I read this article in the Globe & Mail last week for two reasons: 1) I love the Globe & Mail, and 2) I love reading about generations and their traits. This article deals with 2009 high school graduates. I found it a very interesting article, a great read so I suggest you take a look at it. Meet Generation Practical
From my own very limited study into the different generations, one thing that I have learned about this generation (namely, the tail end of Generation Y) is that it has some of the same attributes as its members’ grandparents (Traditionalists) and is not at all like its parents (Baby Boomers). Obviously the characteristics it shares with its traditionalist grandparents are updated for the simple reason that they have grown up in different worlds, but the foundation of our beliefs seem to be the same; family, friends and helping others is what are important. Careers and the "me-first" attitude more commonly portrayed by the baby Boomer generation is farther down the list of Generation Y’s values.
If you come across a Generation Practical in the next few days, give them a thumbs up and a pat on the back. They have a lot to do over the next 20 years.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
It Depends On When You Wake Up
I woke up this morning at 7:30 and, as per usual, I poured a cup of coffee and went through my morning computer bookmark routine. Check the sports scores from the day before, set my fantasy league lineups for the day, enter the bottomless pit called Gmail and graze through the news to see if the world is still stumbling along.
A lot of my attention lately has been directed towards the business section of the Globe and Mail. Usually, Monday morning is a fairly uneventful morning, the market also takes a weekend and is still on its way to work like everyone else. So I had a fairly easy read with the headline "The Return of Optimism" posted @ 7:28am. A fairly common theme I have been hearing over the last couple weeks is about how the market has bottomed out and people are beginning to feel optimistic about the next quarter. How quickly we forget....
I checked back in over some lunch at around 12 to see if ESPN had put up their power rankings for the MLB yet, hoping to find out what they had to say about our Blue Jays this past week, and then I went back over to the Globe and Mail. And before you could get a round of golf in, the market had dropped 350 points and a new report had been posted, now headlined "New Global Forecast Shakes Markets". At this point I would like to draw your attention to an article I first brought up earlier on this blog in the post "Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster".
Monday June 22 2009 sums up the last 12 months of the markets; one moment you're flying in your private jet, then your wings fall off and you turn into a missile carrying 13 different bottles of scotch, but you end off landing on a giant cloud that stops you softly and seems to carry you away to where there's no harm in sight... that is until that cloud turns into a thunder storm.
What I have been thinking about the most is whether the markets are turning into a different monster. Is the last 30 years of averages going to change? Is the ratio of 3 years of bull markets and 9 months of bear markets going to be a thing of the past? I don't really know, and I would have to be insane to try and give a conclusive answer to that. But it seems that some people do think they know.
What I do know, as of Monday June 22, is that if I want good news I should wake up early and get back to bed before noon. But where's the fun in that?
Have a great week!
Matthew George
A lot of my attention lately has been directed towards the business section of the Globe and Mail. Usually, Monday morning is a fairly uneventful morning, the market also takes a weekend and is still on its way to work like everyone else. So I had a fairly easy read with the headline "The Return of Optimism" posted @ 7:28am. A fairly common theme I have been hearing over the last couple weeks is about how the market has bottomed out and people are beginning to feel optimistic about the next quarter. How quickly we forget....
I checked back in over some lunch at around 12 to see if ESPN had put up their power rankings for the MLB yet, hoping to find out what they had to say about our Blue Jays this past week, and then I went back over to the Globe and Mail. And before you could get a round of golf in, the market had dropped 350 points and a new report had been posted, now headlined "New Global Forecast Shakes Markets". At this point I would like to draw your attention to an article I first brought up earlier on this blog in the post "Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster".
Monday June 22 2009 sums up the last 12 months of the markets; one moment you're flying in your private jet, then your wings fall off and you turn into a missile carrying 13 different bottles of scotch, but you end off landing on a giant cloud that stops you softly and seems to carry you away to where there's no harm in sight... that is until that cloud turns into a thunder storm.
What I have been thinking about the most is whether the markets are turning into a different monster. Is the last 30 years of averages going to change? Is the ratio of 3 years of bull markets and 9 months of bear markets going to be a thing of the past? I don't really know, and I would have to be insane to try and give a conclusive answer to that. But it seems that some people do think they know.
What I do know, as of Monday June 22, is that if I want good news I should wake up early and get back to bed before noon. But where's the fun in that?
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Monday, June 15, 2009
Rule Of 72
Short, sweet and so important that you're going to want to read this again.
Question: What is the number one reason to invest more aggressively and have a properly managed portfolio?
Answer: The rule of 72.
The rule of 72 is defined as this: A rule stating that in order to find the number of years required to double your money at a given interest rate, you divide the compound return into 72. The result is the approximate number of years that it will take for your investment to double. (Investopedia)
Are you only getting a 3% return on your money each year? If so, it will take you 24 years to double your money!
