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Old 01-27-2019, 07:48 AM
andyzolik andyzolik is offline
 
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Default Investing - where to start

Ive seen some posts here about investing and I was just wondering if you guys have any recommendation where to start learning. Favourite books or blogs.

Also interested in figuring out how the RRSP an TFSA works.

I started reading this blog and I like it.

https://www.greaterfool.ca/

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Old 01-27-2019, 11:17 AM
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Make an appoint with your Bank advisor at your bank and start there, we used to have our investments with Primerica but never heard a peep from our advisor so we went back to the bank but we did have to pay a fine to remove all the funds from Primerica.
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Old 01-27-2019, 11:34 AM
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For a KISS approach the Canadian Couch Potato is a good place to start.

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Quote:
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It has been scientifically proven that a 308 round will not leave your property -- they essentially fall dead at the fence line. But a 38 round, when fired from a handgun, will of its own accord leave your property and destroy any small schools nearby.
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Old 01-27-2019, 11:37 AM
warriorboy10 warriorboy10 is offline
 
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Stick your cash under your mattress, at least you’ll keep it all and know what you have! Who ever your investing with they will always get their fees no matter how the markets go and the way markets are these days it’s a real crap shoot. My mom always said buy gold, precious metals are looking more and more appealing!! There has to be a better way!!
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Old 01-27-2019, 11:47 AM
yukon254 yukon254 is offline
 
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Try Lending Loop. I've been able to keep an honest 18% rate of return for the last two years. Its simple to use and you are in total control.
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Old 01-27-2019, 11:54 AM
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Start with this quick read, "The wealthy barber 2". It will get you thinking about the basics, how TFSA, RRSP's work, compounding, diversification, taxes etc., in simple terms. After that there are tons of resources.

If you just want to dump your money with an "advisor" at the bank or elsewhere you are going to end up paying a huge portion of your return to the advisor/bank in fees over the course of your investing horizon. If you are getting great advice that pays for the extra cost of fees then it may be worth it. But you are going to find it difficult to find great advice unless you have a fairly large sum to invest. Most of these guys at the banks etc are clueless to be kind. They are just salespeople that group you into a risk profile and dump you into a set mix of high cost mutual funds based on your profile.(I apologize if I offend any advisors.)


You can 100% successfully invest on your own. Educate your self. When you are ready to get going with real money start off with a mix of broad asset classes in a handful of low cost ETF's and go from there IMHO.
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Old 01-27-2019, 11:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bdub View Post
Start with this quick read, "The wealthy barber 2". It will get you thinking about the basics, how TFSA, RRSP's work, compounding, diversification, taxes etc., in simple terms. After that there are tons of resources.

If you just want to dump your money with an "advisor" at the bank or elsewhere you are going to end up paying a huge portion of your return to the advisor/bank in fees over the course of your investing horizon. If you are getting great advice that pays for the extra cost of fees then it may be worth it. But you are going to find it difficult to find great advice unless you have a fairly large sum to invest. Most of these guys at the banks etc are clueless to be kind. They are just salespeople that group you into a risk profile and dump you into a set mix of high cost mutual funds based on your profile.(I apologize if I offend any advisors.)


You can 100% successfully invest on your own. Educate your self. When you are ready to get going with real money start off with a mix of broad asset classes in a handful of low cost ETF's and go from there IMHO.
X2 on the Wealthy Barber, Millionaire School Teacher is another along the same lines.
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Old 01-27-2019, 12:02 PM
Jim Blake Jim Blake is offline
 
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Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
X2 on the Wealthy Barber, Millionaire School Teacher is another along the same lines.
X3 on the Wealthy Barber.
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Old 01-27-2019, 01:50 PM
NinjaHunter NinjaHunter is offline
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I just use wealthsimple robo-advisor and crank the equity to income ratio to 9:1.

remember though, don't sell. even if your gains are in the negative.
Don't panic, it's just part of the stock market called volatility
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Old 01-27-2019, 02:00 PM
-JR- -JR- is offline
 
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Invest in the smallest rental house you can find.
No bank or anybody will give you a min of $1000. return per month.
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Old 01-27-2019, 02:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Blake View Post
X3 on the Wealthy Barber.
Bought it today ......... Thanks
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Old 01-27-2019, 02:08 PM
fishtank fishtank is offline
 
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Default take a good look into TFSA trading /investing account

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Originally Posted by -JR- View Post
Invest in the smallest rental house you can find.
No bank or anybody will give you a min of $1000. return per month.
with the pride of ownership also come with propertytaxes and repairs and the possibilty of bad tenants and empty rentals and other misc head aches and also rising interest rates etc
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Old 01-27-2019, 02:33 PM
-JR- -JR- is offline
 
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Originally Posted by fishtank View Post
with the pride of ownership also come with propertytaxes and repairs and the possibilty of bad tenants and empty rentals and other misc head aches and also rising interest rates etc

Property taxes , only 1 1/2 months rent
Damage repair gets covered from damage deposit
Do your home work on renters ,drive by the last place they rented.
This is the time to buy as prices are low.

