The Radio Girl

My Voice Biz

Been working lots of hours at the part-time radio gig.

Some regular announcers are on holidays so I've been on-air eight days out of the past ten.  But today I'm at home doing some voicework for my own production biz. 

I'm voicing/producing a few sample station id's for a new BC radio station.  Can't give any details cause it's still hush, hush.  And I haven't won the gig yet, so I probably shouldn't be blabbing about it.

My little production studio is actually the closet of my home office.  I have a studio quality microphone and headphones, a voice compressor and production software on my laptop.  To cut out the echo and outside noise, I line the closet walls with huge fluffy blankets.  It works great, although I feel a little goofy, talking to myself in a dark closet.

Since I can't share the audio I've been working on today, I'll give you a sample of an intro I voiced for an American client who delivers internet podcasts about baby making.  True story.  You can hear the intro here.  (This client provides an excellent service for wannabe moms, but I must admit I felt quite strange voicing these lines while sitting all alone in my dark little closet.)

And here's another little audio piece I'm especially proud of. 

Now you can see why I like working from home :) 

View from the Mountain

Last night we drove up to the ski hill just outside our Okanagan beach town.

An army of mosquitos were waiting to suck our blood so most of these pics are from the car.  Here's a peek at our beach town from halfway up the mountain.

There's lots of wildlife on the mountain - black bears, cougars, squirrels, chipmunks, etc.  My Fella spotted this white tailed deer heading into the woods.  She waited patiently while I fumbled with my camera to get a pic, but it was getting kinda dark so the shot isn't very clear. 

This caterpillar was lurking on a salmonberrry bush.  He couldn't run as fast as the deer so I managed to get a shot.

And the view of the moon through the pine trees was gorgeous on the drive home.

BXI

Bio Extraction Inc. is one of the most exciting new stock ideas I've had in awhile.

It's a small Canadian company in the agriculture sector, with some very big plans.  From Business Week:

"Bio Extraction Inc. (BXI) focuses on the extraction of oil and high-value proteins from oilseeds for the global food market. Its patented technology allows for the use of lower temperatures than conventional methods in extracting the active ingredients and oils from oilseeds, resulting in higher yields and higher-quality meal, oils, and proteins. The company operates a commercial scale extraction facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and intends to construct additional processing facilities. Its target markets include agriculture, alternative energy crops, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical."

To dumb it down to my level, BXI squishes the oil out of canola and then separates the protein from the oil.  And they found a cheaper way to do it than other companies. 

When researching a new business, I read everything I can about the upper management (CEO, CFO, etc.).  The president of BXI is not a slick sharkskin-suit wearing salesman type.  He appears to be a solid business guy, with a little Saskatchewan farm boy in him.  I like that.

Here's a BNN video from early June with BXI president Christopher Carl.  Amanda Lang does an excellent interview, asking all the questions I would have asked as a potential investor.

Every time I watch this video I get the urge to buy more of this company. 

*As usual, I am not your financial advisor so get off your lazy butt and do your own research :)

Tennis and a Haircut

Happy Independance Day to our American buddies. 

At the very least, I bet you're glad to be free of The Dubya.

My Fella and have a busy day planned in our little Okanagan beach town.  A couple hours of tennis, then a trip to the garden center for fresh fruits and veggies.  And we started the day with some head shaving in the backyard. 

His head, not mine.

He saves a couple hundred bucks a year when I shave his head at home.  And I read somewhere that teeny little hair clippings in the grass will keep smaller wildlife off your deck.

I haven't seen any critters running around so it must be working, right?

Don't Eat Yellow Snow

But feel free to eat yellow tomatoes.

They taste just like red ones, but they're yellow.  And very yummy, sliced up with a little salt and pepper. 

From left to right:  red tomatoes from the local greenhouse, the last yellow tomato from our fridge and a single green tomato from our little patio crop. 

I might search out a Fried Green Tomato recipe online.  Just to try something new...

The Old Farts on the Forum

Have you ever joined an online forum?

A forum is a website where cyberfolks discuss/debate a common interest like sports, travel, video games, music, etc.

I'm a member of three different financial forums and I've learned a lot in the past four years, although I take everything I read with a grain of salt.

The members of my fave forum are mostly older men (mid 40's to mid 60's) and have a lot of financial experience as accountants, bankers, analysts, financial reporters, tax experts, etc.  In my head, I think of them as The Old Farts (said with a smile :)  

The money topics they discuss are interesting but I don't feel like I ever have much to add to the conversation.  I prefer to lurk and learn, reading what others say. 

But I have to share this interesting little tidbit. 

One of the regular Old Farts asked everyone how they did in the markets during the first half of 2009.  He posted his 2009 returns from Jan 1 to June 30, and suggested the other Farts do the same.  There is a lot of testosterone in this particular forum so the potential pi$$ing contest didn't surprise me.

To give you a benchmark, the TSX is up 15.43% on the year.  The majority of fund managers in Canada did NOT beat the TSX.

Most of The Old Farts on the forum posted year-to-date returns ranging from -12% to +10%.  A couple of them had 11% to 15% gains, and one guy claimed a +31% return, but he was ribbed about it cause he wouldn't share more info.  It's very possible he made those gains, because I came close myself. 

BRAG ALERT:  I beat almost every one of The Old Farts. 

From January 1 to June 30th:

• Non-reg account is up +8.6%

• TFSA gained +11.3%

• LIRA is +20.4%

• RRSP is up +23%

My average return is 15.83%, and total return for the first half of '09 is 63.3%.  There are some great companies in my portfolio, but my real success came from loading up on Canadian equities during the March lows when everyone else was freaking out and selling.  As Warren Buffett says, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful".

Despite bragging here on the blog, I didn't post my returns on the financial forum for The Old Farts to see.  I still believe they have tons of knowledge about investing, taxes, retirement planning, etc. 

And I'll definitely keep reading, lurking and learning.  But I'll be quietly smiling to myself every time I log on, knowing that I BEAT THEM :)  

I'm a competitive gal.

Happy Birthday, Canada!

You look fantastic for 142 years old.

Not only is it July 1st (Canada Day) but it's the end of the second fiscal quarter in the markets.  

I just did some quick bar napkin math on the monthly returns on my taxable accounts, both non-reg and TFSA.  These are the two most important accounts, since they hold the cash we'll be living off in early retirement.   