Can you get 8% on your money each year somewhere else? If so, it will only take you 9 years to double your money!
What does that really mean in time and dollars?
Let's say you're 25 years old and you have $25,000 to invest. If you are getting 3% a year on your portfolio, by the time you retire at 60 years of age you will have approx. $70,000.
If your portfolio with the same $25,000 starting point gets 8% a year, at age 60 you will have approx. $200,000.
Which do you want to have?
$70,000 or $200,000?
The choice is up to you, but I think I already know which one you want.
Achieving maximum benefit from your investments is dependent on doubling your money as much as you can in your investing lifetime. Talk to me to find out how many doubles you can get.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Question: What is the number one reason to invest more aggressively and have a properly managed portfolio?
Answer: The rule of 72.
The rule of 72 is defined as this: A rule stating that in order to find the number of years required to double your money at a given interest rate, you divide the compound return into 72. The result is the approximate number of years that it will take for your investment to double. (Investopedia)
Are you only getting a 3% return on your money each year? If so, it will take you 24 years to double your money!
Can you get 8% on your money each year somewhere else? If so, it will only take you 9 years to double your money!
What does that really mean in time and dollars?
Let's say you're 25 years old and you have $25,000 to invest. If you are getting 3% a year on your portfolio, by the time you retire at 60 years of age you will have approx. $70,000.
If your portfolio with the same $25,000 starting point gets 8% a year, at age 60 you will have approx. $200,000.
Which do you want to have?
$70,000 or $200,000?
The choice is up to you, but I think I already know which one you want.
Achieving maximum benefit from your investments is dependent on doubling your money as much as you can in your investing lifetime. Talk to me to find out how many doubles you can get.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Best Doctors For Everyone
I decided to draw our attention to this report which was sent to me last week: 1 in 5 breast cancer tests wrong.
"Am I getting the right diagnosis from my doctor?" That is something I have certainly thought about when going to the doctor. I have all the respect in the world for doctors. My doctor is a very intelligent woman and she has been my family doctor since I was born. But I have always understood that it is not possible for her to be an expert in all medical fields, so quite often family doctors refer to specialists. As much as I would like to believe that what I am being told is correct, I have heard many examples along the same lines as that news report from Quebec; misdiagnoses are prevalent in the medical community. What's the answer to this problem then?
Well, I would like to address your attention to an organization that I feel is life-saving: Best Doctors . Their vision: "When you need to be absolutely sure, Best Doctors is there." Take a look at the website and read a little about them. It really is a fascinating organization. A quick explanation of what they do is this: when you get a diagnosis from a doctor you are able to send your file to the Best Doctors organization and they will review it. Then they have the ability to both change the diagnosis and treatment.
You may ask, "How do I know I am I getting credible advice?" Well, according to the Best Doctors website, the physicians in the Best Doctors database have been identified by their peers as being the ‘best’ in their specialty areas. They seek "doctors whose reputation for clinical excellence places them in the top 5% of their specialty."
If there is anything to get a second opinion on, is it not your health? I am a huge supporter of Best Doctors and I have made sure that I am a member so I can take advantage of this service in the future should it be necessary.
If you want to learn more about how you can become a member for no membership charge, please let me know. Being part of Best Doctors could save your life one day.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
"Am I getting the right diagnosis from my doctor?" That is something I have certainly thought about when going to the doctor. I have all the respect in the world for doctors. My doctor is a very intelligent woman and she has been my family doctor since I was born. But I have always understood that it is not possible for her to be an expert in all medical fields, so quite often family doctors refer to specialists. As much as I would like to believe that what I am being told is correct, I have heard many examples along the same lines as that news report from Quebec; misdiagnoses are prevalent in the medical community. What's the answer to this problem then?
Well, I would like to address your attention to an organization that I feel is life-saving: Best Doctors . Their vision: "When you need to be absolutely sure, Best Doctors is there." Take a look at the website and read a little about them. It really is a fascinating organization. A quick explanation of what they do is this: when you get a diagnosis from a doctor you are able to send your file to the Best Doctors organization and they will review it. Then they have the ability to both change the diagnosis and treatment.
You may ask, "How do I know I am I getting credible advice?" Well, according to the Best Doctors website, the physicians in the Best Doctors database have been identified by their peers as being the ‘best’ in their specialty areas. They seek "doctors whose reputation for clinical excellence places them in the top 5% of their specialty."
If there is anything to get a second opinion on, is it not your health? I am a huge supporter of Best Doctors and I have made sure that I am a member so I can take advantage of this service in the future should it be necessary.
