tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209069492012-01-21T10:27:03.203-05:00The digest of an average Canadian's personal finance decisions, rants and occasional insights as I document my progress toward financial goals.Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.comBlogger551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1142817952391108612006-03-19T20:14:00.000-05:002007-02-26T16:20:47.540-05:00

Along the lines of the post this week by The Dividend Guy, yet another analyst quote (this one from Financial Sense Online) - we almost need a meme/contest for bizarre analyst quotes - that has you scratching your head for meaning:The second year of the Presidential Cycle is usually bearish close to 50% of the time.Nice form. I suppose its bullish close to the other 50% of the time, no :)?

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1142602812293196602006-03-17T08:09:00.000-05:002007-02-15T09:48:42.133-05:00

Unlike in the US, where there are over 1800 companies that offer Dividend Re-Investment Plans (DRIPs) and related Optional Cash Purchase (OCP) plans, the number in Canada has arguably flat lined or is on a decline. Due to mergers and acquisitions Canadian DRIP investors have recently seen plans for Terasen (formerly B.C. Gas) and Dofasco effectively end. And so it was with great anticipation (

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1142483281506940312006-03-15T23:00:00.000-05:002007-02-07T06:30:20.560-05:00

Canadian Capitalist has posted a very thought- (and discussion) provoking piece on the continuing debate between RRSP and non-registered investing. I actually read end-to-end the report by research group Philip, Hager and North he included as a link.The report, authored in August 2005, notes as one of its conclusions that "Changes in the progressive tax rates could impact which savings scenario

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1141790372501426642006-03-08T21:33:00.000-05:002007-02-28T02:00:56.920-05:00

With Toronto Hydro's recent announcement that it will be blanketing downtown Toronto with WiFi service (free of charge for six months, but then ...), I wonder how long it will be until Internet service becomes truly commoditized/utilitized - sold, offered and serviced not too differently than we think of water, gas or electricity. No more fancy promotions, jazzy packaging, etc., just another

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1141785031709738252006-03-07T21:12:00.000-05:002007-02-15T11:19:02.930-05:00

Since coming across a post on dripinvesting.org, the topic of discussion has remained with me for the last few days like - if you will excuse a cliche analogy - a splinter in my mind.Consider this:How large is too big? Can a company like a GE or an XOM [Exxon Mobil] ($345B and $372B in market cap, respectively) grow at 10-15% for a year? Five years? Twenty? At 12% we're talking about 3.5 trillion

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1141703733401962172006-03-06T22:36:00.000-05:002007-02-20T12:59:27.486-05:00

I found another great resource site yesterday - Dividend Based Investing (at dividendgrowth.org). With an emphasis on Canadian companies the author, who spent 16 years in the investment industry, promotes dividend growth investing, a practise that combines growth and value approaches by looking for stocks that are undervalued but which have high and sustainble growth rates. Citing work by other

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1141541020413056322006-03-05T01:26:00.000-05:002007-02-13T05:01:10.976-05:00

Through the share exchange board at dripinvesting.org I recently secured single shares in Aliant (AIT), Suncor (SU), Fortis (FTS), Enbridge (ENB) and RioCan REIT (REI.UN). A single share of each allows me to register for the respective Dividend/Distribution Re-investment and optional cash purchase plans for these companies - all without fees of any kind.So with the sale price determined by the

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1141359891720260062006-03-02T22:59:00.000-05:002006-03-02T23:24:51.743-05:00

Some would argue that as a whole, the telco 'sector' - BCE, Manitoba Telecom, etc. - is facing its twilight, with a glut of competition for their traditional and internet services from smaller regional providers and a new-but-growing roster of voice over IP (VOIP) services. Even the discussion here about widespread flight to cheaper long distance is indicative of the kind of pressure these

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1141272764043211962006-03-01T22:57:00.000-05:002006-03-01T23:12:44.093-05:00

