Tag Archives: Financial Independence

Weekly Wrap: High-flying tech stocks, dividends as contrarian play, best careers for Early Retirement

Posted By Jonathan Chevreau | July 25, 2015

Good cover story in the current issue of the Economist on the technology boom and the Nasdaq composite index surpassing its previous all-time high early in the year 2000.

The magazine argues that while the tech boom may get bumpy, “it will not end in a repeat of the dot com crash.” Certainly, the past week was mostly positive for growth stocks like the four that make up the so-called “FANG” acronym: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google. Amazon turning a profit: who knew?

True, none of the FANG stocks pay dividends but the older tech giants that do, like Apple, IBM and Microsoft, experienced haircuts this week.

Dividends now a contrarian play?

Always Try to Keep the Odds in Your Favour

Posted By Michael Drak | July 24, 2015

By Michael Drak

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Recently, Globe & Mail personal finance columnist Rob Carrick wrote an article entitled ‘It’s time to get real about retirement planning.” In it he stated that people should not count on working past retirement age because many will not be able to do so due to health issues. Everyone that knows me is aware that I’m a big promoter of continuing to work at something you love, for as long as you can, so this article really caught my attention and got me to do some serious thinking. The following are the conclusions that I came up with:

Always try to put the odds in your favour

Want to increase the odds of extending your work life past the normal retirement age? You need to adopt a healthy lifestyle as early as possible. Most of us know what to do but for whatever reason fail to do it. You need to keep active, work out on a regular basis, eat the right foods, and stay engaged. Odds are you will live enjoy a longer and happier life than your smoking neighbour whose retirement is based on watching tv and drinking lots of beer to help kill the boredom.

Chronic Stress will eventually take its toll

Vinnie the Loan Shark: Citizen of the Year

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | July 20, 2015

Depositphotos_3775528_s-2015 — Vinnie the Loan Shark (DepositPhotos).

By Horst Siegler

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The most important definitions are not found in the dictionary; they are the ones you make for yourself to serve your purposes.

You first encountered this idea when your mother told you to clean your room. When you thought you were done she made you clean it some more. The problem was not with the room; the problem was she had a different idea of what a clean room meant (it didn’t mean shove everything under the bed or into the closet and close the door). Besides, you wanted to get outside to play and she wanted the room tidy.

In a posting titled How Findependence differs from Retirement, Jonathan Chevreau makes a case for how he believes the two words are different and why. He argues that you might be financially independent before you retire because you no longer work for a salary. Some who retire need to continue to work because their income doesn’t meet their needs. His definitions for the words are his own.

Credit cards as “survival tools”

A Quiz: What don’t you know about planning for a financially healthy Retirement?

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | July 15, 2015

By Patricia Gass

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The younger we are, the tougher it is to get our heads around retirement planning.

And rightly so. It’s the last thing we care about when we’re in the midst of life: fresh out of school, starting a family or dealing with moody teenagers.

Instead of thinking “retirement,” why not dream about the wonderful world of “financial freedom?”

A time when we no longer need to work for a paycheque. When we’re free to follow our passions without regard to their earnings potential. Imagine being able to spend time doing what really matters at any age? Who doesn’t want the incredible feeling of true financial independence?

Below is the fourth quiz in my series Tackling Personal Finance — Do You Know What You Don’t Know? Continue Reading…

Have advertisers put a spell on you?

Posted By Michael Drak | July 13, 2015

By Michael Drak

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need.”

— Will Rogers

Recently the Contessa (my wife) and I went to see the Bette Midler show and at the unbelievable age of 69 she put on one heck of a performance. She still has it and had us laughing when she was poking fun at herself singing I Look Good and I Still Have my Health.

This was followed by a standup comedy routine in which she threw her usual zingers into the crowd. “I still look good, but I don’t know what happened to some of you,” she teased. “It’s 50 shades of grey in this section right here. I don’t know whether to sing to you or tell you something about reverse mortgages.”

At one point in the performance she came out dressed as the witch character from her 1993 film Hocus Pocus and sang one of my favourite songs, I Put a Spell on You.

Which brings me back to the subject of this article.

Honey, I think our computer is possessed!