The Passive Canadian Investor

PHARMACY FEES...

2026-10-26T07:33:00.000-05:00

My Letter to the Editor. Winnipeg Free Press - October 26, 2026

I fill my regular prescriptions at Costco. Each receipt clearly shows the Cost plus the Fee of $4.49. Manitoba pharmacies are allowed to charge the Cost of the meds plus a Dispensing Fee.

This week I received a one-off prescription for a short-term med. One a day for seven days. I decided to drop it off at the closest pharmacy to my home located at major grocery store.

The instructions stated one a day for five days which caused some confusion. The pharmacy gave me five tablets and said they’d contact my doctor to clarify the mixup. Cost of the five tablets $14.50. The breakdown between the med Cost and Fee was not shown.

The following day, the pharmacy called and said that i should come and pick up two additional tablets and that they would not charge an additional fee. The cost of two tablets: 36 cents! This indicates that the cost of the initial five tablets was 90 cents, revealing their Dispensing Fee to be $13.60. More than three times the fee charged by Costco.

Why do regulators not require all pharmacies to provide the breakdown between the Cost of the meds and the Dispensing Fee? Transparency matters.

Stuart Gauld

CANADA'S REGIONAL DISPARITIES...

2026-10-21T18:02:26.250-05:00

Not every member of every family has the same resources. While acknowledging that individual contributions may vary from time-to-time we can still work together for the common good while uniting against a common threat.

MP adjustments required to bring Rep by Pop into line;

Ontario +12, Quebec -3, Western Region +3, Atlantic Region -10, Territories -2

Ontario seems to be holding its own even with the 12 man shortfall in Parliament and Atlantic Canada isn't doing the country a whole lot of harm with its overweighted representation. Next redistribution slated for 2030.

MANITOBA'S BLIND BIDDING WARS

2026-06-09T08:02:00.000-05:00

My Letter to the Editor. Winnipeg Free Press - June 9, 2026

Re: "Blind bidding deserves a second look" (Letters June 8)

Reading the letter from Rocky Baronins prompts me to offer my thoughts regarding the blind bidding process which has become the norm for residential real estate sales in Winnipeg.

I believe this is a great detriment to affordable housing in the city. This marketing ploy forces potential buyers to blindly offer beyond the list price if they are to have any hope of home ownership. Potential buyers soon learn that all offers must be free of conditions and cannot be subject to obtaining financing or a home inspection. The result is that many young, first-time buyers pay thousands of dollars over the list price for a home which often requires thousands of dollars of repairs, most of which would have been identified during a simple home inspection.

I suggest that the provincial government take a step toward housing affordability and add a layer of real protection for consumers by amending regulations in three ways, as follows:

First, regulate the listing process so that offers must be presented to the vendor as they are received, not held back for a future offer date.

Second, after offer acceptance, buyers should have 10 days in which to obtain a home inspection and be allowed to withdraw their offers if the inspection reveals defects which the vendor is unable or unwilling to repair, or negotiate an appropriate price adjustment.

And finally, if a home returns to market owing to home inspection issues, this should be revealed on the ongoing listing, which would encourage vendors to deal with defects in an appropriate manner.

A long-standing practice in the real estate industry is that if a realtor delivers a full-price, unconditional offer, the realtor is entitled to the agreed commission even if the vendor does not accept the offer.

Not accepting full-price offers has become commonplace in Manitoba simply because the vendor is disappointed that the anticipated bidding war failed to produce multiple offers over the list price. I believe that regulations should be in place stating that a full-price, unconditional offer must be accepted and the property is considered sold.

Stuart Gauld

A BILLION HERE...A BILLION THERE

2026-06-08T17:01:34.682-05:00

I think we’ve become indifferent to the idea of having or spending a Billion Dollars. Maybe it’s because we’re inundated every day with news that our government is planning its next Billion Dollar program. Maybe it's to buy new submarines at $5 Billion each...we'll take a dozen please. Maybe it's the new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. The one time top up payments went out on June 5. Total $3.1 Billion with an estimate of an additional $8.6 Billion over the next 5 years. With these numbers being tossed around, a Billion just doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

Forbes states that there are twenty people in the world whose net worth exceeds One Hundred Billion Dollars. The list goes on the name an additional 3,404 Billionaires. With all those hundreds of billions in the hands of the richest or the rich, couldn't we each have at least one. Apparently not.

To understand just how huge a Billion is, try this simple math. Most reading this will live for a million more seconds...or just a tad over 11.5 days. Pretty much nobody my age (79) will live for another billion seconds...that'd be 31.7 years! A very BIG DIFFERENCE!

Plan your work, work your plan and make it a great day!