Budget SummaryIt was a woeful month for savings – only $280.88 in February against a plan of $695, which, relative to my earnings represented a savings rate of only 5.9%. The biggest hit was a bit of unexpected car repairs, though I also paid down some additional debt and was over budget most noticeably in gifts and books and magazines. On the positive side, my employer renegotiated new

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1141181649062549662006-02-28T21:43:00.000-05:002007-02-20T13:01:26.400-05:00

The fact that there are so few investment books written with a Canadian focus of the caliber of The Investment Zoo is in no small part a fair reflection of the fact that there are correspondingly few Canadian investor-authors that compare not only to Jarislowsky’s financial success but also his emphasis on corporate ethics, shareholder interest and responsible philanthropy. Sadly, I have found

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140882591935640332006-02-25T10:40:00.000-05:002007-02-20T06:08:26.410-05:00

I'm at a point quite reminiscent of childhood, where I'm rushing (if only mentally) to the mailbox everyday on the way home from work, eagerly turning the key, and peering inside the dark metal bin (we are using a super box) . After years of mail = bills or junk, and a shift to more electronic communication, once again I find myself much more interested in(snail) mail than I have been for some

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140881973312388822006-02-25T10:30:00.000-05:002006-07-08T10:16:36.566-04:00

The Toronto Star reported that consumer gas rates are indeed, likely to fall this spring, according to Enbridge. While great news for the vast majority of consumers, those that signed fixed-price contracts under 'the sky is falling' pretences (um, myself included) will, at least for a while, have to pay more as the promise of higher rates and a mathematical savings remains elusive, at least for

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140662925503439292006-02-22T21:05:00.000-05:002007-02-04T14:53:41.720-05:00

I was visited by a salesperson from Universal Power yesterday looking to have me sign a long-term (5-year) agreement for fixed price electricity. I'm not terribly impressed by the scare-tactic approach, widely used in selling electricity and natural gas (ok, so it worked on me when I bought my gas plan ...). I realize our electricity rates are artificially regulated in Ontario, but I'm really

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140579816619917112006-02-21T22:28:00.000-05:002006-02-22T17:47:49.636-05:00

As a logical conclusion to my review of banking options, I followed through on my assessment and opened a new President's Choice Financial account for my everyday banking. I do want to thank everyone that provided feedback on this - I'm glad it was pointed out, for example, that CIBC really doesn't service PC Financial for in-bank services. As suggested, I will keep my existing TD Canada Trust

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140578845413276052006-02-21T21:18:00.000-05:002006-02-21T23:53:29.003-05:00

This week's festival is hosted by Retire at 30 .I particularly liked the post by Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prospectity featuring an actual cost analysis of compact florescent bulbs vs. standard incandescants. Perhaps a minor point, but the value for me was the effort spent to move beyond the anecdotal and measure a real-life savings.

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140490129769890662006-02-20T21:29:00.000-05:002007-02-11T07:05:10.533-05:00

Yes, a little dodgy, I know, and perhaps only a few rungs of credibility above the myriad of 'make money at home' schemes that fill pop-ups ads and clog my spam-filter on a proverbial basis.That being said, after travelling through few a few links from a post on MyMoneyBlog, I came across InternetPaidSurveys.com, something of an aggregator for market surveyors of all colors. (There is even a

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140384339458420092006-02-19T15:36:00.000-05:002007-02-21T00:29:50.766-05:00

I've often mused that there are really only two types of hairstyles for men over the age of 30; the highschool haircut (meaning any style that that you or anyone you knew in high school ever enjoyed), or the 'I give up', also known as the 'I surrender'.While the former is obvious, the latter is basically the ubiquitous, shortly cropped treatment for those in follicle recession. Sporting the 'I

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140231150610958262006-02-17T21:44:00.000-05:002007-02-21T07:45:45.440-05:00

There is, in the heart and mind of certain investors, a watershed moment when the DRIP concept crystallizes and becomes an unquestionable thing of beauty. More than just another investment method, DRIPs represent, for these investors, a grass-roots triumph of the small investor over the entire fee-charging and sometimes exploitive personal finance arena and an opportunity to mathematically 'beat

