Let's Chat About Mutual Funds

In Robert Kiyosaki's book entitled "Unfair Advantage--The Power of Financial Education", the author and some of his advisors discuss the pros and cons of buying/selling mutual funds versus other paper assets.

To be frank, Robert is pretty brutal in his analysis of the weaknesses inherent in owning mutual funds.

The common local Canadian-ish thinking in favor of mutual funds is, in essence somewhat patronizing because many folks invest in mutual funds simply because they don't trust themselves to pick their own stocks, bonds or other paper assets.
The idea behind giving your hard earned money into a mutual fund manager's control is because the investor "hopes"  that the fund manager understands the stock market better than the average Jane/Joe ........thus minimizing risk and hopefully steering your money into a nice blend of "safety and growth."

One alarming paragraph that I am going to quote directly from his book "Unfair Advantage--The Power of Financial Education" is from page 134, third paragraph from the bottom of the page:
"Today, there are more mutual-fund companies than there are publicly traded companies. This is how insane diversification has become."

That sentence above speaks volumes as to the state of affairs in the mutual fund industry. Perhaps it is EASIER to set up a mutual fund company than to set up an actual "profitable" publicly traded business. Or is it that mutual funds are just so much easier to SELL to the fearful and "ignorant" public than REAL products and services???

And yes, Robert, I do get the point. I do appreciate Robert's honesty. There is perhaps more potential in gains for those who control the mutual fund companies, than for those who actually invest in the mutual fund companies by purchasing mutual funds units. The fund managers are paid well through fees collected internally from within the fund and these fees are known as the "Management Expense Ratio" or "MER" for short. So even if the mutual fund, as a whole, loses money, the managers may still walk away with millions of dollars gleaned in fees.

Another frightening aspect which Robert's advisor Tom Wheelwright mentions in the same book at the top of page 130 , is that mutual funds are taxed twice. I am hoping this refers just to American investors, but I will have to do some more research as it applies to us Canadians. Robert says that mutual fund investors are taxed when they sell their mutual fund unit due to capital gains tax, BUT he also said that mutual fund investors are ALSO taxed whenever the fund managers generate capital gains within the fund even if it doesn't reflect in a price increase in the value of your mutual fund units. So, theoretically, Robert exclaims, it's possible to pay capital gains tax based on what your mutual fund manager decides to sell from within the fund, even if your actual mutual fund units have LOST value after the date you purchased them. I might also add, that we would also be taxed for any distributions that the mutual fund pays out to the owners.....so that would potentially be a third form of taxation. I wonder if there are any safeguards in that taxation dilemma?And again, just how does this apply to Canadian mutual funds??? 

It seems to me that fear and a lack of confidence play a big part in the investments many folks decide to ultimately choose. Robert is certainly right on this one point....namely that"ignorance is NOT bliss" when it comes to financial knowledge, and that the time and effort it takes to educate ourselves financially is time WELL SPENT.

If you are a financial guru, accountant, financial planner, or just like to pretend you're a financial/investment expert, I welcome your comments to my blog. Let's have a lively discussion on the good, bad and the ugly/pretty side of mutual funds....and Yes, you mutual fund managers are permitted to have your say too ")

Peaceful productivity.

Carla


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ARE You Ready for An Increase?

So  many folks whine and complain and moan and groan that they have been waiting so long for their proverbial "ship" to come in. They have visions of vacations in hot countries and luxurious designer clothes and a fancy new car.

But I wonder sometimes, if many of the folks who feel this way, would really be able to handle it if  and when their situation suddenly changed...
What would you do? If your blog views suddenly explode and your ads started earning hundreds or thousands of dollars every month? Are you ready for such an increase? Do you have a bookkeeper and/or tax advisor to help guide you through times of increase?

Maybe you are an artist and have a profile with Patreon, hoping that someone will have a soft spot in their heart and want to sponsor your artistic creations. But my question today is this....is your heart and mind and emotions ready for your increase?

Do you have a plan for the extra money when it comes in ? Do you know exactly what you are going to do with it? If you say that you are going to invest it....do you know exactly where and how you will invest?
If you say that you are going to get out of debt, do you know which debts you will pay off first?

Sometimes it bears repeating that we shouldn't just be prepared for the "bad times"...but also for the good times.

