Weekend Reading – Wide moat stocks, income portfolios, passive income updates, Victory Lap retirement and more #moneystuff

Weekend Reading – Wide moat stocks, income portfolios, passive income updates, Victory Lap retirement and more #moneystuff

Hey Folks!

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.

You can find my last edition here: how to put your financial plan on a page and more early retirement stories so you can build wealth too.

Weekend Reading – Work in retirement, early retirement, financial plan on a page and more #moneystuff

Leading off Weekend Reading, thanks to Kanwal Sarai who wrote a comprehensive post on my site about his 12-step approach to building an income portfolio.

I’m also a big fan of income investing. I answered a number of questions about that approach and why part of my portfolio is structured that way here.

A very happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian readers and friends. I hope you get to see your family this weekend in a safe and responsible way – take good care.

Mark

Other great reads

Great stuff at Dividend Growth Investing & Retirement here – a list of every wide most stock from the U.S. market to consider investing in. I own a few in this list. In a previous post on this site, this blogger also shared a few Canadian wide moat stocks for consideration:

• Canadian National Railway Co (TSE:CNR; NYSE:CNI)
• Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (TSE:CP; NYSE:CP)
• Enbridge Inc (TSE:ENB; NYSE:ENB)
• Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY; NYSE:RY)
• The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD; NYSE:TD)
• Waste Connections Inc (TSE:WCN; NYSE:WCN).

MoneySense answered a reader question about holding your mortgage inside your RRSP. Should you do that?

Me: ugh, no.

Why?

Read the post but my simple answers to this have always been to others:

1. The RRSP is helpful for asset diversification purposes – beyond real estate.
2. My research on this subject (for others) has shown that the borrowing and administrative costs to do this – are usually higher when compared to other, easier, lending alternatives. Why would you borrow more long-term money than you have to?

Congrats to Matthew for his growing income. I suspect his portfolio will grow higher, faster, over time thanks to his revamped and more simplified portfolio. He wrote: “Any dividends received in my TFSA will be used to buy Telus, Power Corp, Enbridge, TC Energy, BCE, Fortis, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada.” Good stocks that should hold up over time.

Seems Matthew is buying what he knows a bit. In fact, I do something similar. I disagreed with a financial guru on that subject. Buying what you know can make sense. 

Need a Costco Membership? My friend Stephen Weyman has you covered with up to $140 membership benefits here!  “From now until October 25th, you can get a Costco.ca voucher worth up to $140 if you buy a new membership or renew an old one.”

Robb Engen on Boomer & Echo shared some thoughts about retirement planning. Even though Robb and I invest differently, we share very similar philosophies on money-stuff, planning and more. Case in point, Robb cited a well-written book by Jonathan Chevreau and Mike Drak about Victory Lap Retirement. This book reinforced the idea that Canadians need not go from full-time work to zero-time work in one day, but rather, they can consider a transition away from any full-time career to a more blended lifestyle of some work, some leisure and anything else in between. That slow(er) transition to retirement, financially speaking, can be both much more sustainable and desirable. It’s absolutely a path I’m on and hope to enjoy.

You can find my review and highlights of Victory Lap Retirement here.

You can also find an interview with Victory Lapper Jonathan Chevreau – how he blends passive and active investing in retirement.

Early retirees do things many other investors do not or just won’t do. They save any hard-earned income from good paying jobs in bunches and invest in stocks and equities without fail. Another example: Mr. Tako who I follow. Incredibly, so far, he has collected “$45,373 in dividends.” Just wow. 

I can only hope my portfolio churns out that much passive income without fail. 

You can see my latest income report from a few key accounts here. I should have a new income post very soon!

August 2020 Dividend Income Update

Dale Roberts mentioned his portfolio is up, quite nicely in fact, above the S&P 500 with his skimming method from U.S. ETFs to buy and hold U.S. stocks for income and growth. Read on for details here. 

Ms. Mod from Modest Millionaires wrote about her mental balancing act towards financial independence (FI).

She wrote: “Planning your transition to FI is very challenging, especially if the FI life you’ve envisioned requires you to leave a secure job. The challenge becomes apparent when your desire for freedom collides with your desire for financial security.”

Good points but then again, these are great challenges to have!

To answer her question about the mindset and transition to FI, even though I haven’t done it yet (but likely could have a few years ago before we bought our condo), I can only share my thoughts: get comfortable with the FI journey or simply change the path. I’ve accepted the fact we are taking a bit longer to realize FI. So, I’m really trying to strive a good balance between productive work and personal time. I’m very aware now I need both and more importantly I try and behave that way. I can’t say there have not been times (a few years ago in particular) that I didn’t want to jump into part-time work sooner/change jobs, but I’ve embraced “where we are” and I have some conviction on where we are going. That keeps me both focused and happy that our delayed path to FI is right where we actually want to be.

Have you reflected on your transition to FI?

I’d be curious to hear from readers that have achieved financial independence. I know you often send me emails! Comment away.

Early-Bird Passes ending soon! Check out the Canadian Financial Summit!

It’s almost time for the Canadian Financial Summit!

The early-bird discount on the All-Access-Pass will end on October 14th, so this is one of your last chances to get it at the reduced price. Once the Summit starts on the 14th, the price will increase to $97, and after the Summit is over the price will increase again to $197.

With the All-Access-Pass, you’ll have access to all the 2020 talks for life, so you can stream them on-demand whenever you’d like, from any device, anytime, anywhere. 

I’m thrilled to be back for a 4th consecutive year joining the likes of a who’s-who in personal finance and investing in Canada. Pretty amazing they want me to talk amongst these folks!!

• Investing Specialist: Peter Hodson was named one of the Warren Buffetts of Canada by the Globe and Mail, and has managed over $1 billion dollars in assets. 
• Personal Finance Specialist: Kevin McCarthy, the creator of the TFSA and former Chief of Staff to the Canadian Minister of Finance takes your questions! Simply submit your questions in our private All-Access-Pass Only form.
• Insurance Specialist: Wondering if you have enough insurance? Are you overpaying for the insurance that you do have? Jiten Puri, insurance expert and CEO of Policy Advisor is here to answer your insurance related questions.

You can also check out during the FREE weekend Summit these great guests and speakers:

• Rob Carrick (Columnist at The Globe and Mail and Host of the STRESS TEST Podcast)
• Ellen Roseman (Former Toronto Star Columnist, Consumer Advocacy and Personal Finance Writer)
• Kristy Shen & Bryce Leung (Founders of Millennial Revolution and authors of Quit Like a Millionaire)
• Lana Sanichar (Editor-in-Chief of Canadian MoneySaver Magazine)
• And many more! 

I’m looking forward to your feedback on my talk – how I’m getting semi-retirement ready and sharing my portfolio draw down plans to sustain it!

I hope to see you there!