With all this retirement talk lately...

[Garnet]

You really should get into what your rrsp are invested in. What funds and what mer Management expense ratio.

 

Most are 2-2.5% but could be up to 6%. This comes off the top you pay good and bad years. Just about every mutual fund has a ETF equivalent at .05%. Your plan may not let you get the etf's but you should ask.

 

Because you have a db and dc plan you don't need to be crazy with rrsp. For mine I needed to provide a pension for my wife and then some exacter when inflation starts to get tight.

 

You should still have emergency fund setup like 3 months of bills and your tfsa is a good place for that.

[BillM]

Yeah, you gotta watch the MERs, they can really hit you in the wallet, especially when you end up with substantial amounts in your RRSPs. I've got stock options through work, also a RRSP they'll match up to 6% of my annual salary. I also invest outside of work as well (Another RRSP, TFSA and a bunch of ETFs)... We get company stock at a 15% discount right off the bat, and we're allowed to use 10% of our salary towards that as well. It's built up a sweet little nest egg for myself over the past 10 years.

 

I think the most important thing people have on their side is time.. I started investing in my mid 20's, bought a house at 28 (That will be paid off in the next 4 years).. If the market dips, that's the best time to stop worrying about what you've potentially lost and drop more $$$ into it. I did that in 2008 and I'm reaping the benefits of it today... Just gotta be smart, don't panic and things will work out.

 

I think it would be a good idea that our education system spends more time teaching our kids how to save and invest rather then worrying about a war that happened over 200 years ago

Edited December 5, 2014 by BillM

[Big Cliff]

Yes, then our wonderful government sets up casinos and lotteries to entice those less educated to go gamble their homes and pensions so they can "have fun" giving away their hard earned savings.

 

Go to any casino and the majority of people there are seniors and all the handycap parking spaces are filled. I wonder how many billions are gambeled away every year in Canada?

[BillM]

Yes, then our wonderful government sets up casinos and lotteries to entice those less educated to go gamble their homes and pensions so they can "have fun" giving away their hard earned savings.

 

Go to any casino and the majority of people there are seniors and all the handycap parking spaces are filled. I wonder how many billions are gambeled away every year in Canada?

 

Self control is a wonderful thing. That's like blaming the government because someone is an alcoholic. No one makes you put that $0.75 into the slot machine and pull the handle.

[SirCranksalot]

You'd have to pay me good wages to sit and feed those machines!! How boring can it get????

[LostAnotherOne]

I'm years away, but I always thought to downsize my house. Get something small and have a chunk of cash to play around with, but that idea I think may pass as I get older.

[2 tone z71]

work ..fish @ enjoy life now...have a good look around by the time many of us reach retirement ...there will be no pensions ...the government jobs are great the unions invest in stocks ..when the market crashes you do the math..invest in gold ..silver..ammo

[crappieperchhunter]

I'm years away, but I always thought to downsize my house. Get something small and have a chunk of cash to play around with, but that idea I think may pass as I get older.

That depends. Our house, although not huge , is way more then we need since the kids moved out. Our cottage is under 700 square feet with no basement. We are seriously considering retiring to our little place. We love it. Easy to clean/maintain...cheaper too. Taxes alone are $2900 a year less then our home. It just needs a garage for some extra storage room. We wanna give it a try living there for one whole winter before we make a decision.

[bigugli]

That depends. Our house, although not huge , is way more then we need since the kids moved out. Our cottage is under 700 square feet with no basement. We are seriously considering retiring to our little place. We love it. Easy to clean/maintain...cheaper too. Taxes alone are $2900 a year less then our home. It just needs a garage for some extra storage room. We wanna give it a try living there for one whole winter before we make a decision.

 

You won't regret it Steve.

[Old Ironmaker]

Do not sacrifice the valuable years skrimping and saving and not living things like for some future life 30 years from now be only find out your health won't allow you to enjoy things when we took good health for granted at 30 and doing simple things like walking down the beach. Yea now you own the beach and can't walk down it. What I'm saying is there has to be a balance, life is too short to live for latter but too long for some that haven't planned for it.

 

Still only a few mentioning the mental preparation for retirement, it's not all about money, money, money, many millionaires are very depressed and unhappy, look at Robin Williams, sad.

[LostAnotherOne]

Very well said Old Ironmaker. I think we have all worked or known someone who wasn't able to enjoy there retirement years. I am lucky to have been introduced to fishing which brings me great enjoyment throughout the year, but can't say they same about a lot of guys I know where all they do is work, drink, play vids repeat.