If you talk to a banker and tell them you are removing a large amount of money out of the bank to wards a rental property first think they will tell you is:
Your going to have to pay taxes on the money you make.(they do not want you to remove the money as they want it )
This is when you tell the bank you are only paying me $20. a year interest on this money where a house will pay give you at least $10,000. a year after taxes.

ps
I heard if you are buying a house for a rental you need less of a down payment. So why not buy one with a basement suit and you live in it also.
You get to live for free now.

I find the best renters are Journeymen trades men or anyone that has more eduction than high school. Because if they take care about them selfs they will about the house they live in.
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Old 01-27-2019, 03:39 PM
andyzolik andyzolik is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bdub View Post
Start with this quick read, "The wealthy barber 2". It will get you thinking about the basics, how TFSA, RRSP's work, compounding, diversification, taxes etc., in simple terms. After that there are tons of resources.



If you just want to dump your money with an "advisor" at the bank or elsewhere you are going to end up paying a huge portion of your return to the advisor/bank in fees over the course of your investing horizon. If you are getting great advice that pays for the extra cost of fees then it may be worth it. But you are going to find it difficult to find great advice unless you have a fairly large sum to invest. Most of these guys at the banks etc are clueless to be kind. They are just salespeople that group you into a risk profile and dump you into a set mix of high cost mutual funds based on your profile.(I apologize if I offend any advisors.)





You can 100% successfully invest on your own. Educate your self. When you are ready to get going with real money start off with a mix of broad asset classes in a handful of low cost ETF's and go from there IMHO.
Great info, thanks.

I don't think the house prices hit the bottom yet IMHO and feel like I have enough money stuck in my own house so I don't want to put more money in real estate, rather try to divide it into different assets.

What services are you guys using for investing? (Banks, online traders...)



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Old 01-27-2019, 04:50 PM
MyAlberta MyAlberta is offline
 
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I have rentals, stocks/bonds, and a sprinkling of other monetary type holdings. Looking back, the best investments I’ve made was in education, and cultivating a broad social network. The latter has been the most work, being a naturally shy perso, but has without question returned the best moments in life.
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Old 01-27-2019, 05:12 PM
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Wealthy Barber is a good starting place.

Was in the residential rental game for quite a few years with quite a few units. Sold most of them a number of years back. Got out of the last one last year. Way too much aggravation for what the return is. I made much better net returns investing in blue chip dividend stocks over the same period of time. The first 41,000 of dividend income is completely tax free. You don't need an advisor, even with a lot of dollars to invest, the quality of the advice you will get will not pay for the fees you get charged. Use a self directed brokerage like RBC or TD and do your own.

Just stick to the real safe stuff that never goes broke. The big six Canadian banks, telcos (Telus, Rogers, Shaw), pipelines and utilities. All of these are Oligopolies meaning they have limited competition, wide moat (Very expensive and lots of regulations for anyone wanting to get into the business), able to set pricing and in businesses that do well in good or bad economies. Yes their prices will fluctuate in the short term, but if you look at a 20 year stock chart they all show a steady upward march, and they all pay between 3.5 and 7% dividend. Buy them as you can afford, have the dividends reinvested automatically and watch the value grow over the years.

If you had bought 100 shares of Microsoft in 1986, $2,100, it is worth about $750,000 today. If you had bought $10,000 of RBC in 1971 and not reinvested the dividend it would be worth $135,000 today and would be paying you $5,400 a year in dividends. It would have paid you a dividend every 3 months that you could spend or reinvest since 1971.

For property I still like raw farm land, rent it out to a farmer for crop or pasture. I also still like commercial rental space. The triple net basis (renter pays for repairs, snow and grass care, heat, power, water and property taxes) of commercial rent eliminates a lot of the hassle, and risk and greatly improves your returns. Self storage and lots for storing trailers, boats etc also have tremendous returns for relatively small investment.

There are lots of ways to make money long term if you are patient, don't try to find the ten bagger and stick to a regular savings plan. Best of luck.
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Old 01-27-2019, 05:19 PM
caduddin caduddin is offline
 
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Questrade has a learners trial account where they give you dummy money and access to their sources to see how you do.

