Canadian Money Advisor 2005

Helping Canadians Understand Their Money & Personal Finance since 2005

Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca BLOG

My Wife is going in for surgery/cancer - Money is secondary
- Posted February 26, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

My Wife is going in for surgery/cancer
- Money is secondary

I thought I would write this post for all of those people who get on this site and tell people to "pay their bills and stop complaining."

In the last few months, my wife Lisa has found out that she's got a 21cm tumor growing inside her. It's more than likely a large cyst, however, it could be cancer.

In that time I've been pretty freaked about the situation. I'm not ashamed to say it. I haven't been concentrating on my business and this site as much as I normally do.

The worry for my wife's health is huge, and its something that will be there until she has the operation and is recovering nicely. (Thank God for Canada's health system!)

It's at times like these that we some people coming on the site and talking about how they are having problems with collection agencies. They're not paying their bills and are getting hassled by bill collectors.

I'm not in debt, and I don't have bill collectors calling me, but I could see how this type of situation could cause a person to fall into these problems.

My wife has had to quit work in the last month, as she was preparing herself to have the tumor removed. This means that all of the bills fall onto my shoulders to pay. If we needed her income to pay credit cards and other debts then we would be in trouble right at the moment.

I guess I don't need to mention that my wife didn't didn't decide to have this 21cm tumor. It wasn't part of her financial plan to do the surgery and take time off of work.

The Economy is Bad - These things happen
Where as I believe that people should pay their bills as agreed to, bad things still happen to the economy and to individuals.

These days there are hundreds of thousands of lay offs in Canada. People are losing their jobs because of circumstances out of their control.

They may get behind on bill payments. The collectors might call.


The point is... bad things happen to people to hinder them making payments. It always makes me furious to have people come on this site and laugh at others because they fall into rough situations financially.

The people that say "pay your bills and stop complaining" obviously haven't gone through the traumatic experience of losing their job , or having a loved one take sick for a prolonged period.

I know that my wife's health will get better. I have the greatest confidence in the Canadian health system.

In the meantime.. I am going to work a few less hours in the next few weeks, and I am going to stay worried until my wife gets better. I dont' think I'll have any bill collectors calling me, however, It deepens my sympathy for those who are going through rough times in Canada.

Comments (5)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Monty's Thoughts
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


GM loses $9.6 billion - Let's give them more money?
- Posted February 26, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

GM loses $9.6 billion - Let's give them more money?

I see on money.cnn.com that General Motors lost almost $10 billion in the 4th quarter. Now they've got their hand out asking for more money.

I keep talking about General Motors because as of last year they had 252,000 employees according Time Magazine, and they were bleeding money all year.

You would think that this company would do massive lay offs and plant closures to shed a ton of its costs.

WE FOUGHT AGAINST SOCIALISM IN THE WAR
Growing up in the 60's and 70's I remember a little talk about how we hated Russia's communism, and how we fought in World War's to fight against socialism.

The U.S. and Canada have prided themselves for being free market countries. These days it doesn't seem like it.

1) General Motors is getting social assistance for people to make $40/hour
2) General Motors is still hemorraghing money
3) Where's the incentive to innovate?

1) General Motors is getting social assistance for people to make $40/hour
It's not like we're helping starving people who are going to the food bank.
General Motors employees are making alot of money relative to other workers.

In trying to tighten its belt in the last decade, Canada's federal government has tightened its belt with Employment insurance, & social assistance. People didn't like the added restrictions and cost cutting but they learned to live with it.

Now the government is handing over public money, without much thought, to a company who is paying its employees several times more than minimum wage.

2) General Motors is still hemorrhaging money
General Motors seems to be incapable of cost cutting to a point where they're profitable. Because of their extensive contracts, they're unable to lay off people and close plants. I'm not sure what the reasons are, however, the company is still losing money.

I understand why General Motors would be reluctant to lay off alot of their staff. It's because it costs them so much money to recruit and train people. That's understood.

However, the problem is... they need to shed alot of costs right now. $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter. That's $3.2 billion per month at least that they would need to shed before they started making money.

3) Where's the incentive to innovate?
Necessity is the mother of invention. That's been a strong rule that we've lived by as a country. When the chips are down, or there is a strong need, we get to work and innovate.

Having General Motors receive money like they are is just delaying the problems.

If General Motors and Chrysler declared bankruptcy, that would focus their minds on actual cost cutting and innovation. The amount of pain suffered would be enough to motivate them to do what it takes to make the company profitable again.

I like General Motors.. They make good cars. I am pretty loyal to their brand. They're just not getting the point right now. They need to declare bankruptcy, shed their costs, get motivated again to start making money.

If we keep bailing out this company, it's going to be a socialistic company. I definitely won't buy a car from a company that's owned by the Federal Government!!

Let's talk about this

Comments (2)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Monty's Thoughts
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway's Stock down $4100 in a day
- Posted February 18, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway's Stock down $4100 in a day

I was curious to look and see what Warren Buffet's stock is doing these days, during the economic crisis.

The 52 week range for NYSE:BRKA is 74,100.00 - 147,000.00 per share. That's a huge fluctuation in value.. not only percentage wise, but also dollar wise.

berkshire hathaway stock value


I guess even the Oracle of Omaha has bad stock years. His company is legendary for investing well, and making money

If you lose $63,000 per share from their highs of $147,000 per share, and you own 1000 shares ... that would be $63,000,000 you would have lost on those 1000 shares.

That's different from General Motors stock which is currently worth $2.18 per share, or $2,180 for 1000 shares !!

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Investing
Other posts about Canadian Investing
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


General Motors Bailout - Federal Made Cars?? - VIDEO
- Posted February 17, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

General Motors Bailout - Federal Made Cars?? - VIDEO

It bothers me to no end that General Motors was given a deadline to make a plan to make their company profitable.

The deadline was today, and they didn't do it. I'm not really surprised, but I am pretty angry.

Instead of making a plan that would make General Motors profitable today, they've made a plan that might make them profitable in the future..
Oh yeah.. and start to make repayments by 2012!!

This video is in response to the video below by Rick Wagoner








Making profit is simple... Costs are less than sales revenue.

General Motors and Chrysler need to lay off enough people and cut enough costs until they're profitable today. Not in 2-3 years... and especially NOT using tax payers money.

Would you want to purchase cars made by the federal government.. I didn't think so.. but that in essence is what's happening when the federal government keeps bailing out losing companies.

That should be General Motors next marketing slogan..

The all new 2009 Cadillac CTS... made by the U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments. How prestigious is that?!!

Comments (2)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Bankruptcy
Other posts about Canadian Bankruptcy
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


If General Motors goes bankrupt, will you still get warranty?
- Posted February 17, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

If General Motors goes bankrupt,
will you still get warranty?

Never in my life time did I think I would have to think of this question.
If the US car companies go bankrupt, that probably releases them from all contracts regarding living up to their warranties. Unless it was a part of the bankruptcy negotiations.

General Motors and Chrysler could walk away from all of their warranty obligations if they declare bankruptcy.. That would leave millions of car owners fending for themselves.

Will this happen? It's not likely, given the Federal Governments propensity to keep helping out the car companies.

By definition General Motors and Chrysler are bankrupt. So... there is a possibility that they will not live up to their warranties in the future.


Answers on How the GM, Chrysler Restructuring Will Affect Your Car

By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 17, 2009; 9:00 PM

General Motors and Chrysler delivered their plans for survival today to the White House in order to receive billions of dollars in loans. Here are some answers to questions about how their restructuring could affect what's in your garage.

Q. Will the warranty on my car or truck be affected?

A. The short answer is no. The automakers are obligated to fulfill their end of the contract as long as they remain open for business, said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.com.

General Motors has said several times that it will honor all outstanding warranties in the United States and worldwide as it attempts to stay solvent. At Chrysler, a spokesman said yesterday that the company "stands by its customers."

However, if an automaker did fall into bankruptcy, the fate of consumer warranties would be unclear. Reed said the issue likely would be addressed quickly in that worst-case scenario.

What happens if one of the automakers goes bankrupt?

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Bankruptcy
Other posts about Canadian Bankruptcy
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


Economic Crisis - Timeshares don't need a bailout? -VIDEO
- Posted February 16, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Economic Crisis - Timeshares don't need a bailout? -VIDEO

I was watching the bailout stimuls talks on CNBC and CNN.. The congressmen and senators were talking to Tim Geithner...

RANT Part #4 of 4




One of the congressmen mentioned that Florida's economy was in trouble and that the tourism industry was doing badly. One of the things he mentioned was that Timeshares were doing poorly.

TIMESHARES DON'T NEED A BAILOUT
I couldn't believe it as I watched a congressman actually wondering if timeshares could be helped out by the economic stimulus package of $787 billion.

I sat there in wonderment.. This is the mentality of people right at the moment.

For all of the worry and concern about the economy, wouldn't it be prudent to worry about the homeless, putting food on the table, and getting shelter for those who need it.

While timeshares do have something to do with credit... THEY'RE A LUXURY.. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

If the time share industry needs to go bankrupt because they haven't saved enough money and paid down their debt, then so be it.. The consumer isn't there to service the timeshare industry... the timeshare industry is there to service the consumer.

CONGRESSMEN... GET A GRIP ON REALITY.. PLEASE!!
The point is... if congressmen are wondering about what to bailout, and they have such low priority items to talk about, it's not really a wonder that the ecomony is in the toilet.

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Monty's Thoughts
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


Economic Crisis - Elkhart Indiana, MotorHomes, RV's - VIDEO
- Posted February 16, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Economic Crisis - Elkhart Indiana, MotorHomes, RV's - VIDEO

Elkhart Indiana was showcased by President Obama visiting their city.

My heart goes out for the people in this city as their unemployment rate is running upwards of 18%.

RANT Part #3



The problem I've got is that their economy is largely based on Motorhomes and RV's manufacturing. Of course, with the credit crisis, their sales of motor homes and RV's are probably very low right now.

These types of products are hugely credit based.. and there probably isn't alot of credit available for RV's at the moment.

NO BAILOUT FOR MOTORHOMES OR RVs PLEASE
Where as it's bad that there is huge unemployment based on the manufacture of these luxury items... I don't think they should receive any stimulus package money. That would be ridiculous in my opinion.

Again, manufacturers are there to service the consumer... if the consumer isn't buying , then the manufacturer needs to do something else. Hopefully the manufacturer has put money aside and paid down their debt so that they can weather this economic storm.. but it doesn't look like they have.

