Margin Class: Everything you need to know about a margin broker account

Margin Class #1: Get use to the stock market BEFORE opening a margin account

I first open my margin broker account in 2008. I open the account at TD Waterhouse. At first, I didn’t have margin in my broker account. I wait until 2010 to add that wonderful margin feature in. If the stock world is all new to you, I strongly suggest skipping, at least at first, the margin part of the broker account. You’ll be able to add margin on later, once you’ll be use to be around stocks.

I began to invest in 2005. So we can say that I had wait 5 years before getting a margin account. Back in 2005, I wasn’t investing in stocks and I didn’t know back than what margin is. But I quickly learn. I began to invest in stock in 2008. And following what, I open my margin account in December 2010.

Fact is, the stock market alone is complicated enough, you should have a good sense of what the stock market is really is before even opening a margin account. Simply things like just following your investment, reading financial stuff every week, watching the TSX going up and down... Those simply things will help you to quickly have an overview of what the stock market is all about. Once you get in touch with that reality, you’ll be able to understand that the stock market is volatile.

Margin Class #2: Build up a nice investment portfolio with your own money BEFORE opening a margin account

In December 2010, my portfolio was pretty much established. I had all the big players in. Not all, but a lot of them. I had some very hot stuff like PPL, ENF, FTS etc. I had in my portfolio very good investments that bring very strong value and that value had been quite stable and reliable. And that gave me the opportunity to open a margin account. Because I was already established, when I open my margin account, my stock value was so strong that I had more than something 50k available coming from my margin account itself. 50k is quite some money. But I had been able to get that money from an already established portfolio. I truly believe that the best way to start margin is to start when you are already establish. That way, you get more a complete overview of what the stock market is, you get a better pulse of the market and more important, you know how to react to the stock volatility. And that’s by giving no reaction at all. But even there, you need to be able to recognize the difference between a normal stock volatility and a trouble stock.

My personal example of that kind of situation would be with Yellow Pages (YLO). I was an investor of YLO for a couple of years. But when the stock value declined, I quickly sell. YLO is a Quebec based company that had already a bad reputation. It wasn’t stable, the dividend income was excessively high, the company had a large amount of debt, investors complain about the lack of direction – they were not able to see the company vision, etc. You could easily tell that YLO was a Quebec company because of the extreme bad management. So when YLO decline in value, I did what I had to do. I sell. I experiment a capital loss of 300$, but 300$ only. How many investors had lost a fortune on YLO? Unfortunately many of them because they just ignore my blog. So continue ignoring me, continue to invest in Quebec companies and continue to lose your money. I don’t care. But I what I do know is that I had came with a technique to manage margin account and that stuff can help you if you are like me 100% fully invested and if, like me, you have a margin account situation.

Margin Class #3: BEFORE opening a margin account, set yourself some rules and ALWAYS follow them

Ok, for my part, I didn’t respect this third Margin class rule. Because when I open my margin account, I was supposed to use 30% of the available money on the margin account to pay off some credit lines of mine who are at higher interest than the margin. And that was supposed to be it. That was the plan. Pay off debt using margin. It wasn’t made for investment purposes. At least at first. No matter what, I did not respect the initial plan. I don’t regret my moves and what I did with my margin, but this expose myself to a very extremely high level of risk. The only reason why I sleep well at night is that I have an infinite confidence in the market. It’s a confidence that the stock market crash of 2008 did not destroy and it’s a confidence that the August 2011 stock crash did not destroy either. I wasn’t destroyed because my margin situation did not destroy my portfolio. But no matter what, that could change because I am fully exposed to stock. I don’t control the stock market, tomorrow or the day after, the economy worldwide could collapse. The only reason why I sleep well at night, actually, is that I strongly believed that the nightmare won’t ever happen. But it’s something I am totally aware of. You need to be aware of that reality and accept the risk. Margin is dangerous.

Margin Class #4: Follow the 30% using margin rule

No matter how much you have available in your margin account, you shouldn’t use more than 30% of the money available on the margin account. Let say that currently, your margin worth 50k, you shouldn’t use more than 15k of that 50k for investment purposes. In case of market volatility, you won’t be under a margin call. Fact is, the value of money available on your margin fluctuate. One day you can have 60k available, and the next day, just 40k. It’s something you need to realize; the margin value is not steady, you don’t have any control over it. Currently, I do not respect this 30% rule. That makes me confront to a high level of risk.