I've been mulling over the same thing. The Motley Fool can be a decent source if you're looking for a certain type of stock, and research around.
I look for dividend stocks that pay 5 - 10% annually. Still doing some research myself before i take the plunge.
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Old 01-27-2019, 05:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andyzolik View Post
Great info, thanks.

I don't think the house prices hit the bottom yet IMHO and feel like I have enough money stuck in my own house so I don't want to put more money in real estate, rather try to divide it into different assets.

What services are you guys using for investing? (Banks, online traders...)



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I agree with you on the house prices, but caution that investing in stocks, commodities and debt can also be volatile. There are risks in all assets. Investors can also turn into their own worst enemy if they can't control the emotional and mental side of the game. Investing is relatively simple but far from easy.

Anyway, all the big banks offer discount brokerage accounts as well as other firms like Questrade, Interactive Brokers. Fees have been declining steadily over the years where many are now offering costs of ten dollars or less per trade. Shop around on service fees etc. They also offer various tools, screens etc. as well as research. Some even offer free trades on certain ETF's.

Not sure what your situation is but you will most likely want to take advantage of the benefits of both an RRSP as well as a TFSA account and possibly a regular taxable account. If you don't understand the benefits of either then educate yourself on how they work, limits etc. (Just a quick blurb on the different types of accounts. An RRSP allows you to contribute and reduce your taxable income by the amount of the contribution thereby reducing your tax bill. Maximum allowable room is a function of a percentage of your income. Room from past years carries forward if you haven't used it up. The government gets their tax cut when you withdraw it in retirement, hopefully in a lower tax bracket. A TFSA allows you to shelter investment returns from after tax income forever. Any gains are tax free. The maximum contribution room has varied over the years, this year $6000, lifetime so far $63500 if you were 18+ when they first came out. If you have money left after using these tax vehicles fully you will also want a regular taxable account. As a side note to a taxable account, the interest on money borrowed to invest in a taxable account is deductible for certain investments, ie. income producing or expected to be at some point.)

Good luck.
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Old 01-27-2019, 06:17 PM
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Red Bullets Red Bullets is offline
 
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There is sound advice from others already.
I may sound out of date but the mention of keeping the money you have at home as cash is not a bad idea. It keeps it real and not just digits that lay in other's fate. Keeping cash on hand give a person the ability to look at different opportunites. And a person will never live beyond their means and sleeps good at night.

With today's economy there are all sorts of tremendous deals that come up that if you have the cash on hand you can partake in. My example is something that happened to a friend recently. A fellow was being transfered out of country and had everything to sell in a very short time. He sold his 75K like new (clear title) truck for 25K when my friend offered cash. My friend bought it and then sold it 2 weeks later for 40K.
I had an opportunity to buy an 80 acre chunk of land for 40K from a guy needing legal fees fast. I missed out but the guy that bought it flipped it for 100K six months later. Estate sales can have some hidden gems to invest in too.

Going to the bank for a loan against money you have invested elsewhere is redundant. And if you are maxed out at the bank you are out of luck borrowing for those things that come up.

And with today's economy they are trying to make everyone cashless. Just give them digits in a bank. There are restaurants that do not take cash already. That is scary. No cash means big brother controls everyone. Then you will need approval and signatures for anything related to your money. Keep cash alive. Cash is king.
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Old 01-27-2019, 06:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Bullets View Post
"..with today's economy they are trying to make everyone cashless. Just give them digits in a bank.
There are restaurants that do not take cash already. That is scary. No cash means
big brother controls everyone. Then you will need approval and signatures
for anything related to your money. Keep cash alive. Cash is king.
I so badly wish everyone thought as you do !!
I inwardly cringe heavily when I see so many daft people at 7-11 now paying for their stuff with their cell phones.
when society goes full cashless, it's ALL over, Only then will the sheep see cashless was the biggest & greatest curse.
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Old 01-27-2019, 07:16 PM
yukon254 yukon254 is offline
 
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While Im certainly not an investment professional, I have to agree with JR. In my line of work I get to meet and spend time with a lot of very wealthy men and women. The vast majority made their money in real estate, by starting out small. I know a young lady that now owns two houses in Whitehorse and is on her way to being retired by 45. All on paramedic wages.
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Old 01-27-2019, 07:59 PM
JWCalgary JWCalgary is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andyzolik View Post
Ive seen some posts here about investing and I was just wondering if you guys have any recommendation where to start learning. Favourite books or blogs.

Also interested in figuring out how the RRSP an TFSA works.

I started reading this blog and I like it.

https://www.greaterfool.ca/

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I stay away from banks. Unless you are in private wealth management They have limited products and couldn't give a rats patootie about your money. Find an advisor from a good company and make sure that they keep in touch with you about what your money is doing.