The numbers look decent:  my TFSA gained 13%, and the non-reg account is up 2.9% for the month of June.  For the second quarter, I'm up 26% in the non-reg account and roughly 14% in my TFSA.   And both my RRSP and LIRA accounts gained about 25% in the second quarter.  These are really solid gains, but after the market lows of March, anyone investing in Canada would have had these kind of returns.  The TSX tracked almost straight up in the last few months.

That being said, I think I'm going to start comparing my monthly returns to the 'experts' - just to see where I stand against the big boys. 

I'm off to my part-time radio gig now - enjoy your Canada Day!

Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years for Ponzi Scheme

Judges are finally getting tough on white collar crime.

"A federal judge sentenced Bernard L. Madoff to 150 years in prison on Monday for operating a huge Ponzi scheme that devastated thousands of people, calling his crimes “extraordinarily evil.”

Here's the full story from the New York Times.

Fave Summer Flowers

My name is Kelsi and I have Garden Envy.

We have no room for a veggie garden, but we do have pots of summer flowers on the backyard patio.  My #1 fave summer flower of all time is the osteospermum (awe stee o sper mum).  Crazy name, gorgeous flower.

#2 on my list is the classic sunflower.  They just look so happy.  If we had lots of land, I'd plant an entire field of sunflowers.  They are cheap and easy to start from seed - a great plant for kids to grow.

Most sunny mornings before the TSX opens, I have my first cup of coffee outside in my wicker rocking chair on the patio.  I know that sounds pretty geezer, but rocking chairs are the best thing ever.

Mornings are really quiet in my hood.  I spend about thirty minutes every morning listening to the backyard creek, watching the ducks and baby quails and smelling my tomato vine. 

I love summer :)

*Sidenote:  I considered writing a post about the death of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, etc. and then I couldn't think of anything to write.  Everything has already been said.  It's sad when anyone dies, but why do we care so much about celebrity deaths?  

Pave Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot

Praying for rain today.

For the past couple of days I've been repainting the parking stall lines in our condo parking lot.  Sweeping, taping and then painting 57 sixteen foot lines. 

My knees hate me. 

When someone first brought up this project during a condo board meeting, there were tons of volunteers.  We'd save about $1000 doing it ourselves and we'd get it done sooner than waiting for a painting crew.  But now that it's time to actually do the work, everyone is suddenly busy. 

I'm on the condo board and couldn't really back out, so I:

• shlepped around our little Okanagan beach town searching for traffic paint and other supplies (which the strata will reimburse me for)

• put together a "Painting Schedule/Move Your Car" notice and hand delivered it to all 39 units

• have been crawling around our parking lot for the past two days, taping and painting white lines

Before:

After:

Tuesday I taped and painted 25 lines myself.  Wednesday My Fella helped me do another 14 lines before it started raining.  But today my knees and back are refusing to cooperate.

One more day of line painting should finish it off, but it looks like rain today.  I hope, I hope, I hope.

Guard Your Debit Card

Holy Cow - this is spooky:

"SKULDUGGERY," says Andrew Henwood, "is a very good word to describe what this extremely advanced, cleverly written malware gets up to. We've never seen anything like it."

What he has discovered is a devious piece of criminal coding that has been quietly at work in a clutch of cash machines at banks in Russia and Ukraine. It allows a gang member to walk up to an ATM, insert a "trigger" card, and use the machine's receipt printer to produce a list of all the debit card numbers used that day, including their start and expiry dates - and their PINs. Everything needed, in fact, to clone those cards and start emptying bank accounts. In some cases, the malicious software even allows the criminal to eject the machine's banknote storage cassette into the street."

Here's the full story from NewScientist.com.

More Chicken News

My buddy Rock Mama opened my eyes to something very cool.

Knowing how much I want a mini-chicken farm, she sent me a link to a website called Omlet.us.  The site offers advice on the daily care of your chickens, plus breed info and tons of egg recipes. 

But the highlight of the website are these little chicken condos called Eglu Cubes:

 

"The new eglu cube is the ideal way to keep up to 10 chickens in a town, city or on a hobby farm. It is based on the same revolutionary technology as the original eglu with slide out dropping trays, hose clean surfaces, twin walled insulated, no maintenance and our No Foxes Allowed protection. The eglu cube makes is easy to keep a large number of hens and leaves you with more time to enjoy the pleasures of owning chickens."

How cool is that? 

The website also features The Daily Egg Bulletin Board, with the latest chicken news around North America.

My chicken fascination lives on.

UNIONS SUCK

I am so SICK OF UNIONS.

Go back to work you UNGRATEFUL YAHOOS.

There are thousands of qualified and unemployed folks across Canada who would gladly snag your job, your salary, your holiday time AND your 18 days off per year of PAID SICK LEAVE!

There was a time and a place for unions in Canada, way back in the 50's and 60's.  As a taxpayer, I am SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK of the constant whining/demands/strikes from unionized employees. 

In a perfect world, the government of Canada would have the cojones to reform our stupid union structure instead of being blackmailed every time a union contract is up for renewal.

Mid Month Stock Update

Haven't made a lot of changes in the portfolio this month.

I try keep the trading in the non-reg account to a minimum.  Less turnover means less trading fees.  The trading fee is the commission investors pay every time they buy or sell a stock.

Trading fees vary depending on where you invest your money.  I am with an online discount bank brokerage and pay a low flat fee on every trade. 

Usually if you have over $100,000 in combined assets, you pay a low flat trade fee, under $10.  If you have under $100,000 invested, your trade commission is probably closer to $30 per trade.  That's expensive, so make your trades carefully or you'll eat away at your capital just paying commissions.

Our non-reg portfolio hasn't seen much action this month.  I sold SDT.UN because they're converting to a mutual fund structure and that doesn't fit in the portfolio anymore.  And I started positions in Fort Chicago Energy Partners (FCE.UN) and Killam Properties (KMP.T). 

FCE.UN is involved in pipelines, power generation and energy storage, and the monthly payout to unitholders is very good.  A lot of the earnings come from natural gas prices and if you follow nat gas, you know we're in the low part of the cycle.  The other deciding factor for me was finding out the  company is already paying taxes, so there shouldn't be a lot of surprises in 2011 when trusts convert to corporations.

