Money is that one subject that everyone dances around when dating.  We politely try not to talk directly about it but it is woven into the fabric of our conversation.  Let’s throw it right out there into the middle of the table, by the flowers, and address it shall we?  What are always the two very first questions someone asks on a date?  “What do you do?” and “Where do you live?” Which is the money talk equivalent of  “How much money do you make and how much real estate can you afford?”  Keeping your eye out for money problems will be the first sign of hidden people problems.  Remember money problems have nothing to do with dollars and cents and everything to do with emotions and fears. 

When dating look for someone who respects their money and is in control of it. It is the surest sign that they also respect themselves and are in control of their lives.  Someone doesn’t necessarily have to make gobs and gobs of money.  That isn’t what I’m saying but they should at least be strong in the following areas.  It’ll reflect positively in how they will manage your relationship moving forward. 

Money balance – do they balance their cheque book?  If they make more than they spend and always have money in the bank it shows that the person in mature and confident with themselves.  They don’t need to blow every dollar they make each month.  They live within their means and have cheque book and personal life in balance. 

Savers – do they save or spend like drunken sailors?  If they have money when the month runs out then that is a great sign.  Your potential “Snookums” needs to have a “saver” mentality.It shows that they are responsible, grounded, committed, and planning for the long term. 

Asset lover – do they appreciate big assets?  If your date has proven that they are interested in building assets over the long haul it speaks volumes that they are ambitious and driven.  It shows that they want to increase their financial position and has thought out and implemented a plan to get it.   If the asset is a home it shows that they are interested in “planting roots” which shows stability. 

Debt free – do they only have healthy debt?  Does your date have baggage aka consumer debt? If you’re date is debt free it means that they don’t have the emotional baggage that comes with the debt.  People overspend because they’re unhappy or trying to keep up with the Joneses and if they are free of credit card or personal debt then you know that they are self-assured.  A lot of people who make tons of money spend tons more money.  This race to always have the best and most of everything when they can’t afford it always leaves people coming last. 

Just after a few dates you’ll be able to tell if someone loves their money or not.  By seeing some of these money problems up front it could be a window to other issues lurching behind the unpaid bill.  If you know your date is cheque book balanced, is a saver, is an asset lover and is bad debt free, you will hopefully save yourself some grief down the road.

When people think of wealth they often think of having millions of dollars in the bank.  However, when people who don’t have money receive millions of dollars through the lottery or inheritance they seem to quickly burn through it.  Lotteries would be better if they paid the winner a huge salary for life instead of one lump sum!  Then the winners could only spend what they get each month. 

True wealth is not just having loads of assets but having the income streams that can come from assets.  That is why my philosophy of money and wealth is making sure that every asset I have pays me the highest level of income it can. 

The common line from financial gurus is that if you invest your money in an RRSP and that money is invested in the market, overtime it will go up and you’ll have a solid asset to retire on. We’ve all heard the line that if we invest $800 a month for 30 years at 8% growth we’ll have $1.2 million bucks and be wealthy! 

Well, what if I can’t get that 8% growth?  The last 8 years of growth were based on really cheap borrowed money and if that party is over how can I expect the market to keep growing at an average 8%?  I can’t. But what I can count on is an investment strategy that pays me streams of income.  That way I can at least count on the extra income if the market doesn’t keep going up. Extra streams of income will also improve your lifestyle now, so you don’t need to wait 30 years.

There are many investment strategies that can be based on streams of income.  One of them is buying monthly income or dividend funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs) in your portfolio.  Make sure that they are set up to buy more units whenever they get paid out. 

Building your own income-based portfolio is a great way to diversify.  After a quarter when your high dividend yielding stocks pay into your account you simply use that money to buy more shares that are also high yielding and high quality.  That way you are getting the market to pay for the porfolio additions.  Once you’ve owned them for a quarter they’ll start paying you so you can buy even more stocks.  In the long run this will really accelerate your growth instead of simply hoping that the market will do it for you.   

Investment properties are another smart stream of income that can pay your mortgage and free up cashflow.  By converting your underutilized basement into a rental apartment you can get your renter to help pay your mortgage.  To really help free up some cashflow look to buy a tri-plex. Rent two of the apartments out and live in the third one.  Work the numbers to see if you can live for free while building equity by paying down the mortgage. 

