2011 welcomes EI ($786.76) and CPP ($2163.15) payments again.. and with extra time off for the Yuletide season this year, I can definitely say I spent more than I earned over the holidays.. YIKES!
2010 financials as of Dec 31st:
But not bad considering it has been 10 years and 1 month since I started trading online... portfolio since Dec 2000 +1004%
WHAT I LEARNT SO FAR:
-when learning about money...learn everything there is to know about money- that includes taxes, debt control, real estate, interest rates, insurance, and being frugal; not just stock and bond picks.. you'll never learn it all but you what you will find is they're all related to each other...
-when deciding to invest, I made it a hobby; people spend more time and effort with their hobbies than their families or their jobs. Take a guy whose hobby is rebuilding cars for example... he knows more about that car and has spent more time and money in doing so than any guy who does it for a living...
-money flows 2 ways: 'IN' and 'OUT'; no matter how much you think you can control the money coming 'IN', you're really only in control of the 'OUT'... Why do you think all those people who work all those overtime hours or extra jobs never really get out of debt..sure, they may temporarily ease some pain but when the overtime stops, there they are begging to be transferred to another money job...
- rule of 72... learn it, know it... live it... if I can get 10% return on my money, it will take 7.2 years to double; if I get 7.2%, it will take 10 years to double... 69 is a more accurate number but people tend to think you're talking about something other than compound interest for some reason...
-a 100% tax write-off does NOT mean "FREE"... plus to 'write' something off, you actually got to make some money...
-compound interest is your BEST employee- he works for you 365 days a year and never takes a break! ; BUT if you have debt, he will haunt you 24/7...
- Scotiabank is completely wrong: you REALLY have LESS than you think. Canadians as of 2010 spend $1.42 for every dollar they earn... and what you got left on your line of credit is NOT added to your NET WORTH...
-a tax return ISN'T 'bonus' money... nor is it "extra" spending money...
-never owe more than 2.5 times your annual GROSS INCOME for a home and have at least 10% down... IE. if you make $80K per year, your mortgage should not exceed $200K... when homes cost $400? Get a bigger down payment. SIMPLE.
-From David Chilton (Wealthy Barber): pay yourself first and save your way to prosperity...remember the 10% rule...
- from Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad): never buy your TOYS with the money you earn; BUY ASSETS; let your ASSETS buy your TOYS... but first you must learn what an asset is...
- from Eden Hampson (Re/Max): "people upgrade their homes for 2 reasons: size and location- make sure your home has both... if you have to upgrade your house because it's too small or for any other reason in the next couple of years no matter how much you think it has appreciated, the only person that really makes money is me, the Real Estate guy..."
-from Eden again: if you are planning to have a family, never count on the lower income earner's wages when deciding how much you can AFFORD on a home... being able to afford a home with one income saves so much grief later in life...
-from my dad: "there's no such thing as 'easy money'... if money fell out of the sky, you couldn't get easier than that could you? Well, you would still have a sore back at the end of the day picking it off the ground.."
-from my dad again: "you can make whatever you make with your job and do all the overtime you want; and I'll make $10 per hour in business- I'll have more money than you at the end of the year... it's not about what you make son..."
-anyone can pick stocks and every 3 of 4 will be winners whether you have a monkey throwing darts at the newspaper or research them like you're going after a Nobel Prize; when to buy & when to sell is the HARD part. And I'm not talking about timing here...
- timing the markets is IMPOSSIBLE regardless of what someone may think they know or what they tell you: if everyone knew a way to time the markets perfectly, either stocks would be worth nil or everyone would be rich...
-it really does take money to make more money... it takes a lot of money to make a little too... so don't think your measly $1000 is gonna make you a mil... SAVE. Do the rich get richer? Damn straight.
-know when to get out: if you have a flower garden, you pull your weeds and let your flowers bloom don't you?; so why do so many sell their winners and double up on their losers in the stock market??
-learn to talk about money.... openly and honestly... 99% of my parents' fights and arguments were over money; and they always had food in the fridge and a roof over our heads... when my first child was born I vowed to do the same without the money fights...
-from Peter Lynch (Beating the Street): when your cab driver gives you a stock tip, it's time to get out of the market... same holds true with pipefitters and welders: when they suddenly become stock market experts but have none to show for it, SELL everything... when they become the real estate gurus, it's time to move to Skatch...
- never let PRIDE or what you think what people may think of you get in the way of you making money... that goes the same for SAVING money... quit trying to impress others or get used to being broke.
-that being said, never let making money or your GREED get in the way of your health and well-being or spending quality time with your family.... money means nothing when you're lying on your deathbed; and, it's all FOR nothing without your family to share in your financial successes...
-after 10 years of doing this, and the more I do this, the more I realize I know nothing.... education is the best investment anybody will ever make...STUDY
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