I also started a position in KMP.T because I like folks from the Maritimes :)   Killam owns a lot of affordable apartment buildings and manufactured housing communities in Atlantic Canada.  They have a sustainable payout ratio which means the dividend is safe, unless something totally wacky or extraordinary happens.  I bought in under $6 for a 9.5% dividend, which is eligible for the div tax credit because KMP is a corporation.  And I'll buy more on summer dips.

So here's how the non-reg portfolio looks now, in order of weighting:   Cash, Manitoba Telecom, Armtec Infrastructure, National Bank preferreds, First Capital Realty, Inter Pipeline, Sunlife preferred shares, Bank of Nova Scotia, Power Financial, Student Transportation, Westcoast Energy preferreds, Altagas, another National Bank preferred, Power Financial preferreds, Fort Chicago Energy, Killam Properties, Epcor, Pembina Pipelines. 

I'm low on telco's (telecommunications companies like Rogers, Telus, Shaw) and I have no retail stocks.  That will probably change over the summer. 

I usually have 20 to 30 stocks in the non-reg portfolio, but own only 17 positions right now.  Raised some money selling some big gainers recently and still sitting on about 47% cash, waiting to pounce on the summer dips.

Meow.

Above pic was swiped from the Blogging Cat blogspot - if you like funny/fluffy cat pics, check it out.

The Last Thing You Bought

What was the last thing you bought?

During a condo board meeting a few days ago, my neighbour was telling me about a new outfit she just bought.  Anyone who knows me can probably imagine my eyes glazing over during this conversation. 

I don't shop for clothes.  Or shoes.  Or make-up.  Or books, cds, new furniture, baby stuff, knick knacks, kitchen appliances, etc. etc. etc.  We're having enough trouble trying to downsize and get rid of the stuff we have - we certainly don't need anything new.  And to be honest, I don't like shopping.

But I do understand how it has morphed into a social activity.  Like many other gals, I was swallowed up by the 'Mall Culture' in my late teens/early 20's.  But after buying my first house a few days before my 27th birthday, I realized a HAD to make a choice:  blow my spending money on new clothes/gadgets OR purchase practical stuff like a fridge and a lawnmower.  And food :)

Now in my 30's, I've become even more $$$ concious.  The only things I buy on a regular basis are stocks.  Researching a new investment gives me a thrill and I'd much rather dump $$$ into the market every month instead of blowing it at the mall. 

Our biggest monthly expense (outside of taxes/utilities/cell phone/cable) is food. We spend about $300 every month on food for two adults.  We usually eat pretty healthy - lots of fruits and veggies, chicken, beans, rice, etc.  Our fave greenhouse sells cheap fruits/veggies, and we buy bulk pasta, rice and meat on sale.

Anyway, back to that conversation with my neighbour... after hearing all about her new $195 outfit ("half price at a ritzy womans shop in Kelowna, doncha know") I tried to remember the last time I bought clothing.  It took me awhile.

It was back in January on our way home from Mexico.  Six months ago.  I bought 2 pairs of Adidas tennis shoes ($15 a pair) and a new Khaki GAP skirt ($13) from an outlet mall in California.  (You Americans are sooo lucky - your outlet malls rock!)

Since then I have bought: a bottle of shampoo on sale, a grape lip balm with 15 SPF, and a three pack of boys socks - cheaper than womens socks and they fit the same. 

And last week we bought a sunflower plant, 50% off at the local garden center.

The truth is, I'd rather weed the garden than go to the mall.

FYI:  I'm not judging my neighbour's spending habits.  She's a sweet lady in her early fifties and a great neighbour.  And she can certainly spend her cash however she wants to.  But our conversation really made me think about how I spend my money.

So, back to my question... what was the last thing you bought?

 

Gartman on Investor Psychology

Dennis Gartman is an American stock trader, economist and professor.

He writes a financial newsletter focusing on fixed income, foreign exchange, precious metals, energy and agricultural commodities.  And he's very bullish on resource rich Canada.

This YouTube video is a U of NC speech, where Gartman explains investor psychology.  Gartman is a witty, engaging speaker and very good at 'dumbing down' trading/investing.

Brilliant video.

The Golf Gods

Someone up there is watching out for me.

A few nights ago I mentioned to My Fella how amazing it is that I walk along train tracks and through a golf course every day, and I have yet to be squashed by a train or knocked out cold by a golf ball.

Clearly I was tempting fate.

As mentioned before, I walk everywhere.  The tracks through the golf course are my daily route into the downtown core of my little Okanagan beach town.  As I was nearing the end of the front nine yesterday, I narrowly missed a long drive that probably could have killed me. 

The ball whizzed past me, inches away from my right ear. 

Thisclose. 

Had I been walking half a second slower, I would have caught it in the ear or maybe square in the schnozz. 

Scary close call. 

Maybe I'll walk down to the lake tonight and toss in some sacrificial balls as a nod to the Golf Gods.  Just to say thanks.

Garden Envy

Definition of Garden Envy - lusting after or coveting another's garden.

I know it's wrong to covet, but sometimes I can't help it.  I have a major case of Garden Envy.  The best way to curb this lust is to grow your own. 

Here's my tomato crop:

And the beans are almost ready to harvest.  Both of them.

*I have a feeling that no one is coveting our bean crop.

Lavington, BC

We didn't make it out to the lake this weekend.

My Fella and I were excited about our first day-camping adventure of the season but the weather didn't cooperate.  It was mainly cloudy Saturday but the chance of rain didn't bug us - it was more the wind.

The BC interior is really dry this spring and there have been several bad forest fires in the past month.  One is still burning north of us, outside a little town called Lillooet.  Firefighters and water bombers have been fighting it for a couple weeks, but as of Friday it was still only 50% contained.

Having a campfire is half the fun for us, so we're gonna wait for a calmer weather day. 

Instead we got in a couple hours of tennis this morning and then went for a drive to a greenhouse out in the country. 

After touring the greenhouse, we went for a short cruise down the rural backroads, passing cows, donkeys, chickens and lots of horses. 

I love this little brown pony with the blond mane.  If I were a horse, that's how I'd style my mane.  In fact that's kinda how my hair looks now   :)

We stopped to take some pics at this ostrich farm, but I got nervous when they started walking towards me.  Yes, there was a fence between us, but for some reason ostriches intimidate me.

