Celebrating 430 600 pageviews and counting. Annie Jean Brewer books giveaway

You read it right: this blog had been read over 430 600 times since 2007! This is quite something and we are going to celebrate! I am giving away 2 books of fellow blogger Annie Jean Brewer: Minimize to Maximize and The Shoestring Girl.

Annie Jean Brewer is a minimalist expert, which mean how to life on less but for the fullest. I guess I got you here. What's the point between investing and minimalist? Well, while being a retail investors, small investors - while not using margin - will use their own money to invest. By saving more, you can invest more and build a stronger portfolio.

This is the important relation between minimalist and investing. By using Annie Brewer methods to live a simpler and easier life, you'll have more money left in your pockets to invest. Interesting isn't? In my case, it seem like I am spending more money more than ever and I decided to make it to an end. To help me, I read Annie Brewer two books and decided to share them both with you. Would you like to win one of those 2 books?

Here's your chance but the chance come with a PRICE. If you want to be consider, post a nice comment about me. SOMETHING NICE. I am tired of chitty comments. Make me feel like a Queen and if you are good enough with the bullshit, you may qualified to win a free book. Its really that much simple. The two best compliment comments will win. Contest is open until midnight Eastern time, December 6, 2012. Give it your best shot.

Home Sweet Home

Its not anytime soon that I am going to post a pic of myself on my financial blog, so you'll never know how good looking is the rich chita. But this being said, I can always show you pictures of my one and a half apartment, right? So there you go.

There's nothing much to see if not that beautiful Christmas flowers, which I adore and as soon I saw them, I bought one. My place isn't really decorated so its quite plan. I don't like the color of the curtains but I didn't pick the color. My mom bought them as well as the metal thing of the top when she came for a visit 2-3 years ago. I would have like something like dark purple. It would have match my new bedspread. I just bought the bedspread today with the pillows and everything for $60 tax included. A good deal and with winter coming (we have snow today in Montreal), I will need something to keep me warm at night. So there you go. I have spot some new curtains (that word sound strange to me and I have to look in an English-French dictionary to pick it all, that word is not at all natural to me). Anyway, I could have bought some curtains for $35 but I didn't becaause I have just cleaned my place last Sunday and that cleaning session included the cleaning of the window and the curtains in the washing machine.

Is there anything else you want to know? LOL.

My apartment is quite small as you can see. I also have a bathroom but it hasn't been photograph. So this is where I had been living since certainly 2009, if not even 2008. I went back to New Brunswick, but when I came back this summer, I got the exact same apartment. I like the location but back in the days, the apartment was a lot cheaper, like $550, and now its $610. I plan to stay here for the winter months but eventually I will move in something cheaper, if not larger. One benefit of staying here is that I am close to everything, including my workplace which is abut 40 minutes walk. I don't have to purchase a metro place of $75 up and my landlord is friendly and always available when I need or something happen. The place is extra quiet too. I never hear any noises at night. I don't have any problem to sleep. Those need to be taking in consideration.

I heard some nightmare stories about apartment renting. One guy I knew was always carrying is laptop with him because his window was so thin that he was always scared to be rob. And another one has a nice apartment but people living upstairs were making noises at night. He could hear them walked and they were carrying heavy stuff around. I never have any of those problems. Renting at $610 is certainly expensive, but I have my peace of mind and oh, best of all, I don't have to sign a lease. That's one of the reason why I got here in the first place. And I came back.

The strange love story of Geneviève Sabourin and Alec Baldwin

Geneviève Sabourin is a Quebec French actress. Or should I say an actress wanna be. Geneviève Sabourin is not even well known in the Quebec starsystem scene. She met Alec Baldwin in Montreal on set of an Eddy Murphy movie a couple of years ago. And it seems she has a one nightstand with him. Anyway, a couple of months ago, while learning that Alec Baldwin was about to married his yoga teacher (who does yoga except stars, yoga is so stupid! ahah), Geneviève Sabourin decided she wanted her “man” back in her life and that’s when she started harassing Alec Baldwin. She got arrested when trying to contact him in New York.