Write down a plan as to what you will do when you start getting more money into your life. Know where you will shop, what you will buy, and precisely what investments you will purchase. Know also where you will save your money, as to what account you will put the money in, and whether you will spread the money over several accounts. There will be research you will need to do to determine what your tax situation will be also when your "ship" comes in. Be prepared. Expect good things.

Peace.



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Sometimes the EASY route IS the BETTER route.

Are you a glutton for punishment? Someone who is really hard on yourself?

Well, although it is super awesome to be a disciplined person, it is also important to know when to
take it down a notch, enjoy yourself and appreciate doing something at the EASY level instead of at the
"extra challenging" level.

Those who are striving to excel, and achieve extreme success, are accustomed to various levels of discomfort. They know that it takes moments of discomfort in order to condition your body, mind, and spirit
to a higher level. Therefore, sometimes unconsciously they come to expect life to always be difficult and strenuous. Then when something EASY and pleasant comes along, they may not really feel "permission" to participate in something "just for fun" that is simple and uncomplicated.

So today, although folks know me as being unusually intense, I just wanna say, that as much as I want you all to learn how to succeed and achieve incredible heights in life......I also really want to hear and see that you can laugh out loud and give yourself a break once in a while. I want to see you have fun and enjoy those moments of ease. Don't feel guilty when something good happens to you.

Enjoy it, treasure it and move on towards your goals.

Peaceful productivity.
Carla


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"Scripting the First 60 Minutes"

It's Tim Ferriss who first mentioned this idea of scripting the first 60 minutes of your day.
The idea is to eliminate any decision making from those first early morning hours, in order to preserve your mental energy for those projects and plans that are more important and inspiring.

The concept of limiting the number of decisions you make in a day was introduced to me by a Christian teacher by the name of Mike Murdock. His extravagant salesmanship of his products as well as his aggressive fundraising has turned some folks off of his teachings, but so many of his "wisdom" teachings have profound and very helpful efficiency in helping ambitious people focus on what is most important.
If you can ignore the hype in his websites and books, you are bound to discover a few great treasures.

Anyway, back to my point. As a woman, I have never heard anyone encourage me to consciously limit the number of decisions I make in a day. No one had ever attached any great mental significance to "making decisions" about regular stuff like......where to get your hair done, what to wear or what to eat.

Therefore, it appears to be picking up steam, to simply eliminate the decision making processes from all of those type of routines. The intent is to save up your mental and emotional steam for those projects that have greater significance to your life goals.

The guy, Rob Rhinehart who invented the liquid meal replacement called "Soylent" is operating under the same intention. If you can add some valuable concentration power to your day by simply eliminating the need to worry about and/or prepare meals, you will have X number of hours in the day to focus on accomplishing your major objectives. I would tend to agree, that in my culture there is WAY too much time and attention spent on deciding what where and when to cook or have someone else prepare your meals. Yes, I believe in enjoying a great meal out with family or associates, in a pleasant restaurant upon occasion. But I'm talking about just your daily food fuel that you simply need to function fully throughout your day.

There's a rather irreverent  blog called Deliberatism.com from which I gleaned the idea of developing the "personal uniform". I must admit that I have not yet applied this concept, although it has enforced my realization that if I can set out the clothes I am going to wear for the next 3-5 days, it just provides a huge mental relief, as it is simply one less thing I have to think about in the morning.


How about where you get your hair done/ cut/ trimmed? As a gal, it's really tempting to be flighty in this area....as I am not sure why, but it seems to be a girly thing to simply hop from one hairstylist to another in search of the perfect do. How about you? Could you see yourself going to the same hairdresser for 6 months straight? Or even a full year? Or would that be simply too much commitment ??? Well, I'm sure you get the idea now.... about reducing the decisions about the "small stuff" as much as possible so that you can save your focus and energy and motivation for the Big Stuff.

Sending you productive peace today.

Carla



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Another Possible Reason for the Recent Low Low Gas Prices

Just thinking aloud once again....no need to overeact...in fact by about now you should be getting used to my random musings.

But ok, this is the first time, I have ever experienced a really radical low descent of publicly available gas prices. Therefore, it has been refreshing, as I mentioned some days ago, that market forces are actually directly affecting the end user prices for us "lowly" consumers. I had almost given up hope that market capitalism could ever actually work in our favor, but then BAM! a beautiful gift of low priced gas for Christmas was just what the doctor ordered.

Ok, so onto my point for today. We all know that the "green tech revolution" is building up steam worldwide. Some countries use so many sustainable and renewable energies that their dependence on fossil fuels has decreased by over 50% in the past 10 years. It is a revolution indeed.