I hate the way they stare at you, like they wanna peck your toes off. Very sketchy.

This area of BC is called Lavington and it's gorgeous. Acres and acres of crops and wide open fields in the foothills.  We'd love to buy a cheap piece of land nearby, park an RV in the summer and plant a huge veggie garden and some fruit trees. 

We don't want any livestock though.  Maybe just a chicken or two.

Definitely NO ostriches.

People in My Neighborhood

My daily walk to the part-time radio gig is 45 minutes each way.

Half of that time is spent crossing a local golf course which is smack dab between our place and the radio station in my little Okanagan beach town.

At the edge of tee box #1, a little old man sits in the shade of a huge maple tree, selling gently used golf balls.  His name is Mike and I see him almost every day. 

If he's not sitting in his spot under the maple tree, Mike is strolling by the tracks that run through the golf course, or in the hills behind the 14th hole, looking for lost golf balls.

Since I usually find so many balls during my walk, I pass them along to him.  He washes them, packs them in egg cartons and sells them to golfers. 

And he gives all the money to charity.

During my walk home yesterday Mike waved me over.  "Hey bee-u-tiful!"  He calls me that because he can never remember my name, even though I tell him every time I see him.

Mike had a present for me - a huge bag of walnuts in the shell that he picked from his own trees.  What a sweet fella. 

We're gonna sample the walnuts this weekend while we're sitting around the campfire.

Stocks and Camping

To Do List for the rest of the week:

1- Buy groceries.  We don't need much, just some fresh veggies and more apples.  As the old cliche says, I eat an apple a day.  But I always carry around an extra apple for snacking.  My back-up apple.

2- Repaint two walls in the hallway by the front door.  They are dark brown, but have a little white powdery dust on them from when My Fella cut the baseboards and the ceramic tile.  I tried washing the walls down, but the powder is so fine all I did was smear it.  That stuff is harder to wash off than drywall dust.

3- Pack up some stuff for a day at the lake.  Last summer, My Fella and I went day camping almost every weekend.  We haven't been able to hit any Okanagan lakes yet so hopefully Saturday will be the first day-camping experience of the year.  Complete with weenies and a campfire.

4- The most exciting thing on my To Do list is rounding out a small new position in Oilsands Quest (ticker is BQI on the NYSE).  My realtor buddy and I trade stock ideas we like and this is one of his picks.  I rarely buy a stock on someones recommendation, but I did some research on this little guy and it's interesting. 

BQI is a small cap oil exploration company.  They have no real cash flow at this point - small cap miners rarely do.  But these guys have a huge geographic position - one million acres in oil rich Saskatchewan.  There is no dividend, but there could be huge upside growth as the price of oil continues to rise, which I believe it will.

The stock hit a high of $8 in March 2006, then started falling.  It was $3.35 in May 2007, and the company went up for sale.  The stock price went into freefall, all the way down to .73 cents in December of 2008.  

It's gained 25% since then and they are still a few years away from production so I wouldn't put lots of cash in this one. If you can hang on a few years, there is great upside in the share price. And in the meantime it's a good stock to trade.  But stash it in an RRSP or LIRA instead of a taxable account.

*As always, this is NOT a recommendation to buy BQI.  If you're interested, get off your lazy butt and do your own research!

No Mas Cervezas

 

This biz news caught my eye yesterday:

"The recession has forced some companies to cut pensions and others to curtail retiree benefits, but Molson Canada is turning off the taps...

The brewer will no longer supply its 2,400 retirees with free beer, which currently costs the company about C$1 million ($900,000) a year.

The company's retirees in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, will see their monthly allotment fall from six dozen bottles of beer a month to zero over the next fivr years.  Current Molson workers will still receive complimentary beer, but will see their allotment drop from 72 dozen bottles a year to 52 dozen."

 

Here's the full story.

Google Vs. Bing

Microsoft has a new search engine.

To compete directly with Google, Microsoft has introduced www.bing.com. 

Google has been the dominant search engine for the past few years, with people actually using the term as a noun and a verb - i.e. "if you don't know where to find it online, just google it".

Which do you prefer?  Google or Bing?

Green Stuff

Note to Self:  shower with the egg-timer tomorrow.

This isn't a kinky post or anything.  I just want to find out roughly how long my showers are. 

Last week a well-known financial guru blogged about her attempts to save the planet and waste less.  I started thinking about the 'green' things we do in our house.

We recycle everything - cans, newspaper, cardboard, bottles, etc.  We don't compost, but I'd like to start.  Actually I've been reading a lot about worm farms lately.  That would be a cool experiment, but I'd be mortified if they died under my care. 

I always walk to my part-time radio gig, and to complete errands.  The last time I started my car was sometime in early May.

We never use our dishwasher, I wash all the dishes by hand.  And we always wash our clothes in cold water.  Ideally we'd love to have a little house (or RV) on an acre of land, with a huge garden and a clothesline.  Like Little House on the Prairie, but in an RV. 

Some folks get a little extreme when it comes to conserving our natural resources, and that's probably not a bad thing.  But I will never be one of those folks who insist on cold showers, or washing their hair without shampoo. 

Yet I do want to start limiting my time in the shower.  No more than 11 minutes. 

Due to this self-imposed time crunch, I may have to stop shaving my legs.  For the planet's sake  :)

May Stock Gains

Quick update on May numbers for the portfolio. 

My back-of-the-napkin math was pretty close: 

RRSP was up 3.65% in May   (up 19.68% in April) 

My LIRA gained 9.43%    (up 15.93% in April) 

The most important one*, my non-reg account was up 8.23%   (up 11.08% in April) 

*I refer to the non-reg account as the most important one because this is the one I'm really trying to build.  We will be living off the dividends from this account, and a larger non-reg account means a higher dividend cash flow.

Happy Tax Freedom Day

Today Canadians celebrate Tax Freedom Day.

 

This YouTube video lists some of the things we pay taxes on ... and how long we work to pay the taxman.  Courtesy of the fraserinstitute.org.

 

April Stock Gains

April was a good month for the portfolio.

After the market destruction of the past eight months, our portfolio took a big upswing in April.  The positive growth was a combination of smart buys during the March lows and this huge spring correction.

My RRSP account was up 19.68% on the month. 

My LIRA was up 15.93%.