[doubleheader]

I'm 2 years from retirement. I've been fortunate in my career, made a boat load of money, but also found my share of adversity. Lost one pension plan due to my company going bankrupt, lost another small fortune in a divorce. Still, I'm going to be okay, not abundantly wealthy, but certainly okay. The key for my wife and I was to have a goal, even though we've done well we spent money nearly as quickly as we made it, so 5 years ago we created a spreadsheet with all our monthly income, expenses, and planned savings. Don't get me wrong, we had been saving all along, but we didn't really have a plan and couldn't really see the end. As we developed our spreadsheet we were kinda forced to answer some questions. Did we want to pay off everything we owe or squirrel more money away, and how much savings did we need before we retired given our other income streams just to name two. We decided we wanted to retire debt free. We determined an amount the cash and savings we needed for our planned lifestyle and then we calculated how much we had to save to achieve these goals. Now, each month we review how we're doing. This has really helped us stay focused and avoid things we'd like to have but don't need. It also has forced us to seek answers to questions for which we had little understanding, so anyhow we think it's been a savior for us, and I would recommend this process to anyone, no matter how old. You won't have all the answers at first and that's okay, but if you keep at it your spreadsheet will get more detailed and accurate.

Edited December 5, 2014 by doubleheader

[crappieperchhunter]

Do not sacrifice the valuable years skrimping and saving and not living things like for some future life 30 years from now be only find out your health won't allow you to enjoy things when we took good health for granted at 30 and doing simple things like walking down the beach. Yea now you own the beach and can't walk down it. What I'm saying is there has to be a balance, life is too short to live for latter but too long for some that haven't planned for it.

 

Still only a few mentioning the mental preparation for retirement, it's not all about money, money, money, many millionaires are very depressed and unhappy, look at Robin Williams, sad.

Good point. But I'm not really sure how you go about mentally preparing for something like retirement. I do however have my folks to look at as examples of how to handle it. My father does nothing. A weekly hi light is grocery shopping. My mom gets out with other seniors all the time for cards or whatever. Volunteers at the hospital. Drives her senior friends around who no longer have a license. If you phone there house my dad answers the phone 99.9% of the time because my mom is off doing something. From watching there retirement unfold I have a pretty good idea what I want to do and not do. But how that is going to unfold in our own retirement reality....I really don't think you can prepare ahead of time for that. It kinda unfolds on it's own and you either have a lemons or lemonade retirement.

[jimmer]

Someone said to stop spending money. What's the point, we only live once and might as well enjoy it while we still have our health. I don't have a pension plan at work and many of my friends are retiring or talking retirement, so my investment is that I have no debt and a house as an investment (mortgage free) that I can sell if I can't afford to survive in retirement. A friend of mine says that the only thing golden in retirement years is the colour of your piss. I'm travelling now, while I still have my health and don't need high insurance coverage, so that means spending money. I can't take it with me. Might be a weird way to look at things, but for someone that has lived frugally all my life, it's time to enjoy some of it.

[Old Ironmaker]

That depends. Our house, although not huge , is way more then we need since the kids moved out. Our cottage is under 700 square feet with no basement. We are seriously considering retiring to our little place. We love it. Easy to clean/maintain...cheaper too. Taxes alone are $2900 a year less then our home. It just needs a garage for some extra storage room. We wanna give it a try living there for one whole winter before we make a decision.

We tried it 14 winters ago Steve. Kept the home in Hamilton, rented it out and moved to the cottage on Erie about an hour away. Probably the biggest reason to make the move to take my pension very early. I calculated if we would be able to survive on my pension alone and could if we downsized. No need for all those rooms we had for 2 people. Can only sleep in one room at a time.

 

I can tell you though I was a few R values short last winter with that snow and wind blowing off the lake and it was tough for my wife to get to work, she missed 9 days due to white out conditions. So this year I did not rent a studio on the 3rd floor in the city and if need be she can go there. It actually has come in handy as we have stayed there a few times this fall rather than drive home after a night out in the city. It is killing me knowing I'm out the rental income but worth it when she can't see the road in front of her once she gets within a few K's from the lakeshore. It is great if you can swing keeping both properties until you put in at least one winter at the smaller home. It is a real change for sure. Storage was the biggest challenge as I tend to keep everything I ever had including my high school jackets. They will be back in style I tell her, as for fit, well.....

[Old Ironmaker]

Good point. But I'm not really sure how you go about mentally preparing for something like retirement. I do however have my folks to look at as examples of how to handle it. My father does nothing. A weekly hi light is grocery shopping. My mom gets out with other seniors all the time for cards or whatever. Volunteers at the hospital. Drives her senior friends around who no longer have a license. If you phone there house my dad answers the phone 99.9% of the time because my mom is off doing something. From watching there retirement unfold I have a pretty good idea what I want to do and not do. But how that is going to unfold in our own retirement reality....I really don't think you can prepare ahead of time for that. It kinda unfolds on it's own and you either have a lemons or lemonade retirement.

I think I am freinds with your Mom and Dad. Sounds exactly like a few friends I have that are retired. Louis' high light is his afternoon nap and driving into town to do some shopping and standing in line at the bank. Your parents are my parents but the opposite. Dad is go,go, go, even though he slowed down a bit at 85, 87 now. Rode his 10speed to the Boce club everyday until his late 70's .Mom has been sedentary for years. Many back operations from the 60's to 90's have crippled her up and can hardly get into and out of the car, I timed it, a good 5 minutes of struggle and pain, sad to see and scary, that could be me someday, we share much DNA. Sad to see. Even when they lived in FLA in the winters for 20 years she never left the condo for one reason after another. She only went to the pool if someone was visiting from here.