TAX FREE INCOME FOR RETIRED BOOMERS!

2025-10-18T10:15:00.069-05:00

This is a follow-up to my post of July 2022 about Tax Free Savings Accounts.

I'm a pretty typical retired Boomer. During my career I cobbled together a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) as well as a few open savings accounts. Now, in my 70s my RRSP has been converted to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). This is mandatory at age 71. The CRA mandates a minimum annual TAXABLE withdrawal from a RRIF. The logic being that, while working, taxes were deferred with each contribution to the RRSP. The time has arrived to begin paying those deferred taxes!

In an effort to minimize taxes, on interest & investment income, I'm making every effort to transfer open account savings to Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs). TSFAs were introduced in 2009 and every Canadian was allowed to make an annual deposit of $5,000 to a TSFA and any interest or investment income is exempt from tax. This tax exemption applies whether income remains in the account or is withdrawn. I withdraw this tax free income on a regular basis throughout the year to enhance my disposable income.

Back in 2009 the limit for the annual deposit was $5,000 and this amount was indexed to inflation and gradually increased the annual limit in $500 increments. Over time, this annual deposit increased to the present limit of $7,000. 2015 was a bonus year when the Conservative government boosted the annual limit to $10,000. The Liberals returned to power the following year and reduced it in accordance with the original 2009 plan. Those fortunate enough to have made the maximum deposit each year now have $102,000 plus accrued income in their TSFA.

Remembering that this applies to each person, a retired couple could hold a total of $204,000 in Tax Free Savings! Applying the best rate of 3.95% from the Fixed Income Deposit Rate chart at the top of this page (updated today), this would produce Tax Free Interest Income of $8,058 annually. For those not opposed to some downside risk, Tax Free Savings Accounts can hold anything from GICs to stocks, mutual finds, ETFs etc.

DEPOSIT RATES RISING!

2022-07-30T12:41:00.027-05:00

Over the years I've held savings and term deposits with a virtual division of one of Manitoba's Credit Unions. Generally, these virtual "banks" offer higher deposit rates than their "brick & mortar" parents. All Manitoba Credit Union deposits are 100% guaranteed without limit. A number of years ago I asked one of them if this guarantee applies to deposits made by non-Manitoba residents. The answer, at the time, was yes. If you live outside the province and are considering an investment, I'd recommend asking the question.

With the recent uptick in the Bank of Canada overnight rate, deposit rates for all institutions are on the rise. Because of my particular interest in Manitoba Credit Unions and because they often offer the best available rates I decided to track their rates for a bit. Until things stabilize or plateau, I'll update this as available rates change. I've moved the chart to the top of the blog for easy access.

I'm finding it curious that a deposit rate of 5% for 5 years was available before the Bank of Canada hiked by a full 1% on July 13 and added an additional .75% on September 7. There seems to be reluctance to move beyond 5%...but, it's gotta happen!

I haven't included all Manitoba Credit Unions. A couple don't post their rates online. A few others make no effort to be competitive and one retains the old "closed bond" format and membership is only open to a select employee group.

THE RATE COMPARISON CHART THAT APPEARED HERE HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE AND WILL BE UPDATED FROM TIME-TO-TIME.

Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) - Tax Savings For All!

2022-07-24T08:50:00.166-05:00

TSFAs were introduced in Canada in 2009. Every Canadian was allowed an annual deposit of $5,000 to a TSFA and all interest or investment income is exempt from tax...not only within the plan, but remains exempt even if and when withdrawn from the account. The limit for the annual deposit is indexed to inflation and gradually increases over time in $500 increments. To date we've had a limits of $5,000 for 4 years, $5,500 for 5 years and $6,000 for the past 4 years. 2015 was a bonus year when the Conservative government boosted the limit to $10,000. The following year, the Liberals reduced the limit and reverted to the original plan with increases in $500 increments based on inflation.

Over a 14 year period one could accumulate $81,500 in a TFSA. If you've never opened a TFSA, you are eligible to deposit this full $81,500 right now! Yes, the annual deposit limits have accumulated each year since 2009. The accumulated limit is referred to as your "deposit room".

Many suggest that TFSAs are for the rich. Yes, an annual TFSA deposit along with a an RRSP deposit does add up and many are unable to set aside such amounts for saving. But, what about existing savings? How about that small inheritance from Grandma that you tucked away for a rainy day? Since the day you deposited it, you've received and T-5 from the bank and have paid tax on the interest each year. Move it to a TFSA and pay no more tax on the interest income.

An interesting feature of TFSAs is that if you withdraw from the account for any reason...vacation, new car etc. the amount of the withdrawal is added to your deposit room for the following year. So, if you withdraw $10,000 for that dream vacation, you could deposit $16,000 next year. Note: Your deposit room for the current year does not change. The $10,000 you withdraw this year can only be added back to your TSFA in the next calendar year. Check your deposit room on your online CRA account.

