Kiera and I hang’n out at Point Pelee, the southernmost tip of mainland Canada. (Middle Island is actually the Southernmost point in Canada.)
The point I’m trying to make (yes, there actually is one!) is exactly what I wrote last year, i.e., personal resources (time and money) directed towards experiences as against “stuff” are the keys to both short and long term happiness. This is one of the reasons we feel so good when we are engaged in acts of giving through its many different levels – not just money, but also time, friendship and, most important … love.
DEC 23, 2016
MERRY CHRISTMAS FEATURING BUSTER THE BOXTER
BY KEITH THOMSON
Clearly, I realize this video is a TV advert for the British retailer, John Lewis. Cleverly, it utilizes the song, “One Day I’ll Fly Away”, performed by the Vaults. (The original song was performed by Randy Crawford and very much amplifies the commercial’s impact.) Creatively, it is a slick piece of marketing that is directly targeted to tug on our heart strings. Taking into account all…
NOV 15, 2016
TOP 5 REGRETS OF THE DYING
BY KEITH THOMSON
If you are reading this, congratulations you likely have more money than 99% of your fellow Canadians! I believe that having secured financial freedom one is much better equipped to focus on those life goals that are truly meaningful. Think of this exercise as a version of Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. Recently I have been introduced to Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi , a German mathematician who…
NOV 9, 2016
PRESIDENT TRUMP... REALLY?
BY KEITH THOMSON
The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.” -Winston Churchill I’m going to assume that you were a bit surprised when you woke up to the news that “The Donald” is now the leader of the free world. I sure as hell was! So the question is, now what? Well, in keeping with our investment philosophy that we can…
OCT 26, 2016
SMART-SOUNDING TEMPTATIONS TO SELL AS THE MARKET ROSE
BY KEITH THOMSON
I would classify the chart below as a classic, “a picture is worth a thousand words” illustration. Please click the image below to truly appreciate how far the U.S. market has come since 1950 or, since 1970 or, since 1990 or, since 2010. As Peter Lynch once said, “The key to making money in the stock market, is not being scared out of it.” Smart-Sounding…
SEP 28, 2016
MOMENTS IN TIME PART II
BY KEITH THOMSON
In this month’s blog my topic has very little to do with “money” and everything to do with “life”. Last year in a blog I write for nonprofits, their board members, and those individuals I feel may be interested in new ideas and concepts around philanthropy I recounted an incredible experience I shared with my daughter. Specifically, watching the sun come up on Cape Spear, Newfoundland,…
AUG 30, 2016
SAVING YOU FROM YOURSELF
BY KEITH THOMSON
In last month’s edition of Wealth with Wisdom during the “crisis” that was Brexit I shared with you the value of doing absolutely nothing. If anything, Brexit was a textbook example of how, at the drop of a hat, our financial media will interpret any period of uncertainty as a full blown crisis or as Shakespeare once wrote, ” … it is a tale told by an idiot,…
JUL 13, 2016
BREXIT… THE VALUE OF DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
BY KEITH THOMSON
When Anglo-Saxons said that a single central bank and a single currency without a single state would be inherently unstable, they had a point.” —Jacque Delors, a co-founder of the euro, in an interview with the London Daily Telegraph , December 2011
Not too long ago the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. On Friday, June 24th the day after the vote…
JUN 22, 2016
YOU ARE THE ENEMY
BY KEITH THOMSON
The person staring back at you from the bathroom mirror every day is potentially your investment enemy. Why? Because most Canadian investors fail miserably at investing simply because they insist on buying high and selling low. As you have heard me say (or write) many times before, from my observations after 31 years in the financial services industry over 90% of one’s long-term success in…
MAY 11, 2016
SMART, HAPPY, AND USEFUL
BY KEITH THOMSON
As you are reading this feel free to congratulate yourself for possessing what 99% of the world’s population would consider as having significant wealth. Having said that, the challenge for many of us is figuring out a “life plan” that is implemented in such a way as to put this wealth to good use! In this month’s blog I again…
WHY BEAR MARKETS ARE SO PAINFUL
BY KEITH THOMSON
Over the last few years I’ve paid much closer attention to the burgeoning field of behavior economics. After 30 years in the wealth advisory business it is gratifying to witness the ivory towers of academia finally come to terms with the fact that most individuals make investment decisions based primarily on their emotions. For those of us who operate in the real world I would…
FEB 11, 2016
TIME TO FEED THE GOOSE
BY KEITH THOMSON
“Taxes are our way of feeding the goose that lays the golden eggs of freedom, democracy and enterprise. Someone says, ‘Well, the goose eats too much!’ That’s probably true. But better a fat goose than no goose at all” —Jim Rohn
As I have now begun to receive a flurry of tax “T-Statements” I realize, once again , it is that time of year…
JAN 27, 2016
ALL ABOUT GRATITUDE
BY KEITH THOMSON
As we start the New Year perhaps the most important resolution should be to make gratitude a priority. Easy to say but hard to make a habit of doing. Once again I draw on the wisdom of Hugh McLeod to expand on the subject. Here’s a question: when in business, when should you *feel* successful? When do you start thinking of yourself *as* successful? When you make a…
JAN 6, 2016
THE HIERARCHY OF INVESTOR NEEDS
BY KEITH THOMSON
We’ve all heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs but are you familiar withThe Hierarchy of Investor Needs? Without trying to come across as being melodramatic, if you truly appreciate what Morgan Housel is saying in the blog below, you cannot help but meet with incredible success as a long term investor. The Hierarchy of Investor Needs By: Morgan Housel One step at a time. One summer in college I…
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