It's painful for the workers to have to retrain, and relearn new skills, however that seems to be the only answer right now. Instead of looking for bailout money to keep jobs making motorhomes... why not use our god given talents and find out what the market does want and then start to manufacture that!!

It's all about supply and demand. Right now the demand for many luxury items have dropped. It's time to rethink the process and find out what consumers all over the world are willing to purchase.

It's easier said than done... however, this was the approach that our founding fathers used when they came to Canada and the U.S., pioneered everything, and made our country great.

Comments (2)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Monty's Thoughts
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


Why Saving is SAVING the economy-VIDEO
- Posted February 16, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Why Saving is SAVING the economy-VIDEO

This post is in response to money.cnn.com's article titled:
Why saving is killing the economy

RANT Part #2



It makes me furious to think the media and government are giving the consumers heck for saving their money and paying down credit.
Let's get something straight.. retailers are there to service consumers. It's not the other way around.

IMPORTANT: RETAILERS ARE IN BUSINESS TO SERVICE CONSUMERS
Retailers are in business to service the consumer. If retailers declare bankruptcy because of a bad economy, that's their fault... not the consumers. Retailers had ample time and sales to put away cash reserves for themselves to weather a bad economy.

I want to publicly strongly disagree with media and government who are encouraging consumers to spend their money.

I'm encouraging people to become financially healthy again. Save your money, and pay down credit.. FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES.

Don't get bullied into thinking that it's the consumers responsibility to uphold the economy by spending every last cent they've got.

I want to congratulate all of the people who are saving there money and paying down credit during this economic crisis. I think you'll be much better off for doing that.


I also posted my reply on lthe cnn's talk back blog.

This is my reply on CNN


monty's reply on cnn.com

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Monty's Thoughts
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


Economic Stimulus Package won't work - VIDEO
- Posted February 16, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Economic Stimulus Package won't work - VIDEO

In this video I give my opinion as to why the U.S. and Canadian Stimulus package won't work.

RANT Part #1

I've been watching TV in the last few weeks and found so many things that made me furious.. I just needed to rant a little.




An example I use is about the forefathers who built the country from scratch.
-- Back in 1620 the settlers knelt down on Plymouth Rock and prayed, "Dear Lord, can you give us a nice stimulus package to help us pioneer the U.S. and Canada.

I have nothing but the greatest respect for the people who risked their lives and took the time to pioneer across Canada and the U.S. hundreds of years ago.

These pioneers were resilient, creative, and enduring and did what ever it takes to build the country.

We've lost that resilience as a nation and have become fat and lazy.

FAMILY MAKING $94,000 LOSES THEIR JOB AND HAVE NO CASH RESERVES
I also talk about a family that I saw interviewed on cnn.com. The father loses his well paying job. He's making $94,000 per year.

I feel really bad that the family is having this crisis...

I'm wondering why a family that made this much money needs to go to their families for help because they only have 2 months cash reserve saved up.!! They should be the ones that family come to for help!

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Monty's Thoughts
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


capital one cecured credit cards for canadians
- Posted February 10, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Capital One Secured credit cards for Canadians

I made this video as I thought It would be pretty informative for those who are looking to build or rebuilt their credit.

SecuredCC.com


CapitalOne Secured Credit Card

Alot of people ask me about how to improve their credit rating on the Canadian-Money-Advisor website

They're applying for a car loan, credit card, or mortgage and they have "bad credit" or even "new credit".

Let's talk about this for a moment

NEW CREDIT
New credit means that you've never had credit that's reported to the Equifax and/or TransUnion credit bureaus before.

This could be because you're a student, just turned 18, or perhaps you've newly immigrated to Canada.

BAD CREDIT
Bad credit means that you've missed a few payments on a credit card, loan or car payment... or maybe even had some dealings with a collection agency


The Capital One secured credit card can help you get started with a new and improved credit rating

Before I continue, let me give you a little information about what a security deposit is:

A security deposit is just that... it gives the creditor security against your loan, and... the amount required will be based on your current credit rating.

---

By giving CapitalOne a security deposit of as little as $75, you have guaranteed acceptance with their secured credit card. This will give you a credit line of up to $750... credit lines of up to $1500 are available based on your credit rating, and higher security deposit.

This means within a very short period of time, your new credit card will start to report to equifax and transunion and start to develop your credit score.

---

In my opinion.. for only $75 ... this is the least expensive credit card that will help you build or rebuild your credit rating.!!

Apply today at: ---SecuredCC.com--- Again... that's SecuredCC.com

Please Note: Capital One Secured Credit Cards are not available to the following:
Individuals who have not been discharged from a bankruptcy
Individuals who live in Quebec, Northwest Territories, Nunavit, or Yukon Territories

Comments (13)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss The Banks
Other posts about Canadian Creditors
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


Bankruptcies were up 47% in Canada - December 2008
- Posted February 10, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Bankruptcies were up 47% in Canada - December 2008

According to bloomberg.com Canadian bankruptcies were up 47% in December 2008 over December 2007.

The total number of bankruptcies in Canada were 8,299 in December

Canadian Bankruptcies Dec 2008

bloomberg.com

Canadian Bankruptcies Jump 47% in December From Year Earlier

By Theophilos Argitis

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian bankruptcies in December jumped 47 percent from a year earlier, as more consumers struggled to pay their bills amid the country’s first recession since 1992.

The number of bankruptcies filed by consumers and businesses in Canada totaled 8,299 in December, compared with 5,659 one year earlier, the country’s bankruptcy superintendent reported on its Web site. Bankruptcies filed by consumers jumped 51 percent to 7,821 in December, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada.

Comments (2)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Bankruptcy
Other posts about Canadian Bankruptcy
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


Canadian Credit delinquencies rising, Deloitte warns -Canada
- Posted February 03, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Canadian Credit delinquencies rising
Deloitte warns -Canada

Consumers are going to get hit at the credit cards, it seems, whether they have good credit or bad!

According to this Financial Post article: Canadian credit-card users could face a wave of credit checks, limit reductions and even account closures as issuers fight against a rise of between 5% and 10% in the delinquency rate.

I'm thinking that what the credit card companies will do is go through a filtering process of who is potentially higher risk credit card holders and then reduce their credit limits, do credit checks accordingly.

It might be worth a phone call to your credit card company and your bank if you're concerned about having your limit lowered on your credit cards.

I had it happen to me in the past... a line of credit was actually shut down because my credit score dropped. My payments were current, and there were no problems with the account at all. The only difference was that I was showing a lower equifax score. (It was probably due to me having 45 inquiries on my credit report. I didn't understand the term credit shopping at the time )

EXAMPLE: If somebody has a credit card with a limit of $20,000 and they're only using $3,500 of that limit on a consistent basis... at the same time their credit score drops ... this might be a situation where the credit card company feels that they are over exposed and may reduce the credit limit down to a limit matching that person's current credit score.

Bottom line, the credit card companies need to make sure that they're not taking too much risk their current clients.

Financial Post
Canadian credit-card users could face a wave of credit checks, limit reductions and even account closures as issuers fight against a rise in the delinquency rate to between 5% and 10% from 4% before ...

Canadian credit-card users could face a wave of credit checks, limit reductions and even account closures as issuers fight against a rise of between 5% and 10% in the delinquency rate.

Consumer debt on credit-cards issued by Canadian banks has soared nearly 40% since 2004 on the back of loosened standards, according to accounting giant and advisory firm Deloitte.

Now, it's delinquencies that are rising. The average loss rate of between 3% and 4% has risen by between 50 and 100 basis points, according to the firm's new report, Uncharted Waters for Credit Issuers, released Tuesday.

Deloitte puts the total value of outstanding consumer debt on credit cards at $80-billion, putting as much as $800-million at risk of write-offs in the next year if issuers "fail to take action immediately.

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss The Banks
Other posts about Canadian Creditors
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


People are saving more - but backwards?
- Posted February 03, 2009 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

People are saving more - but backwards?

I still can't believe it.. consumers are getting heck for saving their money, because it hurts the economy!!

Finally, consumers have gotten it into their heads that they need money saved. They're paying down debt and saving money. This is fantastic in my opinion.

It would have been a little nicer if they had done this during the boom times, however, I guess people start being conservative when the news gets really bad. Better late than never.

I heard a figure that was saying the U.S. population increased their savings by 4% over the last 6 months. This is almost unprecedented in recent history. It's absolutely wonderful... except....

The problem is... all of this money saved isn't going into the economy to boost the businesses and retailers. Businesses rely on consumers spending themselves into the floor to keep afloat each month.

So ... the question is: Should consumers spend their money just to keep retailers afloat?



What's wrong with this picture?
southtownstar.com
By Lauren FitzPatrick on February 2, 2009 3:51 PM

The U. S. Commerce department today released a report about consumer spending and saving in December 2008, and what came out is that Americans are stashing more money than they're spending.

Seems like good news, right?

The New York Times doesn't seem to think so.

Squirreling away money and paying down debt may be good for one family's kitchen-table economics, but the broader economy suffers in the short-term when millions of families do it.
A dollar saved does not circulate through the economy the way a dollar spent does, and these higher savings rates immediately translate into lower revenues and sales for struggling businesses. Still, some economists said the higher saving rate was a natural consequence of America's spendthrift ways.

You can read the whole story here.

It continues to talk about personal savings rates, which dropped to nearly ZERO during the last boom, when folks were tapping their houses for home equity loans, treating their dwellings like ATMs.

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Investing
Other posts about Canadian Investing
More articles from February, 2009
More articles from 2009


capital one secured credit cards they doing well
- Posted February 27, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Capital One Secured Credit Cards
- They're doing well


Since November 2007, we have been offering the Capital One Secured Credit card on this site. And since then, a record number of people have applied for Capital One Secured Credit card using our web site.

This development is pretty exciting because we were able to help people improve their credit score!! And we continue to help people.

A secured credit card is the fastest and easiest way for a person to get a credit card by paying a security deposit to the security credit card issuer. For as little as a $75 security deposit you can have a credit card with a limit based on your current credit rating.

The Capital One secured credit card is for people with bad or new credit and new immigrants to Canada.

I am pretty excited about this as it means that we are helping people improve their credit score.!!

The whole idea behind the secured credit card is that it helps people get a credit card by putting down a security deposit. For as little as a $75 security deposit. you could have a credit card with a limit based on your current credit rating.



Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Secured Credit Cards
Other posts about Canadian Secured Credit Cards
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


New Credit Card Payment Vs Saving Money Tutorial
- Posted February 27, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

New Credit Card Payment Vs Saving Money Tutorial

I am working on a new tutorial where I talk about the benefits of making credit card payments vs saving money.

benefits of saving money vs paying off credit cards tutorial


There are questions in our forum where people are wondering what happens when they get extra money in their budget. Should they pay down credit cards, or save the money.

My video tutorial will show some basic examples for the sake of illustration. I believe that this will help our readers understanding of the fundamentals of this topic.

Personally, I am very PRO saving money and getting your balance sheet in order.

Anyway.. let me get to work on this new credit card payment tutorial.

See my post on this completed saving money video tutorial
FREE Saving Money vs Paying Off Credit Cards blog post

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Other posts about Canadian Debt Counselling
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Gail Vaz-Oxlade Seminar in 6 days!
- Posted February 27, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Gail Vaz-Oxlade Seminar in 6 days!

I'm getting more and more excited as the time approaches. We're going to have Gail do a one hour teleseminar and answer questions that the participants are asking.

Gail's TV show is Til Debt Do Us Part and shows on Slice TV in Canada. It's being syndicated all over the world.!

Gails mission is to help people get out of debt and stay out of debt. Her no nonsense coaching style has helped thousands of people get out of debt, and manage their money better.

The teleseminar the we're hosting will be a 1 our Q&A session with Gail. How it works is: I will give out a telephone number to our teleseminar host, and a special code to log in to the call. Once you're on the call, you will be able to listen live to Gail answer your questions about money and debt.

Click for Questions for Gail Vaz-Oxlade:

NOTE: in order to ask questions for the Teleseminar, you must be a registered member of Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca

This event is open to all Canadians.

EVENT INFO:
Gail Vaz-Oxlade Telesminar
Date: March 4, 2008
Time: 8:00 pm EST

PLENTY OF SEATS AVAILABLE
There is still plenty of seats available for this Gail Vaz-Oxlade Teleseminar so get started today!

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Collection Agencies
Other posts about Canadian Site Review
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Heart And Stroke Foundation. Help for my dad.
- Posted February 22, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Heart And Stroke Foundation.
Help for my dad.

My dad had a stroke this week. What a nasty situation. I guess it's inevitable that as your parents get older, somethings going to break down with them. My dad was very fortunate over the years to have had perfect health. He rarely took aspirins for a headache.

heart and stroke foundation

This is a tragedy for our family as it is for anybody who's ever experienced a loved one having a stroke.

I'm not sure I understand why my dad had a stroke. At age 68, he was in good shape, was a pretty low key individual, so not high stress The doctors indicated that he did have really high blood pressure, which I find surprising.

One thing I was happy about was that I called the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and a lady helped me out with my questions. It was nice to know that there was an agency in Regina to help with answers in a time of crisis.

This site is about money and so I thought I would give a money commentary on my dad having a stroke. Because it is a crisis.

This is a situation that throws the whole family into a tail spin. Fortunately my dad is very responsible, keeps his bills current, is debt free and lives way inside his means. He doesn't have life insurance, because he doesn't really need it. In this regard, his stroke / lack of financial input is not going to cause any issues in his household.

This is the type of tragedy that causes many Canadian families to start into a financial crisis. Because this type of health problem is hard to detect, it's possible to plan for insurance wise. You can get health insurance and life insurance. You can't plan for this job wise though. My dad's been retired for a few years, so this wasn't an issue for him.

I thought I would write this post to help remind people that there is a danger of heart and stroke, and it's something everybody needs to be concerned about.

My dad is stabilizing, however, he's going to need years of rehab and support from his family and friends.

Again, thanks to the heart and stroke foundation and to the people who work over at the Regina General Hospital who are helping him out.!



Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Life Insurance
Other posts about Canadian Term Life Insurance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


SITE REVIEW: http://skillz.NewCreditApplications.com
- Posted February 22, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

SITE REVIEW: http://skillz.NewCreditApplications.com

I've been asked to do a review for this new credit card site. This site hosts mostly U.S. credit cards.

I like the lay out of this site, it looks professionally done. http://skillz.NewCreditApplications.com hosts over 100 different U.S. based credit cards. The ones listed on this page are from the major credit card issuers.. These are well known and well trusted credit cards .

The site name indicates that these cards are new credit card applications. This means that it's a good site to come to and shop for credit cards. From my experience, there are 100 different credit cards and they all have slightly different benefits and features.

If you're interested in saving money, many of the credit cards on this site have 0% Introductory APR. This will save you money as you'll pay 0 interest in the first few months of owning the card.

There are also rewards cards on the site, along with travel reward / air miles cards which give you travel rewards when you use them.

The best thing to know about this site is that there is over 100 credit cards to choose from.

NOTE FOR CANADIAN READERS:
I want to state that the credit cards listed on this post are for U.S. residents only. They are not for Canadians.

credit card website >
http://skillz.NewCreditApplications.com Screen Shot

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Collection Agencies
Other posts about Canadian Site Review
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Term life insurance in Canada
- Posted February 20, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Term life insurance in Canada

Yesterday I reactivated the canadian life insurance section on the discussion forum. I had this discussion area over at http://www.quality-ins.com, but I feel that we'll get more mileage out of it here.

One thing I've found with most life insurance sites is that they might have a blog, but they don't have a discussion area. Life insurance is hard to understand for the lay person, and it deserves some time to learn about it.

Recently I saw a program on CBC's Marketplace that really scared me. The program was titled "Mortgage insurance: Not always a sure thing".

This Marketplace show was nicely researched and told me that if you buy mortgage insurance the chances of you collecting on it are much slimmer than regular life insurance .

Here are some points that CBC's Marketplace brought out.

How to buy life insurance that really will protect you
Be sure you qualify.
* There are many terms and exclusions associated with credit insurance policies. Learn what they mean and how they apply to you.
* Call the insurance company directly (NOT the bank that sold you the coverage) for clarification about pre-existing medical conditions.
* Call your doctor to clarify details of any pre-existing medical conditions you may be concerned about.

In my opinion it is better to get a real life insurance policy to cover your mortgage than to buy mortgage insurance. First off, it's cheaper in the run and you get more value for your money.

Secondly, with a life insurance policy to cover your mortgage, you're going to do a health exam which will immediately underwrite you with no worries of collecting in the future. There will no questions in future like there will be with these horrible mortgage insurance products.

BOTTOM LINE: Be sure you qualify first and are underwritten first before you purchase your life insurance.

Need a life insurance quote?

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Life Insurance
Other posts about Canadian Term Life Insurance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


How to save $73,033 on your mortgage
- Posted February 19, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

How to save $73,033 on your mortgage

I did a quick screen capture of this TD Canada Trust mortgage calculator page.

mortgage savings

I was NOT surprised to see that if you pay your mortgage weekly, you'll pay off your mortgage 5 years soon and save $73,033! But it is an interesting illustration to think about.

I should point out that you if you're paying weekly, you're actually putting out more cash per year than you are monthly.

As follows:
Weekly Payment: $ 465.10 x 52 weeks = $24,185.20 cash outlay
Monthly Payment: $1,860.40x 12 months = $22,324.80 cash outlay

By paying weekly you;re paying $24,185.20 - $22,324.80 = $1,860.40 more per year. This is the equivalent of one extra months payments.

The mortgage interest savings of $73,033 is alot of money. This money could be put into an RRSP for your retirement savings instead of paying it on mortgage interest. I'm sure the banks don't mind if you pay them more interest, however, it leaves you with less money when you'll need it the most, At retirement.

Comments (5)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Mortgage Brokers
Other posts about Canadian Mortgages
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Training Video To Help Consumers Deal with Collection Agencies
- Posted February 18, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Training Video To Help
Consumers Deal with
Collection Agencies

I just created this training video tutorial to help Canadians deal with collection agencies. In this video I walk you through the Saskatchewan Collection Agent Act and some of the points that a consumer should know.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH Consumers Collection Agency Video
Viewing time is 11:30 minutes
(Please give the video a few minutes to down load)

If you're getting hounded by collection agencies, then you need to watch this 11 minute video that I've created.

THE GOAL:
The goal behind this video is to empower consumers regarding their dealings with collection agencies, by reading straight from the Collection Agent's regulations. These are the laws that the collection agencies must abide by!

At the end I talk about the penalties that a collection agent could occur if they don't abide by their respective laws.

It's important to note that this video is based on Saskatchewan's Collection Agent's law. If you live in a different province, then I recommend that you do a search for the Collection Agents act in your province, or call your local consumer protection.

Most provinces have these laws in pdf form for you to download.

tags:
Training Video To Help Consumers Deal with Collection Agencies Laws Regulations Canada, Canadian

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Collection Agencies
Other posts about Canadian Collection Agencies
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


New CMA Registration Help Video
- Posted February 18, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

New Registration Help Video

I just got my new Camtasia screen capture software and thought I needed to do some help videos with it.

The first help video I created is the one for the Registration Page on Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca

SEE: Registration Page Help Video

This will be the first of many as I want to make access to the site as easy as possible.

I'm also going to do some training videos to help people with the credit and money!! These money training videos will be helpful, and will allow me to illustrate my topic with computer generated materials.

BTW... camtasia is a really good software.!

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Collection Agencies
Other posts about Canadian Site Review
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


nancy zimmerman talking about gail vaz oxlade s teleseminar
- Posted February 16, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Nancy Zimmerman - Talking about
Gail Vaz-Oxlade's Teleseminar

I had a nice visit with Nancy Zimmerman who is also a money coach in British Columbia. We were talking about Gail Vaz-Oxlade's up coming 1 hour teleseminar about how to help people get out of debt.

Nancy Zimmerman - talks about Gail Vaz-Oxlade
Listen Now! Duration: 5.5 Minutes

Nancy mentioned that she's watched the show and has deals with the same sorts of issues with her clients. Nancy has even gotten some clients because of Gail's show Til Debt Do Us Part on Slice TV.

Nancy is happy for Til Debt Do Us Part as it's made it ok for people to talk openly about their financial situation, especially if they're in debt and out of control. It seems that we as Canadians are pretty secretive about our financial situations and have trouble talking about them openly. This means that in alot of cases we'll get into trouble and not seek financial help.