Margin Class #5: From the time you open a margin account, you need to understand that your broker now have control over you

This is very important. Let say we are living an in deep stock crash. TD Waterhouse has plenty of customers like myself who have margin account. Margin is money that the bank gave to you in form of a credit line kind of. And the money available on that “credit line” vary depending of your portfolio value. If the stock market crash, your portfolio will lose value immediately. If the situation is critical and the market take an in deep plunge, well, it could happen that because TD had borrowed money to a serial of investors like myself, well, it could happen that while facing a disaster, TD could sell my stocks without informing me first. There could be no margin call.

A margin call is when your broker call you because your stocks had lost so much value that you own in your account. Your account is negative. Let say I had borrowed 50k on my margin account. Because the market lost points let say today, my margin account do no worth 50k anymore, it only worth 40k. Well, at that time, I immediately need to put 10k in order to stabilize the situation.

While facing such situation, TD may or may not call. It’s under their discretion.

So you need to be aware of that.

Ok, you may say: if that investor babe had been able to manage her margin account properly, I can too. LOL. It is not that easy. It’s a miracle that I am doing that great on the stock market. Simply remind you of who I am. I am the Beauty Queen Next Door.

Conclusion

Before thinking of margin account, you need to have a good understanding of the stock market. Also, your portfolio needs to be established. If you really want a margin account, do it, but establish yourself with real cash first.

Learn how to deal in front of the market volatility before going further. Are you nervous while facing volatility in your portfolio? Is it a source of stress? If so, you should totally forget about margin.

Margin is what I will name a “product” that brokers like TD Waterhouse had came around with to make even more money from their business. You pay a commission to your broker each time you sell or buy stocks. Well, that was simply not enough for them. They decided to set up a loan service based on the value of your portfolio. And because your portfolio value varies every day, margin could quickly become a source of unnecessary stress. Margin is a risky loan. You are taking a huge amount of risk just to get a 4.25% interest rate. Does it worth it? Not at all.

Be careful with margin, realize the risk and, if possible, don’t open a margin account. It is not healthy and on the loan run, you’ll realize that only getting in control is hard enough. Everything regarding the stock market is not especially easy and margin is difficult. The only reason why it is remaining in my account is because I had been doing great. But great for how long?

Nothing is define when it come to the stock market, nothing is sure. With margin, you double the risk.

That's pretty much what I had to say about margin for today.

Despite owning a margin account situation in my very own broker account, I don’t recommend you to do the same. I hope my 2 cents about margin will help you to understand better what a margin account is all about in a broker account.

Suze Orman Money Class at TV: taking advantage of the US recession to sale books – Part 2

While living in Montreal, I didn’t have a TV, but I had my laptop and the Internet. That been my reality for a couple of years but I never missed watching TV. I was quite busy working at my multiple jobs, blogging, building my portfolio and following my stocks.

Now that I am move back to my hometown (I had the chance to get a better job, better salary better everything right where I least expected it to come from), I have my mom listening to her TV in the launch and I have my father watching his own channel in their bedroom. Here at night, I hear TV noises one over the other. What I miss the most from Montreal is the dead silence of my one and a half apartment. It was silent, I could hear myself think.

Moving back with my parent wasn’t something planned but while living in this small not even city, moving back with my old folks had been a strategic move. My expenses are lower than over. The only thing that changed is me now driving a car. I have a few related expenses but that’s not a big deal. I am about to get my passport soon and I just cannot wait to travel to the US! I haven’t gone in the US in an eternity. According to what I had heard, the little X town hasn’t changed that much in the past couple of years. I am just extremely curious to go and seek around. It will be fun.

My lifestyle had changed, but the adjustment had gone through pretty smoothly. Since I am from New Brunswick, I knew what to expect. I find myself more relax and calm. While living in Montreal, I was working at different jobs, all paying a terribly low wage, I was burned. The August 2011 stock crash didn’t help me in any way. However, I had the surprised of my life when I learned I got a job here in New Brunswick. But not just here, in my XX hometown. Hitting back to New Brunswick with a job in my field, better paid, better everything, well, it cut my breath away.

