to Blockbuster…)
re: If investors don’t know how many stocks they need for diversification, then index invest. — I would recommend skipping the entire effort of picking and monitoring stocks and just go for the index funds. You really have to ask yourself if all that extra work (and worry) is worth the possible extra gains. Buffett says to apply a ’20-hole Punchcard’ rule, meaning once you’ve picked twenty stocks, that’s it, you’re done — no more buying OR selling — you’re stuck with those twenty until you die. Good luck trying to see 50 years into the future.
re: Carlson on Munger — Munger is an intellectual powerhouse. He has dedicated his life to a conscious construction of his brain and thought processes; the rest of us drink beer, watch TV, and vote Trump. This is why he can withstand, mentally and emotionally, a 50% drawdown of his portfolio. He is not “wired differently”, that’s a trite opinion; he does, however, act and think with enough vigorous difference to make a massive difference.
(What’s up with the CAPTCHA?)
I guess I didn’t have CAPTCHA turned on before for comments? I had to update part of the site because of issues last week…annoying. I have disabled it.
“Just think about when you have a simple common cold how much sheen is taken off every day life.” – exactly.
re: Federal budget/TFSA cap — a good reminder that anything can change at any time….you’re right. They can. I try and focus on what I can control and very little else. Otherwise, you’d be a mess going through life.
As for the stock punchcard I’ve always found it interesting that Buffett holds primarily dividend paying stocks yet Berkshire has no long-term intention of paying a dividend. Interesting dichotomy but in the end, dividends are just a part of total return. They provide investors with “optionality”.
Looking forward to working with you on an article this spring 🙂
Mark
I really enjoy your reading lists.
Here is a tool for your Helpful Sites. http://www.dividendhistory.org. It provides dividend payment history for both Canadian and American stocks and some others. The best aspect is that it shows the percent increase in the dividend increases.
Thanks Helen! I’ll check out the link.
Thanks Helen !
Thanks for including me and it’s a nice list.
Have a nice weekend
All the best.
Enjoy Family Day, given that many in Ottawa won’t (it is not a holiday for Federal Gov’t employees). Thanks for the inclusion.
Provincial holiday only, in some but not all provinces! 🙂