Upon retirement you might need to withdraw the annual earnings from a TFSA to add to retirement income. As mentioned, any withdrawal this year can be re-deposited next year in addition to the annual $6,000 limit. This rapidly increases the amounts eligible for deposit to the TFSA. In a perfect world, over time you may have all non-registered (open) account savings in TFSAs and never pay another cent of tax on interest or investment income generated by these savings.

With current increase in all rates, including deposit rates, there's never been a better time to open a TFSA and begin enjoying TAX FREE INCOME!

Canadian Banks And The Foreign Exchange Shell Game

2018-10-22T10:26:00.001-05:00

Recent posts described my search for a Canadian credit card with no Foreign Exchange Transaction Fees. At the moment there are only five, four if you eliminate HSBC's World Elite MasterCard which is only available to HSBC high income, high net worth clients.

If you enquire at your bank about a credit card that does not charge FX Transaction Fees they'll make you an offer that they think is just soooo great. They'll offer the full meal deal, a complete package with no FX transaction fees. Are you ready? The package includes your existing Canadian bank account and credit card PLUS, through their US subsidiary, a US funds bank account and US funds credit card. Easy peezy, you use the US card in the States and for online shopping at American sites and make all payments on the US credit card from your US bank account. Viola, no FX transaction fees!

There's a catch, right? Sure there is. If you're a typical Canadian retired boomer/snowbird, eventually you'll have to fund that US bank account. With what? A transfer of course. From your Canadian bank account where all your money is. And, guess what? For the transfer they'll be charging today's exchange rate plus, at least 2.5% and as much 4%. At the end of the day it's exactly the same, or worse, as if you'd used your Canadian credit card and paid the 2.5% FX transaction fee on each and every purchase. And, by the way, that great banking package they offer comes with a whole set of fees of its own. Our Canadian banks do love their fees. I wrote about this way back in 2011 Canadian Banks - We Love 'Em And Hate 'Em

Is there anything one can do? You bet, it goes right back to the need to source out and obtain at least one of the few Canadian credit cards that do not charge FX transaction fees.

If you're a snowbird and have a vacation home in the US and need a US bank account to pay things like HOA fees, property taxes, utilities etc. you should open your own US account with a US bank. It's easy to find an offering with zero fees when you make it clear you don't want any interest as you sure as heck don't want a wee bit of US interest income to trigger the IRS thing.

Again, you'll be in a position whereby you have to fund that US bank account from time-to-time. Every bit of research I've done leads to a single solution for this. The Snowbird Currency Exchange Program offered by the Canadian Snowbirds Association beats all others. Their once monthly "buy" of thousands of dollars on behalf of their membership results in huge exchange rate savings. Check it out Snowbird Currency Exchange Program

A Bit More About Canadian Credit Cards and Foreign Exchange Transaction Fees

2018-10-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

In the previous post I related my experience with the excellent offering of Chase Canada. The Amazon.ca Rewards Visa met all of our US shopping needs for five consecutive winters in Arizona. NO Foreign Exchange Transaction Fees, NO Annual Fee and Cash Back. The cash back was automatically credited to the account each month. This came to a sudden end last winter when Chase withdrew from the Canadian Credit Card business and closed all accounts on March 15.

So, there we were, in Arizona for the winter needing to source out and apply for a replacement card with no FX Transaction Fees. As usual, we turned to Professor Google. This was in early February. We quickly discovered the Home Trust Preferred Visa card and the Rogers Bank Platinum MasterCard. A bit of research revealed that both of these had been around for a while. Curiously, neither were being aggressively promoted.

When introduced, the basic Rogers MasterCard offered filled the bill with No FX Transaction Fees, No Annual Fee and 1.5% Cash Back. Sometime later, Rogers began charging 2.5% Foreign Exchange Transactions Fees. They offset this fee by upping the cash back on all FX transactions to 4%. So, it was a wash, still the equivalent of 1.5% cash back. A downside for this card is that the cash back accumulates and is applied to the account each January, and then, only is you remember to make the specific request each December. Note: This info relates to the offering last February. There have been changes since then.

Alternatively, the Home Trust Preferred Visa was similar. No FX Transaction Fees, No Annual Fee but with reduced cash back of just 1%. One difference, while the cash back similarly accumulates throughout the year, it is automatically credited to the January account without the cardholder having to do a thing.

In the end, we choose the Home Trust card with the lower cash back. The main motivator for this decision was the fact that it's a Visa which is the only card accepted by Costco in the USA. Yup, the reverse of Costco Canada. In Arizona, Costco is one of our main shopping destinations for all the usual reasons.