And that’s why how I found watching one of the two TV we have here in this house. And there I was yesterday, watching Suze Orman desperately trying to sale her financial books. She gave good advices ok, no doubt about it. I am able to recognize the importance of having an emergency fund even if I don’t have one ok. But yesterday, one man appears at the Money Class of Suze Orman.

The courageous man had 18 000$ in credit card debt and he had 100 000$ worth in student loan debt following a master degree. I don’t get if the degree he took was an MBA. I know MBA are the kind of degrees who are extremely expensive like that. I don’t know. But the guy spoke to Suze Orman about his situation. He was earning 20 000$ a year while holding a master degree. And if I understand correctly, the guy had declared bankruptcy before. And his question seems to be at the time about declaring bankruptcy regarding his huge student loan. Well, good news being that no one can clear off a student loan while declaring bankruptcy. The way Suze Orman was talking to the man, it seem like for him, there was no hope.

Come on! A 100k worth in debt is not the end of the world. Myself, I have close to 90k worth in debt and I can manage everything quite properly. During the past couple of years, my earning salary had exceeded the 40k. But that’s nothing considering how much in tax I had paid on that salary. In a certain way, I am pretty much to the same level of that man who earned 20k annually and have 118k worth of debt.

Instead of explaining to the guy that bankruptcy won’t clear his student loan, Suze Orman should have say something intelligent enough and motivate the guy to get a second and, why not, a third job. I handle 3 jobs at a time for quite a while when I was living in Montreal. And on top of that I was managing my portfolio and I was blogging. I had built my portfolio even if I wasn’t earning much, but what I had earned; I make it work for me.

No one should declared bankruptcy just because of a 118k worth in debt. That level of debt is manageable. It’s just the individual have to seek for another source of income. That’s difficult of course, but once again, it is manageable. I won’t be saying the same thing if we would be talking here about a 200k, 300k or up worth of debt. Anywhere below 150k in debt is manageable. You don’t need to destroy your life and your spirit by declaring bankruptcy. There’s nothing an individual cannot handle, I think I am the living proof of that. But Suze Orman totally goes in the opposite way.

Also Suze Orman said during her yesterday show that student loan debts are the type of debt that an individual should be looking to pay as soon as possible. Why? Because a student loan debt cannot be add in a bankruptcy procedure. So see, for Suze Orman, bankruptcy is the financial solution that resolves all problems. But it’s not the case. Bankruptcy destroyed life, it’s the most difficult event that can’t happen to somebody.

If you take the marvelous me (who’s now a superstar on Raymi the Minx by the way – go check it out), I am on the MINX!! as example, I still carry a student debt loan even now and I don’t give a damn. Why? For several reasons. Here they are:

I preferred to build myself a super portfolio for the future instead paying my debt.

Student loan interest is low (below 5%).

A student loan is not a credit line. Once you make a payment on a student loan, you cannot access the money no more. The money disappeared forever. So why should I stressed about paying a student loan? Please explain Suze Orman!

A student loan interest gives you a tax receipt.

For all those reasons, I decided to completely flush the payment on my student loan. Well, not totally flush, because I make the minimum payment on the loan every months but that all. The payment is of 98$.

I think Suze Orman is out there just to make people feel bad about their debt.
It’s just money after all.

My best advice: manage to make the minimum required payment on your loan every single month. Make sure the total of those multiple minimum payments is reasonable. Mine is something like 400$ only.

Asked yourself: if I would be to go under unemployment insurance, would I still be able to make the minimum required payment on my debt? If the answer is yes, your situation is not that bad at all.

Also, always make sure that you have something worth in term of net worth following an improvised payment on your debt.

My personal example:

Total in assets: 156 233.56$
Total in debt: 87 123.22$
Net worth after debt: 69 110.34$

See, even after I paid off completely my debt, I would still have a little something left.

My personal example is dangerous because I am even lucky to be at this stage. I took several risks that I was aware of. However, I considered myself extremely lucky. You have to handle your debt in an extremely efficient manner that it will make you a winner at the end. But be careful on the amount of debt and ho, please, don’t get under a margin account if you are a stock lover because you will sooner or later satisfy your impulse on your broker margin account. I wasn’t able to control myself and I used more than 40k to purchase, not clothes, not boots (I still didn’t purchase a new pair of boots) , no men BUT STOCKS.

