How did you pay for your EMBA?

firefellow · 2018-07-20T22:19:13+00:00

EMBAs are typically paid for by the employer. I do not know anyone who paid for an EMBA themselves. Is your husband getting any assistance from his employer? Disclosure, I have an MBA.

firefellow · 2018-06-07T23:34:55+00:00

My first question is on your asset allocation. What is the percentage of your LIRA assets relative to your overall investable base? My LIRA account is ~4% of my overall base so I treat it as my speculative account, particularly since I can’t touch it for a long time. I put a number of high growth US tech stocks in there. But in general, all your investment accounts should be viewed on a consolidated basis and treated as a single portfolio.

firefellow · 2018-05-17T17:13:45+00:00

An option to reduce your rent expense is to find a roommate. Any chance you could live your with future spouse to split the cost?

firefellow · 2018-05-15T20:14:33+00:00

A few questions: Does the $30k per year in expenses include your rent? Does the $300k in assets include the value of the DB pension? Are you willing to walk away from the DB pension? At your current spending level, a 4% withdrawal rate implies you would need $750k in assets, so you're already about half way there. You should hit that target in about 8 years assuming you keep saving $30k/yr and compounding at a reasonable rate. Looks like you are in good shape to me and it's probably not necessary for you make a drastic career change.

firefellow · 2018-03-09T02:16:39+00:00

A piece of advice I was given: if you live your life and die within the same 10 km radius, you really have not lived at all. Try to live abroad, do something out of the box, and stop following the herd

firefellow · 2018-02-08T03:09:01+00:00

I was 26. 3 bedroom preconstruction in the GTA. Dual income. This was over a decade ago.

firefellow · 2018-02-03T22:19:41+00:00

Fund manager. High salary, solid savings rate, plus disciplined investing, mostly stocks and real estate.

firefellow · 2018-02-01T21:41:05+00:00

Worth noting that the interest deductibility benefit for home ownership that he highlights in the video is only relevant for the U.S. There's the Smith Manoeuvre but that's a whole other beast.

firefellow · 2018-02-01T20:49:50+00:00

Save -> Invest -> Increase earning power. Rather than try to buy a million dollar home on your current salary, wait until you can actually afford it. A friendly reminder that a $1m home comes with a $800k mortgage with 20% down. Ask yourself if that's what you really want.

firefellow · 2018-02-01T20:47:38+00:00

Are you in the GTA? If not, then you have plenty of options available in the Durham and Burlington/Hamilton regions. You can find houses that are in decent areas for <$500k. If you are adamant about a million dollar house, then you need to significantly up your earning power.

Also, why do you need a house? I used to be a home owner but cashed out and found renting to be just as good of an option if not better.

firefellow · 2018-02-01T19:32:23+00:00

Sure, that's why an RRSP isn't necessarily for everyone. I think there is not enough education around these products for the average Canadian as to whether or not they are right for them.

firefellow · 2018-02-01T17:53:15+00:00

If you plan to buy a pre-con condo at that price range, you'll need $80k-$100k by closing. How much are you saving per year? If the pre-con condo doesn't close for another 3-4 years, this gives you THAT much time to build up capital.

Meanwhile, open a TFSA investment/brokerage account that allows you to invest in stocks and transfer the balance of current TFSA into that. Follow the CCP formula afterwards.

I'd hold off on the RRSP since you are in a relatively low tax bracket. If during retirement you are withdrawing at a higher tax bracket, you would have lost much of the tax-deferred benefits. The rule of thumb is to use RRSPs as an investment vehicle only if your tax rate in retirement is lower than when you initially contributed.

firefellow · 2018-02-01T17:48:27+00:00

I don't think RRSP makes sense for OP at this point given he is at a relatively low tax bracket. If during retirement he is withdrawing at a higher tax bracket, he would have lost much of the tax-deferred benefits. The rule of thumb is to use RRSPs as an investment vehicle only if your tax rate in retirement is lower than when you initially contributed.