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1140063701024514632006-02-15T22:43:00.000-05:002007-02-21T02:00:47.563-05:00

Almost there, honest.As I mentioned before, I've come to rely heavily on online banking. TD Canada Trust has recently won a number of awards for their online banking solutions, so I fully expected theirs to be a tough act to follow.As a very brief summary, both BMO and PC Financial offer 'online banking tours' that allow you to get a good feel for their services. I like the BMO user interface

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139975758757998982006-02-14T22:47:00.000-05:002006-02-15T12:34:58.503-05:00

I'm currently remote on a business trip but quickly wanted to highlight the Festival of Frugality #10 and the Carnival of Personal Finance being hosted by Boston Gal's Open Wallet and The Dividend Guy, respectively.I also want to add Canadian Capitalist has continued the Nest Egg vs. Cash Flow investing discussion with a new post on his site. I'm personally finding this discussion very

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139885803366053332006-02-13T20:56:00.000-05:002006-02-14T09:05:55.570-05:00

The good: I still recall being somewhat suspicious of all the gas providers that came knocking in the weeks after people began moving into our new subdivision. However, with the 30% rate hike that took effect in January, I sure am glad I signed up when I did with a 3-year fixed rate plan with Select Power. This took effect just as natural gas rates rose in January by 30% and while I'm saving

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139798625907774222006-02-12T21:13:00.000-05:002007-02-15T08:21:14.813-05:00

So in looking at a new bank for my everyday needs, I wanted to figure out which offered the better incentive program - either PC Points (PC Financial) or Air Miles (Bank of Montreal). Grocery savings were the 'unit of measure' in comparing the point systems (frugal!). PC Points earn one grocery dollar per 1000 points, while a $20 Dominion gift certificate can be earned with 140 Air Miles.(Geek

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139630581025734712006-02-10T22:40:00.000-05:002007-02-20T12:22:23.833-05:00

This afternoon I happened across the weblog of Garth Turner, (my) Member of Parliament via a link in the Toronto Star. While I can appreciate the level of transparency and grassroots participation Mr. Turner is trying to offer his constituents, with respect to his very public criticism of some appointments to the new cabinet, we all know that, like any other job, sensitivity to 'company

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139541666300328962006-02-09T21:31:00.000-05:002007-02-20T13:03:46.353-05:00

Now that RSP season is in full swing, many publishers are providing special features and extra material geared towards investment strategy, retirement planning, and general good personal finance behavior. As pointed out by Canadian Capitalist, the Toronto Star is no exception. That being said, I read Ellen Roseman's article in today's edition (How Much Do You Need to Retire?) with that same mix

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139461731729068952006-02-09T00:07:00.000-05:002006-02-09T23:55:32.923-05:00

Picking up the thread from the previous post on this topic, I spent some time comparing fees. Using my current TD Canada Trust Infinity account as the control, I looked at BMO and PC Financial.My first observation is that BMO offers many plans, with basic permutations based on account activity requirements, overdraft needs, and travel and out-of-Canada services. PC Financial on the other hand,

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139367875132209112006-02-07T21:55:00.000-05:002007-02-25T18:45:19.400-05:00

A Blueprint for Financial Prosperity is hosting this week's Festival of Frugality. As always, a lot of great content - I personally enjoyed:"Living Small" (Seattle Simplicity)"Why Renting Rules" (Young and Broke), and"Tap or Bottled: Personal Choice" (Frugal for Life)

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139286396387246642006-02-07T08:22:00.000-05:002007-02-28T00:01:56.596-05:00

I promised myself that I would spend some time looking at everyday banking options in an effort to reduce costs and/or better capitalize on incentive programs. This is really the first in a series of posts that I will use to track my findings.Before I start, I want to clarify that I’m most interested at this time in everyday banking needs, and not a high-interest savings account. Though my

