To save or not to save (energy)?

Obviously, everybody will agree that saving energy is good. Everybody will also say that saving energy by using CFL bulbs is a great idea (so much that the Ontario government will ban the sale inefficient light bulbs by 2012 - which is older news now but just relates to my current situation). With a 8 weeks old baby though, there is a clear need to be able to dim lights. As far as I know, you can't dim regular CFLs. So here I am stuck between energy saving on one side and better sleep for the baby on the other side. I wonder if any of you have a good idea on this one? I have heard the same question from many persons...

How to buy a half a million dollar house without going bankrupt!

Friends of mine are about to do it (and no, they don't drive a Mercedes).
The trick: they are buying the house with another family (the friend's sister's). The pros? Instead of getting a puny new house, they will get a brand new 3500+ square feet one with a huge kitchen and garage and tons of bedrooms, etc. They will also be in a much nicer neighborhood than they could have otherwise afforded. The cons? Well, you have to be ready to live 365 days a year with another family! Even if you get along perfectly before, it might strain the relationships somehow, especially with kids around!

So it's a great financial idea but a question mark for quality of life. What do you think? Do you know anybody who's done that successfully?

Etrade Canada NOT going bankrupt

Following my post on the troubles at Etrade, and the good comment from wheredoesallmymoneygo.com , I am giving you an update on Etrade Canada. As I've logged in my account, the president had posted a note saying that:

• Etrade Canada is a different entity than its US parent company
• It is not exposed to asset-backed commercial paper
• Investments are safe and subject to Canadian regulation

Have a look also at the excellent article on the topic from Canadian Capitalist.

Etrade going bankrupt ...

... would be a really bad things for their shareholders. They seem to be in pretty bad shape if you read this article from Forbes. The question that I've got though is what would happen to their customer accounts if they went bankrupt. I know that the actual official ownership documents are held by a third party in Canada (I assume the same is true in the USA). Does anybody have an idea of possible outcomes in this scenario?

Investing in Canada and currency hedging in the context of a rising loonie.

The topic has been discussed multiple times in many blogs (including mine) and columns, but I can't resist adding my 2 cents to the topic of currency hedging since it's such a hot topic right now. I don't have the theory to prove what I think but here are a few points that summarize my not too scientific view:

• It's worth hedging a significant portion of your portfolio (I'll say 50% if you insist that I pick some number). That can easily be achieved through ETFs like those from iShares Canada (XSP for example). Claymore Canada also has some hedged ETFs. Why not 100%?
  
• Although the currency fluctuations might even out over a long period, the Canadian dollar might be high compared to your foreign investments when you do need your money the most: when you retire. A dramatic rise of the loonie just before you retire could basically derail your retirement plans ...
  
• Everybody knows that the past is not a guarantee for what will happen in the future. Yes the USA and their dollar should come back up, but what if it does not? I'm ready to pay a slightly higher MER to insure against that risk.

RESP and stock ideas: starting with J&J to send my kid to Harvard!

I am trying a different approach for my son's self-directed RESP (not setup yet but I'll see if I can transfer stocks to it instead of cash) ... I will buy a basket of defensive stocks over time that I hope will produce good returns without having to incur any MER. My first pick is Johnson and Johnson which I've read a lot about. They are diversified in a lot of businesses that are less exposed to economic downturns (people will always buy baby shampoo!). I made my first buy today given the high Canadian dollar using a gift from the great grand father! On less 'objective' note, I like the idea of having a specific stock associated to a given gift (that's really not material for an investing book:-)




Usual disclaimer: this is not stock picking advice ...Do your own research :-)