I have to say, when I see Alec Baldwin, I see a rich American pig. That man is not a good man. It’s the kind of person you need to stay out of the way. I don’t have a good feeling about him at all. He has money, he has power and now, he’s taking Geneviève Sabourin to court. Alec Baldwin has authority in New York and he’s a f ash@le. 

Geneviève Sabourin hasn’t been very smart in this story. First of all, while being around stars, enjoy the time, enjoy the sex, but when it’s over, it’s over. Don’t keep running around those idiot millionaires. Stars for me are just a bunch of lucky people more stupid the next after the other.

When she appears in New York court, Geneviève Sabourin always wears sexy outfits and act in provocative way, cut the judge and stuff. POOR GIRL. She sold her property she owns in St-Bruno, south shore of Montreal. She has spent close to 100k on lawyers. Imagine what it cost her to be in New York right now! If it continues, she’ll have to become an escort to pay all of her debt. She’ll turn like a Natalie McLennan who now is... a yoga instructor (so sorry about my bad words on yoga... the bitch is SEXY and the hell of a great author. I saw Natalie a couple of times and she's unfortunately very beautiful).

Personally, I wouldn’t mind a one night stand with a star. I will suck their money as long as I could and get all the advantages associate with such relationship. Free d@pe and everything else right. I WOULDN’T MIND. But when it’s over, it’s over. I once has a somewhat connection that I won’t explain with not exactly a star of New York but very close, very fortunate man. I saw him once, and that’s all. I saw him in the street once, but I realized just after it was him. Fact is, when the man show no interest, let it go. It’s even better that way. You have to be extra careful while being around super rich people. They have the money, they have the power. We live in a crazy world. Better to let it go, dear Geneviève, don’t destroy yourself for a man that doesn’t worth it. 

Alec Baldwin is a f@cker, it’s just very unfortunate that you are learning it now. Wake up Geneviève, please.

Thank you TD Visa, I LOVE U

Life if sometimes difficult, but it sometimes worth it. I have received today an overview of my social advantages at work that I will be receiving in December. Those are usually quite costly, but with this job, its actually not so bad, it will be less than $50 per paycheck. I will still be earning a bit more than $1 100 per two weeks. I was scared to go behind that, its the reason why I was happy to learn the low price of my advantages. I won't be getting anything for my glasses, but hey, I have a job. I have been lucky among the way. A pretty girl never has to try very hard while being in Montreal anyway. Imagine if I would be working at a strip club, I probably be making a fortune. I just prefer to keep my clothes on for now, thank you. Vickie Gendreau is a young Quebec author of 23 years old that wrote a novel, Testatment. She's an ex Montreal strip-girl and its quite something to read from such a young voice about the black side of Montreal nightlife. If you are lucky enough to understand French, I trully recommend the reading of the Testament. Vickie Gendreau will fascinate you. In my case, its not anytime soon that I am going to hit a stripclub. At 32, I am almost too old for that kind of easy cash. I prefer another way of earning easy cash: the stock market, and more specifically the dividend way because, you know, I am the Dividend Girl. And right now, I feel like giving a French kiss to the CEO of TD Canada Trust bank.


TD Bank is Canada best bank ever. My TD Visa had a limit of 8k on it. I recently asked for an increased of 8k on it, in order to reach 16k. And guess what, I just been approved for an extra 8k, making my TD Visa reached the 16k.

That make a 8k on which I can do EVERYTHING I want. I want a masseur? I can get them all. A Louis Vuitton bag? A Gucci dress? No no no. It won't be any of those things.

My best advantage is not actually my body, but I was born absolutely perfect, with no taste for luxuries. And that play in my advantage.

See, I had that RRSP loan that I had been carrying for way too long now. And fact is, the interest own on a RRSP loan are not tax deductible. That suck and I want to get rid of my RRSP loan. Things are going great at work and I don't have any signs that its going to end anytime soon. And anyway, you know me, I am already full of cash. My problem being that I am 100% invested. the cash is almost untouchable.

But don't worry, I have more than one trick on my table.

