What is Going on With Gas Prices?

I live in Kitchener, Ontario. I have noticed something very strange which I have never seen in Kitchener before. The price of gas is high in the morning, around $1.11/litre but in the evening/late afternoon, the price is $1.04/litre. Can anyone explain this?

I have seen this in Toronto but never here before. So, for all you people who like to get the lowest gas prices, which should be all of you, make sure you get your gas in the evenings!

Any ideas, please post a comment...

Rental Property

I am interested in becoming the owner of a rental property. Unfortunately, my wife is not in agreement at the moment because we are expecting our first child in November and she feels the risk is too high given the situation.

I will continue to 'pursuade' her but am unsure how successful I will be. If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know.

In the mean time, I am planning on reading up on the idea, the tax implications, techniques for success, and the likes. If anyone has any good reads, please post so I can read them and others can see as well.

Investment Property Profit Calculator

For those of you who seem to have an interest in becoming the land lord, there are many things to consider before deciding that a rental property is for you. (I know in my case, I am just in the investigative stage where I am just trying to learn what ever I need to be able to be good at it and not lose my shirt)

I guess thebiggest risk is to find out that you are not making money and actually losing money out of your pocket with what you called an investment.

Check out this article by a guy who seems to be pretty good at finding the diamonds in the rough to make money with. Not only that, he defines what he uses to figure out if a property is worth investing in and what price point is required to make it profitable. A great read.

http://www.violentacres.com/archives/224/formula-for-calculating-the-profitability-of-a-rental-property

About Me...

I realized that in order to make a blog interesting to readers, it is important to let them know where you are coming from so that you know what and why certain aspects of the financial world interest you.

I am a married male, who is a recent graduate (mid 20's)from university in the computer field. (A geek) I work in my field of study and have been doing so since 2005. My wife and I are expecting our first child in November of 2008 which is extremely exciting for us.

I have been interested in business and finance since I was in high school. I like to read about planning for retirement and anything to do with entrepreneurial matter. For example, stock photography and Google Adsense are both ways that you can generate a new income stream. I am also interested in the investment property idea although my wife feels that now is not the time to work on this interest.

It should be noted that I could be considered a cheap skate and am frugal for most things. I do have a budget and track spending on a regular basis and find it important to calculate net worth on a monthly basis. One of my personal goals is to eliminate my mortgage quickly although I do struggle with the idea of paying down the mortgage versus investing the money.

That is a little bit about me,

Reducing the Risk of Oil Prices in our Lives

Most people in the world are getting sick of seeing new highs in the price of oil day after day. These new highs will definitely impact our lives as these costs will be passed on to the consumer so it will become more and more expensive to use vehicles that consume oil.

I found this nice article that is all about limiting your liability to oil and how the price of oil actually impacts the value of your house. It is a great read for anyone who has some interest in the price of oil, which is most of us!

http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2008/03/neutralizing_your_peak_oil_risk_1.html

Is the Stock Market and Accurate Reflection of the Economy?

Many feel that the stock market indices are a reflection of what is actually going on in the economy as a whole. Do you believe it? This is a great article on the initial purpose of the index and how it was at one point, much more accurate with respect to a reflection of the economy.

Have a quick read...


http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080320.wdrohan0321/GIStory/

A Bull Market on the Way?

Here is a great article by someone who feels that a bull market is just around the corner. Equities are cheap right now so get in while you can...

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/tradingdesk/archive/2008/03/18/canadian-stocks-cheapest-in-30-years-new-cyclical-bull-market-near-for-us-strategist-says.aspx

Oil Prices are Rediculous

Well, at least one analyst says that the price of oil is insane and is not related to the fundamentals of supply and demand. Everyone is watching the prices at the pump go up, day after day, but we don't seem to understand whats going on. This is a short read on the desparity of the price of oil versus the actual laws of supply and demand.

http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080312.woilprices0312/GIStory/

Up Up and Away

With the price of oil these days rising at an unsustainable rate, I think we all wonder what the consequences of these high prices are. Oil reached over $107 USD a barrel which is twice as high as it was even 2 years ago.

Hopefully these insainly high prices will force the automobile industry to provide consumers an alternative to the average consumer who wants a vehicle to limit dependence on oil. Unfortunately, the governments likely will need to force this by offering money or restricitions. We will see.

See this article on the prices of oil
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=365909

Free 'To Try' Online Canadian Tax Software

If you are someone who has always payed someone to do your taxes, and you have relatively simple taxes (personal taxes, no business etc.) then you should consider trying out one of the tax software programs.

The site http://www.ufile.ca will allow you to try it out for free, and then it will charge you if you decide to netfile it. This will give you a great idea as to if this is right for you.

It is pretty straight forward so do not be afraid, give it a try, after all, you can't lose, it only costs money when you netfile it. I think the netfile fee is only 15$ or something!

The Billionaires

Well, Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world when it comes to the Forbes list. It was reported that the Mexican telecom guy overtook Bill a couple of months ago. This years top guy is none other than Warren Buffett with his Berkshire Hathaway. For those of you who don't know, Buffet purchased the Berkshire Hathaway textile company many years ago and it has turned into his umbrella for all of his other investments. The factory has since closed, but Buffett continues to show the world how a good investor should invest.

This list will give you something to strive for.

http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wforbes0305/GIStory/

Enough Money for a New Baby?

This is an article that I find some what funny. It is about a couple who together make $156,000 a year yet they are unsure if they can afford another child. Yes, they do have an 'Eating Out' budget of almost $10,000 and a coffee budget of $3,500.

Oh well, its an interesting read...

http://www.financialpost.com/magazine/family_finance/story.html?id=319640

Looking for a new House?

For those of you are looking for a new home, the first place to look is on the site MLS. It contains many of the properties available. Each house for sale includes pictures, prices, sizes, and much more. It will give a good idea of what is available in your area and for what price. A must see site!

http://www.mls.ca

Mortgage Rates

If you have a mortgage, or will be getting a mortgage at some point, you should be fully aware of the rates that are available to you because a difference of a fraction of a percent can make a huge difference over a 25 year amortization period.

Please find links below to the up to date mortgage rates from most financial instituions.

Closed Rates
http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/financial/mortgageclosed/

Variable, Open, Convertible
http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/financial/mortgagerates/

Savings Accounts

If you have money sitting in a savings account, make sure that you are making your money work hard for you. Don't settle for the interest rate that your bank is offering, investigate and make sure that you are getting the best rate that is available.

Please find the link below that has an up to date list of the highest interest rates from the financial institutions.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/articles/savings3/

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. My goal for this blog is to post financial information and links to finance articles from different internet sites. Hopefully the links will be useful for everyone.

There is a good chance that many of the links will be related to Canadian sources. The topics of interest include Registered Retirment Savings Plans, Pensions, Mutual Funds, Budgeting, Investing, and Wealth Building (not inclusive).

If there is something that you are interested in that you would like to see links to, send me a response and I can keep my eye out for links.

Comments on posts is not only welcome but encouraged.

Cheers!