Since February, there has been a couple of new cards introduced which do not apply foreign exchange transaction fees. Watch for info about these in coming posts.

Canadian Credit Cards With No Foreign Exchange Transaction Fee

2018-10-16T10:54:00.000-05:00

I've been away for nearly four years. They've been four great years. Our real estate investment in Arizona has provided a winter getaway and enabled us to escape Manitoba winters. 2018 was our fifth full winter in Arizona. For us, a full winter is January through April as the practice has been to hang in 'til after Christmas with family. On Boxing Day we tidy up and it's a run for the border on December 27. This year may be different as I finally fully retired at the end of 2017. Thinking maybe we'll get away in early November and possibly return for Christmas...possibly.

We've now joined the legion of Snowbirds who spend a lot of time researching cross border stuff like cell phone roaming costs, US/CA$ exchange rates etc. etc. I'll post about some of these later on. Today it's about the huge foreign exchange transaction fees charges by Canadian banks. A minimum of 2.5% and up to 3% or even 3.5% if you're using a "premium Canadian card"! I wrote about this way back in 2011. Canadian Banks - We Love 'Em and Hate 'Em

Four years ago our research sourced out a suite of cards offered by Chase Canada. Chase had a number of infinity cards with various benefits and annual fees. In the end, we applied for and received the Chase Canada Amazon.ca Rewards Visa. It seemed to meet all the requirements:

NO Foreign Exchange Transaction Fee
NO Annual Fee
1% cash back on all purchases, 2% for purchases made on Amazon.ca

Sometime over the past couple of years Chase Canada stopped offering cards to new applicants. The writing was on the wall. One by one Chase not only stopped offering new cards but actually closed the accounts. The Amazon.ca Rewards card along the the Marriott Rewards card lasted the longest but notice was eventually sent out that these too would come to an end on March 15, 2018. Chase withdrew from the Canadian credit card business. So the search was on.

A Google search with the title of this post leads to some very helpful sites and discussions about various credit card offerings. It's amazing how many Canadians add comments suggesting that they have a bank issued credit card which does not charge FX transaction fees when in fact they're paying at the very least 2.5% over the actual exchange rate. Just because it doesn't show as a separate amount doesn't mean the bank is not charging it!

It's Been An Interesting Year

2014-10-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Remembering back to the time TPCI included the Daily Squawk page it's hard to imagine that I haven't posted for over a year. From the first post, Investing 101, published May 8, 2009 to Okay...I'm outta here, published July 24, 2013, it was a lot of fun! I was able to enjoy my hobby of writing while applying it to another hobby, investing. My investing "career" saw me go from a total passive investor, when I blindly threw money at finance guy each RSP season, to an aggressive trader of stocks as I fought my way back after the big crash.

Along the way, I went out of mutual funds, into exchange traded funds and finally into individual stocks. I had some home runs and some misses but at the end of the day my portfolio doubled in value from the low on November 20, 2008 to March 13, 2012. Since then my stuff continued to grow at an acceptable rate with very little effort on my part as I gradually moved into low risk investments. As I said in Who Should(n't) Be In Funds?, there's a time to get the heck out and that time is as retirement approaches. Anyone planning to retire does not belong in things that can go down by 50% the day after an event half way around the world! Old guys just may not have time to get it back as I did.

I am now truly The Passive Canadian Investor as I clip coupons with my bond funds and GICs. Even though I began monthly RIF withdrawals in March of this year my portfolio value continues to climb. If this keeps up, the money will last forever...is that really possible??

Like the title says, it's been an interesting year. We began the year with our first extended stay in our new investment home. We refer to the Fountain Hills condo as an investment home because it didn't feel like we were spending money when we bought it. Rather, it was like we were shifting funds from one investment pool to another, hopefully one with some upside potential. Our timing was perfect in two ways. Firstly, we bought in late 2012, near the bottom of the Arizona real estate market. Secondly, we able to enjoy Arizona during the most brutal Manitoba winter since 1898!

Okay...I'm outta here

2013-07-24T12:30:00.004-05:00

In May I suggested that the time had arrived for me exit...stage left. With my plan to spend at least three months in Arizona this winter I'll be officially "semi-retired". Time to cash 'em in methinks. As is so often the case, as soon as I decide to sell, the bottom falls out, and that's exactly what happened. In June I posted a chart showing what happened to my bank stocks as soon as I placed my sell orders.

