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Dipping into the EF July 31, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : emergency fund, health care , 1 comment so far

Well, over a month later, I finally got my bill from the dentist for the work she did on my front teeth. I originally thought it would cost close to $1,500 to get the work done (porcelain crown and a veneer), but a month ago I was quoted $1,230 … and my invoice was only $868.20!!!

While that’s still an expensive bill, I think that’s pretty cheap for a crown and veneer. The EF is going to take a hit, but I’m okay with that.


Adjusting my Mutual Funds July 31, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : down payment, investing , add a comment

Hey I just wanted to thank all of you for posting such thoughtful comments on what I should do with my mutual funds. I ended up switching over to a Money Market fund, as well as a T-Bill fund. The money that is currently still in the moderate risk funds I’m going to leave in there for now, because I don’t want to lose the 2% I’ll get charged if I move it into a different fund within 90 days of purchase.

Below are just a few of the responses I got:

Mariam
Since you need the money short term, I think you’d be better off in the MM fund. Yeah, I’m tempted to pick up things while they are cheaper, but I think things are still overpriced. I also promised myself that I will try not to do anything without an investment strategy/plan. Investing is something you can’t cram into a night and I think it’s a lifetime learning process. You’re still young but if you need the money, I wouldn’t risk it.


Mike (fourpillars)
For a short term investment you need to go as low risk as possible ie MM fund.

The idea is to increase the probability that the $$ will be there when you need it. If you only have a one year time line then you cannot be sure that money invested in equities will all be there when you need it.

Once you buy a property and put a deposit down then you definitely need to make sure the rest of the downpayment is in money market & cash.


gates vp
Yeah Krystal, when you mentioned the HBP, I completely forgot to mention that you should be pulling part of your funds into “guaranteed returns”: T-Bills and Money Market funds.

Of course, the big question here is “when are you actually planning on dropping the money on the house”?

If you have <> 2 years, then you have a lot of options. You see, at the rate you’re going you’ll have way more than 20k in RRSPs in 2 years, but 20k is all that you can use.

If you figure on having 30 or 40k in RRSPs by the time you’re ready, then you can divvy up the pieces and grow 20k the “safe way” and grow the rest on the markets.

Personally, my big question would be “What am I going to do for investing in 2 years when I have my new place?”

Once you buy the home, much of the monthly pool of money you have for investing will become tied up in the home. Whatever part of your RRSPs left over after the home purchase now become your future “retirement” funds. So this is probably a nice reminder to ensure that everything is funded in a few years :)

Oh, and also a big thanks to Jagular, who wrote an entire post on Money Allocation for me!!!

Also, there was one comment asking for a little advice:

Anonymous
Can someone suggest some good, money-market accounts? I was looking into the ones with ING because I already have a lot of investments through them, but the returns (I was checking since inception) on most of them are even less that those on my saving accounts and GICs.

Personally, I’m with TD Canada Trust. Through looking at the MM funds, I noticed that they do return significantly less than other funds, but that’s what you get for the security of having your money in a very low risk fund. To be honest, I didn’t do much research at other financial institutions because all my investments are with TD, and I’d like to keep everything there for convenience. At least for now anyway.


Blah blah blah, whine whine whine July 31, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : entertainment, motivation , 3comments

Wow, it’s been such a crazy last few days, I don’t even know where to start. It feels like my entire life is in disarray right now. The high from the concert on Sunday is slowly wearing off on me, but it’s what got me through yesterday and this morning.

Sunday night was the Ryan Adams concert, and it was amazing. I got to the venue a good 2 hrs. before doors opened, and was the 3rd person in line. :) So needless to say, I was front row centre. It was 2.5 hours of pure music goodness. It was what they call a “Red Cave” show (Blue Cave is acoustic), which is all pumped with energy and electric guitars and crazy jams.

It was way better than his show in 2005, and is now, by far, the best concert I’ve ever been to. Everyone is saying that it was one of his best performances this year. I only bought a tour t-shirt and a few stickers for a total of $31. I would have bought the tour poster for $20, but apparently they got stuck at customs at the border! I’ll have to fight the other rabid Ryan fans for them when they go on sale online since only 300 of each show got produced.

While waiting in line before the show, I met a couple who had been following Ryan up the coast, and they were kinda “in the know.” The band had put them on the guest list for Sunday’s concert b/c they couldn’t get tickets to the new venue. Anyway, after the concert, my friend and I hung out with them outside Ryan’s tour bus (the band was inside eating). Ryan recognized the couple, and came out to talk to us for a bit while he chowed down on some pizza. One thing led to another, and I found myself walking with Ryan Adams and Brad Pemberton (drummer) to 7-11 so they could get some snacks for their 16 hr. drive to the next show!!! How random! It was absolutely priceless to see my favourite musician in the world wandering the aisles of 7-11, checking out their DVDs, grabbing as much food as he could carry to the counter, all the while I’m trying to act nonchalant about it all … like it’s no big thing I’m hanging out with Ryan F’ing Adams.