Right now, I have my RBC Visa that has nothing on it. I am going to request from TD Visa to do a credit card balance transfer of $7 500 from RBC to TD (I have a limit of 7.5k on RBC Visa). Once the money is clear on RBC side, I am doing to withdraw the money at a RBC branch, I will but the hundreds and hundreds of dollars on my bra and following what, I will go straight to a TD branch and pay my TD RRSP loan. The remaining left, a few hundreds, will remain on my margin.

Why this? TD Visa is offering a 1.99% percent for 6 months. I have enough of 6 months to pay off 8k of debt and this is what I plan to do. I don't mind that much holding a margin on my non registered portfolio, I don't mind holding student loan debt because I received a tax credit for it every year but gees, a f RRSP loan, I HAVE ENOUGH OF IT.

And this will leave me a $108 on my pockets every single month. Its easier to pay off debt than to earn a $108 in dividend, trust me on that one. The maturity of my RRSP loan is February 2015. Am I going to wait that long to have it all paid off? HELL NO.

May God bless TD Bank, TD Visa and TD Waterhouse and may God bless me.

Future new comers for my portfolio. Be ready.

I was glad to see the TSX on the 12 000 points mark. And it seems it will remain there for now. My non-registered portfolio closed today session at $121 577.82. I now have the new TD Waterhouse template display in my account. So I can tell you that my non-registered is at -3.02%.

I have $51 709.54 of money used on margin and on date of yesterday, I have $14 427.60 left on the margin. The numbers are not so bad. I am looking to decrease my margin at 50k and on the long term, 45k.

Yesterday, I have send a request online asking TD to increase my credit card from 8 to 16k. I will use the 1.99% promotion on credit card balance transfer to pay half of my RRSP loan and use the rest of the money to invest. Fact is, RRSP loans are not eligible for tax credit. I had been carrying that loan for quite a while and I would like to see it out of my face, even partially.

The stock markets and both US and Canada are getting better and from what I read, analysts are confident that we are just going to rock it almost like in the before 2008. I read very optimistic review, maybe even too optimistic. Anyway, I decided to follow the flow and I have many stocks I want to invest in.

Here are my wanted stocks list:

Central Fund of Canada (CEF.A). Gordon Pape talked about CEF.A in one of his latest article. I find it a great way to invest in gold and silver. By investing in the Central Fund of Canada, you are getting into a diversify product, and not only in silver or gold, but a mix of both and even more.

Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp (LIF). The Maritimes are the home of the Dividend Girl but not only that, they have some good companies to invest in. Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp (LIF). The dividend is not much, but a Maritimes stock will bring in luck ion your portfolio because hot and smart chicks like myself can only come from one place on earth: the Martitimes.

Black Diamond Group Ltd (BDI). I discovered this one all my myself (just too smart) by entering in the letters B-D-I. And there I got Black Diamond popping out. I like this one, don’t ask me why. The Web site of the company look a bit underground, like kind of old. I like it and it just keep my interest in the company. Just like you and pink blog... Simply Irresistible.

I have a long term love story with Jean-François Tardif. I first invested in Premium Brands Holdings Corp (PBH) when the company was still, if I remember correctly, a .UN company. Ever since, the investment perform well in my portfolio. So now, I am looking forward to get a bit more of Jean-François Tardif in my portfolio since I cannot get him in my bed.

LOL.

BAD and DCI – both on the TSX are stuff that I am looking into.

As you can imagine, it take a great deal of cash to keep myself going on the market. At this time, I would like to pay off my RRSP loan and continue to invest in my non-registered portfolio because its the only way how I will be able to get a + instead of -.

Say No to spending

I am slowly getting back on track. I went from a 118k to a $120 412, Oups no no, $120 412 AND 48 cent. Not so bad. My margin is at $51 530.06. Now that my American Express is paid off, I would like to see my margin at not more than 50k. I might be able to do so by the end of January. With December coming in, I have a bunch of expenses to take care of. But even worst, when I checked out my MasterCard not even 2 days ago, I had ranked something like $1 100. Problem being that my expensive of my little trip in New Brunswick add on to the everything else. And my looking a bit more closely to the operations, I had been spending on eating out, movies, coffees, beauty products, etc... The list is long. Way too long. But the good news is, I am done with my Christmas gifts. I am actually just missing one for my grandmother as I feel cheap to just give her a boring chocolate box. I saw those nice lotion at Occitane or some name like that and I may buy something out. What I spot is like $37. That will be the last of the last gifts. But just to make things worst, my brother may come visit me this weekend and if he does, I will have to show him around and that include of course more $$$ if you see what I mean. But that’s life. And just to make things really worst, he’s probably just going to let me know at the last minute if he’s coming or not. 