And the most important one, my non-reg account was up 11.08%.

I still haven't confirmed May numbers from my brokerage account, but rough calculations have them all up.  My back-of-the-napkin math shows the LIRA account should be up about 9.5%;  my RRSP will have grown roughly 3.5%; and my non-reg account should show a gain of 9.7% for May.

Hopefully I'll have the May numbers later today or tomorrow.

Other biz news:  Canada's jobless rate has hit an 11 year high.  The Canadian economy lost 42,000 jobs in May, led by more manufacturing losses in Ontario. The decline pushed the annual unemployment rate to 8.4% from 8% the previous month.  I think it's actually a higher number, but lowered via 'government spin'.

The Bank of Canada kept rates the same yesterday, but some mortgage brokers are suggesting that you lock in an excellent 5 year mortgage rate now, because they will go up in the next year or two.  We don't have a mortgage, but if we did, I'd probably lock in by the end of 2009.  Safety first, especially when it comes to money.

Okanagan Weekend Weather

Sunny and 32C today in the Okanagan.

It's errand day - bank, Chinese grocer, drug store, etc.  And I think I'll swing by the lake on the walk home, just to dip my toes in.

If you're planning a weekend trip to the BC interior, here's the forecast:

Mainly sunny and 29C Friday

Cloudy Saturday and 21C

Sunshine and 23C Sunday

And sunshine and 26C on Monday 

More Stock Talk

Sell in May and go away.

That's a catchy little stock market cliche that you hear a lot this time of year, especially from technical traders.  I follow that rule when it comes to cyclical companies, like oil/gas related stocks.

But summer can also be a great time to buy because many solid companies get super cheap.  I'm a combination value/growth investor, but mostly my investment style is just opportunistic. 

Changes to our non-reg portfolio in the past two weeks:

I sold out of our largest holding, RUS (Russel Metals) on the ex-date, which means we'll pick up the latest dividend.  This is still a great Canadian company and I'll get back in later this summer, hopefully for a better price, $11 - $13.

Sold SDT.UN - they announced they're changing their biz structure and I don't think this income fund fits my portfolio anymore.  We made a 22% profit here since I bought it during the March lows.

Topped up positions in IPL.UN, FCR and ARF.UN.  Bought on mini dips.

And I initiated a position in STB last week.  STB is an American school bus company that trades on the TSX.  They are a well run company in a fairly recession resistant business, but the stock price was trashed like almost every other company in the past ten months.  The fundamentals of this biz  are exactly the same as they were before the stock dropped 42% and the yield is 16% right now.

"Founded in 1997, Student Transportation is the fourth-largest provider of school bus transportation services in North America, conducting operations through local operating subsidiaries. Student Transportation has become a leading school bus transportation company by aggregating operations through the consolidation of existing providers and conversion of in-house operations and currently operates more than 5,600 school vehicles in North America."

And according to this article they were just awarded a new 7 year transport contract for the Pennsylvania school district this morning.  STB is my new dividend play. 

Hope I didn't just jinx the stock price :)

*As always, this is NOT a recommendation to buy any of the above mentioned securities.  If you're interested, get off your lazy butt and do your own research!

My Commute

The daily commute to my part-time radio gig is roughly a 45 minute walk each way.

Here it is in pictures:

The next pic is a beautiful veggie garden beside a house near the golf course.  Not sure if you can see it very well behind the barbed-wire fence.  While walking home from work, I've seen the odd deer snacking on lettuce and peas  :)

I reach this sign about halfway through the golf course.  Clearly I've become very good at ignoring it.

There are tons of little quail families running around beside the train tracks and along the golf course.  I'll try get a pic of the babies next time - they are the size of my pinky finger and totally adorable.

Once I reach the end of the course, I have to walk down the tracks for about ten minutes.  I know most of the train schedules and haven't been squashed yet, knock on wood. It usually takes me 20 minutes to get this far, about halfway to the radio station.

At the end of the tracks, I make a quick left onto this wooden boardwalk that winds through a man-made wetlands area. 

There are tons of different birds living here, including a few wild chickens - one of which chased me down last fall.  I must have gotten too close to her nest of hidden eggs.  Crazy protective chicken.

At the end of the boardwalk I cross this bridge...

... over the creek and end up here at the city park.

It's one of the prettier parks in the Okangan, with a huge playground, tennis courts, a football field, a running track, a skateboard park and a seniors lawn bowling court.

Exiting the park, I hit the downtown area.

I walk past four huge historic murals painted on the concrete city walls...

Turning left at the last mural, I finally cross the street in front of the barber shop - usually jaywalking, but I always look both ways first. 

And there it is - my commute to the part-time radio gig.  

BNS and National Bank Earnings

My two fave Canadian banks reported earnings today.

"Canada's sixth-largest bank, National Bank of Canada, said its profit jumped 46 percent in the second-quarter, helped by a strong performance from its financial markets division.  Excluding writedowns, the bank earned C$261 million, or C$1.53, during the quarter (up from C$229 million, or C$1.41, for the same time a year earlier).   Analysts had expected a profit of C$1.21 a share."

This is a most excellent number for National Bank.

"Bank of Nova Scotia profits fell 11 percent in the second quarter as record revenues and strong investment banking were offset by a jump in the amount the bank set aside for bad loans.  Canada's third-largest bank said it earned C$872 million ($785 million), or 81 Canadian cents a share, compared with C$980 million, or 97 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.  Analysts had expected a profit of 77 Canadian cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates."

So BNS profit was down but they beat estimates as well.  And the dividend is safe, 49 cents per quarter, $1.96 per year.

BC Road Trip

This morning we woke up in a different time zone.

My Fella went on a work road trip yesterday so I tagged along.  We're still in BC, but for some odd reason southeastern BC is in the Mountain time zone, while the rest of the province is Pacific time. 

That really played havoc with my mind this morning when I couldn't figure out why the TSX wasn't open yet.  I was in the wrong time zone.

Anyway, I love BC road trips.  This is such a beautiful part of Canada.

The clouds rolled in as we drove closer to the Rockies.

And then the rain came...

After the third or fourth rain shower, we noticed this... 

You may see it better here, right over the train tracks... 

And a few miles further down the road, we could see the clouds open up just past the trees. 

I love snowy mountains.  From a distance. 

