We’re a PF blog with a sustainable twist. To date we have not written about our investing strategies in much detail but that will change this year. We do include an Investing section in our Weekend Reading every week. Our regular readers likely have a feel for what we think about and feel is important to us even though we haven’t come right out and discussed our strategies.
This week I read a lot of fantastic articles on Investing so I thought i’d share my thoughts on some of these articles. Perhaps this will help to nudge me toward writing articles about our investing approach. That being said, check out what we read this week about investing that caught my eye …
I think the TFSA is an awesome investment vehicle. Yes, it has been misunderstood by the masses. Yes, there is a cap on the contribution limits that isn’t nearly as high as most would like. However, it is TAX FREE. Your money grows over time and the government can never tax you on the interest/gains you earn. Awesome. A lot of writers and investors feel the same and go out of their way to knock the traditional “tax free” (for now, not when you retire) RRSP. Canadian Capitalist takes exce
ption to the Ranting Against RRSPs. Some really valid points, even if the RRSP isn’t the investment vehicle that best meets our personal needs.
So we’re always hearing “buy and hold, buy and hold!” It seems that this approach is almost an investing commandment. Rarely do I read anything that puts forth an argument that makes me question the buy and hold (don’t freak when the markets turn) philosophy that has been forced on pretty much everyone. Thing is, how does this make sense over time - and by time, I mean a century - not 5 years or 10 years or even 20 years. It doesn’t. “Holding” when the market is clearly tanking means your portfolio is shrinking, plain and simple. Selling prior to rock bottom, and buying back at rock bottom seems to make sense to me. Canadian Finance Blog had a guest post this week from Rob Bennett, where he discusses the Benefits of Value-Informed Indexing which I find very intriguing.
I’ve mentioned before, in one of our earliest posts about entering the foray of personal finance, that The Wealthy Barber is a cornerstone to our getting our personal finances in order. Thing is, there is a chapter in the article that is questionable to today’s reader: the RRSP chapter that Canadian Business takes issue with. Yep, they’re right on this one. Mutual Funds cost fartoo much due to MER. David Chilton, the author of the now 20 year old book, is re-publishing the book to address today’s realities and I can’t wait to read it. From comments i’ve read from him, he recognizes that his work needs tweeking and that the Canadian’s reading his work need updated advice.
While I love ETFs I can’t help myself but to look at individual stocks, especially for our Smith Manouevre (which I need to discuss later), and how these companies can pay us dividends. Passive income rocks. Lucky for us our friend @ DividendGuyBlog has given us 15 things to look at when picking a stock. More great advice that will help us figure out what to buy and what to avoid.
So where should Canadians invest? Again, we’re told: don’t put your eggs in one (Canadian) basket. Thing is, Canadian industry produces what the world wants! Food, check. Minerals, check. Oil, check. Fertilizer, check. Financial Highway seems to agree and gives us ideas on how to deal with global inflation by buying commodities if you’re worried about inflation.
Now some links to other great articles I read this week.
Sustainability
GreenLivingGuy tells us that LED lightbulbs are coming down in price. They still cost about the same as CFL bulbs when you compare the two but it is a great sign that the cost of thee very efficient bulbs is becoming more reasonable.
Is Walmart becoming more sustainable? Perhaps in terms of being “Green”, however, this does not make Walmart Socially Responsible as it still practices predatory pricing, destroying small businesses and impacting communities or their awful treatment of working conditions for their employees.
Wealth Pilgrim discusses the Disadvantages of Buying a Hybrid. The points made are valid but incomplete, at least to this reader.
Retirement
Money Smarts Blog wonders which of RRSPs or TFSAs are best for saving for your retirement. The conclusion? It depends on your situation.
The Financial Post wrote about how non-Resident Canadians can, and are saving the tax hit on RRSP withdrawls.
There are a lot of ways to configure your retirement savings. My Own Advisor discusses theirs which looks a lot like ours!
Personal Finance
Big Cajun Man isn’t a fan of Usage Based Billing and neither are we. However, he does think the CRTC loves monopolies.
A small business isn’t all about money according to Canadian Free at 45. He makes some great points here and his families small business is a great example why.
Can you save too much? Should you save every cent you’ve got? Mr. & Mrs. Broke Professional tackled this topic from opposite ends.
Lifestyle
Squirrelers looks at situations where DIY is not the best option. After installing our two low flow toilets this month you really need to look at all the factors before hiring a professional.
Want to fight food price inflation? Get Rich Slowly suggests building your own food bank.
We’d like to thank those who included our articles this week including:
Low flow showerheads are reasonably priced and very easy to install. By installing a low flow shower head you can use the various settings on the device to control how much water is needlessly going down the drain. These low flow showerheads can be adjusted to release as much water as a non low flow shower head or even set to stop the release of water entirely. As our water will be metered in the near future, controlling water output and waste is important to us.
ep a little container by the tub and fill it up with water. I rinse the razor in it whenever need be and in no time flat I’ve done my legs and used a very small amount of water. For those with water metering (and we will be soon) it saves you money!
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