If you have a cottage, rent it out for one of the three months in the summer to pay for the property taxes, repairs, or the purchase of a new deck.  If you have an extra garage or parking space you’ll be amazed how much extra cash you can get by renting them out. 

Little jobs on the side really help out too.  I’m an extra on TV shows when I have free time. A day sitting backstage drinking coffee pays for my cell phone bill. Or a night of martinis!

I’m sure there are lots of ways that you can increase your income other than just the traditional pay cheque.  Something you do in your spare time can become a business, like for example developing websites, walking dogs, styling clothes or hair, etc., consulting, writing creative copy–make money from your passions!

Continuously bring in new streams of income and see what kind of true wealth it brings you.  Rental properties, high yielding portfolios outside your RRSP, and side businesses can give you the lifestyle now that you hope to have in 30 years.  Wealth really comes from multiple streams of income.

Count right now how many points cards you have  clogging up your wallet? When was the last time you actually went on a free trip or got some sort of reward from them? Have you ever thought how much more money you spend travelling across town to use that store or extra dollars you put on your credit cards to get a few more points?  
 
Due to the fact that I’m always trying to get the best “bang for my buck,” I’ve crunched all of the numbers and my chosen points system is the one that is the longest running. It’s called cash. I can use it to buy luggage, or gift certifcates, or travel on any airlines and my wallet is free of any cards of any kind.  It can be used everywhere and I can even save the tax or get a better price at some places when I use it. I’ve crunched the numbers and using cash for everyday spending saves you money.   
 
I recently tried to redeem two different points systems to get a trip to Calgary. A ticket that would have cost me $371, including tax, to buy with cash would have taken $45,000 worth of spending with one credit card and $25,000 with another card. Then on top of that they would have charged $187 or $114.80 respectively on top of my points for taxes and extra charges. I really don’t see how these point programs add up.  Here is my logic:
 
1. Using cash saves people up to 20% compared to using cards. You simply spend less money when you have to actually plop it down. Using cash puts a ceiling on your spending; if you’re spending virtue is in question–if you’re being naughty with your money–it’s very helpful. What I do is take $400 out of the ABM every Monday and that is my discretionary spending for the week. It has to cover everything from clothing and coffee to eating out for the whole week. If I drop it all on a crazy Monday night bender, then it is gone. I have to wait a week to get another $400 of play money.  
 
2. The average yearly fee for points credit cards is around $120 a year. To build the points to fly to Calgary it would take me two to three years to charge $25,000 on my card, plus two or three years of fees. Remember, the flight only costs $371. Yikes!
 
3. “”Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”  – Antoine de Saint-Exupery.  
 
Using a simple money clip is so refreshing. And elegant. Seriously, look through your wallet and see all the tacky crap the retailers get us to carry around. If they were not making money off the card, they wouldn’t offer them, so therefore we’re paying extra to use them.  
 
Cash really is king.  It keeps a ceiling on my spending, simplifies and streamlines my wallet, and gets me a better price on many things.  Now that’s a points system I can love!
 
Dave

As promised, here is my strategy for getting a free car (which is working quite well for me at the moment). The trick, and there is always a trick, is that you need to have the money upfront to buy the car. Many people who do have the money in investments don’t want to part with their investments to buy a depreciating asset, but here is a way to get your car and drive it too.  

First, pick the ultimate car that gives you that butterflies in your stomach feeling when it drives by. If you don’t have the money to buy a new car, start with a used version that you can afford to pay with cash. With my strategy you can keep trading up until you get the new one that you’ve always wanted.  

Having cash to buy the car will get you a better price, especially in today’s market. The sweet spot for getting the best deal on a car is to get it when it is 1 or 2 years old. If you do decide to buy brand new try to get an employee discount or check to see if your employer is on a preferred vendors list for automotive manufacturers. This will get you a quick  3-10% off a new car which will help to offset the first year’s 20-30% depreciation.  

