Portfolio Update February 2019

Time flies as we are already due for another DIY Portfolio update. As usual, you can expect our subsequent update in about 12 weeks, in May 2019.

You can also access our earlier portfolio updates here:

All Portfolio Updates

Portfolio Update November 2017

Portfolio Update February 2018

Portfolio Update May 2018

Portfolio Update August 2018

Portfolio Update November 2018

There sure was a lot of action on the markets since our last update. We even got a scary wild ride around the end of last year. The US government shutdown and all political uncertainty surrounding it sure don’t help. Are we now getting accustomed to it? One thing for sure, it’s probably not the end of it and more turbulence can be expected. But don’t worry, that’s life on the markets and what we must endure to benefit from greater long-term returns. A small price to pay if you think about it.

All that volatility sure provided plenty of attractive opportunities. Today, we’ll elaborate about some of that buying including that we finally pulled the trigger on Colgate-Palmolive (CL).

We’ll also talk about how in the last few weeks, we got a little deeper in our retirement planning. We found out everything retirement related sure can get complicated.

Once more, I’ll remind you that I am not an investment or tax professional of any kind. The intent of this blog is not to give specific investing advice. Before investing yourself, we suggest you do all necessary research and consult a licensed financial professional if need be. 

12-Minute Ways to Have a Better Day (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on July 12, 2012

Here are some simple 12-Minute Ideas to help things go smoothly; to have a brighter and merrier day.

Sometimes, 12-Minute it’s all it takes!

1-Wake Up 12-Minute Earlier

This will allow you to take time to smell the roses and relax before you start your morning routine or

to take a little more time before you embark in a busy work day.  

2-Take 12-Minute to Breathe

Take a break during an hectic day and just breathe!

3-Invest 12-Minute to Plan Your Day

Plan you day early in the morning or the next one late at night.

Don’t Blindly Contribute to Your RRSP

Despite my best efforts to plan ahead, everything is kind of happening all at once these days. It’s still pleasant as most of it is positive. The irony is that I will probably have too much time to spare on my leave of absence that kicks off just in a few months. I still wanted to take a moment today to talk to you about RRSPs.

As by all the publicity that we get from financial institutions, it seems like RRSP season is already upon us.

I feel kind of sad when I see a lot of folks rushing to the bank for their last-minute annual RRSP contribution. From my standpoint, here’s the typical scenario. Incited by financial salespeople (I must admit I have a hard time calling them advisors), most people blindly fill up papers to contribute to their RRSP (press hard there’s three copies) because they are told it will be awesome for their finances. A lot of months later (because they take too much time to pay their accountant to file their taxes), they get a RRSP-related tax refund and immediately spend it all away! Ouch!

I think you should at least ask yourself these questions before contributing to your RRSP this year.

12-Minute Financial Tips to Immediately Improve Your Situation

One of the main concepts at the basis of the 12-Minute Approach is improvement. In most cases and in most domains, it’s easy to get to ball rolling with only 12-Minute a day or 12-Minute here and there. It’s no different for your finances. Your family’s financial situation can be greatly improved by investing just a little time, 12 minutes, on it. The idea is to start with 12-Minute and build up from there.

Consequently, today we will try to present a bunch of ideas on how to quickly improve your dealings with money. Note that our intention is not to present an exhaustive list. If you have a minute or even better, a dozen, pick one of these and try to implement it. 

New Year and Dividend Income Update 2019

As usual, figures have been updated on several pages of our blog to reflect 2018 results.

Among others, these pages have been updated:

Escaping 9-to-5

Investing Goals

The accumulating phase of our investing plan is almost over. Somewhat in maintenance mode, we are also trying to remain as tax efficient as possible.

For instance, this year being a low-income one (thanks to our third leave of absence, a big fat 8 month this time around, hooray!), we will transfer some funds from RRSP to TFSA accounts. It’s never desirable to pay taxes but the tax cost incurred now that way will be a lot less steep than in future higher-income years.

12-Minute Meetings (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on June 12, 2012

Sometimes, meetings can be a drag, especially when your boss likes to listen to himself for endless and countless hours. Furthermore, he’ll probably be upset afterwards because you missed some of his points and you lacked time to complete all your work.

Maybe someone could introduce him to the 12-Minute Segment Rule.

Use The 12-Minute Segment Rule

During a meeting, each speech or presentation should be limited to 12-Minute segments because for most people, the optimum concentration period is only 12 minutes. Beyond that, the average person won’t be able to focus and follow explanations.