It’s important to turn yourself into a passionate investor because the stock market will bring you to a level of richness you cannot simply imagine. Quite powerful stuff. So powerful that it can ruin you or make you rich. One or the other.

And yes, at 69k net worth, I consider myself quite rich. But don’t forget, I am in New Brunswick. A net worth of more than 50k is considered a million here, or almost.

People need to feel confident about their future but Suze Orman is not helping in any way. And at a point, by emphases too much about bankruptcy, she’s bringing it to nothing.

It’s possible to have debt, be enjoying those debts and have a terrific portfolio. It’s possible and achievable, no matter what Suze Orman has to say. That’s my word over her. And I always get the final word. At least here on my blog. :)

Suze Orman Money Class at TV: taking advantage of the US recession to sale books

I am currently listening to Suze Orman Money Class at the television. It’s pretty much a sale book pinch. However, her stuff that can eventually help people with dealing with their money, there’s no doubt about that. I am not that a fan of Suze Orman since the time she mistreated Nadya Suleman with the help of Oprah, the TV queen. I think she must be a very frustrated person thinking she knows it all. It’s not because Suze Orman is a bestselling author that she’s necessarily a good person. Personally, I never had been able to watch a full TV episode of the Oprah show. There’s something about her that disturbed me and I don’t know exactly what it is.

But my feelings are completely different when it comes to Rosie O’Donnell. Back when I was a teenager, I used to listen to her show and I was just very entertain by her interaction with her guests and also the piano man even if I didn’t exactly understand all of what it was said because it was all in English. However, the Rosie O’Donnell show was absolutely terrific. She now has a new show on the Oprah channel but I didn’t have the chance to watch since it started.

Suze Orman is a big talker of emergency fund. And I am not. I don’t have saving. Everything is pretty much pack in stocks. That’s because of what I am trying to build. And it does also have a lot to do with my personal situation. I am a single fresh babe (lol) with basically no responsibilities what so ever and I am proud of that. I don’t have a huge payment to do on a mortgage each month and I don’t have children to take care of. Emergency funds are a must, but are not a necessity when your portfolio is full of stocks and especially when you are a single fresh babe like myself or single fresh man.

There’s many ways to deal with money and it’s all about finding the right way for you.

In my case, the risks I am taking are calculated. Being in Canada help also. We are not completely immunized from a recession, but chances are lower here in this side of the bother than it is in the US. How could had predicted that one day, the American dream would had become Canadian? I wasn’t ready for the 2008 events and for everything else that followed after that.

Currently, Suze Orman is talking about dividend saying that is have nothing to do if the market is down or up, it’s about getting paid each quarter. And I think that this reach a lot of what Susan Brunner was said in her last comment, to focus more on dividend payment and not that much on the current value of my portfolio. I must be around 10k in capital loss right now. Major part of the current capital loss I am experiencing is related to the current value of my portfolio. There’s no real capital loss unless stocks are being sold. While holding, capital losses are papers stuff only. It has nothing to do with the real value. There’s the market value that played the yo-yo all the time and there’s the essence value.

Do you really think that the real value of Just Energy (JE) is below 10$? I don’t think so, but that’s the value it is trading on in the market. The smartest move would be to buy now when some amazing stocks like Just Energy are trading so low. Because those stocks won’t remain under valued forever. But this is certainly the most difficult part of all, to think outside the box. Each single time a stock crash happens, it’s extremely difficult to remain believer and think that, one day, again, the market will rebound. Right now, that’s the major problem I am dealing whit.

There’s a huge space in between what I really want and hoping for and what is happening right now in the market. And that in between became to be quite frightening. Just like if it will never get better.

In the right column of my blog, I have this section name “My investment portfolio is now at 156 233.56$”. Under that section I had “Only missing 43 766.44$ before reaching my FIRST 200 000$”. I am getting rid of that second line right away. No more money goal, no more cold hard contact with the reality that is disturbing and disgusting. I think it best way to protect myself from doing anything stupid, like selling my stocks, that being just one example.

In case you’re asking, I am not a fan of Suze Orman. Not at all.

