This is not a personal finance blog but from time to time I do book reviews that I think can help you find money to invest and pay down debt. In light of the recent depressing news today that 28% of Canadians think that they would have to declare bankruptcy because they can't keep up with monthly payments when interest rates start to rise. it is again worthy to mention some past reminders.
A further 44% said they are only $200 away from becoming totally broke, and 27% have no money left for savings or investments. Most, like 42% live in fear of their financial well being. This is troubling as families teeter on the edge of financial ruin because rates are going up.
If you need to find cash then read this book NOW.
Maybe you struggle with how best to construct your financial life. Read this book and maybe it will help you to stop worrying about money. Either way you need to get educated and stop becoming part of the above statistics.
I have recently made the following changes and adjustments to these portfolios. This is just what I'm doing and by no means what I think you should do with your financial life.
My Wife's RRSP
Sold - XQB, ZPR and XIC
Bought - BCE, BNS, BIP.UN, CU, CM, CNR, ENB, FTS, RY, TD and TRP.
The only ETF still in the portfolio is XAW which is being used for equity exposure to US and World markets. I don't know how to pick Int'l stocks so I use XAW as a cheap proxy. It is up 21% since purchase so I will continue to hold it.
I wanted to return my wife's portfolio to a dividend generating income stream for retirement and dump all bonds and preferred shares as my guru Tom Connolly and Stephen Jarislowsky suggest doing.
The dividend yield on this portfolio is a respectable 4% which is where I like it. Banks, Telecomm, Utilities, Infrastructure/Pipelines and Railways. Nothing exciting just big boring stable companies with a history of dividend growth and making money.
My RRSP
I continue to hold onto; BMO, BNS, BCE, CM, CNR, CP, ENB, FTS, RY, TD, TRP and VFV. I will hold VFV for access to the S&P 500 universe of stocks. This portfolio generates a yield of 3.85%.
I am having my doubts about continuing to hang in with telecomm stocks. I need to dedicate a blog post to this a little later I think. I don't like all the promotion wars for customers and the ongoing giving away of services and products on the cheap. All you ever hear about is cable cord cutting and people looking to switch providers looking for deals.
When they can't find one they look for cheaper android boxes, phones and data packages. This industry is constantly under attack just like the mutual fund industry has been and they are now terrible investments. I have found that BCE was selling for cheap but maybe it is cheap for a reason and this is it. Nobody it seems likes to pay for things like parking and cable TV. Humans will go to great lengths to avoid or reduce charges for these things.
Everyone wants a FREE phone but don't consider who pays for it. These companies may become poor investments I don't know what the future holds. I'll be watching the financials very closely in the future and decide then on whether this sector deserves more investment dollars or not.
I am having my doubts about continuing to hang in with telecomm stocks. I need to dedicate a blog post to this a little later I think. I don't like all the promotion wars for customers and the ongoing giving away of services and products on the cheap. All you ever hear about is cable cord cutting and people looking to switch providers looking for deals.
When they can't find one they look for cheaper android boxes, phones and data packages. This industry is constantly under attack just like the mutual fund industry has been and they are now terrible investments. I have found that BCE was selling for cheap but maybe it is cheap for a reason and this is it. Nobody it seems likes to pay for things like parking and cable TV. Humans will go to great lengths to avoid or reduce charges for these things.
Everyone wants a FREE phone but don't consider who pays for it. These companies may become poor investments I don't know what the future holds. I'll be watching the financials very closely in the future and decide then on whether this sector deserves more investment dollars or not.
LIRA Holdings
I'm trying to just preserve my wife's pension here. That's why I bought MAW104 for this account. She also holds minor positions in RY and FTS for some extra yield which will be used to buy more units of her balanced mutual fund.
This is just a way for me to keep my hands off of her pension money. I don't worry about it and just let it sit and grow. I have elected to have the distributions reinvested every month into more units instead of taking it in cash.
This fund has an MER of 0.92% and it has only been owned for 2 months now. Up 3% since purchase and yields 1.1%. So far the capital is growing nicely and in case of a major market correction she is somewhat protected.
This is just a way for me to keep my hands off of her pension money. I don't worry about it and just let it sit and grow. I have elected to have the distributions reinvested every month into more units instead of taking it in cash.
This fund has an MER of 0.92% and it has only been owned for 2 months now. Up 3% since purchase and yields 1.1%. So far the capital is growing nicely and in case of a major market correction she is somewhat protected.
TFSAs
Just cash in both accounts as the amounts are too small to invest in anything meaningful. I was late to the party starting these accounts as I was focused on paying down debt. We are debt free and have been for at least 3 years now.
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