I always been careful with my spending, but now it seems it went a bit out of control. So now I am aware and I am watching more carefully. The most important part being to eat breakfast home, get the morning coffee home, do my lunch for work, bring an apple or two and ONLY get ONE coffee during the day. I need to get back in that routine and stop fooling around. And I may even leave my MasterCard home. Montreal is unfortunately a beautiful TEMPTING city for EVERYTHING. LOL. Try to live a frugal lifestyle in Montreal, you’ll see, it’s very tough as Montreal is hot hot hot.

I usually see me credit card going from $500 to $700 monthly, generally speaking. If I can work carefully on my spending like I was going before, I will be back on track. I am just happy to have a few hundreds kicking in each month with my dividends. That will save me for the month of December. And for 2013, I will be more careful. I don’t know how it will turn out with my current job. It’s a job among the most stressful I never had in my life and for sure, I won’t cry if I get kicked out of the place. I will do just like last time, I will pursue the employer and earn a few thousands. Just like before. Going to court is among the most fascinating experience. 

Lawyers play it cool and its kind of a real joke knowing the amount of cash people are ready to put on them. You need to be a complete jerk to give away thousands to a lawyer. Keep it simple. you are authorized to defend yourself in court. F the judge and the system and go there by yourself. And when you go, I want you to have a hard figure. Don't ever smile, have a face to kill your enemy. I defended myself alone and it was among the best decision of my life. No need for a lawyer. The do-it-yourself scheme is much much better and much sexier too. Imagine a chita defending herself alone in front of a judge and the lawyer of the other party. I mean, come on, there’s nothing more sexier. Now you know that I am sexy. Good night.

One day, you'll be as smart as me and maybe even a bit more.

And how about a $12 special dividend by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. (MHR)?

I just add a new page to my blog name My Monthly budget. Now that I clear off my American Express because their wonderful 0.99% interest rate had come to an end, I want to control my expenses so I can just invest MORE MORE MORE. I have to stick to that budget.

I only have 2 Christmas gifts to purchase. Once my bus ticket will be purchase, I will be pretty close to the $600 in expenses. Now you know why hot chick needs the dividend cash flow. I NEED IT AND I WANT IT. Lol.

Yesterday when I checked my TD Waterhouse account, my data appears differently. I could see in an instant on which investment I did very good and on which I have done very bad lol. And when I checked again today, I had the old display in my portfolio. The only thing negative is that you can only view the account value in real time. The past market view seem to have disappeared. Anyhow, I prefer the new view, it provides more data on how good and how bad the portfolio is doing. In my case, my overall non registered portfolio is at a MINUS 6%. It’s not so bad knowing the market situation. Even my Fortis (FTS) went down a little.

Now is the perfect time to invest in blue chips like TD bank, Fortis, all those good stuff. Now is not the time to invest in volatile stuff like Sprott (SII), Just Energy (JE) and the other ones name by a reader in a previous comment. Now is the time to secure your portfolio.

This is quite funny and interesting. Ok, here at the Dividend Girl we have invested in HRX ONLY to  get our hands on the 5$ special dividend which was just TO HOT just to get away without it. So I invested in some stocks of that company and now, guess what, McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. (MHR) is joining the POW-WOW by offering NOT $5 but $12 per stock in form of SPECIAL DIVIDEND. I am in for a $500 investment. The stock seems to be strong and offer a strong value and what else can I say if not that I AM IN BABY. I am in.

And to be in you have to invest in McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. (MHR) at least 3 business days BEFORE November 27, 2012. To be sure of the limit date to invest in MHR, contact your broker.

Personally speaking, MHR will bring in it something new around because I don’t hold nothing really in term of publishing if not Data Group.

Thanks to the blogger Not working for the super hot tip.