While Suze Orman with her blond short hair and super white teeth is desperately trying to sell her books at television, I am going to check on what’s going to be my next investment while wearing my brand new perfume if you don’t mind. This upcoming week is payday. So be ready.

Precious readers, you’re awesome

Readers to a blog are what fans are to a singer: $$$.

In my case, the big $$$ is not coming from anything I sold. I don’t sell myself on the Web, I am not exactly a Raymi The Minx in the making of. I don’t have tattoos and I am not popular either. However, the best about being me is that I HAVE U. I would give almost everything to have her slim shape and her sexy kitten eyes. And her Teacher? I will skip that part if you don’t mind. LOL.

I would give a lot to be Raymi but I wouldn’t give a cent of my very awesome portfolio because a part of my portfolio is coming from people just like yourself. So it’s kind of nice to be me be. Even if I don’t have any tattoos. Because of my blog, I get a lot of hate messages, but I am also getting some pretty good investment advices. Why would some complete stranger care that much to provide me with some very awesome advices and investment ideas? Why, I don’t know, but I certainly appreciate getting investment ideas. I almost never failed following the sense of oh-yeas-I-want-that-in-my-portfolio! Yeahhhhhh! And here it does again, another X investment in my portfolio.

I invested in WesternOne Equity Income Fund (WEQ.UN) after a long time reader recommends it to me. I bought my units at 5.40$. Made the calculation for yourself. I win big on this + dividend income on top of that makes a lot of cash for a girl.

I invested in Westshore Terminals Invest Corp (WTE.UN) after receiving an email from a BC reader saying that the owner of WTE.UN was one of the richest men of Canada. Great! I of course wanted to invest in a company hold by a very rich man. OH yes! So I invested in WTE.UN because it made sense to me to invest in a company own by a rich man. I did very well on WTE.UN. EXTREMELY MARVELOUSLY WELL. And if I am lucky enough, the Maple Group deal will go through and I will make a big profit on the sell of my TMX Group (X) stocks. I really need to decrease my margin usage and I want that to happen naturally, without any temptation to sell anything coming from my part.

I consider myself to be still on top of my margin situation anyway. I hope that readers get that margin investment is not healthy and it’s not the correct way to build an investment portfolio. I did not use margin because I taught I was better than anyone else, I use margin because there was more than 50k available in fresh cash that I was able to satisfy my investment pulsions. I had been lucky, but I am also currently experiencing a 10k in capital loss. The game will be over the day TD Waterhouse decided to clear my portfolio to clear my margin debt. But that’s not going to happen.

Want to know why? Well, that’s all because one of the most sophisticated woman investor of the Canadian nation, Susan Brunner, happen to comment on my blog saying that I should get a loan, a credit line or something that equal the money own on the margin. That way, in case of a margin call, I could simply pick on the credit line or whatever. It was a real good advice. While facing the August 2011 stock crash, I was facing a disaster and I needed to do something to cover my back. In date of today, I did not apply to extend my credit line limit, but it something I need to take care of. it never really hit me that I could face a terrible situation out of my control. You mean that could have to sell my stocks purchase on margin? You mean me?

Even me, I am not better than anyone else. In front of a stock crash, I crash too. I don’t have the capacity to go over it, if you see what I mean. 

But nothing of that ever scared me to the point of selling my stocks and I continue to invest every month.

And what if I would be doing a huge mistake right there? What if the worldwide economy would have to collapse?

It something I had thinks of, especially since the time I knew that Jean-François Tardif is only 30% invested. Jean-François Tardif is a completed turn on and I take everything he says very seriously. It was a shock for me to learn that he was only 30% invested. Of all what he own, he’s 30% invested. I think only the poor people like myself can have the gut to be stupid enough to be 100% invested. Well, not exactly stupid, but I mean, investing in stocks come at a high risk and trust me, I have paid the price for being adventurous on the stock market. 

But while being 100% invested, I decided to remain 100% invested. It’s too late for me, but if I would be starting all over again, I wouldn’t go on a margin situation, I would had kept some cash in my banking account. Because fact is, the most valuable thing is fresh cold cash.

Just to come back to my margin situation: but what if there will be no margin call? What if my stocks get sell without my authorization to cover my deficit while the market collapses while I am at work?

