October 2011 - Million Dollar Journey

Welcome to the Million Dollar Journey October 2011 Net Worth Update – Market Bottom Edition. For those of you new to Million Dollar Journey, a monthly net worth update is typically posted near the end of the month (or beginning of the next) to track the progress of my journey to one million in net…

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Defined benefit (DB) pension plans have a reputation for their complex formulas for determining monthly pension benefits. Unfortunately, when you retire it doesn’t get any simpler. Depending on your employer and your province of employment, employees may be presented with a number of forms of pension to choose from upon retirement. The various forms of…

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Several posts on this blog have dealt with ETFs including their suitability and terminology. ETFs offer the diversification of mutual funds, trade on an exchange similar to stocks, and have lower MERs when compared to mutual funds. However, investment vehicles are updated and upgraded like software packages and there are new products released frequently; one…

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We’ve been Costco members for a while and really enjoy the store for essentials and unfortunately, non-essentials. I’ve written about the great Costco debate which included the pros and cons of the store. Some of the high points are the competitive prices, quality, samples and the best in the biz return policy. Like anything, there…

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I think almost everyone who gets married hopes to stay with their spouse for the rest of their life. However, for a significant number of people, reality does not follow that script. A study indicates that 4 in 10 first marriages end in divorce in Canada. The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada provides more…

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As most of you may know, mutual funds can be very expensive, especially in Canada. What do I mean by expensive? As a typical mutual fund sold by a bank involves a fund manager, s/he needs to be paid along with other associated costs. This results in a Management Expense Ratio (MER) that takes a…

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Mutual funds come in different flavors; they could vary in their investment styles (growth, value, or blend of both), type of securities held (stocks or bonds), sectors (energy, utilities, financial to name but a few), etc. They also differ in their mode of operation: namely, open-end or closed-end funds. Open-end Funds Many investors would be…

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Socially responsible investing refers to choosing investments that combine social factors, corporate actions that reflect such social views, and good investment returns. This type of investing seeks to achieve competitive annualized returns, while making the world a better place or at least assisting to sustain what is left of it. Investors with a social criteria…