Weekend Reading
Welcome to my latest Weekend Reading edition. I hope you had a good week.
It was great to watch my hometown REDBLACKS play last night – kicking off their pre-season football under a gorgeous sunny summer night.
I’m looking forward to the rest of games; always filled with good times…
I had a busy schedule outside of work this week so I was only able to squeak out this post: May 2017 Dividend Income Update.
I’ve got a few ideas already for next week’s articles but you’ll have to come back to find out which ideas I actually ran with.
Enjoy some of these articles I checked out recently and enjoy your weekend!
Mark
Thanks to financial writer Joel Schlesinger for including my input into this Globe and Mail article – Meet, and learn from, the Warren Buffets of Canada.
My friend Million Dollar Journey shared some options to index your portfolio.
Retire Happy updated an older post about avoiding the Old Age Security (OAS) clawback.
Here are my reminders:
- OAS is paid from general tax revenues and is not a contributory pension plan like Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
- If you have lived in Canada for at least 40 years after the age of 18 you’re likely to get the full pension amount – close to $600 per month now at the time of this post. You’ll likely receive a “partial pension” at the rate of 1/40th of the full OAS amount for each complete year of residence in Canada after age 18. Personally, I think it’s time to overhaul OAS.
- OAS payments are increased, quarterly during the year, as cost of living increases as measured by our Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The folks at Steadyhand identified how investors can prepare for the next market downturn. I’m taking their advice to heart – I’m mentally rehearsing how I’m going to stomach a 10%, 20% or even a 30% portfolio value decline. I fully expect this to happen in the coming year or so. Will it happen? No clue!
Another friend of mine, international, globe-trotting digital nomad Andrew Hallam gave international teachers something to ponder this summer.
I happen to disagree with this financial expert’s advice: “It never hurts to take a profit. If you like a company that you own, where nothing has fundamentally changed with it and you have doubled your money, it would be wise to take some or all of your original capital off of the proverbial table.” No, it can hurt – depending upon the capital gains you’ve incurred. Selling assets also goes beyond tax considerations.
Which leads me to this: if you’re so smart, why aren’t you retired already?
This couple makes over $250,000, lives in Toronto, has an impressive net worth of $1.5 million but no master financial plan.
Have a great weekend!
Mark
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.
Hi! Just starting out and opening an account and it asking if I want “Options?” Do I? From what understand this will broaden my investment breadth, is this correct?
I personally didn’t opt-in for that Roxy when I started out but that’s your decision! Cheers.
“It never hurts to take a profit. If you like a company that you own, where nothing has fundamentally changed with it and you have doubled your money, it would be wise to take some or all of your original capital off of the proverbial table.”
Sell your good holdings??? Personally I used to think that way and did often sell some of my holdings when they showed a profit. But most times I reinvested immediately, buying another stock I thought was low and hoped to sell high. It rarely worked out well.
When the market is high it may be time to consider selling, not your good holdings but those you might want to get rid of because they not preforming as expected or no longer meet your investing criteria.
I think you sell your stocks or equities in general, or bonds for that matter, when you need to sell them – re: when you need the money. This means your financial plan should dictate when you should sell assets. Not just because you made a profit.
I dunno. Maybe I have it wrong!
Wow that globe article on the “extreme savers” was interesting. Saving 50% of their take home income is impressive. With a little more direction they could be knocking it out of the park!