With TD Waterhouse, nothing is clear like water. They are pretty much a bit like BMO Bank of Montreal in the way they do their customer service but that’s because too much of their business is being manage in Quebec province.

I don’t want to be a victim of Quebec mediocrity.

TD Waterhouse once wrote me an email in response to my blog. It was the most hilarious thing I ever went through in my life. Of course, I find the attention gentle and kind. They acknowledge of the problem, they did not try to hide anything. I also must said that everything that had been done as mistake had been mix very very quickly. I don’t think they really wanted to hear me scream at them anyway. I didn’t have to scream, but I always hate TD Waterhouse from that date. An undeep feeling of I HATE U SO MUCH! Giving me a compensation of 50$ for the shit they give me was simply not enough. I really have that deep anger and it never really go away. 50$ wasn’t good enough. Money cannot buy my respect and peace of mind.

But this doesn’t have anything to do with readers right. Kind of not.

This is where the hot stuff is getting out.

Read this:

Exchange Income Corporation (EIF)

I had invested in Exchange Income Corporation (EIF) following a reader suggestion and it was just one of those moves that, today, make me think that I may not be totally perfect ok, but I certainly have that money drive and in face of the marvellous, I did not hesitate. So I jump in Exchange Income Corporation (EIF) and since that time, I had been extremely please with. EIF had jump to the 22$+ today because of that great new 3 years contract with AT&T. Ok, like that, I sound smart, but it’s because of a reader too lol.

Remember when I sold my YLO stocks? I made a 300$ capital loss by selling YLO. But I sell it when it was about time. I reinvested all of the money left in EIF.

And that was the best decision of my life.

I can be stupid, but I can also be extremely smart.

I am amazing.

And so are you.

American Express credit card is a girl best friend: super promotional interest rate of 0.99% for one full year

I went to a shopping trip to Quebec City. I needed a pair of boots but I didn’t get them because everything was full price and it didn’t worth it from my perspective. But today, we got our first snow in New Brunswick and I regret not buying a pair of boots, even full price.

Anyway, great news is that American Express is going to help me to get a decent pair of boots. For all purchases made between November 30, 2011 and November 29, 2012 on my American Express credit card, I will get the special interest rate of 0.99% until December 9, 2012. This involved making the minimum payment every month on the American Express. But for the balance left, the rate will of a very fantastic 0.99%.

Don’t you find that 0.99% is pretty much close to the 0%?

I do.

I am just going to get the strict stuff I need and that’s all but still, I very happy to be able to benefit of an opportunity to shop and look dividendly lovely. Just like that. I rock this place.

What happen when the Canadian stock market decided to flush me... I flush too

Today, we had our first snow in New Brunswick. On the same day, the TSX lost more than 200 points to establish itself to a very poor 11 571.71 points. I know, that’s hurt.

Major part of me turn around stocks, the stock market, my personal finance. So when the TSX down it’s all me that is down too. However, I can easily detach myself from what happen on the stock market despite being 100% invested. Despite being 100% there. My biggest mistake could turn out to be to have no cash, no savings in term of real cold cash left at the bank. I manage my budget dollar after dollar. Maybe in another life I had been a very brilliant accountant. Maybe.

Biggest part of my savings no longer belong to me. Over the year, I invested thousands and thousands of dollars on the Canadian stock exchange. I never doubt of what I was doing. I never doubt of myself. I never doubt of my investments. Never. Each time a stock of mine drop in value, it’s a surprise. And trust me, that happen more than once.

I am never scared of losing my money. That’s in reason of my relationship to money. Money is not a problem to me. That’s probably why I don’t mind holding more close to 90k in debt. Money paid my bill, but it happen that all of my life, I always had more than needed and at a point, I find all of that investment hobby very interesting. And what if I could eventually make a living from my dividend like Derek Foster?

It’s a real good thing that he’s married because it’s the only reason why I leave him alone.

LOL.

See, that idea quite of obsess me since 2007. In my 5 years of obsession, I trade and trade, buy stocks, sell stocks, got in all the directions. Since 2007, my passion never stops growing and it’s not now, because of a stupid economic situation that I am going to stop now.

The stock market? I control it (or almost). It’s in my mind. It’s in my Dividend Girl spirit.

I know I know I know! :0)

If you ever think that I am going to stop now, you are wrong.