My Fella has a few things to take care of this morning, and soon we'll be back on the road for the long drive home.  But I have my laptop and my daily apple, so I'm a happy cat.  

And My Fella was pumped about last nights' hotel stay, which meant he could add more little bottles to his mini shampoo collection.  He has a huge supply of shampoos/conditioners from previous road trips. 

He hasn't actually had to buy shampoo in about three years.

Not sure why this makes him so happy.  Guess it really is the little things in life :)

The 24th

Sunday, May 24th was our five year and one month anniversary.

We're not married- that's our Been Together anniversary.  My Fella and I met on the 24th and now we celebrate that day every month.  We usually buy each other little presents or make a special dinner.  This month my fella surprised me with my two favorite things in the world:  wine and new tennis balls.

And I gave him gas.

No, really.  I gave him a $40 gift card for the free gas at Shell.  He does a lot of driving so he was pretty happy to get a free fill-up.  

If you're having a hard time buying someone a practical gift, why not give them gas?

In biz news today: 

1- Bank of Montreal reported 2nd quarter earnings before the markets opened.  The numbers were a teeny weeny bit better than expected - consensus estimates ranged between $0.88 and $0.94 per share.  Actual was $0.93 per share.  I sold BMO last month, but I knew their numbers would move the other banks today - and both BNS and NA got a nice lift.  Thanks BMO.

2- Canada’s finance minister announced yesterday that the federal government deficit will be greater than predicted. And Canada’s unemployment claims continue to rise sharply - March claims rose 10.6% and are up 36% during the past year. More and more folks are losing their jobs. Not good.

3- Yesterday one of my income funds - SDT.UN - announced they are "seeking approval to convert from a closed-end investment fund to an open-end mutual fund".  After this news came out, the fund bounced up 13%.  My policy is to never own something I don't understand and to be honest, I don't fully understand the new structure, or the implications tax-wise.  I need to do some homework.

4- This isn't really biz news, but I had a local realtor take a look at the condo yesterday.  I was curious about his thoughts on price, market conditions, etc.  Turns out he's big into investing as well.  In fact we discussed the condo for maybe 20 minutes then spent almost an hour talking about investing.  I also told him about Project Gypsy.  He commented that his wife would love to do that (buy/live in an RV) but it probably wouldn't be too good for his real estate business  :)

Quiero los lunes (I Like Mondays)

Mondays are good.

First of all, if you've made it to Monday that means you've survived the weekend.  Always an excellent thing.

Second, the landscapers come on Monday.  

I have a love / hate relationship with our Okanagan condo landscapers.  I love the smell of fresh cut grass.  But I'd rather do it myself.  I love cutting grass, pruning trees, weeding flowerbeds, etc. 

I'm a lawn/garden junkie. 

Some Mondays I have the urge to bodycheck the skinny blond teenager in the green landscaper t-shirt and grab the mower myself.  Maybe next week.

Third, Monday is the beginning of a new market week - a fresh slate.  Canadian banks report this week, starting with BMO tomorrow.  We hold BNS common shares and National Bank preferreds, and I'm confident about both banks.

Here's the schedule for the week, including EPS estimates and previous EPS:

26-May - Bank of Montreal Q2 (BMO.TO) C$0.90 C$1.25

27-May - Laurentian Bank Q2 (LB.TO) C$0.83 C$0.93 

28-May - Bank of Nova Scotia Q2 (BNS.TO) C$0.77 C$0.97 

28-May - CDN Imperial Bank Q2 (CM.TO) C$1.39 C$3.00 

28-May - National Bank Q2 (NA.TO) C$1.21 C$1.00

28-May - TD Bank Q2 (TD.TO) C$1.13 C$1.12 

29-May - Royal Bank Q2 (RY.TO) C$0.89 C$0.70

4-Jun - Cdn Western Bank Q2 (CWB.TO) C$0.30 8 C$0.39

Female Golfers... for Rent

Available for rent:  movies, apartments and ... female golfers.

"A growing Las Vegas–based company called Play Golf Designs has started a fairway-beautification project. 

For a substantial fee, one of the company's roster of beautiful female professional golfers will play a round or two with you and your co-workers at a corporate outing, with your clients who need to be schmoozed or just with you and your buddies during a bachelor party."

And don't worry about getting an ugly golfer - they only rent out the gorgeous ones. 

Here's the full story from Time Magazine.

More Project Gypsy News

Now that the condo is ready for sale, Project Gypsy is becoming very real.

Our plan to buy/live in an RV for a year is getting closer and I've been reading everything I get my hands on about full-time RV living.  We'll likely buy a little piece of rural BC land to park it on, so I can have a garden.  And maybe a chicken.

And we want to spend winters exploring the southern USA and Mexico.  

I recently set up a Google Alert to get all the latest blog posts and online stories about RV living.  The most interesting alert this weekend has been an online newspaper article about folks taking advantage of the cheap RV lifestyle and sunny Venice Beach (California) weather. 

"Amid the depressed economy, uninvited RV dwellers – long part of Venice's bohemian character – are multiplying. Their presence is testing the patience of an eclectic town renowned for tolerance.

Residents, fed up with drinking, garbage and an increase in rusty, beaten-down crash pads on wheels, are seeking to oust the vehicles from in front of homes and businesses."

You can read the entire Peter Hecht article here.  And I love the above photo taken by Jill Connelly for the Sacramento Bee - it totally captures the story, a long row of RV's in the sideview mirror.

FYI:  We have no intention of abusing the lifestyle and just parking our RV in front of someones house.  Unless of course they have a really nice garden ... and a hot tub :) 

Banker Saves Baby Ducks

There are lots of new duck families in our backyard creek this spring. 

Our local baby ducks are probably too young to read this post, but they would definitely appreciate this news story from Spokane, Washington.

Adoro Frijoles

Remember those fire drills in elementary school?

At the appointed time your homeroom teacher would have you line up single file in the classroom.  You and your giggly friends would try push next to the cute boy you all had a crush on (Denis) and stay as far away as possible from the geek who liked you (Nathan). 

The teacher would harshly remind you to exit the school in a calm and orderly fashion.  At the first "Clang" of the big red alarm, you'd all hurl yourselves toward the classroom door - yelling and screaming down the hallway and racing out the main doors of the school.

I miss fire drills.

