I was thinking about this question and somewhere I got an idea and decided to start searching mutual fund data.
Assumption 1: Index funds out perform most actively managed funds
Assumption 2: Index funds in general have much lower management expense ratios (MER) than actively managed funds
Therefore if I simply tossed all my money into index funds, I should be able to remove at least the difference in management fees to pay my own bills.
So I started by getting the top 10 balanced funds from morningstar's data. After removing funds that I didn't have MER data for and outliers, I was left with 7 funds. The remaining funds had an average annual rate of return over 5 years of 14% with an average MER of 2.086%, then my connection started having trouble.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Confusion
Not sure what to make of things right now. I suppose the chances of me becoming lost have gone up a bit. Trying to stick to my current goal of getting to a point where I don't need to work to make ends meet. It is still a long way away and it's threatened by more unknowns than before now. My dad looks as though he's not going to be able to go home for a while. My mind is strangely vacant when I'm not sure what I should be doing or what comes next. At least I'm not worried.
For the most part, I suppose I stick to life as it used to be for a while.
For the most part, I suppose I stick to life as it used to be for a while.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
plans change
Well, I started developing additional symptoms so I decided not to go in for overtime after all. I'm not the only one getting worse apparently, my dad is as well, and I got to see him today. Something feels strange about going out of my way to see someone who is sedated. I mean, you're not supposed to be aware during that, are you? Anyway tube everywhere, many panels of information.
In lighter news, I did some very rough calculations today and came up with a figure that says I'm probably about 1000-1500 working days from some kind of freedom. I kind of feel like starting a counter. Of course, that's still four to six years of work. That is still a very long way away.
In lighter news, I did some very rough calculations today and came up with a figure that says I'm probably about 1000-1500 working days from some kind of freedom. I kind of feel like starting a counter. Of course, that's still four to six years of work. That is still a very long way away.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Breaking Down
I am completely torn apart. Legs hurt, arms hurt, hands hurt. Also have a sore throat. It's hard for me to imagine that this is all due to work. I've worked long hours before and things weren't nearly so bad. Hopefully I'll feel better once the sore throat clears up. When I was on the weekend shift, I'd have days where it was hard to get out of bed in the morning. I'd be pain free by the time I got to work. I was stiff pretty much all day.
Anyway, major thought of the day, it's hard to believe that this is going to be the norm for a while. It isn't just a summer that'll end and let me move on to something else. This is going to drag on for a while.
Tentatively, I'm planning on going in for overtime on Friday if asked. Yeah, my body needs rest but I want to get this over with and I'd rather do over time when I'm not trekking through snow. Tuesday is a day off for Canada Day, I think. Maybe. If not, I am going to regret doing this. The weekend shift has a history of working through holidays, then again we had a weekend shift because we needed the extra production. Day and night shifts both get some holidays off. I'll ask when they ask me about overtime.
Anyway, major thought of the day, it's hard to believe that this is going to be the norm for a while. It isn't just a summer that'll end and let me move on to something else. This is going to drag on for a while.
Tentatively, I'm planning on going in for overtime on Friday if asked. Yeah, my body needs rest but I want to get this over with and I'd rather do over time when I'm not trekking through snow. Tuesday is a day off for Canada Day, I think. Maybe. If not, I am going to regret doing this. The weekend shift has a history of working through holidays, then again we had a weekend shift because we needed the extra production. Day and night shifts both get some holidays off. I'll ask when they ask me about overtime.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Yesterday's News-Internet Connection Down
It feels strange. I am so disconnected without my internet connection. Anyway, definitely feeling the results of too much work. It's hard to move and my muscles ache. I'm considering declining the likely request for overtime that'll probably come later this week. The money is tempting though
Getting more sleep will hopefully be a good thing for me.
Anyway, major thoughts for the day, I started trying to come up with some decisions regarding asset allocation. Basically, I started with if I had a half a million dollars and started going down from there. I made it to $100K before things really broke down. With a lot of things floating in the $20-$100 per share range, or the $2K-$10K per board lot range it started getting difficult to figure out how I'd allocate a $50K portfolio. Unless I want to deal with a mess of odd lots, purchases right now are in the range of 20% of my portfolio value. It almost seems nonsensical.
The other predominant thought that I had was that REITs sound like a good idea for down-turns. Corporations can suspend dividends, but REITs are obligated to pass on a large portion of their taxable income. Leases also tend to delay the effects of the down-turn. Places are also likely to trim hours or trim staff before trimming space. Like my work place for instance. Nobody has come by and partitioned off spaces that we're no-longer allowed to use, but we let go of a few people and cut our hours. We still occupy the same space. Ironically I seem to be working many more hours, the four hour difference in shift lengths plus some overtime.
I read that REIT guide that I found and now I know more about REITs than I had ever cared to know. I'm too tired to write a review now. Though I'll say that the first thing I do when I run into long PDFs is search for the word "recycled." It's kind of funny running into phrases like, "This report is printed on recycled paper," when you don't have a print copy. It doesn't contain the word recycled anywhere, for better or for worse.
Getting more sleep will hopefully be a good thing for me.
Anyway, major thoughts for the day, I started trying to come up with some decisions regarding asset allocation. Basically, I started with if I had a half a million dollars and started going down from there. I made it to $100K before things really broke down. With a lot of things floating in the $20-$100 per share range, or the $2K-$10K per board lot range it started getting difficult to figure out how I'd allocate a $50K portfolio. Unless I want to deal with a mess of odd lots, purchases right now are in the range of 20% of my portfolio value. It almost seems nonsensical.
The other predominant thought that I had was that REITs sound like a good idea for down-turns. Corporations can suspend dividends, but REITs are obligated to pass on a large portion of their taxable income. Leases also tend to delay the effects of the down-turn. Places are also likely to trim hours or trim staff before trimming space. Like my work place for instance. Nobody has come by and partitioned off spaces that we're no-longer allowed to use, but we let go of a few people and cut our hours. We still occupy the same space. Ironically I seem to be working many more hours, the four hour difference in shift lengths plus some overtime.
I read that REIT guide that I found and now I know more about REITs than I had ever cared to know. I'm too tired to write a review now. Though I'll say that the first thing I do when I run into long PDFs is search for the word "recycled." It's kind of funny running into phrases like, "This report is printed on recycled paper," when you don't have a print copy. It doesn't contain the word recycled anywhere, for better or for worse.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The 100 Li March
There's great wisdom in not marching 100 Li to gain a tactical advantage. It's now Sunday afternoon. I just got up from a badly needed nap and I wonder if I'm recovered enough to take on another week of work. Maybe there's still lifestyle changes to be made, I'm not sure. Work manages to drain a lot out of me, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep this up. Though I do have the option of rejecting that extra Friday shift.
One of my friend's is getting concerned about my health. Asked me to book a physical. I probably won't. Anyway stuff to do. Preserve the status quo.
One of my friend's is getting concerned about my health. Asked me to book a physical. I probably won't. Anyway stuff to do. Preserve the status quo.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Shoes
I bought a pair of shoes for $30 three, maybe even four years ago. Quite possibly even five. Suffice to say a long time ago. People keep telling me that I can't just buy cheap stuff, good quality that'll last takes more money. Personally, I'm quite surprised that my shoes have made it this far. A supposedly decent pair of shoes would have cost me around $90-$120. To make a $90 pair of shoes really worth it, I'd be wearing them for what? Nine, ten, maybe fifteen or sixteen years. I'm not going to let shoes bother me, but I'll keep it in mind that I may need a new pair sometime in the future.
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