It’s time for the 11th Canadian Personal Finance & Investing Carnival. Only 1 more Carnival to go to round out 2010.
Over the years, we’ve learnt such a great deal about personal finance and investing from articles we’ve read online that it feels almost criminal to not share these revelatory pieces of work. So every 15 days days or so, we collate some of the finest Canadian personal finance and investing articles we’ve read over said period of time.
This edition of the Canadian Personal Finance & Investing Carnival tackles responsible ways to use one’s credit cards, reasons to not spend money on gift cards, a discussion about why investors are only using GICs and high interest savings accounts in their TFSAs, tips on how to create an edge if you’re a trader, some insight into how one should deal with nasty prospective tenants, the in’s and out’s of RRSP withdrawals and a whole bunch more.
So grab some egg nog and clear your mind. There’s plenty of weekend reading material in the content below.
The next few lines are directed to all you Canadian Personal Finance & Investing bloggers out there. While we have your attention, we would like to take this moment to invite submissions for the tenth edition of the Canadian Personal Finance & Investing Carnival slated for publishing on December 31st, 2010. So if you’re a Canadian blogger specializing in personal finance and or investing, make sure you submit your best articles for inclusion and while you’re at it, perhaps spread the word about the Canadian Personal Finance & Investing Carnival.
Enjoy!
Sustainable Personal Finance presents Local Insurance Brokerages – A Dying Service?, saying, “When I bought my first car I used a local brokerage that has a good reputation in town. When I bought my first house I called up the brokerage and had them cover my home insurance and I was happy to hear I got a discount on both the home and car insurance due to using the same company for coverage. My broker assured me that this was the best deal I could get and I believed the broker. How wrong and silly was I. Naive even.”
Invest It Wisely presents 5 Responsible Ways to Use Credit Cards, saying, “Credit cards get a lot of hate around the PF blogosphere, and not all of it is undeserved. Nonetheless, I believe that like any tool, credit cards can be used responsibly, and there are certain advantages that they have over cash that can make them a compelling choice. Here are five ways in which credit cards can be used responsibly:”
Zentrader presents How to Create Your Trading Edge, saying, “The profession that correlates with trading the best is a gambler because the focus on money management and continuously calculates probabilities. The following article is mainly focused on trader psychology.”
Boomer and Echo presents How To Repair Your Credit, saying, “You can prevent your financial situation going from bad to worse by learning how to repair your credit before it’s too late and start living within your means.”
Grocery Alerts presents Reasons to not spend money on gift cards, saying, “Gift cards seem like a perfect solution to the problem of what to give this holiday season. Gift cards are easy to sell and wrap and are offered by shopping malls, retailers, airlines, restaurants, and hotels.
I have come up with a list of reasons why you should not spend money on a gift card this holiday season.”
Canadian Finance Blog presents Alternative Solutions To Enhancing Canada Pension Plan, saying, “A look at some alternative solutions to enhancing Canada Pension Plan. Some ideas include increasing RRSP limits or opting out of CPP.”
Money Smarts Blog presents Why Are Investors Only Using GICs and High Interest Savings Accounts In Their TFSAs?, saying, “Apparently most investors are using their TFSAs for safe instruments such as GICs and high interest savings account, even though they are eligible for equities, such as stocks and bonds. I’ve seen a couple of instances where the name “Tax Free Savings Account” was blamed because it contains the word “savings” which apparently is confusing. The name has nothing to do with it – think about this – RRSP is a very successful account used by many Canadians. What does the “S” in RRSP stand for? Wait for it….yes, “Savings”!”
Canadian Couch Potato presents How to Avoid Paying Other People’s Taxes, saying, “Call me old-fashioned, but I like to give ETFs to my loved ones at Christmas. Nothing captures the spirit of the holidays quite like a low-cost, passively managed investment project. But before you go shopping for the Couch Potatoes on your wish list, be aware that December can be a terrible time to buy ETFs.”
Million Dollar Journey presents How RRSP Withdrawals Work, saying, “The common trend in email questions these days regards paying down debt but considering an RRSP withdrawal to pay it down.”
