Heather's Dividends

Many dividend blogs on the internet have a similar goal when it comes to dividend reinvesting - quitting the rat race and retiring early. Here's the thing, early retirement is not motivating enough for me to invest. Why? I'm not even in the rat race! In fact I cannot wait to rejoin the labour market. However, the cost of working currently keeps me from returning to work... if that makes sense? What motivates me is replacing the Child Benefit subsidy. It is a bit ridiculous the amount the government sends me each month. It is equivalent to working 40 hours a week at $10/hour without taxes. Granted, I have four kids and we are considered "lower income". To my supposition, the amount the government came up with is based on people having fewer kids (i.e. lower benefit amount), childcare costs and super high living expenses in urban areas where most Canadians live. However, there is a hitch to receiving this money. If I were to join the labour market and pay for daycare ...

Woohoo! Just got paid $5.02 for BCE. This is the first time I have ever received a dividend in January. I think I might like monthly dividends... 2018 Dividend Total : $5.02 2018 Dividend Goal : $750.00 2017 Dividend Total : $469.81

Worth the read! http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/taxes/its-time-to-pay-more-attention-to-marginal-effective-tax-rates This is a great explanation on why I'm a stay-at-home mom. Yes, I love my kids but I would love to work too. Except the cost of working is prohibitive and way more expensive than staying home with my kids. This article is also a great explanation why I could care less about RRSPs and am focusing on my TFSA. There is almost virtually no benefit to my husband or I contributing to an RRSP. The income I would earn in my TFSA has a greater positive impact on my family's wellbeing. Take a look, and share your thoughts. Heather

Today was a good day. My two youngest children were out of the house this morning and this mom got some free time. Rare, rare free time. So what did I do? Go grocery shopping sans enfants of course, got my nails done (don't have a heart attack, it was just $20 bucks... this is the countryside not the GTA) and while sitting at Timmies bought some shares. I had some cash laying around in a RRSP savings account. I don't regularly contribute to it because it does not have an impact on our tax return. (We don't earn much money, so a TFSA is a good fit) However, every year I contribute a small amount to repay the first time homebuyers plan we used to buy our first place. This year I put that money in my Questrade RRSP, and plan to transfer the remaining amount from my RRSP savings account later on. So today I bought 115 shares of Plaza Retail REIT (PLZ.UN.TO). It came to just over $500, keeping my fees around 1%. Although I've never owned a REIT before, their dividend tra...

When our eldest son was born in 2011, my father generously transferred one share of BMO into our son's name and we began his first DRIP. A few years later our son qualified for the disability tax credit here in Canada. However, I decided not to start a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) and instead continue with his DRIP. It's not that the RDSP is a bad program. There are just a few hangups I do not wish to deal with. For starters, after a few years you need to re-qualify for the disability tax credit and if you fail to re-qualify it can cause a (excuse my language) shit-storm in the RDSP. Unlike other registered accounts like an RRSP and TFSA, the RDSP is not self-directed. There are few funds to choose from and the management expense ratios tend to be high. As well, in our case we had therapy and other medical expenses that needed to be covered in the short term. It should be noted, the RDSP cannot be used immediately, but is meant to be a long term savings vehicle o...

Happy New Year! Today I made my first purchase of the year. Twenty-three shares of Emera (EMA.TO) in my TFSA. The annual dividend is $2.26 per share, with a yield of 4.79%. This will hopefully increase my annual dividends by $51.98. The commission was just over $5 keeping my fee goal well below 2%, and my total monthly purchase was above $1000. So far, this year is off to a good start. For the most part, I am comfortable with energy stocks. I was also eyeing TransAlta Renewables and Inter Pipelines. TransAlta Renewables have increased their dividend 5 years in a row, however, I need to do more research into them and their parent company. If I come into more cash this month, I will probably beef up my BCE shares. Next month, I will take a closer look at some of the financial companies. Is Emera apart of your portfolio? What stocks are you looking to purchase this coming year? Heather