I have to give credit to the show's participants.. They're pretty gutsy getting on international TV and baring their financial affairs. And in a way, they're pioneers in Canada. The participants of Til Debt Do Us Part are paving the way for others to want to seek help and not get into the same financial crisis.

Have a listen to my talk with Nancy Zimmerman.. Nancy's money coaching website.

nancy zimmerman money coach

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Collection Agencies
Other posts about Canadian Site Review
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Should I do Canadian Debt Settlement???
- Posted February 15, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Should I do
Canadian Debt Settlement???

I saw this question over at: askmehelpdesk.com

Should I do Debt Settlement???
We are $65,000 in debt, (unsecured credit card debt) !!! We have looked into LAWGISTIX (U.S.) AND SUPERIOR FINANCIAL GROUP (U.S.) . We are very hesitant to procede because we have a credit score in the 700 range. We are current in all of our payments, never late, and in good standing. BUT, it is getting difficult to just make the minimum's and at this rate we will NEVER get out of this mess. I know that our credit score will take a huge hit, but I am willing to do it if I know that these company's can really settle for us. I don't know I guess I am just afraid of being sued and all the consequences that will go with it. If ANYONE has ever dealt with either of the above company, please let me know. Any positives and negatives would be of great help. ANY advice is appreciated. I need help!!!!!! Thanks a lot!!!!

    Here are the questions that I have about their question:
  1. Are you going to need credit in the near future, IE reapplying for a mortgage?
  2. Are you able to increase your income in the near future to help make minimum payments?
  3. How many credit cards do you have?
  4. What else do you owe on ie.. car loan, bank line of credit?
  5. What are the balances on each credit card?
  6. Do you have any room left on each credit card?

These are the initial questions that I would ask this person before I would advise on his credit situation.

This person correctly indicated that the price of debt settlement means that they're going to take a hit on their 700 credit score.

If they're going to need to reapply for their mortgage in the next 3-4 years, debt settlement is going to be costly for them.

If their house is paid for and they aren't going to need debt in the next 3-6 years then this may be a good alternative.

One thing I wouldn't want to see is that this person's health suffers from all of the worries and hassles cause by trying to make minimum payments each month.

If a person is tired, exhausted and burnt out from making minimum payments, they're only going to get worse over the long term. And... you aren't get to feel better mentally by making minimum payments as you know instinctively that minimum payments aren't going to reduce your balance by all that much, especially if you're getting charged 18.99%.

Canadian debt settlement is a bankruptcy alternative for people at the end of their ropes. It's got some benefits, but keep in mind it is pretty harsh on your credit score, especially in the short term.

I liked this question as I'm sure that this person's situation isn't all that uncommon these days. $65,000 in credit card debt is surprisingly easy to come by. If you get caught by a lay off or sickness and can't make your payments, that's when the problems start!

Canadian Debt Settlement Blog Post
Canadian Debt Settlement Discussion

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Debt Settlement
Other posts about Canadian Debt Settlement
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


SITE REVIEW: www.lifeinsure.com
- Posted February 15, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

SITE REVIEW: www.lifeinsure.com

I was asked to review www.lifeinsure.com.
This is a life insurance quote site located in Los Angeles, California. This site has been online since 1996 and is one that I've seen numerous times in my travels.

If you live in the U.S. and want a quote for term life insurance this is a professional site to visit. I'm impressed to see that they have a video about term life insurance for those who don't want to spend the time reading all of the text on the site. That's a nice touch!!

Life insurance is all about making sure that your loved ones are covered financially in case of your death. It's that simple. If you're not covered financially, and you're carrying a mortgage and other debts, your family is in a great deal of risk should something happen to you.

For life insurance quotes for all states in the U.S. check out www.lifeinsurance.com

Comments (6)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Life Insurance
Other posts about Canadian Term Life Insurance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Life Insurance Quote Form - Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
- Posted February 15, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Life Insurance Quote Form - Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca

I'm not sure if I had talked about this but we are offering a life insurance referall service for residents of B.C., Alberta, and Ontario. One of the services we have offered since 1999 was to help Canadians get better life insurance quotes.

Check out our life insurance quote page for Canadians.

The idea that I fell in love with this life insurance quote referral service was that you don't have to spend time getting to know your life insurance agent. 10 years ago, if you wanted a life insurance consultation, you had to make an appointment with a life insurance agent , who then came to your home and tried to be your best friend.

When the life insurance agent came over to your home, they wanted to know your dogs name, and how old the gold fish were etc. They talked about how they loved the painting in your living room... In the next few months, you call them to ask a question about your policy and they can't barely remember who you are...!

This life insurance quote referral service that we offer is one where you get in touch with a life insurance agent, tell them about your needs over the phone, book a medical over the phone and have life insurance policy fedex'd out to you when you're approved. You could be covered in as little as 24 hours.

Another benefit is that the agent will quote you from all of the 100+ life insurance companies in Canada!

NOT ALL LIFE INSURANCE QUOTES ARE THE SAME
Everybody has different health situations at their age. If you have diabetes, or take medications, some companies charge higher rates than others.

EXAMPLE: The company you're using now may not specialize in diabetes. They probably gave you the best rates for life insurance 10 years ago when you didn't have diabetes. Our agents know who has the best price for life insurance for people who have had diabetes in the past. And he can shop from 100+ companies, which saves you time and money!

CONVENIENT - FROM HOME OR OFFICE
You can get this life insurance quote from the comfort of your home or office. That's pretty convenient.

Because you're using our life insurance quote form, you can be confident that it's going to be a good service.! If you have any questions, contact me on our contact page.

Want a good quote on life insurance and live in Alberta, British Columbia OR Ontario?
Get a Life Insurance Quote Today!

Cheers!

Monty Loree

tags: Canadian life insurance quote: british columbia, Alberta, Ontario Canada

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Life Insurance
Other posts about Canadian Term Life Insurance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


endowment express an endowment broker
- Posted February 15, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Endowment Express
- An Endowment Broker


Endowment Express is an endowment broker in the U.K. who helps endowment policyholders sell their endowment policies for much more than if they just surrendered it to a life insurance company.

If you are Selling Endowments, then Endowment Express might be the site for you.

Selling endowment policies is not something that I've talked about being from Canada and all... but I did appreciate this sites endowment faqs page.

It's always good logic to try to get the best price for things if you can. Endowments is no different. Before going to this site, I never even thought about the concept of selling an endowment, let alone the fact that the life insurance company itself wouldn't give the highest price.

I like their advice about shopping the policy around and seeing which company will offer the best price.

If you're in the U.K. and you are selling your endowment, check out
http://www.endowmentexpress.co.uk/

The above is a sponsor post

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Life Insurance
Other posts about Canadian Term Life Insurance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Info about FindYourPolicy.com
- Posted February 14, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Info about FindYourPolicy.com

Edmund was nice enough to email me info about this site:

You have to ask yourself; Will my life insurance or safety deposit box be found when I die?

It is estimated billions of dollars of Life Insurance and 100’s of millions of dollars in safety deposit boxes go unclaimed. This is due to beneficiaries not knowing the Life Insurance company name or bank name, or not even knowing they are the beneficiary of these products, so they do not even look.

It happens everyday! Policy information is lost, misplaced or names are simply forgotten. With our busy schedules in today’s society, this is understandable. With over 500 Life Insurance companies and over 70,000 branches of banks it definitely would be a task to find.

http://www.FindYourPolicy.com solves this problem. We are the only company that can. We will mail post cards, yearly, to you and two beneficiaries, reminding all of you, your information is on our secure database.

All you list on the website is a company name; we never ask for a Social Insurance Number, Policy Number or Account Number. The beneficiaries can find their benefits you left for them, by simply calling the companies you have listed on the website and telling these companies your Social Insurance Number, which can be found on a Death Certificate.

To ‘Research’ on the website is Free for everyone. All the beneficiary has to do is click on the ‘Research Tab’ and, as long as you are ‘up-to-date’ with your membership, they can enter your last four digits of your social insurance number and your birth date. The company and bank names that you had input will immediately be displayed.

As for Security, if anyone were to penetrate the website, all they would get is your name and address (which they can get from a phone book), and a company name. Without a signed and sealed Death Certificate they will not be able to collect anything. For example, a Life Insurance Company will only issue the check to the name of the beneficiary on the policy.

Even if you feel you have everything in place and think this would never happen to you, for 10 dollars a year, less than 1 dollar a month, it is a great back up.

Do not take the risk of losing your legacy that you worked so hard to build. Become a member now and join the many grateful others who allow us to constantly remind their beneficiaries their legacy will always be found.

View more information at: http://www.findyourpolicy.com and put your mind at ease!

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Collection Agencies
Other posts about Canadian Site Review
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Richard Cooper Interview - Talking about Gail Vaz-Oxlade Teleseminar
- Posted February 13, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Richard Cooper - Talking about Gail Vaz-Oxlade Teleseminar

I was pleased to have a quick conversation with Richard Cooper - Owner of TotalDebtFreedom.ca

Listen Now! : 4:45 minutes


Gail Vaz-Oxlade tells us that her mission is to help people get out of debt and experience freedom from debt. Similarly, Richard offers the same type of service, in that he helps people become debt free by doing what is called debt settlement for Canadians.

Richard mentioned that he can help people who owe between $10,000 and $165,000 settle their debts. He also mentioned that this is for people who are desperate for relief from creditors and who are close to bankrutpcy. His service is an alternative to bankruptcy.

I'm curious to hear from anybody who is in need of debt settlement service, or who has previously used a debt settlement service.
I want to know how your life, financially. has been affected by this type of service.

I want to thank Richard Cooper for spending a few minutes and telling us how his business is helping Canadians become debt free!!

TotalDebtFreedom.ca
total debt freedom debt settlement canada
Click To Enlarge

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Debt Settlement
Other posts about Canadian Debt Settlement
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


2.2+ Million Foreclose filings in the U.S.
- Posted February 13, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

2.2+ Million Foreclose filings in the U.S.

Y'ouch... this is pretty serious..
That's a serious amount of foreclosures in the U.S.

One the one side, it's probably a pretty good market for speculators. On the other side, it's a pretty dismal market place for homeowners who are losing their houses and homes.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade mentioned in our interview yesterday that people from all over the world are writing to her and asking her how to get rid of their debts. She mentioned that she has received emails from Singapore, australia, the U.K and more on how to get rid of debt.

THE POINT: I would hate to think that people are choosing foreclosure as a solution to their debt problems.