Typically funds through your work will have lower fees (depending on the co) if you have a decent benefits package.

A good book is The Ascent of Money. This will tell you the financial system works and also how screwed thecaverage person is.

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Old 01-27-2019, 09:44 PM
antlercarver antlercarver is offline
 
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Don`t be fooled by numbers. Dad sold some land for 16000, the new owner kept
for 25 years and sold it to Ducks unlimited for 265000.
When Dad sold the lad, he bought a new truck for $2600, which means he could have bought about 6 trucks. When the new owner sold for 265000, he could have bought about 5 trucks. He also had to pay capital gains tax.
The guy Dad sold to did not gain a quarter of a million, he actually lost purchasing power.
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Old 01-27-2019, 10:09 PM
warriorboy10 warriorboy10 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by antlercarver View Post
Don`t be fooled by numbers. Dad sold some land for 16000, the new owner kept
for 25 years and sold it to Ducks unlimited for 265000.
When Dad sold the lad, he bought a new truck for $2600, which means he could have bought about 6 trucks. When the new owner sold for 265000, he could have bought about 5 trucks. He also had to pay capital gains tax.
The guy Dad sold to did not gain a quarter of a million, he actually lost purchasing power.
Excellent point! My advisor went through that with me last week and can very hard to wrap ones head around but it’s so true... Such a misconception!
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Old 01-27-2019, 11:06 PM
andyzolik andyzolik is offline
 
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Im not saying that investing real estate is bad, but it shouldn't be the only source. Im already invested in my house so now its time to get some other investments going and maybe later on I can look at real estate as well.

What is the difference between the taxable account that Bdub mentioned and account that I open with for example Questrade? Are they the same?

Thanks everyone for sharing!

I have some reading to do.


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Old 01-28-2019, 02:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by antlercarver View Post
Don`t be fooled by numbers. Dad sold some land for 16000, the new owner kept
for 25 years and sold it to Ducks unlimited for 265000.
When Dad sold the lad, he bought a new truck for $2600, which means he could have bought about 6 trucks. When the new owner sold for 265000, he could have bought about 5 trucks. He also had to pay capital gains tax.
The guy Dad sold to did not gain a quarter of a million, he actually lost purchasing power.
Sounds good but you are dead wrong. If your Dad put that money in his mattress for the last 25 years he could now buy about 1/3 of a new pickup. The simple fact is, the price of everything keeps rising. To stay ahead of inflation you have to invest in assets that yield more than the rate of inflation in after tax dollars. If they also pay you a regular income over and above their gain in value, all the better.

Think I am exaggerating, talk to anyone that retired 20 years ago on a fixed pension of 2500 a month. Their property taxes alone have more than quadrupled. Add to that the increases in everything else. What was a pretty good livable income is now bordering on the poverty line.

Last edited by Dean2; 01-28-2019 at 02:35 AM.
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Old 01-28-2019, 06:26 AM
fishtank fishtank is offline
 
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Keep it in cash for the drop .. there was a drop on the market just before Christmas , will take time so take baby steps , try it out with a practice account and don’t get too excited and ahead of yourself and never put all your eggs in one baskets. ,

Ps I think real estate is over priced because if you think about putting a down payment you will have to worry about a mortgage and raising interest rates feel the weight after a few raised rates which it will happen soon .. and better off with a REIT that’s pays good dividends and can cash out faster , when better opportunities arise . Like other have said Cash is king
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Old 01-28-2019, 06:34 AM
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Flatlandliver Flatlandliver is offline
 
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Buy land near water.
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Old 01-28-2019, 06:41 AM
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I only have a few rules for investing, but they work.

1. Only buy good companies at good prices. Stick to fairly large companies with a proven track record. Stocks fluctuate - look for opportunities to buy when a stock is on sale. Don’t buy a stock just because it’s a good deal - you have to consider why the price has dropped.

2. Don’t be greedy. Every time you buy a stock, consider where your exit point is. I always put in a sell order the same day I buy a stock - if the price goes up a certain amount, it automatically sells. . I aim to make about 5% with each trade. Sometimes I lose out on potential earnings, but I hardly ever lose.

3. Diversify. Stocks will go up and down. As long as you don’t buy the wrong stock or overpay in the first place, you will make money on a trade as long as you hold it long enough. By buying multiple companies in multiple industries, you will be more likely to make more money more consistently.

4. It’s ok to not trade. Sometimes weeks go by between trades. Sometimes you make 10-15 trades in one day. Only invest when it makes sense.
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Old 01-28-2019, 06:49 AM
Jim Blake Jim Blake is offline
 
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Land, Land, Land. Especially if you can find a couple quarters with an Commercial Aggregate Deposit on it.
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