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139203062902678742006-02-06T00:07:00.000-05:002007-02-15T13:37:50.296-05:00

Back in my “Simple Life Changes…” post, the researchers cited bringing one’s lunch, taking the bus and buying in bulk as three small habits that can have appreciable long-term saving benefits. While I analyzed BYO lunching last week, I thought I would take a closer look at public transit.I have to discolse that in and of itself, I don’t enjoy the act of driving. Earlier in my career I commuted

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139114892849817652006-02-04T23:24:00.000-05:002006-02-04T23:48:12.856-05:00

Mergent recently updated a number of their Dividend Achievers Indices, including their Canadian index.Out is the West Fraser Timber Co.In are Canadian Western Bank (CWB), First Capital Realty Inc. (FCR), H & R Real Estate Investment Trust (HR UN), Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. (IAG), Legg Mason Canada Holding Ltd. (LMI), Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC), SNC - Lavalin

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1139024597603182412006-02-03T20:37:00.000-05:002006-02-03T22:46:03.546-05:00

The Ontario government announced that they are willing to purchase energy directly from individuals, presumably those that have installed solar panels or similar devices in their homes. Interesting, though I’m not sure where I would start to gather the information I would need for a business case. On Tuesday, TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) annouced it is increasing their dividend by 5%, their

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138851896685250392006-02-01T22:09:00.000-05:002006-02-11T17:01:10.906-05:00

Budget SummaryI cleared $855.95 in January against a plan of $695 representing a savings rate of 16.6% (bleh - for a good savings rate check out Frugal Canadian's performance for January). These results were actually aided by a $400 refund for an upgrade my home builder never installed. I was over budget in a number of areas in January, including gasoline, groceries, household items and

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138762630621943012006-01-31T21:47:00.000-05:002007-02-26T04:59:20.526-05:00

Frugal Underground is hosting the Festival of Frugality this week. I was particularly inspired by Seattle Simplicity's advice as I try to ferret out some additional savings I can work on in February.

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138458788114737862006-01-30T22:47:00.000-05:002006-01-30T22:53:13.460-05:00

As I believe I mentioned in regard to my savings plan for the year, for the first few months of 2006 my net cashflow will be painfully curtailed as I pay off the balance of some evil consumer debt. I financed two purchases in late 2005:Window coverings for our new home. I consider this a forgivable dip into the consumer debt morass as it was arguably necessary and came with some manageable

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138570217069439552006-01-29T15:45:00.000-05:002006-02-01T14:45:34.496-05:00

Data I included in my previous post got me thinking about my own situation. While I've always focused on the short-term (i.e. monthly budget) benefit of packing a lunch, I've never really considered longer-term consequences. Here is my brown-bagging status:I pack a lunch every day,I include leftovers 100% of the time,I don't actual use a brown bag per se, I reuse a plastic grocery bag (read

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138494148803923322006-01-28T19:09:00.000-05:002007-02-21T07:45:53.980-05:00

I always knew that making small changes to one's lifestyle could have beneficial downstream impacts, but a recent Hamilton Spectator article (based on TD Waterhouse research) offers some interesting (and specific) details:Brown bag it: By taking your own lunch to work three days a week, you'll save an average of $7 a day. After groceries, that's a net saving of $15 a week, $60 a month and $720 a

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138338399945139412006-01-26T23:51:00.000-05:002006-02-01T15:01:05.813-05:00

I'm looking forward to picking up a Canadian Money Saver print subscription next month (I would do this now but all my discretionary spend is exhausted for January). I visited their site today primarily to solicit for single shares of Enbridge and Emera* on thier DRIP forums, only to discover these were restricted to members only. After my short period of (involuntary) irritation had lapsed I

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138247731036905702006-01-25T22:47:00.000-05:002006-01-29T22:49:20.953-05:00

I admit that I sort of glossed over DRIPs initially, mostly because online brokers are more in my comfort zone given my limited trading experience, and at first glance I may have unfairly considered this approach unduly complex.However, as a reader aptly commented on an earlier post, a good number of the companies on my watch list offer DRIP/SPP programs. Not only that, but as pointed out in a