Well, the story has a happy ending after all. The TSX in general and the banks in particular rallied this month and I was able to sell all three banks, BMO, RBC & TD at fifty-two week highs. You gotta know that after I sold they continued to go up. What's new? Doesn't matter. I did really well on these three and will not look back. I also sold my Suncor, leaving only a few penny stocks in my trading account. With all the money parked, for now at least, in the Bond Fund I am after all these years truly a Passive Investor. To be honest, it feels good...been sleeping better than ever!

I do plan to hang in here at TPCI and chip in from time-to-time. After all, as a semi-retired boomer, I should have more time to write.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:
Nothing on this site should ever be considered to be advice, research or a suggestion or invitation to buy or sell any securities. Every investor should do their own research and consult their own finance guy. See full DISCLAIMER.

As always, Good Luck & Happy Investing!

Spoke Too Soon!

2013-06-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

In my May 22 post I mentioned my plan to cash out of individual stocks and move on. At the time, all three of my Canadian banks stocks, BMO, RBC and TD, were very near their fifty-two week highs. My strategy, if you can call it that, is very simple. Figuring that they reached a the high sometime in the past year they'll get there again soon and I'll take that as my exit point. I placed three sell orders, one for each bank stock. Figuring that I'd like to net the fifty-two week high, each sell order was for the previous high plus a few cents to cover brokerage fees. Too easy!

My guess was that I'd be out of these long held stocks within days. Not! Could I have been more wrong or timed things any worse. No sooner did I decide to sell, my bank stocks and the whole TSX hit the skids. RBC is off 5.47%. BMO and TD not quite so much. I now figure it could take many weeks or even months before they get back into the range of my sell orders. That my friends is why I've decided to get out. Yes, over the long term they do tend to go up, but the crazy volatility is enough to drive one to drink. Guess I'll be holding for a while yet. In the meantime,

Good Luck & Happy Investing!

May be time to cash 'em in...

2013-05-22T06:30:00.000-05:00

Looking back, my first investment in an individual stock was in January of 1997 when the Manitoba Telephone System (MBT) went public. The excitement surrounding the IPO enticed many passive investors into opening trading accounts. I cashed a GIC from my perfect GIC ladder for that one. My MTS shares are long gone but my success with that purchase had me hooked. Watching the markets, buying and selling stocks, what a great hobby!

Sometime later I cashed another GIC and added the proceeds to my trading account. This was for a sure thing and I promised my better half that as soon as the stock doubled I'd sell half the shares and put the money back into a GIC where it belonged. Sadly, the double never happened. The successful Phase 2 drug study was followed by a Phase 3 flop. I've never written the story of my Medicure investment, it's just too painful.

Be that as it may, my overall trading account hit a double a few years ago. The total value has been well over the double from time-to-time and I had many a chances to take the double and run. Alas, greed kicked in as I convinced myself to hold for the triple that never arrived. Up & down, down & up but never reaching the triple.

The return on the TSX for the past five years has been a negative 14.33%. Five years ago I bought a GIC that paid 5% annually. Compounded, it's now up 27.62%. Are you getting the point? Yup, I think the time may have arrived for an orderly sell off of the basket of stocks in my trading account. I don't intend to bail overnight, rather, I'll pick an exit point for each stock with an aim to be divested by year end. I believe that my message in Who Should(n't) Be In Funds?, goes double for individual stocks.

It's an e-World or should I say iWorld...you can't leave home without ???

2013-04-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

I think we're a normal couple...at least we hope so. On a recent trip to Arizona we took along one laptop computer, one Netbook computer, one Blackberry Playbook, one Kobo e-reader, two Blackberries and three iPods. That's normal...isn't it? The scary thing about travelling with all this stuff is that if they x-ray our luggage someone might think we're packing bomb components. Imagine what the maze of devices, chargers and cables must look like when x-rayed.

It's a wired world! Or, rearrange the letters and it's a weird world! I think it's both!

With all that stuff you'd figure we'd be maxed out. Not! While away, I got jealous of her Kobo e-reader and had to have one. It weighs about a third as much as the Playbook and the paper white screen is easy on the eyes and can be read comfortably in full sun light. To top it off, Kobo perfected edge lighting with the Kobo Glo and you can also read in the dark. Since our return we've picked up a second Kobo Glo and I'm lovin' it.

We're not done yet. On the wish list are iPhones to replace the Blackberries when our contracts expire and we're pretty convinced that we need at least one iPad. I think we're only couple we know who don't have an iPad. The Apple thing is pretty additive. Sorry Blackberry. You pretty much caught up with Blackberry 10 but as I posted recently we're likely to see iPhone 6, 7 & 8 before we ever see Blackberry 11.