But remember, my friends, that the world is not just run, on fuel, but on funding. Oil and gas money has propped up economies for so many decades that many of the "old rich" can not imagine relying on any other industry to continue to deliver them and their families wealth into their retirement years and beyond.

So, with the incredible monetary pressure of the oil and gas industry at stake, do you think perhaps that these low gas prices have orchestrated so that we won't jump ship on fossil fuels just yet?
Remember, when the price of gas was really high and seemed to climb another ten cents every couple of months, the sound of wind/solar/bio-desiel and other renewable energies started sounding really good, because frankly the pricing strategy of gas was getting to hard to swallow.

Sooooo, perhaps the oil and gas industry has orchestrated this massive "gas" discount sale, in order to convince the court of public opinion that ordinary fossil fuels are still the "only" preferable way to fuel our cars and heat our homes. Let me put it another blunt way......if you knew that fueling your car on regular gas would cost 10 times less than fueling it with bio-desiel, which would you choose?
Let's face it, most of us are still bargain hunters, but we do have good intentions. We want a green revolution, but only if it doesn't hurt our pocket books.

Any thoughts? Any comments? Do tell....



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Your Brain is an Organ ....he said.

So here I am quoting Tim Ferriss  yet again.
But the truth is that I search high and low for information that empowers me and my journey.
I pay a premium in life energy sifting through heap loads of lack luster mediocre non inspiring data, just crying for a mere morsel of wisdom. Therefore I don't care how far I have to run and dig and sift in order to find a fabulous diamond of use-able treasure to pass on to you precious souls, my readers.

Sometimes that treasure comes in just one simple sentence, not a whole book, not a video series, and not a three box set of high priced CD.s

So there I was listening to an older download of one of Tim Ferriss's blog's podcasts, and he
said this simple statement in such a way that I began to have a better understanding of what makes me tick.

He said "Your brain is an organ". and then he described in an answer to someone who had emailed him a question to answer on his podcast in which they asked
 "How do you get yourself out of a stagnant funk/poor low energetic unfocused state of being" ?  (paraphrased by me )

 Tim Ferriss responded by stating that because our brains are also organs, we need to consider that they will also function more energetically when responding to exercise. So his answer to his listener's question was ..."To get myself out of a funk or poor mental state, I simply do a short burst of physical activity, even as short as 10 minutes on a stationary bike or 500 meters on a rowing machine. Even just one short burst of exercise jump starts his brain and he gets his mojo back to allow him to  begin working on one of his stated goals in a better frame of mind.

His point was well taken. We far too often disenfranchise our minds from our body, as if our brains are not even organic. But our brains are certainly quite "human" and earthy and respond to exercise just the same as our leg muscles do. The response is powerful and it is most encouraging to realize that the impact can be felt in as short a time span as only 10 minutes.

Hopefully you get the impact of this revelation as I did. I tried it just today. Just 10 minutes on a stationary bike today and I'm typing up a storm today. Emotions are fleeting. AS Tony Robbins taught us....that YES we CAN change our state. We don't have to stay stuck. We can change our lot in life. We can change how we feel by what we do and by what we think and by what we say to ourselves.

So thank you once again, Dear Tim Ferriss for yet another nugget of good advice. God bless.

Peaceful productivity,
Carla


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Keep Building the Mountain

Let's say you have a goal.....let's illustrate a few examples:

1/You are musically inclined and are going to master one special song and cut a demo CD for it with you and an accompanist.

2/ You have your eye on a certain investment that will cost X amount of dollars. You have done your research and you know the cost of it right to the penny.

3/ You've picked out the best knock-it-outta-the-park kinda outfit that you've always dreamed of wearing and know precisely where to buy it and precisely how much it will take for you to buy it without using debt.

Ok, so maybe you have a goal similar to one of the above.

Tonight I just wanted to talk about these "mountains"....these goals that let's just call them "mountains" for
effect.

You have your eye and heart set upon that top of the mountain. You have done your due dilligence and know exactly and precisely what it is going to take to get you to the top of this mountain.

But then, one day you realize that last week, you were able to cross 5 miles up that mountain path. You gained confidence, and you gained momentum. Then, all of a sudden, you discover that this week you can only take 5 measly steps up that mountain path. Your face is ashen and downcast....you feel like giving up. It's isn't so much fun  when you don't feel that speedy sense of momentum quickening your step.