Anyway, sorry to write so much about the concert! :) It helps me take my mind off work and other stresses. I had to get up at 4:30am yesterday morning (after getting 2 hrs sleep) to catch the 7am ferry back. Then I worked from 9am – 11pm, and nearly broke down from exhaustion and not even having the time to eat a proper meal the entire time. This morning, I had a mini sob session in front of the BF b/c I didn’t want to work 12 hrs again today, and I wasn’t sure if I could take the time off work to go on our camping trip this weekend (it’s a long weekend for us here). But I really want to, so I’m going to try and make it work this week.

I know, I should stop moaning and complaining. It was my own choice to work so much, and I can quit the part-time job if I have to. I just don’t want to. So, as Ryan Adams would say: “blah blah blah, whine whine whine,” and Chin Up, Cheer Up.


I’ve got the mutual fund blues July 28, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : investing , add a comment

I seriously think I post way too much in this blog. :)

Who here has lost money in the last week with the markets plummeting? Disasterous! I’ve lost almost all gains I’ve made this year so far, and just when things were starting to look good. It’s gotten me to rethink what I’m investing in. Currently, I’ve been investing in moderate risk mutual funds, and have balanced out my portfolio with 40% Canadian, 35% International, 25% US.

While I’m in it for the long run with my RRSPs, I also have to think short-term because I plan on using that money for the First Time Home Buyer’s Plan. What I’m thinking of doing is dumping my cash every 2 weeks into a money market mutual fund from now on; something a lot more stable than what I’ve been investing in. The last thing I want is to start losing money right now!

That seems to be the best thing for me to do for the time being. I’ve been doing a ton of reading lately, and everyone is predicting it’s the end of the bull market … not that I should believe everything I read, but better to be safe than sorry, right?

Another thing I was thinking of is buying up a lot right now while everything is dirt cheap, and then hoping the market turns around again back up to the levels they were just a week or so ago. Then I’d have to hope they stay level or keep gaining until I decide to buy my place. It seems like a pretty risky game to play. If it weren’t for me needing the money in the short-term, I’d be all over this strategy because eventually, the market will go up again.

I wish I had the time to study the art of investing a little more. I’ve read some books, and I’ve been researching information on the internet … it all seems so interesting to me. I guess in time, I’ll learn the things I want to learn.


Everybody’s working for the weekend July 27, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : miscellaneous , add a comment

Well, this will probably be my last post before I head off to Vancouver tomorrow! The BF went about 7 hours north to go fishing with a buddy, and I’m crossing my fingers that he brings back a few salmon! It’s rare that he ever keeps fish (he’s one of those catch-and-release fly fishermen), but when he does, they are always so tasty. Nothing beats Chile Garlic BBQ Salmon! My mouth is literally filling up with saliva just thinking about it.

Anyway tonight I’m going to see The Simpsons movie with my sister. It should be fun! We’ve been watching The Simpsons since we were kids, so it’ll be really cool watching the movie together. I haven’t really been watching it for the past 3 or 4 years, but it’s still going to be great. I had to pre purchase the tickets online because it’s opening night of the movie, and they put on an extra $1 service charge per ticket! What a rip off! But it had to be done because I know it’ll get sold out, even with them running the movie in two theatres at the movie complex.

I found a really cool site called SimpsonizeMe.com where you upload a picture of yourself, and it turns you into a Simpsons character! How cool is that!! Anyway, that pic is what I would look like if I were a Simpson. :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I’m going to try and smuggle a camera into the concert, so hopefully my next update will have sweet pics of my future husband. But failing that I should have my fancy new 3.2 mega-pixel cell phone with me as backup. :)


August Monthly Goals July 26, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , add a comment

August 2007 goals:


July Goals: My Review July 26, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , add a comment

July Goals (end of month review):


I thought Realtors were supposed to be friendly and helpful July 26, 2007

Posted by gmbmfb in : property , add a comment

So yesterday when I got the call from the Realtor about his $170k condo listing with water damage (who, FYI, was very pleasant and helpful), I was still waiting on the call from the other Realtor I had spoken to about her $170k condo listing in the same building. I knew she was going to tell me the same thing, but thought it was weird she hadn’t called yet!

Today she finally called, and she told me what I expected to hear. Then she asked if I was planning on a high-ratio mortgage. I was about to briefly explain my financial situation … but she cut me off and asked if I was a first time buyer. When I said yes, said she prefers not to deal with high-ratio buyers. I hadn’ t even told her anything yet, let alone how much money I had! I could have had the entire $170k in cash, for all she knew. Then she said “I can’t really help you … sorrrrry” in the same tone you would use to talk to a child. She had a very condescending tone; as if she knew I wasn’t going to bring her enough money to justify the time it would take to help me.

I know I’m not in it for the big ticket purchase, but would it kill her to at least treat me like I’m worth something? And sure, she could make thousands of dollars in commission off someone else, but every home owner has to start somewhere. Some day I’m going to be that person looking to buy that fabulous, expensive house, and you can bet I’m not even going to consider working with her!