Speaking of Apple (AAPL), their shares are off over 40% since the peak of $705.00 last fall. Seems the market expects a home run every quarter from the greatest innovator ever. Rumours are all about iWatch, an Apple smart watch. I figure Apple just planted that rumour to get everyone else blowing their brains out on smart watch development. Samsung & Google will introduce smart watches and then wake up to the fact that we all quit wearing watches a long time ago.

Have a great weekend & Happy Investing!

Two Of The Best Stocks I Didn't Buy

2013-03-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've done my share of bragging on these pages. Why not? It's my blog and if I want to share a success story so be it. To keep things in balance I've also shared stories of several mistakes. This is another one of those. Happily, it's not about losing a pile of money, rather, it's the story of two missed opportunities.

Back in March of 2006 Canada's iconic coffee giant Tim Hortons (THI) announced an IPO. The shares, priced at $27.00, went on sale Friday, March 24, 2006. Me, I figured I'd wait and see. I actually thought Tim's had reached a saturation point. It seemed they were running their own competition on many streets in 'Peg City. It was a while later that I visited Vancouver and saw Starbucks operating as many as three stores at an intersection. Over the next few years Tim's shares went up and down but mostly up. They reached the double, double in March of 2012, six years after the IPO. Today they're at $52.65, and no, I never did buy any!

The second missed opportunity was Dollarama (DOL). Many believe that the dollar store sector offers one of the best investment opportunities in the retail sector. While The GAP and Canadian Tire eke out a 2-3% increase in year-to-year same store sales all a dollar store has to do is raise their price to $1.25 and bingo, a 25% increase!

My Dollarama story begins the day I left the house heading for Canadian Tire in search of some connectors and splitters for the entertainment center. You know, the whole deal with the cable box, TV, VCR, DVD, sound system and enough cable and wire to go once around the earth. As I sat at a traffic light I spotted a Dollarama store just past the intersection. I figured I'd check it out. Well, I found most of what I was looking for all priced at a buck or less as a couple of items were packaged in twos. Yup, two for a buck! After spending $4.00 I continued on to Canadian Tire to finish off my shopping list. You gotta know, I did some price checking. One of the items I'd purchased at Dollarama two for a buck was priced at $4.95 for one. From that day on whenever I needed a small hardware bit or household gadget my first stop was Dollarama.

I know, I know, you get what you pay for. One rule of thumb for dollar store shopping is to avoid things with moving parts. A screwdriver, great! A crescent wrench, not so much.

The Dollarama IPO was in October, 2009. The initial share price was $17.50. Why, if I loved Dollarama so much didn't I jump in? I learned that the Quebec dude who invented Dollarama had sold the company some time ago to Bain Capital of Boston. It was Bain who were offering the shares simply to get their money back, not to expand the company. Once again, I figured I'd watch for a bit before making an investment. Dollarama hit the double in less than two years. Today it's at $61.39.

Lesson learned, the next time a Canadian consumer success story goes public jump on for the ride! Canadians love their home grown companies.

Trash Talkin' At Blackberry??

2013-03-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

Blackberry (BB) CEO, Thorsten Heins,says Apple stood still and now the iPhone has fallen behind. Unbelievable! This coming from a guy who heads a company that didn't manage to produce a touch screen smart phone until sixteen months after Apple (AAPL) introduced the iPhone. By then iPhone 2 was already out. As if to lay permanent claim to being sixteen months behind they managed to crank out the half baked PlayBook, without email or calendar, sixteen months after the first iPad. A month later Apple rolled out iPad 2 and crushed Blackberry once again.

Now, with the long delayed Blackberry 10 operating system he thinks he may be a hair ahead and instead of quietly taking care of buisness, he's out there trashing Apple. It doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that he'll be eating those words in short order. Let's see, Blackberry 10, January, 2013, just four months after iPhone 5. My guess, we'll iPhone 6, 7, & 8 before we see Blackberry 11, if Blackberry lasts that long...more to the point, if Thorsten lasts that long.

As an investor I did real well buying and selling Blackberry shares, when it was called RIM, in the $40.00-$50.00 range. Since I bailed the shares have been as low as $6.10. They're $15.43 today. Hey, I'm Canadian and would love to see Blackberry succeed, but trash talking Apple accomplishes nothing!

16% Annual Return!!!

2013-03-12T07:54:00.002-05:00

That got your attention.

That's the track I'm on for 2013. As at February 28 my stuff is up 2.74% YTD. This annualizes to 16.44%. Those of you still in the market in a big way, especially if you're in US equities, will be chuckling at this as you might be trending toward something like a 40% gain. The DOW is up 7.35% at the end of February.