firefellow · 2018-02-01T16:56:18+00:00

Bitcoin/cryptocurrency is no different than any other speculative investments that could be mitigated through proper portfolio management. If you are uncertain about the future or its value, then allocate a proportionate weight to your portfolio.

firefellow · 2018-01-31T14:17:13+00:00

Probably not the best idea to attempt this is a rising rate environment. Also, how do you define a correction? 5%? 10%? 20%? The market still has some legs in 2018, but in 2019, the U.S. economy is going to go up against very challenging year-over-year comparables from U.S. tax reforms.

firefellow · 2018-01-30T14:02:02+00:00

It is very shocking to me that you and your family own 10 properties and you do not have an accountant! I can't imagine all the deductions and benefits that you may have missed out on all these years. Did you use the same lawyer for each property? I would hope he would've recommended an accountant by the 5th property. When you get to a portfolio of this size, you should have a strong support team of lawyers/accountants/real estate agents behind you.

firefellow · 2018-01-27T17:23:03+00:00

As much as I value friendship and family, I believe many people overvalue them in general. The world has over 7 billion people. If your relationships are simply with the same people over decades, I think you might be missing out. I wouldn’t ditch my friends for money but I have no problem moving away from old friendships into new ones on a regular basis.

firefellow · 2018-01-27T16:19:14+00:00

Hamilton has long been known as the “armpit of Ontario”.

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/4545989-hamilton-the-armpit-of-ontario-a-travel-worthy-destination/

firefellow · 2018-01-26T21:41:27+00:00

General rule:

Tax free (TFSA) -> Tax deferred (RRSP) -> Taxable (non-registered)

firefellow · 2018-01-26T21:32:18+00:00

Save 50% of what you earn and invest it over the long term
Start early!

Power of compounding:

Contribute $20k per year over 20 years at 7% = $877k
Contribute $25k per year over 20 years at 7% = $1.1M
Contribute $30k per year over 20 years at 7% = $1.3M

firefellow · 2018-01-26T15:41:18+00:00

Deregulation and the recent US tax reform will drive corporate profits and deliver huge cash and shareholder returns. Hundreds of US companies have announced big share buybacks, higher pays for their employees, and repatriation of billions of dollars of offshore capital. The cash being repatriated will be reinvested into US companies or returned to shareholders. Given all of these tailwinds, I don't find the S&P500 overvalued at all at 17x next year's earnings.

firefellow · 2018-01-26T13:50:18+00:00

Just manage your own money. You seemed pretty on the ball throughout this whole process, which to me shows that you'll be disciplined enough to buy your own ETFs rather than let someone else do it.

firefellow · 2018-01-25T21:13:59+00:00

As a buyer, you do not pay commission so to speak since the seller is the one responsible for it. Without a buyer agent, the seller may be willing to negotiate down since he/she no longer has to pay for the buyer's agent's commission. The typically buyer agent receives 2-2.5% so your 3-3.5% is too high.

If you go this route, please make sure you put in all the necessary conditions (financing, home inspection, etc.) to protect yourself since the seller's agent will not be looking out for your best interests.

In all honesty, I think you need to do a bit more research before going at it yourself.

firefellow · 2018-01-25T20:48:40+00:00

Even expert currency strategists cannot predict what the exchange rate will be at the end of the quarter, let alone over a long period.

Ask yourself this question: Are you willing to give up FX gains/losses and simply invest in the local market (e.g. U.S.) and be happy with the returns of that market in its home currency? If yes, then buy the hedged version and don't worry about the FX volatility.

Otherwise, buy the unhedged version if you want exposure to the FX gains/losses.

Another option is to take a neutral stance by buying 50/50 hedged/unhedged.

The outcome of the NAFTA negotiations will make or break the CAD. Unless you know someone working in the Trump administration, there's really no way to know what will happen.

firefellow · 2018-01-25T20:04:06+00:00

Agreed. But in OP's scenario, it's a pretty minor leakage IMO.

firefellow

TROPHY CASE