Precious Metals
I gotta say, I like precious metals. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean one too many times, or maybe I was a gypsy in another life. But there’s something strangely appealing about the shine and lustre of a piece of gold or silver. Most guys don’t have many opportunities to own any metals. I used to have a gold plated watch, but unless you’re wearing a suit or at a formal event, » read more »
The United States’ Credit Card Is Nearly Maxed Out
We’re only about two month’s away from the US hitting its debt ceiling of 14.3 trillion dollars. Congressionally the US isn’t allowed to borrow any more than that amount (the entire wealth of the population of the planet is around 100 trillion dollars – so that means the US owes almost 15% of the entire wealth of the planet in debt). The estimated date of this occurring is sometime in late April of this year » read more »
The Impending Debt Crisis
It’s no secret that most of the organized governments in the world are essentially broke. The current debt to GDP ratio in the United States is almost 100%, a fairly incredible number that continues to rise. That number alone indicates that the US is in poor financial shape, and it’s not even that accurate a number. For example, the US has a number of off budget items that are technically debt as well – all » read more »
My Investment Portfolio
I’ve gone through various mutual fund companies and financial planners over the years, but ultimately decided last year to take my finances into my own hands and manage my own portfolio. My main issue with the financial planning/advice market is that there is an inherent conflict of interest in most of the advice given out. Yes, a par-life plan may in fact be a great investment vehicle, but when your purchase of one results in » read more »
Debt Based Economies
One of the things I’ve come to realize over the last year is that in most cases, debt is horrible thing. Granted, many businesses look towards debt as a way to fund capital purchases in their beginning stages, and I have no problem with small business loans. But all the other debt that people are addicted to is ultimately bad for the economy in general. There are many people who believe that the reason housing » read more »
RRSPs VS TFSAs
A few years ago, the government opened up a new investment vehicle for people looking to save for retirement, the tax free savings account (TFSA). An RRSP is effectively a tax-deferred investment account. When you contribute to it, you are doing so out of pre-tax dollars (or, if you get a tax refund due to your contribution, you are getting the tax you paid on that amount back). Eventually you have to pay the piper, » read more »
The Real Inflation Rate
Inflation is technically an expansion of the monetary supply. Prior to the invention of fiat (i.e. paper) money, inflation occurred when pure gold or silver coins were melted down and mixed with less valuable metals. The end result was a coin that was worth less, even though it was the same size, shape and colour. Another form of inflation occurred when people used to subtlety shave the edges of coins off and use that metal » read more »
The Great Canadian Penny Massacre
Yesterday the Canadian government alluded to a plan to completely remove the penny from circulation in the next 12 months. Their main motivation for this change is cost – the currently cost of a penny is around 1.5 cents, but the value of the coin is only 1.0 cent. So, the government would like to get rid of the penny. Now what does that mean for the average person? To be honest, not a whole » read more »
Ron Paul To Chair Fed Oversight Committee
Ron Paul, one of the most vocal opponents of the monopoly the Federal reserve has in the United States, has just been appointed to the head of the Federal Reserve oversight committee. He’s been denied the position twice before, most likely because he’s been itching to audit the Federal Reserve and finally make the Fed accountable. Well, today Ron Paul finally got the job, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Ron’s » read more »
Sorry, Your Credit Card Has Been Compromised
I received an automated call last week from TD Visa letting me know that my card had been deactivated due to fraud. Of course, there were no unauthorized transactions that I could tell on my VISA, nor has there been any previously when this has happened. In the past few years, I’d say this has probably happened three of four times. Each time it does, I have to head down to the bank and pick » read more »
Duane Storey is a Vancouver-based photographer, writer, traveler, and entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of BraveNewCode, a web design & development studio that focuses on professional WordPress plugins. 