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138160834504091822006-01-24T22:18:00.000-05:002006-01-25T21:55:34.856-05:00

File under 'money-making lessons learned' - after a four-month grace following a move to new home, we finally got around to unpacking all the boxes that had been left in our basement. While we were able to freecycle a number of items that had some appeal, our best efforts of triaging (keep, give away, garbage) still left us with a few odds and ends:1 Fondue Set1 Milk frother1 set of ceramic '

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1138248616856918502006-01-23T23:04:00.000-05:002006-01-25T23:10:16.856-05:00

Let me preface this by explaining that I am a product manager by trade, a vocation that requires I spend a fair amount of time getting my hands dirty trying to find out what's driving people nuts, considering creative ways to address their needs, and then weighing the business case for bringing a solution to the market. It’s a discipline that is so fully ingrained I can’t help but consider the "

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137907173034339142006-01-22T00:19:00.000-05:002006-01-22T20:28:58.323-05:00

Remember all my platitudes about miserliness vs. frugality? Well, 4 days and $13.31 later, I caved and my basement is now the proud home of a masterfully frugal series of clothes lines (4 in total, and quite discreet). I simply screwed 3 pairs of 2 X 3's in parallel from my ceiling joists, drilled holes in the bottom end and ran some clothes line between them (and right below a heating vent, to

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137906026846807032006-01-21T23:24:00.000-05:002006-01-22T00:19:02.946-05:00

Like the S&P Dividend Aristocrats, Mergent offers indices based on dividend growth, but also includes a Canadian Dividend Achievers Index. To become eligible for this index, a company must be incorporated in Canada, trade on a major Canadian exchange, and have increased its annual regular dividend payments for the last 5 or more consecutive years. In addition, Mergent applies certain additional

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137802122494546892006-01-20T19:07:00.000-05:002007-02-21T07:36:17.990-05:00

I currently have two watch lists, one for Canadian and one for U.S. equities. My focus this year will most likely be on spending my target $10K over about 3-4 purchases of Canadian stocks.Here is my current Canadian list (I have simplified the view in order to make this easier to display):To date, I am looking most carefully at Manitoba Telecom (MBT), Russell Metals (RUS) and one of the

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137727204930993052006-01-19T21:39:00.000-05:002007-02-20T13:06:58.150-05:00

I've recently finished reading Derek Foster's "Stop Working", a personal finance autobiographic account from Canada's self-proclaimed youngest retiree. As I'm pretty sure Foster's investment approach is fairly well-known, and as others have already provided helpful reviews of his book (see Canadian Capitalist's synopsis as an example), I won't go into a lot of detail. I mention his book here

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137633732836265272006-01-18T19:54:00.000-05:002006-01-19T02:31:00.440-05:00

In looking at my energy-related expenses I found the EnerGuide site interesting , particularly their interactive energy cost calculator. I have been considering setting up a small clothes-drying area in my basement and really wanted to understand, as nearly as possible, what I pay to use this on a per load basis.Using their tool my dryer cost came out to be about $94 annually. Assuming we do 4

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137631431614693852006-01-18T19:27:00.000-05:002006-01-18T21:17:24.310-05:00

File under curious but off-topic - while the professional blogging community debates AdSense positioning vs. Chitika eMiniMalls, this 21-year-old has taken 'site sponsorship' to an extreme selling about 1,000,000 pixels on his site for a $1 each as an idea to fund his university expenses.In under 5 months he had sold $1M worth of 'ad space'. Sideshow or disruptive innovation? (From an aesthetic

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137463275650634142006-01-16T20:52:00.000-05:002006-01-16T21:01:15.650-05:00

From MoneySense - Average Canadian spends $100 every four days: Mackenzie Investments studyThe average Canadian spends $100 on discretionary items every four days, while nearly one person in four can't even make it last 48 hours, a survey released Monday by Mackenzie Investments suggests.Ow.The article does include some interesting analysis based on province ...