But hold on just a minute....what has moved? Has the mountain moved? Nope. Has your ability to scale the mountain changed? Nope, you still have the same talents and resources.

Ok, so calm down a bit now. The only thing that has changed is the PACE of your ascent. Breathe in deep..
Stay focused. Life is not static, like a pacemaker. There is not just one constant speed at which we climb.
There may be days and whole months where we make lightening fast progress and we begin to convince ourselves that the whole journey is going to be this quick and easy. But then we wake up another month and reality hits and we know that we were too hasty to make assumptions.

Progress still moves forward, but in different days and weeks and months it may operate at differing speeds. We need to allow ourselves that flexibility to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are NOT giving up on our goals, just because our progress may be slower once in a while.

I think of someone who is determined to get out of consumer debt, or all debt. THere may be days when he/she is able to make thousands of dollars to pay off those debts. But there may also come days or weeks or even months when he/she is only able to make a $5 payment to paying off those debts. That is the time to be sure to not permit discouragement or distraction to have full sway. Slow progress is STILL PROGRESS!

Keep making those calls. Keep taking those tiny or large or slow or quick steps forward towards you writen goal. It  WILL come to pass if you don't give up.

Peace forward productivity.
Carla




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Add a Shot of Nutrition to Your Coffee Cup

Wanting to take care of your health and still have those cups o java?
Well, just by making one small change as to how to sweeten your fave cafe...
simply do this....use honey instead of sugar or sweetener.

Honey is pretty much a miracle food....containing all kinds in cool ingredients. Any internet search will provide for you a prolific list of it's healing properties.

So, no need to feel guilty over that steaming cup o coffee tomorrow morning....just sweeten it with raw honey and know you're doing your body good.

Note that due to some of honey's natural properties, it is not safe to feed honey to children under the age of  one year old.

Peace.

Carla

Disclaimer: This post is intended for conversation use only and is not intended as medical advice. All medical advice should be obtained from a licensed medical professional.




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Target Took His Toys and Went Home

Not trying to be disrespectful....but really? Giving up so soon?
Target might have given one of our more "Canadian market savvy" business consultants a crack at it before they decided to jump ship. Another million or two would have been nothing compared to the extravagant cost of leaving town.

Well, since I'm giving my two cents, I might as well add a few nickels in as well.

In my humble opinion, Target didn't understand how frugal and picky we Canucks are. We work hard for our money and refuse to overspend on purchasing items that we can buy elsewhere for half the cost.
I'm going to let y'all in on a little Canadian secret..... We Canadians really know how to LOOK like a million bucks, but  we actually have probably spent under a $100 to look that way. Huh? Ok, maybe I am exaggerating.....but the predominantly female Canadian shoppers that Target had in their sights, are a pretty feisty brood of bargain hunters. You can't put up a huge "discount" store and then NOT DELIVER the deep discounts that we were expecting. We were really looking forward to some juicy bargains, but no matter where we looked.....we couldn't find them at Target.. Actually that's not entirely true. I did buy a large beautiful thick towel for only $6 there.....but that was pretty much it. The clothing and accessories were of the same quality as a typical discount department store, but the prices were much too high.
Anyway, gotta run.

If it was in my realm of influence to get Target to stay in Canada and convince them to readjust their strategy....I really would've given them a second chance...how 'bout you?

Peace and wisdom.
Carla

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Success Can be Replicated

If you're tired of hearing self help blah blah blah,....I hear you...and I apologize for
sounding like one of "those" type of folks. But on the other hand....who cares? If you don't like it, or it feels like you're hearing nails scraping on chalkboard...just don't read on ")....

I continue to be inspired by those who teach other humans how to replicate success.

There used to be, and still is to a certain degree, a certain mystique that follows "successful" people.
It's like they possess some kind of secret that the rest of us haven't yet figured out.
Certainly, we might muse to ourselves,  they possess more intelligence, more fortitude or simply more "luck" in order to have achieved what they have achieved.

But I want to ask you.....have they really? I know so many wealthy people who are certainly not the sharpest tools in the shed. Were they born into money? Nope. But all of them possess this one simple trait...and that is simply that they "REFUSE to GIVE UP".

Successful people are obsessive in their focus, gathering their ability to concentrate on their chosen goal with 100% percent of their time and energy. They don't permit others to divide their time, their passion, or their
assets. They use EVERYTHING within their circle of influence to see to it that their goal or project succeeds.