I'm curious to know how history is going to write this out. What are the lessons we're going to learn from this, and how soon can we learn them!!


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Rust Belt and Sun Belt cities led the nation in metro-area foreclosure rates for 2007, according to a new report released Wednesday.

Detroit led the list with nearly 5% of its households entering some stage of foreclosures, which is 4.8 times the national average, according RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

Of the 100 largest U.S. cities surveyed by RealtyTrac, 86 reported higher foreclosure rates.

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Personal Finance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


SITE REVIEW: Pepperdine Business School Program
- Posted February 13, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

SITE REVIEW:
Pepperdine Business School Program

I was asked to do a review for Pepperdine Business School

Pepperdine business school is located at the following address:
6100 Center Drive • Los Angeles, CA 90045 • (310) 568-5500

The prospective students page says:
The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University is an excellent choice if you are interested in earning a business degree from a top-ranked university with a focus on real-world application, team-oriented learning, and personal attention.

I like the idea of going to business school and feel that it's important that people who aspire to get into business get a good education.

I've been in business for many years, and I would say that many of the courses I took in previous years have helped.

Even if you're Canadian, Pepperdine might be the college to go to. Located in Los Angeles, I'm sure it's going to have competitive courses and students who appreciate hard work and training.

If you're living in the U.S. or Canada, Pepperdine business school might be for you. Check out their URL: http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/

Above is a sponsored review

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Collection Agencies
Other posts about Canadian Site Review
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Monty Loree's Credit Score - 805!
- Posted February 13, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Monty Loree's Credit Score - 805!

I feel guilty because I'm constantly preaching to people to get their credit reports on a regular basis.

To be honest, I ordered my TransUnion Canada credit report today which was the first time in 2 years. I haven't applied for credit recently, and haven't really needed to know what my credit score

I keep getting all of those wonderful credit card offers in the mail each month, so I know my credit must be good.

I was happy that my TransUnion Canada credit score is 805!.

I did notice that there were old credit items and inquiries listings on my report, which don't affect my report but really bother me.

And as well, TransUnion still has listed on my report where I lived 20 years ago in Toronto!! That bothers me for some reason.

I tried to order my credit report from Equifax Canada today and I can't log on for some reason. They can't confirm my personal information for some reason, even though I've lived at the same address for 16 years!

I'll have to call them today and get the low down.

Admittedly, since I last dealt with them, TransUnion Canada has cleaned up their act a little. I like their site a whole bunch more. They seemed to have gotten some of the old bugs out.

I still don't like the fact that they keep really old stuff on your credit report for 20+ years.

HEADS UP:
I did make a mistake when ordering my TransUnion Canada credit report.
I ordered it without logging into my members area. I should have logged into my members area and then ordered my credit report. This gives you a bunch more information and analysis on your credit report and score.

I'll have to email TransUnion when they open and get them to move my order over to my member area.

I just contacted TransUnion and asked them about my purchase.
They indicated that I purchased a Consumer Disclosure which is different than a credit report. A consumer disclosure is a one time/one view report for $14.99. Luckily I saved the page before I closed out of the browser.

If I want to reorder my credit report, I will have to pay $23.00 AGAIN to TransUnion in my members area.

I hate wasting money like that.

Anyway... I noticed that they've got my old business address as my current address so I'll have to get that fixed.

There are a few other things that I'll need to have fixed so I guess I'm going to have to do credit report repair on my self.... even though my credit score is 805!

Even people with good credit need to see their credit scores and credit reports.

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Canadian Credit Bureaus
Other posts about Canadian Credit Bureaus
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Canadian Money Podcasts and Interviews
- Posted February 12, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Canadian Money Podcasts
and Interviews

I built this page today which holds all of the podcasts that I did last September and October 2007.

Canadian Money and Personal Finance Podcasts

There are approximately 10 interviews that I did with various experts in the fields of mortgages, personal finance coaching, stock investing.. And then there were chats and interviews that I I did on topics of collection agencies, credit bureaus, advance fee loan scams and a few more.

I invite you to have a listen and let me know what you think of these Canadian Money Podcasts!

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Personal Finance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Catastrophic - $175 Billion credit write downs!!
- Posted February 11, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Catastrophic
- $175 Billion in credit write downs!!

This headline makes me ill!
$175 Billion in write downs means a bunch of losses for the creditors and almost certain credit tightening.

Understanding that the credit industry is pretty large, this is still a significant amount of write downs.

How many industries could withstand $175 Billion in write downs and still stay liquid?

Credit writedowns may total $175B - analyst
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Financial firms in the S&P 500 index ultimately will suffer $125 billion to $175 billion in mortgage and credit-related writedowns, a Bear Stearns analyst said Monday.

Thus far, these firms have recognized about $115 billion in writedowns. Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER, Fortune 500) and Citigroup Inc. (C, Fortune 500) have taken the brunt of the hits, with $22.5 billion and $21.6 billion in writedowns, respectively, over the past two quarters, wrote analyst Jonathan Golub.

express-leads.com

Since the end of the third quarter, S&P financial companies have lost $593 billion in market value and had to lower earnings estimates by $138 billion. Analysts expected earnings in the sector to be down 105% year over year in the fourth quarter, according to Golub.

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss The Banks
Other posts about Canadian Creditors
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


SITE REVIEW: Small Business Credit Line
- Posted February 09, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

SITE REVIEW:
Small Business Credit Line

I was asked to do a site review for http://ezunsecured.com/.
This site is nicely laid out is for U.S. customers only. They are located in Carson City, Nevada.

If you're looking for Small Business Credit Lines then this site may be for you. It appears to be very easy to use. They're promising to get you fast funding, with their excellent service.

The thing I'm not crazy about is that they're asking for your Social Security Number on their https://www.ezunsecured.com/applynow.php page. I'm hoping that this isn't a required piece of information.

ezunsecured.com screenshot
http://www.ezunsecured.com Thumbnail

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Trust and Loans
Other posts about Canadian PayDay Loans
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Credit Counselling Websites in Canada
- Posted February 08, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Credit Counselling Websites in Canada

I was doing a little research for credit counseling websites that help Canadians with their debt.

I thought I would take a few minutes and list some of them below.

  1. Credit Counselling and Administration
  2. Credit Counselling Canada
  3. Credit Counselling of Regional Niagara
  4. Credit Counselling Service - Sault Ste. Marie
  5. Credit Counselling Service of Durham Region
  6. Credit Counselling Service of Simcoe County
  7. Credit Counselling Service of Toronto
  8. Credit Counselling Services - Windsor
  9. Credit Counselling Services of Alberta
  10. Credit Counselling Services of Canada

This is a list of credit counselling service providers that help people who are in financial crisis.

Many times people get in over their heads credit wise and don't know where to turn. Getting counselling for credit could possibly save a family's financial situation. After all, counselling is a form of one on one education.

To be honest, if you're in financial crisis, you probably could use some one on one counselling to get you put back on track.

If you're looking for credit counselling and need to find a credit counselling service in your, drop us a line in the comments section and we'll see if we can find a service in your area.

Comments (4)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Canadian Credit Repair
Other posts about Canadian Credit Counselling
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


canadian credit card list
- Posted February 08, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Canadian Credit Card List



I am putting together a new list of Canadian Credit cards.



I am putting together this list because I've got a few request from readers who are interested in doing some credit card comparison shopping. It's taken me a few hours to search out the Issuers/Banks credit card sites, find their cards, and then get the best deals possible.



Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss The Banks
Other posts about Canadian Creditors
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


not spending money from cadillac to bib coveralls
- Posted February 07, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

NOT SPENDING MONEY
- From Cadillac to Bib Coveralls!!



In my project to stop spending money, I got myself a pair of Lined Bib Coveralls and a neck warmer to complete my outdoor parka set.

MY GOAL:
Living in Regina, I have become an indoor person as I've hated to go out in the bitter cold. Trying to walk anywhere in -15c is painful after the first 15 minutes.

In order to not rely on a car, I've gone out and purchased some Lined Bib Coveralls, a neck warmer, and a face mask.from Marks Work Wearhouse.
I wanted clothing that allow me to walk around outside for at least an hour WITHOUT feeling the cold weather.

I think I've achieved that goal with this new gear.

Monty Loree - New Outerwear that replaces the Cadillac
Monty Loree - Lined Bib Coveralls
Taken February 7th, 2008 - Regina, SK

THE PROS AND CONS OF WALKING IN WINTER vs DRIVING A CADILLAC CTS
I had to go the bank today which is a 20 minute walk from my house. It was -15c at the time. I dressed up in my new outdoor outfit and went for my walk.

By the time I got to the bank I was completely sweaty and way too warm. This was in comparison to the other day when I did the same walk in the same temperature without the heavy outfit. My legs froze and it took me a few hours to warm up. My body was exhausted.

The pros of wearing this outfit is that it was a one time purchase of $200 for the lined bib coveralls, the neck warmer, and the facemask.
I got a pretty good work out walking to the bank, and then to Tim Hortons and back.

This is in comparison to what I used to do, which was purchase a premium membership at the YMCA for $75 per month, and then drive my Cadillac there for $1000 per month.

Let's review the costs here:
YMCA at $75 per month = $900 / year - permanent cost
Cadillac CTS @ $1000 per month =$12,000 per year - over 48 months

VS

The Big Snow Outfit total cost $450 or $37.50 per month - Single cost.

I don't get the weight machine exercises that I used to at the YMCA, however, I do get a really good and brisk 1 hour walk in the snow. This works up a good sweat. The cost is pretty cheap in relative terms.


    The Cons / Challenges of walking out doors in -15c weather.
  • It's much slower than taking the car. Driving to the bank used to take me 3 minutes.
  • Because I'm out of shape, walking outdoors is a little harsh on my system. It takes me a few hours to recover from the walk. I'm hoping that this will get better as I get in better shape.
  • People look at me funny when I go into the bank or store decked out in my heavy outfit. They wonder what the heck I'm up to.
  • Driving vs walking is much more convenient, comfortable, etc.

THE POINT:
It has been work to change my lifestyle so that I can save money, add to my cash reserves and be more conscious of my spending by going from driving an expensive car to walking in the Saskatchewan outdoors.

As I was walking today, I was thinking to myself... this is alot of work walking to the bank and then to tim hortons for coffee. This is a change in my lifestyle that I have to make in order to reduce my costs as part of the NOT SPENDING MONEY experiment.