If you want to learn more about how you can become a member for no membership charge, please let me know. Being part of Best Doctors could save your life one day.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Talent Fit For The Queen
For the last couple weeks I have been regularly watching a show on YouTube, the show Britain's Got Talent for a few reasons: I find it entertaining, it puts a smile on my face, it sometimes even chokes me up, and I also love British people :). I really am not one to watch these talent/reality shows ex. like American Idol, America's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, etc. Usually, they are just not really my thing, but, for the reasons listed above, I love seeing what Britain's Got Talent has to offer. This year there were some fantastic acts. Singers, dancers, dance groups, poets, escape artists, you really couldn't guess what was going to come out next. What I wanted to do was share with you some of my favourites from the season. Not necessarily ones that did very well, but ones that in for whatever reason I thought were very talented, funny, or that might just makes you feel good. I will provide the links to the YouTube video of the act below.
Stavros Flatley
My favourite act of the entire show. Absolutely fantastic. You cannot watch this without smiling and laughing.
Hollie Steel
Awwww, is she supposed to be able to sing like that? Simply wonderful.
Shaun Smith
He had to be convinced by his rugby mates to go to the audition.
Eugene The Librarian
I don't know if this is real or not, but this guy is an absolute legend.
Aidan Davis
This boy can dance.
Flawless
That they were. A fantastic dance group.
And now my two favourites of the finals.
Diversity
The best dance group of the whole competition in my opinion. Talent wise they were the best overall act.
Stravros Flatley
In my heart I wanted these two to win so bad. They just make you laugh, smile, and feel good. This is the video of them in the finals.
The winner was ????, and they certainly did deserve to win. They are unbelievably creative, their name obviously fits their group, and they really really wanted to win. Congrats.
There were lots of great acts, groups and performances and of course I couldn't have them all here. Notable mentions are Callum Francis, Susan Boyle, Julian Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, 2 Grand, Jamie Pugh and Faces of Disco.
Never say; "I don't have the talent, I don't have the passion, I don't have the desire." There is always something that each one of us excels at and loves doing, sometimes it just doesn't fall into your bowl of cheerios; you have to go out, take a chance and find it.
Never let anyone tell you that "maybe doing that wouldn't be a good idea. How do you know it will work out?" If we always knew what the next day would bring, waking up would be dreadful. Take the chance, follow your passion, and know what it feels like to find it difficult to fall asleep because you're so excited about what the next day might have in store.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Stavros Flatley
My favourite act of the entire show. Absolutely fantastic. You cannot watch this without smiling and laughing.
Hollie Steel
Awwww, is she supposed to be able to sing like that? Simply wonderful.
Shaun Smith
He had to be convinced by his rugby mates to go to the audition.
Eugene The Librarian
I don't know if this is real or not, but this guy is an absolute legend.
Aidan Davis
This boy can dance.
Flawless
That they were. A fantastic dance group.
And now my two favourites of the finals.
Diversity
The best dance group of the whole competition in my opinion. Talent wise they were the best overall act.
Stravros Flatley
In my heart I wanted these two to win so bad. They just make you laugh, smile, and feel good. This is the video of them in the finals.
The winner was ????, and they certainly did deserve to win. They are unbelievably creative, their name obviously fits their group, and they really really wanted to win. Congrats.
There were lots of great acts, groups and performances and of course I couldn't have them all here. Notable mentions are Callum Francis, Susan Boyle, Julian Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, 2 Grand, Jamie Pugh and Faces of Disco.
Never say; "I don't have the talent, I don't have the passion, I don't have the desire." There is always something that each one of us excels at and loves doing, sometimes it just doesn't fall into your bowl of cheerios; you have to go out, take a chance and find it.
Never let anyone tell you that "maybe doing that wouldn't be a good idea. How do you know it will work out?" If we always knew what the next day would bring, waking up would be dreadful. Take the chance, follow your passion, and know what it feels like to find it difficult to fall asleep because you're so excited about what the next day might have in store.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Monday, May 25, 2009
Don't Call Me Webster
I thought this week I would do something unbelievably exciting and entertaining. It will make you stand up and cheer... or maybe that is just how I would feel about it :).
I have written a post that provides a small list of definitions that I think may be informative to those reading it. Definitions of terms you have likely heard before and would perhaps like to know what they really mean. So enough of the small talk, lets get to the excitement!
Definitions taken from "Canadian Investment Funds", Inventive Financial Sector Education 2007
Mutual Funds: Provide the investor of moderate means with the same advantages as the large capitalist, in diminishing the risk of investing by spreading the investment over a number of different stocks. Investors benefit from the services of trained investment professionals and even with just a small amount of savings can spread their investment over many different securities.
T-Bill: Short-term money market investments issued by the federal and provincial governments. They can easily be bought and sold at any time, and are guaranteed by the federal government. The minimum investment is usually $5,000. T-bills are subject to inflation risk and hold comparative returns to GICs.
Income Funds: Funds that provide a regular stream of income to the investor.