They also know the value of good and accurate advice. They value good advice so highly that they are willing to travel almost ANYWHERE just to obtain better and more qualified advice.

It was Tony Robbins...(and yes, I know that I quote him a lot ")
who first brought to mainstream media, the idea that success can be broken down into digestible bits and replicated. Sure there were others before him, who studied success and wrote books about it.......powerful and studious men such as Napoleon Hill and Andrew Carnegie. But it was Tony Robbins who brought it down to a level where the common man/woman could understand and tap into the process of achievement.
For many folks of my generation, Tony Robbins was one of the first "self help" leaders who they listened to in audio form, on wee cassette tapes wafting into their cars/homes.

If you want to get in a flow where you feel empowered, you need to surround yourself with folks
who believe in accomplishment. Don't permit others to dull down your enthusiasm.
Your passion and excitement of what you can accomplish is VITAL to maintaining momentum.

The bible in Proverbs 4:23 talks about "guarding your heart". I believe that this is such an ESSENTIAL strategy for success. If you surround yourself with people who don't believe in your gift and talents, pretty soon YOU won't believe in them either. I'm not suggesting that you have "yes" men/women around you night and day. But you must feed your heart, mind and spirit with an atmosphere
of  the following:
Intelligence
"teachability"
patience
thoughtfulness
"CAN-DO" attitude
goal setting
confidence
resourcefulness
ingenuity
compassion
friendship
support
camaraderie
kindness
generosity
accuracy
love of knowledge
skillfulness
success
..........
and that is just a tiny list to get ya rolling...
Guard your heart and mind and emotions my friends.
Be blessed and confident in the goals and plans that you have set into place.

Peace and productivity.
Carla

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"Whatever you Focus On...."

Tony Robbins said in one of his 2014 seminars
"Whatever you focus on you're going to feel".

I would tend to agree with his statement. Those who choose to focus on bad news, always find more....
Those who deliberately choose an optimistic world view, always find those hidden beauties in life that many others miss. Choosing to believe that God loves you, directs your mind and heart and emotions to seek out those proofs in the world around you that confirm and illustrate His love for us.

Be conscious of what you have chosen to believe about life. It is most certainly possible to
retrain and re-program a sullied mind, so that it thinks in new ways.
People's minds can change, when they take the time to immerse themselves in experiences and listening to cd's and speeches etc, that focus on the positive and empowering aspects of modern life.

And in case, you're rolling your eyes just about now, thinking that I am just someone with rose colored glasses....think again. I'm a realist too. But I know that from many many years of experience that I myself can choose what to focus on, what to believe and this ultimately and very effectively determines what I accept and expect to occur in  my life.

I expect good things to happen in my life....a very long and gushing gurgling rapids to burst forth.
Why? Because I have fed my heart mind and soul with God's word as well as the empowering words of thoughtful and intelligent and successful people.

Peace, productivity and prosperity.






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80.9 Just 10 points to go...

And it's going .....going....going....
Please make it to the 70's that's what I'm asking for this week.
Just a bit of gas in the 70's range for this week....Even 79.9999 cents per liter will do.

It will symbolize for me that the "Joie de Vivre" of the 70's is back to stay.

Even if just for one measly day....it is a symbolic gesture.....yes indeedy.
One that I will trumpet with great aplomb.

Hmmm ...I was thinking last week about approximately how often gas stations actually have their tanks refilled ...
Because the price they refill the gas stations' tanks would be one set price. So then it must be sheer
commercial appeal which manipulates the daily and intra-day price fluctuations.
In our region there is a local huddle of gas stations and Costco shines with it's ultra low pricing strategy. Therefore all the other stations around it, try to compete for the other customer base who can't be bothered to wait at the "members only:" gas kiosks at Costco.
Even the really low bargain basement gas stations are posting prices at par with Esso.

I must say friends, that it is so refreshing to see pure market forces at work. It had appeared to me that with all the corporate price manipulation that ordinary consumers were consistently getting the short end of the stick. Thank You God for showing us that market forces such as 48 dollar barrels of oil can actually be passed down to us......increasing our bottom line.
Now, if I could see market forces affect a lot of the other staples of modern day life, then it would truly be a new day in Canada. How about Taxi rides? Or the price of milk? Or Grade A beef?
Competition is good. Capitalism rocks the house sometimes.

Peace.