My Fella and I don't practice fire drills at home.  We'd look pretty silly, lining up by the front door, then setting off the alarm and racing outside to the parking lot of our condo, waving frantically at the neighbours as we ran.

But we do know what we'd grab if our place was going up in flames.

My Fella would sling his fave golf bag over his shoulder and snag our tennis rackets with his other hand.  I would be right behind him with our passports and my laptop.  

And after last night, I think I'm going to add our slowcooker to the list.  Yesterdays black bean soup was the best batch I've ever made and possibly the best dinner we've had in years.  Our slowcooker is amazing.

I doubled all the spices, dumped a few of the other ingredients and put in an extra cup of dry lentils.  It was thicker and had more kick than usual, so we wrapped the beans in tortilla shells and melted cheddar cheese on top. 

Best meal ever. 

Adoro frijoles ... (I love beans:)

Passport Reminder

Canucks traveling to the USA after June 1st NEED a passport.

According to Passport Canada, Canadians who plan to cross the U.S. border by land or water have only twelve days to apply for a passport.

Beginning June 1st, a passport will be a required travel document for Canadian citizens, 16 years and older, to enter the U.S.

Just realized my passport is upside down... there goes the modeling career.

Black Beans and Lilacs

Today has been a really great day.

I woke up early, read the biz news and ate my daily apple.  Still hungry, I polished off a tupperware container of leftover mashed potatoes and peas.  And washed it down with generic diet cola.  All before 8am.  Breakfast of champions :)

Then I gathered enough veggies to make another batch of slowcooker black bean soup.

Yesterday I swiped my first contraband lilacs from the wild bushes by the golf course.  I wish this blog was scratch and sniff so you could catch a whiff - they smell wicked.  And they came in handy when I chopped onions and garlic for the bean soup.  The lilacs completely masked the onion-y smell.  

Then I spent a little time cleaning the kitchen, watering the patio plants and taking pics of the condo for our Craigslist ad. 

By the way, a little Trashy Hillbilly Redneck neighbour update:  We had a verbal confrontation about three weeks ago and haven't heard a peep from them since.  We were sure they would annoy us at least once this long weekend, but ... nothing.  I'm kind of wondering if they've moved.  Seriously, they've been that quiet.

Our condo is peaceful and private again.  Now I don't want to sell it.

The Morning Show

At the beginning of my radio career I vowed I would never do the morning show.

I never cared about the prestige that came with doing mornings.  The pay wasn't that much better than my afternoon shift, and the hours are brutal.  I actually managed to avoid the morning show for 18 years. 

But in an ironic twist of fate, after quitting my full time afternoon drive show in Calgary and taking a fun part-time gig in the Okanagan, I've been waking up at 4am the past few days to host mornings.

The joke's on me  :(

It's actually not that bad, although my eyeballs are sore and I'm a little grouchy.  And it's only 8pm, but I'm totally pooped.  (When I first wrote the title of this post I missed the letters 's' and 'w' in Show.  You do the math.)  

But it's a great confirmation that I made the right decision, staying away from morning drive.

The alarm is set for one more 4am wake-up call and I'm already in my jammies, but I wanted to pass along this little nugget of info from expat blogger Erika at Without A Net.

We had an interesting email conversation last month about the challenges of moving to a different country.  She bravely uprooted and moved from Alberta to Mexico City a few years ago.  And she had some interesting things to say about jumping into a brand new culture, especially one as different as Mexico:

"Just be prepared for things not to work the same way as they do back home.  It sounds like an obvious thing but it's far more unsettling that I was prepared for.  I've had breadbaskets in restaurants delivered to me with teethmarks in a half-eaten bun.  I've had to consciously override my irritation at archaic filing systems and business people showing up 2 hours late for an important meeting ... and the fact that Mexicans will always give you an answer even if they don't know the correct one. 

Worst of all, the consistent assumption that foreign=wealthy (it's strongest if the foreigner is white, but it goes across the Crayola spectrum) means that you're constantly having to watch what you're being charged for things (the best trick I've found so far when you're asking about price is to say, "El precio normal, no el precio gringo" - they tend to laugh and lop several hundred off."

If you're considering a drastic move, especially to a third world country, read the archives on Erika's website first.  Her site is specific to Mexico City, but she does a great job of capturing the 'shock of change' and the vast differences between Canada and Mexico.  

She's realistic about the pros/cons of relocating - and she's an awesome writer. 

Thanks for your advice, bud - and good luck with your new move :)

#5 on the 99 RV Things List

You've probably noticed our list is coming together verrrrry slowly. 

When we first decided to move ahead with Project Gypsy, I knew there was a limit on what we could carry around in the RV because of the teeny living space.  My Fella and I decided that we would have only 99 'joint' items on the list. 

But I've since learned that it's not just about space limitations.  Weight matters too.

For insurance related reasons, every RV has weight restrictions.  If your fifth wheel is too heavy for the truck that's towing it, you:

• waste gas

• have a problem towing uphill, and braking when traveling downhill

• will be denied insurance coverage if you crash

I've probably over-simplified this, but that's how I understand it.

Anyway, back to the 99 RV Things list.  It's clear we won't have a problem staying below our weight allowance since I have only been able to come up with 5 items so far:

#1 - The Glue That Holds Us Together on road trips.  A.k.a. our GPS system.

#2 Spanish crib board (the game was actually born English, but we count in Spanish) 

#3 - rice cooker.  We eat a lot of brown rice which is tough to cook on the stovetop.  Mi amigo Calypso has tried to convince me that I don't need a rice cooker.  If he ever tastes my rice, he'll realize that not only do I need it, I should never leave home without it  :)

#4 - Our slow cooker.  Heavy but energy efficent.  It will replace several pots.

#5 - My Fellas rolling desk/computer cart.  He got this for Christmas one year (we're very practical in our gift giving) because he needed a rollaway computer area.  This has turned out to be so handy - it looks good, it's lightweight and rolls anywhere.  

Not sure why I'm sitting here, smugly clutching my little list.  It's been 3 months and I'm only up to item #5. 

ARF Update

The units of ARF I bought at yesterdays low have recovered nicely, gaining almost 10% by midday trading today.

Sometimes the little investor does win.  Go, ARF, go!