Growth Funds: Funds that provide long-term growth. These funds are riskier funds since they consist of equity-based investments.
Balanced Funds: A combination of income and growth. Considered moderate risk since there is a level of stability along with potential growth.
GDP: Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced in an economy in a year. That means goods and services sold to their final users. It is measured in dollars.
Inflation: The rise in the general level of prices in an economy over a period of time.
Segregated Funds: The life insurance industry's equivalent to mutual funds. These funds are only available through life insurers. They differ from mutual funds in the that they can guarantee 75% to 100% of the capital invested after a period of time. They have the potential to provide protection from creditors. Provide 100% return on capital if investor dies, even if the fund has had a significant loss in value.
Tax Deductions: A tax deduction reduces the amount of income on which you pay taxes. It is deducted from your total income before the federal and provincial tax rates are applied. A common deduction is RRSP contributions.
Marginal Tax Rate: This is the rate of tax you pay on the last dollar earned. It is the highest rate at which earnings are taxed. In Ontario the highest marginal tax rate for 2009 is 46.41% on any earned income over $126,264. That rate is only applied to money at or above that, not below. If somebody tells you that they paid 46% on their income this year in taxes, that is incorrect.
CPP: Canadian Pension Plan is payable to all eligible Canadians except those who worked in Quebec. It is designed to replace about 25% of your pre-retirement earnings. How much you will receive will depend on when you start taking your CPP benefit.
This was just a small portion of some of the terms people ask me about daily. There are many, many more but I will limit myself to those for this post because it is a scientific fact that too much excitement expressed by an individual can actually cause birds to fly into sliding glass doors. Amazing I know.
If you have any other questions, or want further explanation, you know where I am! :).
Have a great week!
Matthew George
I have written a post that provides a small list of definitions that I think may be informative to those reading it. Definitions of terms you have likely heard before and would perhaps like to know what they really mean. So enough of the small talk, lets get to the excitement!
Definitions taken from "Canadian Investment Funds", Inventive Financial Sector Education 2007
Mutual Funds: Provide the investor of moderate means with the same advantages as the large capitalist, in diminishing the risk of investing by spreading the investment over a number of different stocks. Investors benefit from the services of trained investment professionals and even with just a small amount of savings can spread their investment over many different securities.
T-Bill: Short-term money market investments issued by the federal and provincial governments. They can easily be bought and sold at any time, and are guaranteed by the federal government. The minimum investment is usually $5,000. T-bills are subject to inflation risk and hold comparative returns to GICs.
Income Funds: Funds that provide a regular stream of income to the investor.
Growth Funds: Funds that provide long-term growth. These funds are riskier funds since they consist of equity-based investments.
Balanced Funds: A combination of income and growth. Considered moderate risk since there is a level of stability along with potential growth.
GDP: Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced in an economy in a year. That means goods and services sold to their final users. It is measured in dollars.
Inflation: The rise in the general level of prices in an economy over a period of time.
Segregated Funds: The life insurance industry's equivalent to mutual funds. These funds are only available through life insurers. They differ from mutual funds in the that they can guarantee 75% to 100% of the capital invested after a period of time. They have the potential to provide protection from creditors. Provide 100% return on capital if investor dies, even if the fund has had a significant loss in value.
Tax Deductions: A tax deduction reduces the amount of income on which you pay taxes. It is deducted from your total income before the federal and provincial tax rates are applied. A common deduction is RRSP contributions.
Marginal Tax Rate: This is the rate of tax you pay on the last dollar earned. It is the highest rate at which earnings are taxed. In Ontario the highest marginal tax rate for 2009 is 46.41% on any earned income over $126,264. That rate is only applied to money at or above that, not below. If somebody tells you that they paid 46% on their income this year in taxes, that is incorrect.
CPP: Canadian Pension Plan is payable to all eligible Canadians except those who worked in Quebec. It is designed to replace about 25% of your pre-retirement earnings. How much you will receive will depend on when you start taking your CPP benefit.
This was just a small portion of some of the terms people ask me about daily. There are many, many more but I will limit myself to those for this post because it is a scientific fact that too much excitement expressed by an individual can actually cause birds to fly into sliding glass doors. Amazing I know.
If you have any other questions, or want further explanation, you know where I am! :).
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Long Weekend Madness
No post this week due to the frantic last few days. My parents had their 25th wedding anniversary this Friday and Saturday, which was a fantastic party. Thank you to all those that came and for dropping beats not bombs, :). Have been able to spend the last few days and next couple with my family from Alberta and Newfoundland which has been absolutely wonderful, and of course Jessica was here. I hope everybody has been having a wonderful long weekend and everybody has kept safe. Enjoy your short work week and make sure to return next Monday for something far better than this.
Have a great week!
Matthew George
Have a great week!
Matthew George
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