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137461986966184482006-01-16T20:15:00.000-05:002006-12-27T10:09:44.666-05:00

In a follow-up to an earlier post, I did the deed today, smiling to myself as the customer service rep tried in vain desperation to sell me something, anything, after making it clear I was turning my back on legacy long distance plans. Forever.I'll try out a 10-10 service from now on, like 10-10-100 or 10-10-940. It seems really simple, you just dial this number before your call. No activation

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137460434735799132006-01-16T20:07:00.000-05:002006-01-18T13:51:56.496-05:00

From the Toronto Star - Investors foresee sliding returns:A growing number of Canadian investors have lowered their expectations for 2006, continuing a trend that began in 2002, a new poll for TD Waterhouse (TSX: TD) suggests. Has anyone ever seen any research that correlates investor sentiment and actual market performance? For me personally I would look forward to a small correction as a

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137377381906971362006-01-15T20:55:00.000-05:002007-02-02T23:10:47.793-05:00

This one, unfortunately, affects every Canadian's cash flow.While I was elated the 2006 EI rate dropped to 1.87% (from 1.95%) of insurable earnings, saving us all a cool $31.20 annually, the CPP pensionable earnings rose to $42,100 from $41,100 (with no rate change). As a result, the CPP maximum went up to $1910.70 from $1861.20. Though this is a good thing in the very, VERY long run, it will

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137334276295844642006-01-15T09:10:00.000-05:002006-01-18T12:15:30.953-05:00

I did want want to break down my 2006 goals in a little more detail. I am planning the following savings per month:The first half of the year will be woeful for savings. From January - May I will be paying down the balance of some uuuggly consumer debt- something we will touch on in more detail once we review January at the end of the month. Come the end of June I will also max out my EI and

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137252264412235792006-01-14T09:52:00.000-05:002006-09-14T02:50:35.470-04:00

We recently moved to a newly constructed home from an apartment and needed a new phone number/line service. The service representative setting up the line took all the old service and billing information and just copied it to the new number, including the $5/month 'wire protection insurance'. As our wiring is under warranty by the 'smart home' company that set it up, this was an obvious

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137202476686354672006-01-13T20:21:00.000-05:002006-01-15T09:10:22.263-05:00

My goal for 2006 is to invest $10,000 in my non-registered account and $5,000 in my RRSP. As I have no current investments at all, I am going to focus on contributions this year (as opposed to rates of return).My RRSP contributions will be made through my employer-matching program, where they add 2.5% of my salary to my 3% contribution. Not bad.My non-registered equity contribution will likely

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137120086535631022006-01-12T21:34:00.000-05:002006-01-14T09:06:10.470-05:00

For me, a true goal needs to have a number of characteristics:1. It must be realistically achievable. ("I want to develop my telekenisis" appears, alas, to fail this test, and as such was a goal I gave up, with difficulty, at around age 12.)2. It must be quantifiable, both in achieving its stated objective and evaluating one's progress to that end. This eliminates a number of amorphous, though

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137119575354996762006-01-12T21:24:00.000-05:002006-01-15T09:09:23.576-05:00

Long overdue, I finally went entrirely paperless with by bank reporting. No more statements, returned cheques and little ads for mortage transfers. With recent changes at TD Canada Trust, I can view images of all my returned cheques online.Total annual savings: $24What this means: One week of getting to and from work via public transit.

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20906949.post-1137118393731250232006-01-12T21:01:00.000-05:002006-01-12T21:24:09.456-05:00

I have to say I really enjoyed reviewing MoneySense magazine's annual list of Canada's Top 200 stocks and the Top 1000 U.S. stocks. While their specific analysis may not exactly adsdress your investment goals, it was very thorough and well-formatted. Best yet, their spreadsheet of results is available to download entirely free of charge, unlike other 'Top X Stocks of 2005' which I have seen as

Humble Investorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820919468726283563noreply@blogger.com0