Weekend Reading – Hacking gift cards, cutting fees, brain foods and more

It was a busy week on My Own Advisor!

In case you missed it:

This was the latest dividend income update on our journey to retirement.

I shared this financial freedom story from Phil, a reader of this site who happily retired on his 39th birthday.  Impressive.

In support of Financial Literacy Month #FLM2014 I shared these must-know mortgage tips.

Enjoy the following Weekend Reading articles from the week that was and see you here next week.   Thanks for reading and sharing the articles on this site.

Stephen Weyman showed us how to hack gift cards for big discounts.

Here are some fees to cut from the daily grind.

BrighterLife listed some brain foods.  From the list, I love eggs and dark green veggies myself.   Blueberries are great too.

Dividend Mantra wrote about foreign domiciled stocks including a few Canadian studs.

This is how simple your Investment Policy Statement (IPS) can be.

Mr. Money Mustache wondered if you’re giving the shaft to your future self, saying: “Every financial transaction you make today is not so much a deal with a mortgage company, car dealer or department store.  It’s a deal with your future self.”  The same could be said of your health, education and career as well.  I like these posts; great site, follow it people.

I enjoyed this solid Michael James on Money article about dividends vs. capital gains in retirement.  I’m convinced a blend of both will work for us.

The Passive Income Earner is doing well here.

Here are some entertaining book titles from Big Cajun Man.  I was happy to see “Early Fun, Save Late, Yummy Cat Food” was still available.

Holy Potato provided his take on Robo-Advisors.

724Credit shared what to consider before you buy a home.

Vanguard wrote about bonds wondering if they are doing what they are supposed to do for your portfolio.

Retire Happy wrote about seniors, retirement and debt.

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.

15 Responses to "Weekend Reading – Hacking gift cards, cutting fees, brain foods and more"

    1. I did enjoy it.

      I think the article cemented the fact that I will continue to index invest more, tipping the scales towards capital gains, while DRIPping the stocks I have for more passive income (dividend income). This way, I get more “core”, I offset the “explore” over time; less risk WHILE continuing on the same journey: i.e., the desire to live off the income generated from our investments.

      Health and good jobs willing, I figure 10 more years of full-time work should do it. Then I might be able to work part-time in early 50s.

      Have a great weekend,
      Mark

      Reply
  1. Thanks for the reading list, good topics there.

    Grats to Phil on the early retirement.

    I agree a mix of capital gains and dividends is the way to go with retirement. A pure return dividend play is too fixed and too short term thinking.

    I am intrigued by robo advisers. Very well could be the way of the future. In Canada the options are limited right now. Would love for u to break them down in Canada some time.

    Reply
  2. Thanks for sharing my gift card article Mark. This past week has been amazeballs for gift card offers actually. This is what I’ve scored so far:

    – A $220 CDN starbucks gift card for $125 USD which is about a 37.5% discount plus $5 in cash back from Great Canadian Rebates and 2% cash back from my credit card. I basically use Starbucks as my office once a week now so that’ll cover my office space for 6 months to a year I’d think 🙂
    – A free $10 Amazon.ca gift card thanks to a $10 statement credit from Amex for purchasing anything $10 or more at Amazon.ca.
    – $100 in gift cards to Cara food group (Swiss Chalet, Montanna’s, etc) for $42 from Shop.ca after a $40 discount for using Paypal and 18% cash back.

    More great deals floating around out there too.

    Reply

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