 

I started putting resumes out before I left the plant. Almost took a great job as a Ministry of Labour inspector, Gov car with a light on it! And a basic flex time schedule only having to into the London office a few times a week, basically working from home, that is until I realized it was a union position and I would be getting a few weeks vacation for the first few years. I couldn't go from 9 weeks to 3, no way. And I carefully looked at business opportunities before leaving.

 

I put together a bucket list of things I always wanted to do that I never had time to do because I worked shifts for 25 years of 30. I's never too late to learn and took a business course at Mowhawk after I finished the reno's to the cottage, and I wasn't the oldest there. I always wanted to get involved in the theatre and acting as I mentioned earlier, fantastic experience but never made it to Hollywood. Dennis Farino, a very successful actor never acted a minute on stage until he retired from the Chicago PD, he was my inspiration to do it, Hollywood never called, yet. Another was to visit many relatives in the US that I was never able to. Drove Route 66 from Chicago to San Fran in a rag top and we took our time doing it. It was still tough, the guys and gals at work is what I still miss the most. A few still keep in touch but it's not the same as breaking their balls every day, I still dream about the action there 15 years latter. Another was getting something bigger than my 14 foot tinny and golfing more than a dozen times a season, the list is long and I'm not anywhere close to done, as long as the money holds out and more importantly my legs. The list is constantly growing. This winter will be helping a pal finish refurbishing his 35 footer and working on my 19 footer. More painting and drawing this winter. I can't go south much as health insurance for me is ridiculous now, a few weeks is about it as my lady works full time still.

 

The adjustment was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I started working at that plant at 16 years old on weekends and summers.

 

It doesn't take much effort to make a list of things you always wanted to do in your life, the tough part is doing it. As the Nike motto goes " JUST DO IT".

 

Keeping busy is different than being productive. It doesn't take money to be productive, sometimes it can be lucrative as well.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Old Ironmaker

[Big Cliff]

 

Self control is a wonderful thing. That's like blaming the government because someone is an alcoholic. No one makes you put that $0.75 into the slot machine and pull the handle.

Well Bill then there are a lot of people seriously lacking in self control because the casinos are doing a thirving business as are the LCBOs. Sue and I enjoy going to the casino ocassionally, we make an outing of it.

 

We budget $10.00, $20,00, or $50.00 and look at it as entertainment BTW I have figured out a way to make money at the casino and no, this isn't a joke and yes, it is legal!

 

No, you won't get rich, yes you can have fun, and yes, you will always come out ahead! My email is [email protected] I will tell the first five people that email me how to do it for free, after that it costs you $100.00.

 

The sad thing is that so many people who have nothing left to loose end up there in desperation trying to win something, just think about it; have you ever bought a lottery ticket? Why?

 

Our wonderful government plays on the gambling addiction just as they play on the alcholics addition or the smokers addiction. You do have a choice (unless you are addicted)!

[bigugli]

Well Bill then there are a lot of people seriously lacking in self control because the casinos are doing a thirving business as are the LCBOs. Sue and I enjoy going to the casino ocassionally, we make an outing of it.

 

The sad thing is that so many people who have nothing left to loose end up there in desperation trying to win something, just think about it; have you ever bought a lottery ticket? Why?

 

Our wonderful government plays on the gambling addiction just as they play on the alcholics addition or the smokers addiction. You do have a choice (unless you are addicted)!

 

Our govt is no different than the con artist when it comes to gambling. They both offer the unlikely chance of a quick score and life on easy street. The only difference is that the con artist can get 7 years, but the govt bureaucrat will get a nice pension for bilking the public of its money.

[Steve]

I couldn't go from 9 weeks to 3, no way.

 

9 weeks!!

 

well done sir!

[Old Ironmaker]

Better yet from 9 to 52. That's really only since 07 when I sold my share of the business then it far less than 9 but since I enjoyed it and the perks immensely it really didn't matter. Go for it Steve.

[Dave Jones]

RRSP's are the biggest rip off there is ! The only ones making money are the guys that are selling them to you.

Open yourself a TD waterhouse account and watch BNN.

 

There are some excellent opportunities in the energy sector right now.

 

I bought Ford @ $2.18 in 2008 and sold it last year for $17.00 (this was a huge gamble and I don't recommend you try this one but I had a little inside info on this one )

 

Here are a couple of my acquisition from this week

(Excellent companies with strong balance sheets and they are on sale right now !!!! )

 

PD.TO

RRX.TO

PPL.TO

Edited December 6, 2014 by Dave J

[Garnet]

Do not start with these types of energy stocks. You can make money but 95% hang on to long and lose.

 

Build a rock solid div. portfolio and do a lot of study then take 5-10% and try cottail stocks.

[BillM]

I think I am going to sell all my investments and start slinging crack

[LostAnotherOne]

I hear there's a large profit margin for crack

[Big Cliff]

I grew two pot plants on our deck one year (until Sue found out what they were). Figured out that at about a grand each they were a good investment and they didn't take up much room. Note to self: Sue might not know the difference between hemp and pot but some of her friends sure do!