The next tip, and my favourite tip, is to only buy luxury cars. This goes against almost every financial talking head’s opinion but I like to think outside the box to get the most “shazam” from things I buy. Luxury cars hold their value longer, are always the top cars in the industry quality reports, and always have demand for resale and longer warranties. They also have more and better features, which makes ownership that much more enjoyable.  

When you’ve negotiated the best possible CASH price for the car, go to the bank and get an investment loan for the same amount as the price of the car. As an example let’s say that the car costs $60,000 including tax. You then get an invetment loan for $60,000 and re-invest it. Investment loan interest rates vary but you should be able to get one for prime plus .50% or 1%, which would make it currently 2.75 – 3.25% and an open variable loan amortized over 15 years. The huge benefit of the investment loan compared to a standard car loan or lease is that you can deduct the loan’s interest as an expense. You will also be paying a much lower interest rate compared to standard car loans due to the fact that the loan is pledged against the investments.  

The bank will secure the loan with the investments and you have two options for investing. The first and easiest is a monthly income fund. My favourite income fund is the BMO monthly income fund. The units currently are around $8.00 and it distributes .06 per unit a month.  .06 x 12 = .72 / $8.00 gives the fund distributions a 9% yearly yield.  $60,000 / $8 units would give you 7500 units that would generate $450 a month in distributions to cover the monthly loan payments which would be $421.60. The natural balance of the fund having 50% in bonds and cash and 50% in blue chip high yield dividends provides a natural cushion for any market corrections. Through the worst part of the last correction the BMO Monthly Income Fund didn’t drop nearly as badly as the overall market. It is also reassuring that through the last two years of financial and world economic downturn the BMO Monthly Income Fund didn’t decrease it’s .06 distributions. In fact its distributions have been .06 since 2002.  

The second option is for you to create your own monthly income fund within your own account. I love my money way too much to give up the 1.49% or $894 management fee for the fund, so I have purchased the following portfolio to pay down my investment loan:  

I’ve purchased roughly $5k in each trust. They are properly diversified among many sectors and are all high yielders with upside potential due to market recovery or commodity price increases, such as oil. The basket of trusts generate $6k a year or $500 a month in income to cover the cost of the investment loan. They have all appreciated in price as the market has risen and I expect the oil trusts to increase their distibutions as oil continues to recover.  

“Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five”  W. Somerset Maugham

“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.” Woody Allen

Welcome to my I heart money blog!  I’m excited about sharing with you my ideas on personal finance and how to live your life to your full potential.  Since leaving a job I didn’t like in advertising and taking a life coaching program in Vancouver this summer, I’ve started to live the life that I have always dreamt of instead of the one that I had fallen into.

I’ve started my own coaching business, written a book, started horseback riding lesssons, spent more time with friends and family, gone to the gym more, and purchased my dream car.  These are all things that I have had on my goals list for many years and I made them all happen in the last six months.

My independance derives from knowledge about money.  Working at the banks and brokerages I learned the skills needed to manage my own money, buy the proper financial products, and cut fees in places where bankers and brokers made their money.  I learned how satsifying it is to build my own mutual funds, save tens of thousands in mortgage interest, and only buy products that made sense for me.

While working in finance I discovered that my clients didn’t think about their in the right way.  If you had money to invest you would see your broker and they would invest it without asking the all important question, ”How will you use this money to enhance your life?” If you needed money you would ask your banker for a loan without discovering your perfect financial situation in five years.

The goal of my blog is to help everyone dream their ultimate reality, discover steps to get there, enlighten themselves about why the dream is important to them (this has to do with personal values), and then align financial resources to make the dream reality happen. My job is help you make an overarching idea of what you want your financial reality to be and then align investing, banking, and budgeting to make it happen!

Over the years I’ve mastered the skills of saving, making, and sharing money and I’ll be revealing my tricks of the trade weekly to my loyal followers. I love money too much to give it away on service fees, trading costs, and frivolous purchases. Every dollar that I can save on fees, poor purchases or miscellaneous costs–or every dollar I can get my portfolio to make for me–I can spend it on something that makes me truly happy like having dinner with close friends or riding lessons.

Thanks for following me and stay tuned for next week’s blog where I tell you how to get a free car! Seriously. See you next week.

Dave