It was hard work to find the out fit that I could use to go for walks. I had to go shopping around looking for these clothes items. The next thing is that I have to spend time dressing up in this outfit. It looks like a farmers costume my wife says. It's not the most attractive or flattering outfit out there.

I can imagine that this difficult process would the same for everybody who is trying to get a grip on their spending. They would have to do some hard work to change their life style to get their spending in complete control.

Yes... It can be done.. you can change your lifestyle to reduce your credit card spending and start saving up some cash. It will take some hard work, and planning but you can do it...

As they say... If I can do it... You can do it!!

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Decreasing Expenses
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Gail Vaz Oxlade - Til Debt Do Us Part - Teleseminar
- Posted February 07, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Gail Vaz Oxlade -
Til Debt Do Us Part -
Coming to Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca

til debt do us part TV Show
Gail Vaz Oxlade - Courtesy of Slice.TV

I'm pretty excited right now... I just got off the phone with Gail Vaz Oxlade.!! Gail is helping people across Canada with her TV show Til Debt Do Us Part! on Slice.TV. Gail has agreed to do a 1 hour teleseminar with the members of this site.

This teleseminar will be for members of Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca only... If you're interested please sign up today! There will be a small admission fee to participate, and we will be giving away free (teleseminar) seats for prizes along the way.

I'm tentatively having the teleseminar with Gail Vaz Oxlade on March 4th 7pm.

I'm looking forward to it., and I know that she'll give us some no-nonsense advice like she does on her TV show Til Debt Do Us Part!

I remembered that I did a post about her show a few weeks back.
Til Debt Do Us Part blog post

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Personal Finance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


use your mbna mastercard for rrsp contributions
- Posted February 06, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Use your MBNA MasterCard
for RRSP contributions?

At the best of times, I wouldn't encourage people to borrow from high interest credit cards to add to their RRSPs!

Check out our MBNA Credit Cards

I got this letter in the mail from MBNA Canada Credit Card yesterday. I understand that they like to aggressively sell their credit, but this is a bit much in my opinion.

This is a blog Canadian Dollars Blog that disagrees with me and has used two credit cards to finance his RRSP's.. This was over a year ago..I'm curious to know if he's paid these credit cards off after their low interest rate periods were over!!

I spoke to a customer service rep at MBNA about them hard selling their credit through these direct marketing pieces. The customer service rep said that yes, this was a way that they market their credit" Understandably, MBNA Canada has to compete for share of your wallet activity.

In this economic climate, is it really a good idea to borrow from Your MBNA Canada credit card at 18.99% to purchase RRSPs? I don't think so.. but it gives MBNA another reason to send a direct mail piece out.

According to MBNA Canada's website:

Here's how the letter reads:

mbna canada logo

RRSP Deadline is February 29 ( 2008 )

Contribute to an RRSP
Your credit line is
$XX,XXX

RE: Your account number ending in XXXX

Dear Monty Loree,

Cash in on your account's competitive interest rate. Use your account to make contributions to your RRSPs before the Feb 29 deadline.

With your credit line of $XX,XXX, the enclosed access cheques and your MBNA MasterCard credit card, you're ready to do what you want, when you want.

Use the enclosed Access Cheques to set your plans in motion.

  • Maximize your RRSP contributions before February 29, 2008
  • Buy new furniture or an entertainment center
  • Surprise your family with an exciting vacation

Write a cheque today to pay off any outstanding balances or to deposit into your bank account for extra cash. You can also request a Balance Transfer by phone at 1.866.226.7934

Sincerely,

Brent Bishop
Senior Vice-President of Marketing

P.S. Deposit one of these Access Cheques into your bank account and have extra cash to contribute to an RRSP.

Comments (1)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss The Banks
Other posts about Canadian Creditors
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


GMAC Loses $724 million - Hires 400 more collectors
- Posted February 06, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

GMAC Loses $724 million -
Hires 400 more collectors

This is a scary article in the Financial Post. GMAC is bleeding money. This is supposed to be the profitable arm of GM!!

If this company has hired 400 MORE vehicle collectors, i'm curious to know many they already have!! They must be experiencing a huge amount of delinquencies at the moment.

GM / GMAC In Real Trouble?
GM/GMAC in trouble financially?

Fundamentally, people like their cars, and people like their convenience. In today's economy, it's normal for a family to have 2 cars sitting in the driveway. If there are lay offs, these families are going to not pay for that second car.

Comment RE: GMAC getting in 400 more collectors.. Timing wise, it usually takes a family 3-4 months from the time they start their financial crisis before they start getting collection calls. IE... they use up their cash reserves to keep their bills current as long as possible.

This means that consumers have been under a credit crunch in the last six months.. and we're just at the beginning of this financial recession phase in the U.S.

Again, I usually like to talk about Canadian topics here. I'm sure that Canadians mirror the U.S. as far as car ownership and delinquencies go.

That is why it's a good time to pay down debt, and save cash reserves in case of that personal financial downturn.




Financial Post - Concern is mounting in the United States that Americans are struggling to keep up on their car loan payments, forcing big lenders to hire more collectors and putting more pressure on automakers already hurt by sagging sales.

The latest evidence came yesterday after finance company GMAC reported a loss of US$724-million for the fourth quarter, reversing a US$1-billion profit from a year ago and prompting Moody's Investors Service to push the company's senior unsecured rating down further into junk territory.

Most of the loss came from the company's Residential Capital mortgage business. But the weakness was also evident at its auto finance unit, which recorded a 77% decline in net profit for the quarter, to US$137-million. GMAC, owned by Cerberus Capital Management and General Motors Corp., said it has tightened underwriting standards to minimize auto loan losses. It also hired 400 more collectors in the past four months, a 40% increase over previous levels.

Delinquencies on GMAC's car loans, which are payments more than 30 days late, rose to 2.68% of managed retail assets, the company said, versus 2.61% the prior year. Defaults are higher than they have been in a year or two, a GMAC spokesman said and "in line with past experience" in an environment where the economy is weakening.

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss General Discussion
Other posts about Canadian Personal Finance
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


CashCall.com - 99.25% Interest Rate advertising on A&E
- Posted February 05, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

CashCall.com - 99.25% Interest Rate
advertising on A&E TV!!

I was shocked to see cashcall.com advertising on the A&E television station.

They're advertising here in Canada on the American Justice TV show. And they're telling people that they'll lend up to $5,075. The disclaimer at the bottom of the screen shows that they're charging 99.25% interest.

I talked about this before on this blog entry highest interest rate possible

The only difference was that I hadn't actually seen that commercial on TV... I did see it for myself this time.

Oh My Goodness.!! I couldn't believe it.!!

Fortunately, as this disclaimer describes, Loans made to residents of California, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah will be underwritten and funded by CashCall. Loans made to residents of all other states (excluding Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, New Jersey and West Virginia) will be underwritten and funded by First Bank of Delaware (Member FDIC).

This company cannot service Canada!! Even though they're advertising to Canadians.

Screen Shot of Cashcall.com


On this screen shot you can see that their interest rates range from: 59.46% -99.25% interest.

MY THOUGHTS
It really scares me to think that this company is making enough money to advertise on A&E TV , which can't be cheap!

Is the U.S. market in such bad shape that people are really going for this high interest loan in that type of numbers?!!

There must be numerous amounts of people who are in trouble financially and are looking for a lender of this nature for help!

Canadians, Please DO NOT use this type of lender ever!

I just noticed this article on money.cnn.com
Wall Street's worst day in 3 months and this one
Recession is here - economists

These are probably strong indicators that alot of people are in trouble financially at the moment. It's a good time to pay down debt and put cash reserves in the bank!.

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss The Banks
Other posts about Canadian Creditors
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


TransUnion Canada Surveying Canadians - News
- Posted February 03, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

TransUnion Canada Surveying Canadians - News

I find it interesting that only 17% of Canadians think it's high priority to pay off their debts!! This was down from 22% from the previous year. That either means that Canadians have less debt, or maybe they're way too over their head in debt to feel confident that they can pay it off. I'm thinking it's the latter.

I'm glad to see that Canadians are taking more time to learn about their credit with the tools on TransUnion's site.

TransUnion Survey Details Canadian Credit Use Over Holidays, Debt Management's Rank as New Year's Resolution
~Healthy Living Outpacing Debt Management as Top New Year's Resolution~
~Two-Thirds Purchased the Same or Less on Credit~

TORONTO, Jan. 31 /CNW/ -- With 2008 well underway and another holiday season under our belts, TransUnion commissioned GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media to find out whether Canadians' post-holiday credit card bills are piling as high as their presents did.

While the vast majority of the Canadian consumers surveyed reported using credit cards for holiday shopping, the survey demonstrates that that number slipped slightly in 2007. More than one in three (36 percent) reported they purchased less on credit in the 2007 holiday season than they did in 2006, while 33 percent said they spent the same on credit as they did the previous year.

When asked about their number one resolution for 2008, 33 percent chose eating healthy or losing weight and 29 percent chose spending more time with their family. Only 17 percent said paying down credit cards and other debt was their top priority for the New Year. In a similar survey conducted last year, 31 percent named spending more time with their family as their top resolution, while 28 percent named eating healthy or losing weight and 22 percent named paying down debt.

"Even with the economy flourishing, we're seeing record numbers of Canadians accessing the credit management tools and educational information we offer online," says Tom Reid, director, Consumer Solutions at TransUnion.ca, "It's always wise to stay on top of your finances and particularly so with the current potential for financial troubles in the US to ripple across the globe."


Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Canadian Credit Bureaus
Other posts about Canadian Credit Bureaus
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Interactive Brokers - The Professional's Gateway to the World's Markets
- Posted February 01, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Interactive Brokers - The Professional's Gateway to the World's Markets

I got this email today..

IB View - February 1, 2008
Hard work from the IB team continues to pay off for our customers, as we lead the industry in both technological and day-to-day-business innovation. We've outlined some of our more recent developments below. For more information on Interactive Brokers or to open an account, please visit interactivebrokers.com.

IB Risk NavigatorSM
Interactive Brokers is extremely pleased to announce the IB Risk Navigator, a real-time market risk management platform unifying exposure across multiple asset classes around the globe. While a number of market-risk software packages are available in the market for hundreds of thousand of dollars, Interactive Brokers provides this same grade of professional platform to our customers at no cost. To find out more about this feature, see the IB Risk Navigator Highlights.