Wow, I don’t quite get what’s happening like right now. It must be what I had eaten for supper. It’s name magic mushrooms.

LOL.

In case you want to know, my always fabulous non-registered portfolio closed today at 107 947.50$ and I am going to stop here because I have an idea for another post.

Review of Derek Foster newest book The Worried Boomer: No Pension? Not wealthy? Here’s your plan!

Derek Foster 6th book is the direct continuity of his first book, Stop Working.

But this time, 6 years later, Derek Foster is taking a different path. For people who had problem to manage their money, Derek Foster had included financial exercises of the like of those proposed by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, author of many “debt books”, including Debt Free Forever. I would like Derek Foster to skip that boring part to really deliver exclusively at what he does best: stock investment.

If you want my point of view, someone how cannot manage its own money have a long way to go before being able to invest. Derek Foster should leave the manage-your-money-and-debt part to authors like Gail Vaz-Oxlade who don’t really have anything to say when it comes to the real stuff: investment. Because if you are wise enough, you’ll become quickly rich by closely following Derek Foster moves. I may not be rich yet, but I can push the vanity to write that yeah, I, the Dividend Girl, well, I have a net worth of close to 70k. And 70k is quite a lot of money! And don’t forget my 7k in annual dividend income that I should hit by the end of 2011...

If you are intelligent enough, you’ll get Derek stuff pretty quickly and his stuff will blow your mind.

Derek Foster first book had been published in 2005. I only read Derek Foster Stop Working master piece in 2007-2008. Following what, I start investing in stock and my portfolio seriously starts growing. I won’t denied, I had lost money on the stock market. I did day trading, I trade silver like if it was bananas, I over trade... But great news, I still have that close to 70k in net income and I am currently experiencing a capital loss of somewhere of 8 or 9k. For all the risk I took, I find myself extremely lucky to be just behind of 9k or so. But if I would had simply follow Derek Foster advices, I wouldn’t have experience of a capital loss of 9k or something for 2011. Maybe just 7k. I never took time to calculate but I should, of course. Overall, I don’t have any problem to follow the pulse, I accept my mistakes.

I am a serious type of girl but nothing much scared me, and especially not the stock market. In life, I do what I want. Let say that I had paid the price for being an adventurous investor-gambler. BUT – because I am now back in track, because I kept investing every month in blue chips, because I had read Derek Foster latest book The Wealthy Boomer (!) now more than ever, my chances to recover from my mess are actually pretty good. But of course, I need to have the stock market by my side. I will only be able to move on in a good stock market condition. If not, I have all the rest of my life to work on this and recover.

Otherwise, Derek Foster 6th book is not very different of his other books. However, it definitively worth the reading because even I miss-know-it-all learn some great new stuff by reading The Worried Boomer: No Pension? Not wealthy? Here’s your plan! In the past books, if I am not mistaking, Derek Foster had mostly cover stock investment. In The Worried Boomer, Derek Foster covers some other investment products that can help investors to, if not, retire early, well at least earn a few extra pennies and enjoy life while still being on a 9 to 5 lifestyle.

The only thing that is missing is an update of Derek Foster portfolio. THE DEREK FOSTER PORTFOLIO is more than an ordinary portfolio. I build the most part of my fortune on stuff like PPL, ENF just to name those 2. PPL and ENF are Derek Foster stocks. Usually, Derek Foster publishes at the last pages of his book an update on his portfolio. Unless I am mistaking, Derek Foster is not talking of his portfolio in his newest book and that is quite dramatic. Forget about all the blabla on debt and on how to manage money and spending... I don’t care!! What I want is the real deal. What I care about is to know on what Derek Foster is currently holding to in order to generate an income to support his family.

Also, in this new book, you’ll find be please to learn that Derek Foster is the proud father of a baby girl. I remember that picture from the Toronto Star where we had an article about Derek Foster with a nice family picture of him, his wife and their 4 little boys wearing sunglasses. Derek Foster daughter is now 3 years old.

And no, I won’t tell you more about anything related to the content of the book, but you can always buy it here.

Welcome in my non-registered Enbridge Inc. (ENB)!

Today, the TSX crash again. Personally, whenever the TSX lost more than 200 points in a day, well, I can that kind of events more of the like of a stock crash rather than just the market volatility. Today stock crash was the first thing.

