Weekend Reading – Regrets, toxic DSC funds, money rules to live by, and more #moneystuff

Weekend Reading – Regrets, toxic DSC funds, money rules to live by, and more #moneystuff

Hey Readers!

Welcome to my latest Weekend Reading edition where I share some of my favourite articles from the week that was across the personal finance and investing blogosphere.

So, I continue to work on my golf drills at the range at least once per week and the work is slowly starting to pay dividends I think. Here is one of the drills I’m working on – I posted this in a previous Weekend Reading edition: keeping a golf glove under the left armpit. Why? 

It will help your arms including your left arm specifically stay “connected” to your chest. Poor golf shots and lack of consistency can come from your arms and chest not working in-sync. I use this drill with 7-irons at the range for about 30-40 balls. I swing at about 50-75%. I figure if this drill is good enough for world #1 golfer Rory McIlroy then it’s good enough for me…!

I believe a more connected swing translated to the course this week when I shot the most solid round of the year: 37-37 for +2 or 74. Let’s hope I can keep these great swing vibes going!!

Weekend Reading

On to the personal finance and investing stuff people…

I fully agree with investor advocate Ken Kivenko in his latest email to me:

“We recommend that investors consider other firms that do not lock in your investments for up to three years. Many other cheaper and better alternatives available. Think at least three times before you buy a DSC (Deferred Sales Charge) fund from Mackenzie. We have to question the integrity of any mutual fund company that continues to support this toxic product. We hope all our financial blogger friends carry this message.”

I will Ken!

Dale Roberts feels the same: there is no need for DSC funds.

A Purple Life has her priorities and eyes on early retirement. I can see why. With a good paying job she can sock away tons of cash when she only spends about $1,400 per month.

Some highlights from her budget:

• Her share of rent is about $852 per month.
• She only spends about $225 (max.) per month on groceries.
• Her “Entertainment” budget is consistently below $50 per month.

By comparison my wife and I spend:

• Beyond her total monthly spend of $1,400 on just our *mortgage alone! (*mortgage should be dead in 5 years or maybe less…)
• Our food budget is a combined $1,000 per month if I include all dinners out, take-out food, beer and wine each month. We could probably cut back on that for sure but we enjoy nice food and dinners out or take out at least a few times per month. 

Besides…now that our x2 Tax Free Savings Accounts and x2 Registered Retirement Savings Accounts are fully maxed out of contribution room we do spend very freely and indulge. I figure we might as well. Life is too short not be living and enjoying it. Comment or judge away!

In case you missed my article this week – we try and avoid sweating the small stuff now. Instead, if you want to save money for wealth building, focus on these two major expenses that will absolutely kill your retirement plan:

Two expenses stealing your early retirement dreams (that are not coffee)

“So, to summarize, a company cannot exponentially grow forever, at some point the growth stabilizes as it reaches maturity.  By paying out a dividend it is one of the best ways for management to reward shareholders by placing cash in their hands from company’s earnings.  In turn, the shareholders can either invest or spend the dividends as they see fit.”

How To Save Money had a good take on mortgage brokers vs. other avenues for your mortgage needs. Personally, for the last couple of terms, I’ve gone with a mortgage broker. My reasons are simple:

1. Negotiating power, and
2. I’m not out of pocket. Brokerages are compensated by the lenders.

So, consider using one! This is who I’ve dealt with in the past – great service.

Well done Jordan on his latest dividend income update. Impressive he’s now DRIPping over 40 units of low-cost ETF XAW a couple of times per year!

I liked Canadian Fire’s anti-budget. I used something similar for years – save first, spend the rest. Life is too short to be stressed about money all the time.

This is the better way to budget:

A Better Way to Budget

Well done Rob at Passive Canadian Income earning just a titch over $1,500 in passive income in the month of June alone!

Great post on Dollars and Data about regrets. A must read. I know I have a few but I really don’t dwell on them and in the macro picture, those decisions both good and bad make me who I am today. I think the key is to live, learn and improve to become a better person over time. Thoughts??

I look forward to hearing more about Henry Mah’s new book about income investing explained.

I was only happy to provide the foreword to this book of his:

Your TFSA Compounder – Work Your TFSA Harder So You Can Retire Sooner

Incredible stuff on Mr. Tako Escapes about his dividend income – something I aspire to! 

Jon Chevreau cited a few work-from-home stocks and ETFs that might be a consideration for your portfolio for income and growth.

I’ll be back next week with a reader question of the week, likely sharing my own monthly dividend income update since May 2020, and I’ll find some new articles from the personal finance blogosphere to help you on your own path to financial wealth. 

May 2020 Dividend Income Update

Have a great weekend!

Mark