Statements
In addition to our customizable statement templates and Flex Query Tool, we've implemented more user-friendly statement features, including:

* A new PDF format that makes it easier to read and print your statements.
* Consolidation of executions by order number.
* A new Performance Summary by Underlying Instrument section, which summarizes positions, prices, and profitability in one place.
* A more efficient download process to third-party applications such as Quicken, Captools, and Tradelog.

For more information on these or any statement topic, see our Statements & Reports page.

TWS Gets Nod from Barron's
User-friendly enhancements added to the Trader Workstation, including the new Order Wizard and IB Risk NavigatorSM, have earned IB a nod of approval from Barron's in their annual Spring review of the top online brokers.

TWS and API Enhancements
We continue to add new features to both our TWS trading platform and our Application Program Interface (API) offerings. Some of the latest include: the ability to automatically scale and send large volume orders; the ability to trade volatility on combination orders; significant functional and editing improvements to our real-time charting feature; a complete re-design of our VB for ActiveX API, making the platform more efficient, and allowing us to support all of the available API features for VB6 clients; and process cleanup of both TWS and the API that has substantially improved speed and performance.

For a complete list of enhancements, see the TWS Release notes and API Release notes.

Trading Olympiad
The third annual IB Collegiate Trading Olympiad successfully kicked off its 8-week competition on Monday, January 7, 2008. As an industry leader in technological trading innovation, IB sponsors this event to encourage students to consider a technology-focused career within the financial services industry. The Olympiad continues to gain popularity among students, with participation up more than 55% from last year. To view a weekly update of the top-ten ranked participants, visit the Olympiad page on the IB website.
If you do not wish to continue to receive the IB View, click here.

Interactive Brokers LLC, member NYSE, FINRA, SIPC
IB View - February 1, 2008
Hard work from the IB team continues to pay off for our customers, as we lead the industry in both technological and day-to-day-business innovation. We've outlined some of our more recent developments below. For more information on Interactive Brokers or to open an account, please visit interactivebrokers.com.

IB Risk NavigatorSM
Interactive Brokers is extremely pleased to announce the IB Risk Navigator, a real-time market risk management platform unifying exposure across multiple asset classes around the globe. While a number of market-risk software packages are available in the market for hundreds of thousand of dollars, Interactive Brokers provides this same grade of professional platform to our customers at no cost. To find out more about this feature, see the IB Risk Navigator Highlights.

Statements
In addition to our customizable statement templates and Flex Query Tool, we've implemented more user-friendly statement features, including:

* A new PDF format that makes it easier to read and print your statements.
* Consolidation of executions by order number.
* A new Performance Summary by Underlying Instrument section, which summarizes positions, prices, and profitability in one place.
* A more efficient download process to third-party applications such as Quicken, Captools, and Tradelog.

For more information on these or any statement topic, see our Statements & Reports page.

TWS Gets Nod from Barron's
User-friendly enhancements added to the Trader Workstation, including the new Order Wizard and IB Risk NavigatorSM, have earned IB a nod of approval from Barron's in their annual Spring review of the top online brokers.

TWS and API Enhancements
We continue to add new features to both our TWS trading platform and our Application Program Interface (API) offerings. Some of the latest include: the ability to automatically scale and send large volume orders; the ability to trade volatility on combination orders; significant functional and editing improvements to our real-time charting feature; a complete re-design of our VB for ActiveX API, making the platform more efficient, and allowing us to support all of the available API features for VB6 clients; and process cleanup of both TWS and the API that has substantially improved speed and performance.

For a complete list of enhancements, see the TWS Release notes and API Release notes.

Trading Olympiad
The third annual IB Collegiate Trading Olympiad successfully kicked off its 8-week competition on Monday, January 7, 2008. As an industry leader in technological trading innovation, IB sponsors this event to encourage students to consider a technology-focused career within the financial services industry. The Olympiad continues to gain popularity among students, with participation up more than 55% from last year. To view a weekly update of the top-ten ranked participants, visit the Olympiad page on the IB website.
If you do not wish to continue to receive the IB View, click here.

Interactive Brokers LLC, member NYSE, FINRA, SIPC

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Investing
Other posts about Canadian Stock Investing
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


The 7 Most Common Mistakes Traders Make
- Posted February 01, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

The 7 Most Common Mistakes Traders Make

  1. Mistake number 1: Not having rules

  2. Mistake number 2: Not following your rules

  3. Mistake number 3: Taking too much risk with margin

  4. Mistake number 4: Not cutting your losses quickly

  5. Mistake number 5: Relying on unproven methods and chart patterns

  6. Mistake number 6: Failing to analyze volume

  7. Mistake number 7: Not having courage to act without hesitation

(especially in downward marches)

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Investing
Other posts about Canadian Stock Investing
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Tips For the Novice Stock Investor
- Posted February 01, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Tips For the Novice Stock Investor

What would I do if I had $5,000 to invest, and I was a complete novice when I came to the stock market?

To succeed at anything education is required. We live in an expert driven society. We just want to concentrate on our own expertise and delegate everything else to other experts. However, I strongly believe there are three areas in our life in which we must become our own expert, or else we will suffer immeasurably.

So where do we have to go beyond “readin’, ritin’ and rythma-tick� The first and perhaps most obvious area is family - - both our spiritual family and our physical family. Our family is where we can gain our greatest satisfaction and happiness. If we can learn giving, sharing and responsibility, summed up in the word caring, we do well, very well.

The second area that is crucial is our health. It must becoming clear that simply depending upon doctors and Big Pharma is the road to slow suicide. We need to listen to our body and optimize how we feel. This means wholesome food, adequate exercise and sunshine, as well as above all else, personal peace. We need to educate our selves to fall into harmony with nature.

The third area we can never delegate is the management of our money. The worst thing we can do is to gullibly and blindly find a financial “expert†to take care of it. Our entire financial industry is designed to fleece the unsuspecting public. The structure rewards its advisers in a way that is contrary to our best interests. It's called bonuses and commissions.

To begin educating ourselves in investments, it is best to read books and attend seminars/classes, where we are the ones who are taught the nuts and bolts of (1) the stock market, (2) the real estate market, and/or (3) either home-based business or personal entrepreneurship. Such education must help us build judgment and hone our skills. There has to be an action/practice component to the teaching… or it is as useless as a music appreciation course to a cow.

My personal expertise is in the stock market. Developing good judgment can only come from the experience of trading with live bullets. The richness of that experience is directly proportional to the books I read and the seminars I attended. I read books mainly on the (1) psychology of investing, (2) analysis of stock market charts, (3) the biographies of those investors who personally made it big in the market, and on (4) trading systems. It took time to learn where I could find the best online brokers and who had the best trading systems. Then I had to make committed choices.

But don't follow blindly my thoughts and recommendations - - that would start you on the road to disaster. Go educate yourself. Become your own best expert in the crucial areas of your life. That is where you'll find peace and prosperity.

Oh, by the way, as you learn, do everything in your power to protect your Nest Egg. It takes us years of sweat, tears, and real blood to accumulate savings for real investment. NEVER LOSE YOUR INITIAL CAPITAL. Any program that does not safeguard YOUR Labor of Love is useless, and more lethal than the Plague. The entire investment community is set up to extract voluntary "taxes" from you, through its agents, brokers, advisers and other well-wishers. Again & above all, never lose your initial capital.

Finally, understand education along with the development of judgment and skill is the stuff that true success is made of. Select the right goal for yourself and pursue pragmatic applicable education to that end. Use drive! When obstacles arise, innovate resourcefully. And more importantly, never quit - - never give up - - never, never, NEVER! Victory goes to the doggedly determined. Protect your health and your money or you will end up with nothing.

Lastly, as you follow your pursuits, reengineer and tweak your goals toward spiritual purposes. Without family and true values applied, financial success becomes meaningless, and is eventually lost to worthless games. Happiness is all about following our real destiny.

Understandingly yours,

Trader Cool

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Investing
Other posts about Canadian Stock Investing
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


Does Your Stock Trading System Answer These Questions?
- Posted February 01, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

Does Your Stock Trading System Answer These Questions?



  1. Are you playing the strongest groups? Do you play the market leaders within that group? Do you know what momentum truly means?

  2. Do you watch for volume expansion as the stock breaks upward or downward? Do you understand the significance of contracting volume?

  3. When you trade is working out, do you pyramid up with the momentum (add to your position through margin)?

  4. Do you hold your strongest stocks the longest? Do you sell your stocks when they quit moving up or begin to act sluggish?

  5. Can you tell when a stock has gone too far too fast?

  6. Can you recognize momentum and how it is expressed? Do you know the signs of a vulnerable stock?

  7. Do you know the difference between continuation sequences and reversal patterns? Do you understand the significance of consolidation boxes or zones? Do you know how to utilize the support and resistance points of your favorite stocks?

  8. Do you know how to identify developing momentum movement based on moving averages and trend lines? Are you equally comfortable playing both the long and the short side of the markets?

  9. Do you know how to protect your initial capital and new found profits through the judicial use of stop-loss orders? Do you know where and how to place them so the specialists will not rob you blind?

  10. Do you know how to tell when you have mastered your system, the markets, and your emotions? Do you have safeguards built into your money management system?

    Understandingly yours,

    Trader Cool

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Investing
Other posts about Canadian Stock Investing
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008


The Mind of a Stock Trader
- Posted February 01, 2008 by Monty Loree
Post Back Link to Canadian Money Advisor

The Mind of a Stock Trader

The famous trader, Nicolas Darvas, fell into the same trap that besets most burgeoning self-directed investors. Like most he became overconfident after his initial success:

“In a few days of trading, I threw overboard everything I had learned… I did everything I trained myself not to do. I talked to brokers. I listened to rumors. I was never off the ticker. It was as if the get-rich-quick demon had got hold of me. I completely lost a clear perspective I had so carefully built up… Step by step I led myself along a path where I began to lose my skill."

Most of us who trade do so because we think we have an advantage, and usually we do. The edge we develop (or that we are taught) is usually significant and viable. Our trading system and investment techniques have been thoroughly thought out. As we review our trades, our entries and exits, we can usually see we are within inches of the Investors’ Holy Grail.

Investment success is just slightly beyond our grasp. We say to ourselves "with just a little more skill I am finally going to make it - - I will be where I have always dreamed I could be".

So what's missing?

Darvas said "as I followed the crowd I also started to act like this. Instead of being a lone wolf, I became a confused, excited lamb milling around with others, waiting to be clipped. It was impossible for me to say "no" when everybody around me was saying "yes". I got scared when they got scared. I became hopeful when they were hopeful…" I became a complete amateur. The careful system I had built up collapsed around me."