Secondly, I finally invested in Enbridge (ENB). I invested a bit less than 1 000$ at 35.34$ per stock. ENB closed the day at 35.93$, which is quite good. I really like it when the stock I invest in suddenly decided to grow just because I am now in.

My non-registered portfolio closed today session at 109 704.45$. I am below the 110k mark, but whatever.

Third thing, I had received today Derek Foster new book The Worried Boomer: No Pension? Not wealthy? Here’s your plan! I almost complete the reading in one shoot because I really wanted to know what this new book was about. Now I know. I will certainly give it a second more in deep reading. I learn a great deal and PLEASE, check it out at page 103, you’ll learn something very awesome for your RRSP. Just for that new founding, it really worth it for me to buy The Worried Boomer.

Fourth thing, tomorrow is FRIDAY.

Fifth thing, have all a good weekend and don’t feel too bad about the stock market crash of today.

:)

Show me your money, I will show you mine

What look at first be a bad market day turns out to be quite a good day after all. My now famous all over the world non-registered portfolio closed today session at a fantastic 110 240.17$. At this point, if my non-registered portfolio can exceed the 110k, I will be just pleased with that.

I had invested every single pennies I own just to be on top of everything and right now, I am on top of world. Or kind of.

In just 2 days, I will be investing again! So far, I am pretty set to move into the grove of Enbridge (ENB). For the past couple months, I had been quite careful with my stock picks. I had been quite of an adventurous investor. It’s difficult to focus on blue chips because in the immediate, the dividend is boring and the stocks not very exciting BUT reward could come later.

I can easily see myself hitting the 200k by the end of 2012 if 2012 turn out to be better than 2011.

I am no longer in front of my laptop during daytime so I need an extra reliable portfolio that I don’t have to worry about. So hitting the jackpot by buying extra boring blue chips is what I am doing at this time. But believe it or not, it haven’t been this great since I got a taste of hell in August 2011. A taste of a completely retarded stock crash. Some will have to pay for that and it’s not going to be me. Like Ffffffff offffffffffff. It’s simply not going to happen the way it was meant to be. So be ready! :)

Experiment the power of nickel with DNI Metals Inc. (DNI)

DNI Metals Inc. (DNI) closed today session at 29 cents, for an increase of close to 30%. I made my initial investment in my non-registered portfolio on June 2009 of 23 000 stocks at 3 cents of the old Dumont Nickel (DNI). Dumont Nickel had become DNI Metals Inc. (DNI) following a restructuration. Following the transformation into DNI Metals Inc. (DNI), I transferred what I had left of DNI into my TFSA.

From the start, I knew that I was going to make money from this stock, but the strategy change among the way. At first, I wanted a quick buy-and-sell scheme. I wanted a 200$ profit to have extra money to spend for the summer. 200$ is not that much, but I wasn’t really looking for more. In the month of June 2009, for whatever reason, DNI make a nice little jump. So I taught I could easily make a profit from that one. But...

I was 28, wild as I am now, I wanted a profit, but I barely knew what I was doing.

Not that I am much better now, but I learn a few things among the way.

Because see, DNI is the kind of stock that jump a couple of times during the year for no special reason. That being a couple of times a year ONLY. The trading volume on DNI is very light. It’s extremely difficult to make a quick buy-and-sell deal on this one for that reason.

In June 2009, I became a trader. I wasn’t an investor anymore.

And in June 2009, I didn’t know what I now know.

I happily bought 23 000 stocks of DNI in June 2009 without knowing what I was doing.

However, I turn out well. Fact is, DNI Metals Inc. (DNI) turn out to be an interesting company to hold, especially inside a TFSA. Previously this year, DNI jump to the 40 cents per stock. But when it happen, I decided to hold. It was clear for me that I could make much more than 40 cents per stock on DNI. As for now, DNI is under the 40 cents, but I am confident that DNI could became a dollars stock soon instead of a penny stock, meaning DNI could eventually reached the 1$ per stock in a matter of if not months, a couple of years. I have all the time of the world and I am certainly not in a rush to sell my precious DNI Metals Inc. (DNI) stocks. From penny stock to a dollars stock, DNI can make it!