Here we go again, the perennial struggle between fear and greed. Question. Do I jump into US equities at an all time high? This is the Canadian way. We have a terrible history of buying high when motivated by greed selling low when fear sets in with a market correction or outright collapse. I'm thinking I'll stick to my guns and stay with my Canadian Bond Fund and the basket of Canadian bank stocks in my trading account. After all, I'd be real happy at year end, if I'm up 16.44%.

As always, Good Luck & Happy Investing!

A bit of a year end review...

2013-01-08T17:09:00.000-06:00

Ho-hum, 2012 was pretty much a nothing year. The TSX struggled to a gain of 4% for the year. The DOW fared better at 7.26% and the broader US market did even better with a gain of 13.41% for the S&P. It seems that our commodity heavy TSX just ain't going to break loose until oil goes over $100 and gold gets going again.

Regular readers know that I'm pretty much all Canadian all the time so it stands that I didn't do all that well for the year. I was up 7.89%. As I've said before, because of my high Canadian content I'm always happy just to beat the TSX. Even though the US markets seem so much stronger I expect that I'll stay the course for the foreseeable future. Just can't convince myself that the US is going to recover from the current debt and deficit crisis anytime soon. This despite the fact that they did a bungee jump over the fiscal cliff. Over the cliff on New Year's Eve only to bounce back on January 1 with passage of a half way piece of legislation to stave off huge tax increases for the masses.

I did a bit better with my trading account for the year with a gain of 16.74%. Held the three banks, BMO, RBC & TD, for the whole year. They did well as always. Made only five trades in all of 2012. Sold a couple in January then bought and sold Apple (AAPL) and then bought the Energy ETF (XEG). Other than the banks, XEG and a few penny stocks, that I don't talk about, the only other thing in my trading account at the moment is Suncor (SU). When I bought Suncor two years ago this month I had great expectations. Sadly, Suncor sagged along with the whole energy sector.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As always, good luck & happy investing!

Is It Christmas Yet?

2012-12-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Not quite, but close. One month 'til year end. Another chance to look back, review successes and near successes. Never admit to an outright failure. Most importantly, a chance to thank our lucky stars for all that we enjoy in this country of ours!

I haven't posted for over a month. Busy, busy, busy! Our real estate search down south kept us occupied. Not to brag, but I've become quite an expert with Google Maps and Google Earth. Tremendous resources when looking at real estate from afar, and both free! I'm happy to say that we found our little dream condo in Fountain Hills, Arizona and look forward to a planned furniture shopping trip in the new year. As my buddy Captain Jack says, investing in Arizona real estate is exactly that, it's an investment, it's not like spending money.

Pretty quiet on the investment front although I did get back into Exchange Traded Funds with the purchase of XEG, the iShares energy fund. I'm working a theory that Saudi was pumping oil like crazy to keep energy costs down in the US to help Obama win the election. I'm guessing that after the election all bets are off and Saudi will slow things down and oil will get back to the $100.00 range. Just as I did back in 2006, and wrote about in My Home Run! (Part 2 of 2), I'm counting on the price of oil to increase and drag XEG up along with it.

October saw a tiny tick up for my portfolio value. November was better as my stuff ticked up eighteen of twenty-two trading days. The month ended with eleven consecutive daily increases and my stuff reached a new all time high each day in the final week of the month. I've been Bouncin' Along The Top for many months now and reach a new high on a regular basis. To the end of November I'm up 7.6% for the year.

Looking back, I see I've had gains every December since I began tracking my portfolio value. Hopefully this month will be the sixth consecutive positive December.

Lookin' South...Maybe

2012-10-10T18:00:00.000-05:00

For a change of direction, we're considering a real estate investment in the US. We've traveled to Arizona twice this year and are intrigued with the idea of an investment property. Gosh knows, money in the bank, here in Canada, is doing nothing. Might as well take a flier on something that appears to be bouncing along the bottom and looks like there may be some upside when (if) the US economy ever comes back. Back in April we did the tourist thing. Overnight trip to Jerome, Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Can't begin to describe the Grand Canyon. Beyond belief!

One problem about seeing awesome things is my better half likes to add a new physical challenge to the bucket list. Now she wants to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back. A twelve mile round trip trek...and the second half is ALL UPHILL!! Not sure that's ever going to happen. I was pretty tuckered after the Devil's Punchbowl hike at Spruce Woods Provincial Park this summer. An annual event for us. We did cross something off the bucket list a few weeks ago. Went zip lining in the Pembina Valley about an hour from home. What a blast!

Our most recent trip to the US was at the beginning of September. Arizona in late summer is not for the faint of heart. When we got up each morning it was already hot, 28°C and by noon it was FRICKIN' HOT 42-44°!! We looked at properties that are selling for prices that go back to the mid nineties. Less than half of the level that they reached before the bubble burst in late 2006. Another comparison is that we could duplicate our Bungalow by the Boyne for less than 1/2 of what we have into our Carman, Manitoba home. They whoever "they" are say AZ real estate prices are firming and already up a tick YTD. The search is on!

