Weekend Reading – Focusing on the future and inflation edition
Hi Folks!
Welcome to my latest Weekend Reading edition – the focusing on the future and inflation edition.
You’ll also find some of my favourite finds from the personal finance and investing blogosphere here too!
I know you’ve been busy with summer (good on you!) so here are my latest posts:
This was my juicy June dividend income update. I’ll be working on my next income update, this weekend!
I wrote why the 4% rule doesn’t work for FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early).
I wrote 2,000+ words about why I really think you should become a DIY investor.
Still unsure about DIY investing? OK…. Consider these mutual fund options as a great case for active money management with low-cost provider: Vanguard Canada.
Have a great weekend and thanks for your readership!
Mark
Weekend Reading
Timeless Insight
“When you focus on the past, that’s your ego. … When I focus on the future, that’s my pride. I try to focus on the present. That’s humility.”
— Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA All-Star
A good takeaway. Focusing on past accomplishments creates obstacles to success in the present. If you’re still talking about something great you did 20 years ago like it was yesterday, your ego is getting in the way.
What you did in the past makes a good story. What you’re doing now makes a difference. Today and focusing on tomorrow – matters…
What about inflation – how can I fight it?
Jon Chevreau wrote about inflation impacting many retirement investments. Absolutely it will. I own a mix of REITs, energy stocks and commodities in my portfolio to fight inflation. Definitely owning stocks over bonds.
Recall from a broad perspective, some inflation is very good. I wrote about that in this Weekend Reading edition.
Jon and Cashflows & Portfolios were on the same wavelength this week, with a deeper dive into inflation and more importantly what some of the best investments you can own to combat inflation.
A good reminder about any expert opinions:
“Many economists agree that inflation is easy to identify in hindsight but is difficult to predict. However, they will admit that almost all instances of inflation share one common trait: inflation is caused by an increase in the money supply in an economy.”
With inflation here, this is how to generate retirement income.
Is the traditional 60/40 stock/bond portfolio dead? Some believe so:
“Thanks to the declining returns of bonds, the model 60/40 portfolio may eke out real returns — after inflation — of just 1 per cent-2 per cent a year over the next decade, said Lim Chow Kiat, chief executive officer of GIC.”
Ben Carlson believes hedging inflation is not exactly easy.
“The truth is no one ever really knows what’s priced in and that’s what makes short-term investing calls so difficult.”
The Humble Dollar suggested higher inflation could be here for the coming years (not months).
What say you reader??
Settling Nomad made some nice progress on their investment journey.
Reader question of the week:
Hi Mark,
I hope you’re having a great summer. My question is: how often do you really / honestly check your portfolio?
Thanks for your question and readership.
Honestly, probably a couple times per week. Not so much looking at my portfolio to trade of course, let alone buy all the time, rather, just to see what is going on and how any reinvested dividends are flowing into my accounts. I simply love watching those dividends compound away!
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Enjoy your weekend!
Mark
My name is Mark Seed - the founder, editor and owner of My Own Advisor. As my own DIY financial advisor, I've surpassed my goal and now investing beyond the 7-figure portfolio to start semi-retirement with. 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.
I receive dividends three to four times a month, so like Mark I look for those, and record the activity in my worksheet. I usually check the increase in my annual income, at lease one or twice a month.
Yeah, I love seeing those dividends flow into my account cannew!!
I check twice a day 🙂 first thing in the morning and at closing time it’s not that I do any day trading infact I only buy once every couple of months but like you Mark I get so excited specially on months like jul oct jan and apr when most of my holdings drip so I’ll add those drips to my yahoo finance app , other months they’re good too but those four are major ones. Now I have my eyes on two stocks CNR and MRU it’s just that the yield is not attractive at all although we should be looking at total return last month I added GWO and a small position in CU , anyways we shall see.
Big fan of CNR here. Happy to buy up more over time.
I must say Gus, I get very excited to produce my monthly income update!! Ha.
All the best,
Mark
I check my investment accounts and the market every day. One reason is that I am still learning to invest and continuously adjusting my investment. There are equities in my account that I should get rid of but not yet, SAP, IPL, HR.UN etc. are among those ones. So far, I feel it does not impact how often I trade. I am still a buy-and-hold investor. Actually, I feel I should do more trading, should have sold the stocks I lost faith in as soon as possible.
One reason I am checking so often is that with our 50% savings rate, there is always some money I am looking to invest.
May, you’ve done tremendously well building your income stream. With a 50% savings rate, there is very little that can go wrong 🙂
Well done (as always).
Mark
You check your portfolio a few times a week? I’m lucky if I check mine once a month ha ha. Nothing wrong with checking it as long as it doesn’t tempt you to make unnecessary moves. I remember reading somewhere that the best performing portfolios were those that belonged to dead people because they weren’t actively trading all the time.
Nah Maria, I like seeing those dividends flow into our account every few days. Makes me happy 🙂
No trading here. Buy and hold and usually buy some more.
Cheers.
Heads up Mark! I nominated you for Best Canadian Finance Blog for the Plutus Awards this year. Your site was the first site that came to mind.
Good luck!
Sam
Sam, that’s AWESOME. Thanks very much and nice to see I’m somewhat top of mind in that big brain of yours 🙂
Best wishes and keep your income stream growing. Always impressive.
Mark