Canadian Capitalist presents Selecting Winning Managers Through Graphology, saying, “I’m currently reading No One Would Listen, a book by Harry Markopolos, the guy who blew the whistle on Bernie Madoff with this lengthy memo to the Securities and Exchange Commission. I find the book very interesting for the various colourful characters that populate the financial industry.”
Landlord Rescue presents How To Deal With Nasty Prospective Tenants, saying, “I’m not sure you’ve all noticed but it’s December the worst month of the year for rentals…if your property is full, count your blessings that all you have to worry about this December is holiday shopping. Still when I found myself with lots of rentals this month, I came up with an action plan which seems to be working exceptionally well.”
Balance Junkie presents China: The Bear Case, saying, “Is China a bubble in search of a pin, or the global growth engine that will save us all from our debaucherous debt? You can find plenty of smart people to argue either side, so I thought I would put together some of the information I’ve collected on the topic over the past couple of months and let you decide what you think.”
Beating The Index presents 3 profitable ways to invest in the market in 2011, saying, “In 2011, those who are brave enough to get back into the stock market after the beating they got in 2008 and those who decided to refocus on yield because they got sick of losing to inflation and getting punished for saving will certainly not be looking for the highest risks out there. They are risk averse, yet they are looking for something that pays more than a GIC or a High Savings Account; they are yield hungry. Where will the average person be injecting his money next year to get a decent yield without carrying excessive risk?”
My Own Advisor presents Welcoming Emera to my portfolio, saying, ““With strategic energy services and infrastructure that includes electric utilities in the Northeastern US, Atlantic Canada, St. Lucia, Grand Bahama and Barbados, a pumped storage hydro-electric facility, natural gas pipelines, a gas-fired power plant, an energy services company and a renewable tidal energy company, Emera has a diversified portfolio with $5.7 billion in assets.” It’s a well-known, established Canadian dividend-payer in the energy sector, generating primarily electricity and making sure that electricity gets to their customers.”
Investing Thesis presents Discussing gold, bonds, fiat currencies, economics and investing with Nick Barisheff of Bullion Management Group, saying, “Predicting a US$1700 – $2000 gold price in 2011, Nick Barisheff of Bullion Management Group urges investors to acquire unencumbered physical bullion with no financial intermediaries or counter-party risk, saying “owning gold, silver, and platinum bars is like having a real fire extinguisher instead of a paper picture of a fire extinguisher.”
Young And Thrifty presents 5 Tips to Help You Save Money During the Holidays, saying, “Although the notion of the holidays evokes thoughts of family, warmth, fireplaces, and holiday parties, let’s be honest, the holidays can be a stressful and expensive time of year. Venturing into the mall can by very harrying, to say the least. This year, I managed to avoid the mall completely except for one day when I was finishing up my Christmas shopping. I did most of my shopping online in the comfort of my own home and some of it well before the Christmas shopping mayhem started. Here are 5 tips that might help you save money during this holiday season:”
Where Does All My Money Go presents New RAFI Long/Short ETF, saying, “ProShares is launching a new ETF which tracks an index created by Research Affiliates (disclosure: The author works for an affiliate of Research Affiliates). Specifically, this is a long/short ETF which means that the main strategy will include holding long positions as well as short positions of various stocks. In this particular case, the ETF is seeking to capture the relative return difference between a Fundamental Index and a Market-Capitalization Weighted Index.”
Financial Thinking presents Income Trust Distributions in 2011, saying, “The taxation of income trusts (SIFTs) changes January 1, 2011. For this reason many, but not all, are converting to a corporation. REITs were given an exemption, meaning that they will not be required to revise their taxation or their distribution policy. I expect almost all REITs will maintain their current payout level in January 2011.”
Canajun Finances presents Disaster Planning or the Worst Case Scenario, saying, “Any financial planning you may be doing for next year, needs to include a Disaster Recovery plan. I have had a few folks tell me that this is morbid, but as a Project Manager I have learned that you are being naive if you do not have some kind of disaster recovery plan in place, to deal with unexpected events in your life, in general, and in your financial life, in specific.”
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That’s a wrap, folks! Have a smashing day!
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