Editor's note:  This investor has bad market days too but would rather brag about her wins, than whine about her losses :)

Friday/Payday

You made it to the weekend.

It's sunny ... AND it's payday.  Although for most of us, that paycheque slid in and out of the bank so fast, the ATM got whiplash. 

Here are the Beatles, Money - courtesy of YouTube:

Verbal Graffiti

Things I learned this morning:

#1-  35% of all socks and underwear sold in the USA are purchased at Walmart - BNN.ca

#2-  My fave Canadian income fund reported quarterly earnings this morning.  Armtec Infrastructure had decent results but took a big dip in price, so we snagged more units.   Armtec makes drainage pipes, highway guardrails and other structural products for roads, sewers and bridges.  (I really like this company because the Canadian government is spending wads of cash on infrastructure.  AND because the ticker symbol is ARF :)

#3-  New uses for vinegar:  clean the microwave (mix 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water and microwave to a boil); remove mineral deposits from tea kettles; add vinegar to water when boiling eggs for shells that don’t crack; remove collar stains by spraying with vinegar before washing; use as an ant repellent - amoderngal.com

#4-  And the final thing I learned this morning...

... I subconciously wait for the 6:30am train to pass by before I eat my manzana every morning.  Not sure why, but it just occured to me that I have this very strange habit.

*manzana = apple in Spanish, and yes I do eat at least one every day

First Quarter Earnings Continue

Russel Metals will report first quarter earnings today.

This is the one earnings report I've been waiting for.  Russel is a metals distribution company, one of the largest in North America.  Last quarter they cut 500 jobs, trimmed salaries and slashed their annual distribution almost in half, a move I totally support.  

Demand for steel is low in the current economic environment.  However I still like the company, the product and the CEO. 

And just in case the numbers are not what I expect, I have something chilling in the fridge to ease the pain  :)

Updated at 12:05 Pacific time:   

Russel Metals announced that its results for the first quarter of 2009 were a loss of $0.92 per share which includes an inventory write-down of $1.02 per share. Excluding this write-down, earnings would have been $0.10 per share for the first quarter of 2009 compared to $0.46 per share for the first quarter of 2008.

Bud Siegel, President and CEO:  "A decline in demand of 37% year over year in our metals service center segment has never been experienced before. Our decline is consistent with the metals service center industry in North America.  Inventory write-downs in our metals service centers and steel distributors segments taken in the first quarter will improve gross margins in these segments as our average cost of inventory declines. We will continue to manage our operations as if the volume reduction is permanent; however, we believe volumes will improve as the inventory levels of our customers shrink to support their sales levels and they begin to replenish their low inventory."

The Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per common share payable June 15, 2009 to shareholders of record as of June 1, 2009.

Works for me.  And still our largest holding outside of cash.

Mucho Tennis

My Fella and I have been playing tons of tennis lately.

There are lots of well maintained public courts in the Okanagan.  Our tax dollars hard at work :)

And here's our fave Mexican court in Guayabitos, Nayarit.  This is the place where the 30 pound iguana fell out of the tree and scared the frijoles out of us.

*Frijoles (free hole ez) is the Spanish word for beans.

First Quarter Earnings

It's been a busy month for Canadian companies reporting quarterly earnings.

And I've made a few changes to the portfolio.

We have four investment accounts:  RRSP, LIRA, TFSA and non-reg.  I do most of my trading in the RRSP and LIRA accounts, to lessen the tax burden of capital gains.  Not that there's been much to brag about in that department lately.

The non-reg account is the one I'm really bulking up, since that account will supply us with monthly cash for super early retirement.  When I get new money in my non-reg account (through dividends or a deposit) I do some buying.  But I rarely buy companies that I wouldn't hold long term.  As a result I don't do very much selling.  In fact the only time I sell a company in my non-reg account is if the company fundamentals change, i.e. new management. 

Or if the company slashes the dividend.

I sold all of our non-reg shares in Biovail on the morning they reported, after they cut the dividend by 75%.  Analysts had forecast a possible 30-40% cut, I thought it would be closer to 50%, and would have held it there.  But a 75% cut is just slash-happy.  I'm not crazy about management anymore, and chose to vote by selling my shares.  

I also sold AGF.B, which as I mentioned in the last update, was purely a dividend play.  I took the money and ran with a nice 35% profit. 

I sold AET.UN and PWT.UN, both for a decent profit.  Energy trusts traditionally fall off in the summertime.  I still like both companies and will buy back in when the price is right - when it's lower.  Sold Manulife (not comfy owning it anymore) and TransCanada Pipeline, which I still like and will buy again.  And finally I sold Calloway REIT (CWT.UN) another company I still like and I will buy back later if I get a chance. 

So here's how the non-reg account looks now, in order of portfolio weighting:

Cash, Russel Metals, Manitoba Telecom, Bank of Nova Scotia, Sunlife preferred shares, National Bank preferreds, Power Financial, Inter Pipeline, Power Financial preferreds, Westcoast Energy preferreds, Altagas, Sentry Select Div Inc, another National Bank preferred, Epcor, Armtec Infrastructure, First Capital Realty, Pembina Pipelines. 

I usually own 20 to 30 stocks in the non-reg portfolio, but have only 16 positions right now.  I'm sitting on about 25% cash. 

And there are a few things I'm waiting to pounce on.  Meow.

Above pic was swiped from the blogging cat blogspot - it's a super cute website if you like fluffy cat pics. 

Another RV Search

We went on another RV search this morning.

And on the way home we passed this RV park right on the lake.  Not very private, but it's a gorgeous setting.  Project Gypsy awaits.

One Step Closer to Project Gypsy

Tired of hearing about our condo renos?

Well the renos are part of the process to getting our place sold in anticipation of Project Gypsy (buying/moving into an RV for a year). 

And c'mon - I've stared at enough of your kids baby pictures - it's payback time  ;)   

Here's the latest batch of post baseboard pics. 

Below is our dining area, which we never use (note how dusty the chairs are).  Lotsa fruit, but no baseboards. 

And now?  Less fruit, but getta load of those goodlookin' baseboards.

Next on the 'To Do' list:  

• fill in the nail holes on several walls, and touch up with paint

• remove about 30 pics from picture frames (too heavy for an RV)

• cart the pic frames and the rest of my paperback books to Value Village

• find a good home for 120 wine bottles (empty wine bottles :)