Nine Down And Three To Go!

2012-10-03T06:02:00.000-05:00

Yup, end of September marks the end of the third quarter. So, what's happened so far this year? Well, I'm happy. My stuff is up 6.44% YTD. The TSX is off .17% YTD. Always happy to beat the TSX. If this keeps up, I should end the year with an gain of over 8%. With each upward tick reaches a new all time high for my portfolio value.

September isn't going to go down in any record books but it wasn't too shabby. Nineteen trading days, fifteen up and only four down. At the end of the day, it was a nice month for my stuff with a gain for month of 1.1%.

Still doing well with my bank stocks, BMO, RBC & TO. They're holding their own and the quarterly dividends keep rolling in. My account is set up for dividend re-investment so all dividends are used to purchase additional shares which just adds to the pot. I'm now up very near 10% with my bond funds. A nice gain for this fifteen month hold.

As always, Good Luck, Happy Investing!

It's Been A Lazy Summer...

2012-09-18T06:50:00.001-05:00

With the majority of my stuff in the Canadian Bond Fund I haven't had much to either worry about or pay attention to for the past while.

On the trading account side I've only made four trades this year and two of those were the purchase and the sale of Apple shares. As usual, I should have held on to Apple. Even though I did all right, buying for $535.00 and selling for $610.00, they closed at $696.00 yesterday. Enough said.

I'm still liking my Canadian Bank stocks. I'm holding BMO, RBC & TD. The big five turned in combined earnings of $7.9B for the most recent quarter. Yep, that's B for Billion! I remember back in '94 or '95 when RBC first reported ANNUAL earnings exceeding a Billion. It was considered almost obscene and RBC engaged in a huge advertising campaign to tell Canadians what good corporate citizens they were, how much they paid in taxes, how many people they employed, how much they donated to charities etc. Now, QUARTERLY profits of a Billion plus are the norm.

As usual, I'm in a bit of love/hate relationship with the banks. A couple of recent trips to the US once again reinforced why I wrote Canadian Banks - We Love 'Em and Hate 'Em...for the same reason back in May, 2011. You just can't do anything relating to exchanging Canadian and US funds without feeling like you're getting royally $crewed. Doesn't matter if you're buying or selling US or making a purchase on you credit card you always get hosed for about 2.5%! It may be possible to determine a value for the time spent when an actual person does calculations when you're exchanging funds but just making a credit card purchase...come on now. You gotta figure they hose the merchant at least 1.5% and then they charge you 2.5% for a forex transaction. What a racket!

More about the US travels and possible investment opportunities in an upcoming post. In the meantime;

Good Luck and Happy Investing!

Just In Case You Were Thinkin' Things Are Okay...

2012-07-25T17:30:00.002-05:00

Over the past six years, the TSX is off 16.45%. The DOW fared better. It's only down 4.52%. The broader US market, the S&P 500 is down 8.27% in the past sixty months. Yup, all three major North American markets are down for the past five years. And you're wondering why finance guy says you're not ready to retire.

Don't like to be a pessimist but I just don't see things improving with the conditions around the world. Maybe I should change the blog title to "The Pessimistic Canadian Investor".

To end with something on a positive note, since doing this chart I checked out the NASDAQ exchange. For the same period it's up 6.2%...so, if you're into tech (Apple) you might be celebrating.

Gotta mention. I sold my Apple shares last week at $610.00. Nice gain from the $535.00 purchase price. They're down to $574.00 today.

Bouncin' Along The Top

2012-07-18T21:42:00.001-05:00

We've all heard the expression "Bouncing along the bottom" with regard to individual stocks and even portfolio values. In this flat, volatile market I'm sure anyone who's down a bit feels like they've been bouncing along the bottom for many months now.

Me, I'm a little different. My stuff hit a multi-year, in fact, an all time high on April 1 of this year. Since then, it's been down a bit, up a bit, back and forth etc. etc. If I was a TA guy, which I'm not, I might say my portfolio value has been range bound for some time. For my thoughts about about TA guys see my post of March 17, 2010. TA Guys Make Me Crazy!

Like I said, April 1 was the all time high...then, today my stuff reached up once again, surpassed the April 1 mark and hit a new all time high. What I find interesting is that the low point since April 1 was a mere 2.2% off the April 1 high. Now, that's been recovered and then some. All-in-all I can't complain. This tight range, touching a new high now and then is why I refer to my portfolio value as Bouncin' Along The Top!

Good luck and Happy Investing!