Peter Kinch's Canadian Real Estate Action Plan

I'm in the middle of this book now. It's a very good book to read before you start investing. For me it's a way to get motivated to buy more cash flow real estate.

Before you buy your first house you need to decide how real estate is going to help you become financially free. This book breaks it down to exactly what you need per door to make the income you dream about now.

If you aren't a big reader Peter also offers webinars. Click here to enjoy the latest!

Sock it away

Time after time I see a tenant unable to pay their rent after just a few days of missing work. There is a snowball effect where they get behind in their rent and bills until the whole situation ends with them thousands in arrears. If your rent is over $1000 it's not hard to get into a lot of debt quickly.

I think it's that many don't know how to save and how to live within their means. Many times the same tenants have expensive cars and a lot of flashy stuff - think big screen TV etc. It's their right to have nice things but they also need to pay rent.

It seems things aren't getting better research shows our low interest rates are lulling Canadians into spending and not saving.

"In the 1980s, households saved up to 15 per cent of their income, but by the early 1990s this dropped below 10 per cent and finally bottomed out at 2.1 per cent in 2005. Since 2005, the savings rate has rebounded slightly - it was 4.8 per cent in 2010 - but it still appears Canadians are now spenders first and savers second." Read More Here


A good rule of thumb is to save 10% of your income every month. If you are really into trying something new save a dollar a day then increase until you can put $10 a day away. You'd be surprised at where you can cut spending to reach this goal. Take David Bach's Latte Factor test to see how much you can save everyday!

High net worth people are different

I scanned this article today and initially I thought it was obvious. However, if you don't know how to manage your money then having and maintaining a high net worth will be hard. That's why you see lots of celebrities broke after years of making millions and millions of dollars.

"Calgary will and trust lawyer Coady Cormier has spent the past 13 years advising people who are worth more than $1 million on how to best protect that money. Along the way, he has noticed some trends in how that money is managed and the attitudes of the wealthy. Some of the observations are what one might expect."

Here they are:
- frugality
- good at controlling debt
- fewer divorces
- tolerance within couples ie to workaholics
- tendency to not be conspicuous consumers
- review portfolios, wills and insurance every 3 years
- deeper responsibility with financial planning


It's a great article read more HERE

Rich Dad - Don't Take Loser Advice

Robert Kiyosaki sometimes writes for Yahoo! Finance. His articles are insightful and this week's couldn't have been more bang on.



Taking advice in this economy that equates to doing the same thing you have always done will get you worse than the same results. It could lead to a very uncomfortable financial future.

Who can say what will happen with the stock markets and economies around the world. Don't bet your future on a salesman's spiel.

"So what is wrong with those giving the advice and those following it? Now that the markets have crashed and trillions have been lost, these so-called experts continue on like mindless parrots, saying over and over again, "Polly wants you to invest in a well-diversified portfolio of mutual funds."

"So my advice is, be very careful whom you take financial advice from -- and that includes me. My guidance, after all, does not work for 80 percent of the people. My suggestions are not right for those who work for a paycheck or for commissions, nor do they work for those who save money in the bank or a retirement account." Read More

For me I want tangible assets that produce cash flow. It's common sense when everything else goes haywire I will have passive income coming in from well chosen properties. Why gamble your life savings??

Do You Have 10 Years To Spare?

I'm signed up with Financial Partners for their email updates, although I don't know how much stock I put in their viewpoint today's email was interesting.

The part that really hit home was the amount of time a needed to recoup losses after the ups and downs of the market recently:

"A 50% capital loss requires a 100% gain to recover monies. In order to make 100% returns an investor targeting 7% p.a. needs more than 10 continuous years of 7% p.a. returns. Or over 16 years at 4.5% p.a."

If your retirement fund is in stocks that means a minimum of 10 years to make back your nest egg. Not a pretty thought. Certainly makes hard assets with less volatility very appealing.

To read the entire report (it's long) click here

That Is Exactly The Problem

If you're poor or relatively poor, it's possible to have many of the things the middle class has," "It's just that you have to pay for them for a longer period of time." Michael Haan, a sociology professor at the University of Alberta
Focusing on needs not wants puts a lot of people into financial debt, they have to stop digging the hole.

Perhaps this is why we have Gen Xs and Ys in so much debt. When graduates start work they are looking a minimum of $20k student loans and credit card debt. Mix that in with a poor understanding of finances and you will have a generation with all the bling but none of the bang in their bank accounts. Preparing for the future financially is something that should be taught from elementary school.

Thank goodness people like Robert Kiyosaki saw the need and filled it and by helping people he became a financial fortress.

Investing when you are young and saving money to invest is so important because once the first home, child and car come you could be looking at a lifetime of debt.

This And That

Turn Alberta Into An Energy Superpower

"I believe we now have an opportunity -- an opportunity unlike any other in our history,...A once-in-several-lifetimes opportunity to transform ourselves forever." Kevin Taft Alberta's Liberal Party Leader More


Your 30's are a crucial make or break time financially

"Your income is rising, but so are your expenses and debts. Most families in this age bracket have children, who, wonderful though they are, tend to boost living costs." Liz Pulliam Weston More

Oil Prices Hit Record High

"Crude oil prices briefly rose to a record $80 a barrel in New York Wednesday before easing back down." More