What separates the amateur from the superstar?

Perhaps the most famous trader of all time, Jesse Livermore, the Legend of Wall Street, speaking to would-be speculators stressed "let me warn you that the fruits of your success will be in direct ratio to the honesty and sincerity of your own effort in keeping your own records, doing your own thinking, and reaching your own conclusions." You cannot delegate or relegate these tasks to an assistant, an executive, an adviser, commentator or a broker, any more than you can read a book on "how to keep fit" and leave the physical exercising to another.

Need more info: SEE: Express-stock-investing.com

We build our own judgment, become our own judgment. And our judgment must learn to be in lockstep with the market itself. We need to clearly see and know whether we are in a bull market, bear market, or a defined trading range. We need to hone our judgment "until the action of the market itself confirms our opinion". Markets are never wrong but our opinions and egos most often are. Pride always comes before our fall.

Superstar investors have the uncanny knack to make real money in trading right from the first few moments of a trade. Livermore said of the successful speculator: "commitments in a stock or commodity show a profit right from the start". Is that how our initial positions look?

Yes, I know.

The problem with our trading mindset is our emotional conditioning when it comes to "HOPEFUL" and "FEARFUL" impulses. When we inject hope and fear into the business of investing, trading and speculation, we are faced with a very formidable hazard. We are programmed in the reverse of what is appropriate. Our feelings of hope and fear are put into reverse warring with what logic, mind, system and judgment dictate. We become confused so that the trade fails.

Jesse Livermore explains the investors’ human nature this way:

“All through time, people have basically acted and reacted the same way in the market as a result of: greed, fear, ignorance, and hope - - that is why the numerical formations and patterns recur on a constant basis."

By recognizing and acting upon those patterns and formations, Livermore made his amazing fortune.

Why was he the Legend of Wall Street?

Because he developed his own judgment and knowledge in secretive silence. He was a loner and necessarily so. He learned the power of silence and the power of keeping his actions secret. He told his confidants and sons that the only time he seriously lost money was when he listened to other people. Breaking his code of silence always hurt him.

The story was no different for Nicolas Darvas, the man who in a breathtakingly short time, made $2 million in the stock market. He brooded over what became of the skill that had served him so well in his early trading:

"Haunted by never ending losses, terrified by the confusion, wracked by rumors, I got so I could not even see the figures. My coordination broke down.... My mind had become blurred. This last phase really frightened me. I felt like a drunk who loses touch with reality and cannot understand why. At the end of the few disastrous weeks, I sat down soberly to examine the reasons why this should have happened to me."

Darvas knew there was no easy solution to his problem and for a long time he was baffled. When the answer finally came it was extraordinarily surprising in its simplicity:

"MY EARS WERE MY ENEMY! It dawned on me like a revelation that when I was traveling abroad I had been able to assess the market, or rather the few stocks in which I was interested, calmly, neutrally, without interruption or rumor, completely without emotion and ego. I operated simply on the basis of my daily telegram [the price action of the stocks he followed], which gave me my perspective. It showed me the way my stocks were behaving. There were no other influences, because I did not see or hear anything else."

The 10% of the self-directed investors who trade successfully in the markets are those who develop and act upon their own judgment, without influence.

The moral of the story?

Develop our own judgment. Become our own judgment. Live our own judgment, without hesitation or doubt. Lone-wolf it.

Success is in our character- - true, straight and right character - - without a speck of compromise in it.

We may have knowledge, we may have skill, and we may have a definite edge. All of that is wholly insufficient, and of itself alone, is actually counterproductive.

Humble, quiet character - - unhindered by inappropriate emotion but strengthened by good judgment - - that is the stuff of true trading success.

So do you want to be in the 10% or in the 90%? It's your choice. Mediocrity or millions?

By Trader Cool

Comments (0)

CMA Blog Home

More From Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca
Discuss Investing
Other posts about Canadian Investing
More articles from February, 2008
More articles from 2008




Posts Archives from Previous Months
2012: July 2012: June 2012: May
2012: April 2012: March 2012: January
2011: October 2011: September 2011: August
2011: July 2011: June 2011: May
2011: April 2011: March 2011: February
2011: January 2010: December 2010: November
2010: October 2010: September 2010: August
2010: June 2010: May 2010: April
2010: March 2010: February 2010: January
2009: December 2009: November 2009: October
2009: September 2009: August 2009: July
2009: June 2009: May 2009: April
2009: March 2009: February 2009: January
2008: December 2008: November 2008: October
2008: September 2008: August 2008: July
2008: June 2008: May 2008: April
2008: March 2008: February 2008: January
2007: December 2007: November 2007: October
2007: September 2007: August 2007: July
2007: June 2007: May 2007: April
2007: March 2007: February 2007: January
2006: December 2006: November 2006: October
2006: September 2006: July 2006: June
2006: May 2006: April 2006: March
2006: February 2006: January 2005: December
2005: September 2005: August 2005: July




Subscribe in a reader

Better Business Bureau Member



blog roll
Canadian Debt Settlement
Canadian Dollar Forex
Monty Loree - EzineArticles
Life Insurance Rates
Life Insurance Blog
Canadian Mortgage Trends
Ellen Roseman
Canadian Life Insurance
CMA Faqs Master
DoFollow Blog Directory


Enjoy our "What Is This?" articles
Taxes
Credit
Debt
Bankruptcy
Credit Repair
Investing
Making Money
Saving Money
Retirement Planning
Comments on our
Blog Posts


2012-12-12 20:21:33
Canadian Credit Delinquencies Rising Deloitte Warns Canada
Put a date on your articles so that people know when it was written! How else will someone else understand if the information is recent?
Comment By:
jj

2012-12-12 12:18:15
Freedom Prepaid Mastercard Debit Card For Canadians
How do i check my account balance i only bought a couple of things on this card n now i have nothing on my account i got it a couple of weeks ago ????
Comment By:
kyle from regina

2012-12-05 04:58:54
Car Repossessed Trouble With High Risk Car Loans
Reading all the comments below is frustrating.......you dont have to be a rocket scientist...........every post the people didnt make there payments n
Comment By:
George

2012-11-13 23:08:19
Cbv Collection Services Problems
same deal,,these criminals sent a bill saying i owe 18,000$..hilarious,,they call me 5x per day..i am taking rogers to court..small claimes..why not y
Comment By:
karen cliff

2012-11-13 13:18:44
Retail Theft Could Get You Sued
I keep receiving emails and phone calls from people who think they can simply ignore the letters from these Civil Recovery lawyers. Don't. They
Comment By:
Gerry Laarakker

2012-11-10 12:04:12
Bad Credit Loans For Individual On Benefit And Have Low Income
I am a single mother and have a high gas bill can't afford to pay it I'm on ontario works and have a full time job but one income doesn't cut it I nee
Comment By:
amber haayema

2012-10-18 08:23:07
Retail Theft Could Get You Sued
Bank statements can be demanded or balloon a day even fail to repay the debts incurred from the varied lenders. The offered amount in such cash untill
Comment By:
Spadiatrere

2012-10-15 11:43:43
Bad Credit Loans For Individual On Benefit And Have Low Income
Need a loan wanting to buy a atv. Loan of 8,000 dollars is this possible.
Comment By:
Adam Brundage

2012-10-09 18:46:26
Bad Credit Loan Needed Canada Bad Credit Need A Loan
Dear Sir / Madam I am Mr.Nikky John of UNIVERSAL LOAN.we offer a variety of financing options at competitive prices to the Consumers who h
Comment By:
Mr.Nikky John

2012-10-09 12:42:44
Credit Repair Canada 3 Things You Should Know
to , take up a new job. Also, reflect on investing in generating a payday advance loan while using classmates and more, typically the segments. The in
Comment By:
WarbabsjamY

2012-10-09 12:24:31
How The Debt Based Monetary System Functions In Canada
incredible cash loan right away inspiration the email mentioned learn more loan service that demand the particular choices signal asset loan applicati
Comment By:
Nilkgeoli

2012-09-30 20:03:01
Cbv Collection Services Problems
I had a telus pay as you go phone from 2003 2008 and now cbv collectons is claiming that i owe over 1500 dollars, the last time they called i called
Comment By:
marcus

2012-09-25 10:19:31
Cbv Collection Services Problems
Had a bogus 'roaming charge' bill from Telus a few years back. Got mad at them and switched providers. It went to CBV. Yes, they are persistent and
Comment By:
Scammed

2012-09-23 07:37:50
First Canadian Finance Scam Site
While these aforementioned dangers are a cause for legitimate concern, there are other dangers that derive from perceptions that often have no basis i
Comment By:
effomicok

2012-09-21 19:09:43
Car Repossessed Trouble With High Risk Car Loans
I have had a Carfinco loan for almost 4 1/2 years, I have not missed a payment nor have I ever been late. I had to use this company because I had file
Comment By:
Gord

2012-09-16 16:42:15
Retail Theft Could Get You Sued
I am sick of all you so called legal counsel, wanting money from me , there was a reason i was stealing the items in the first place, i have no money!
Comment By:
a shopplifter

2012-09-15 05:13:22
Freedom Prepaid Mastercard Debit Card For Canadians
Some honest advice... if you need a card to use online DON'T EVEN THINK of using this one. Terrible customer server that disconnects calls on you and
Comment By:
Honest Advice

2012-09-13 11:18:04
Car Repossessed Trouble With High Risk Car Loans
Our car loan was with wellsfargo to begin with then transfered to carfinco,. Have never had a problem with them yet and have less than 2 years left on
Comment By:
Darlene Fougere

2012-09-02 18:27:17
15 Blog Post Articles That Talk About Equifax
obviously like www.canadianmoneyadvisor.ca however you need to test the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling p
Comment By:
promotion site

2012-08-31 11:32:19
Retail Theft Could Get You Sued
so i went in zellers and i baught bus tickets. then walked around playing with toys, and i was with a friend, we're both adults who like stupid toys.
Comment By:
Aj.



Site Menu
Canadian Credit Cards
Best Canadian credit debt Financial Blog
Canada, British Columbia (BC), Alberta (Alta), Saskatchewan (Sask), Manitoba (MB), Ontario (Ont), Quebec (Que), Newfoundland (Nfld), New Brunswick (NB), Nova Scotia (NS), Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), credit canada, Canadian