ICUMD

Recently took out a 3 M term life x 10 yrs @ 49 yo. ~$3600 per yr. With 2 young kids, feels like a good idea. If my investment portfolio performs well in the next 10 yrs, lll let it lapse.

Scotia iTrade.

Age 49. Over 10. Still work full time. Fly economy. Fine dining generally disappoints me. Put my Rolex into storage and wear a Casio. I have a Tesla S (mid life crisis car), but am more relaxed in my 17 yo. Subaru. Will typically take 1-2 international vacations per yr, but cringe at hotels over $250/ night. (Turns out you can get a whole modern 2 bed home with private plunge pool in Bali for less than that). Personally, the best experiences are the company you have during them, not the money spent. After expenses are paid, excess funds provide security and hopefully a good quality education for my young kids. After a hot shower, comfortable bed and tasty healthy food, some interesting tasks to focus on and family/ good company, not much more needed.

Added to CNR. CNR and CP pretty attractive right now.

Just trying to get more comfortable.

Trump is using Tariffs as an economic sanction to conquer and acquire Canada. Must stand strong and value our resources fully with a heafty export tax. At the core of this, is a fight for control of energy and natural resources. No doubt about it, it's a form of war.

+1 100%

Trump's issue is the trade deficit. Tariffs affect trade, not fentanyl trafficking in Canada's case. Really, Canada has incurred the trade deficit by selling our oil and energy at 30-50% discounted prices to the USA. Now we are being punished. That level of discount should never have been offered. The best response Canada should have had to close the trade deficit would be to sell oil and electricity at market prices. Deficit goes away. Also, Canada should expedite making proper corridors for energy transport across the country so that we aren't forced to sell to the USA exclusively. This will be an expensive lesson for Canada and hopefully change how we do business permanently.

Carney Vs Poilivere Much prefer Poilivere's delivery over Carney. Carney is too soft. Plus, I think he takes more credit than he deserves. Banking in Canada has a long storied history over 200 yrs surviving great depressions and world wars. It wasn't Carneys policies that saved them, but strict banking regulations.

As a Canadian, I see it differently. Trump is being Trump. He gets his American support by being a brash hardcore patriot. He's got energy and he protects American interests. That's his job, isn't it? Strong leaders make a stand. They are not there to make friends. Putin, zelensky, netenyahu, modi etc. all examples of leaders who protect national interests fiercely. So where are our leaders? Who is protecting Canadian interests? Oh right, we had Trudeau... Loved his pussy laugh when Trump told him to his face he would make a good governor of the 51st state. Surprised he didn't kiss his feet. Canada: no military, no identity, no economy, no leadership. All crime, drugs and harbor for foreign agents/ terrorists. It will take some bitter medicine to right this ship. We need a leader with cajones. Poilivere is the best option. He's got teeth and not a push over. Carney is intelligent, but is too soft; plus that liberal party is a bunch of partying clowns.

Chretien was a first class leader where Trudeau failed miserably. 2 reasons: 1. Always put Canada first. 2. Backbone. Couldn't bully the guy. Loved his handshake. And description of pepper spray. https://youtube.com/shorts/nShvaJ3aLDo?si=HGc01DKZi7wE5Hbx Trudeaus aspirations for a post national state, affiliations with WEF, and inability to foster a Canadian identity have led to national unrest, crime, drugs, poverty and inflation and a pitiful Canadian dollar. Glad to see the final act on this tragedy by the trust fund substitute drama teacher. For Trudeau, there was no 'team Canada'. Only him. He went through countless allies- Morneau, Freeland, Raybould, Payette etc. Not to mention Sophie. Talk about pathologic. Liberal party deserves to be decimated in the polls for allowing this leader to continue so long unopposed. Poilivere is an articulate speaker, well educated, and knows Canada well. Hes got spine and I think he will put Canada first. Can only fully judge a man by his actions. Let's hope he can start by uniting Canada with a voice strong enough to counter Trump.

@Spooky thanks for the overview on CSU. Would love to get my hands on a few shares during a pullback. Do you think Topicus will be able to follow in CSUs path? Or better to own CSU instead? I bought TOI with the thought that Europe is a relatively unpenetrated market for their business model and strength of management track record. @Castanza thanks for the recommendation, I'll take a close read of the CSU board.

Curious on how you value CSU. By all valuation metrics it always appears very expensive. Yet, performance has been stellar. That's quite a chunk you have! I own a bit of TOI.V.

@james22 @TwoCitiesCapital nothing wrong with seeing BTC and crypto as opportunity. That's what makes a free market. After making a series of mistakes, I've come to understand the a key tenant of investing is understanding valuation and your entitlement to future cash flows of a business. This strategy has worked extremely well for me over the last 5 yrs. Bitcoin is none of the above. Myself, @73 Reds Buffet and many others see it as a collectible since it fails the above criteria. But as a collectible, it's value is directly tied to what another person will pay for it. And if owning 1/21 million (or fraction there of) exclusive binary code gets your mojo going, power to you. You are definitely in good company and maybe it doubles again in 2025. Or maybe it will redistribute money to the crypto whales who decide to 'cash' out. I'm ok sitting on the sidelines watching my old fashioned dividends come in. In the collectible category, I'd rather own a manual Porsche or rare Rolex. At least I can see and use them.

@TwoCitiesCapital No doubt it has had exceptional performance to date. At 100k, it's not really a consideration for me since I'm unable to value investor sentiment and enthusiasm in this space. For others, I'm sure they're in it for the million dollar price target.

I've seen Bitcoin compared to pizza. Now Ferraris. What about comparing Bitcoin to the emperor's new clothes? At least both of those are invisible and infinitely divisible, yet perform the same function

India has also initiated a digital payment system called UPI. Settlement is in rupees. Crypto/ BTC are distinct from digital national currencies. I do think most countries will migrate towards digital settlement, but in their own digital currency. Visa/ MasterCard are intermediaries which take fees, but settle in base currency of the card holder. They will need to compete with fee less digital settlement platforms. Now, if there was a central crypto currency legitimately backed by gold, that would be interesting. Say each 'digital coin' was tied to a callable ounce of gold...

Currencies, by virtue of their property, need to succumb to inflation. A widely used decentralized currency which is a inflationary hedge would not seem to be in the interest of any country. Not saying it won't happen, but what advantages (tax or otherwise) would a government have by a citizenship that uses a non centralized currency? The USD when it was tied to the gold standard was just that. US government abolished that because of its constraints and confiscated the gold! I think gold is still the king in this regard. China and eastern countries are still accumulating gold.

Bitcoin I think will always have it's collectors. Much like cabbage patch dolls from the 80s. Unlike the doll market or art market, I think Bitcoin and crypto is subject to a whole lot more market distortion by wealthy promotors who got in at the ground level. What an incredible job they have done btw. An incredible pyramid. What wealth 'Crypto bros' have obtained without providing any meaningful productivity. Furthermore, BTC is infinitely divisible, which goes completely counter to its proposed rarity. Probably better off with a bored ape NFT. At least that can be enjoyed and is non divisible. It's hardly ubiquitous - it's difficult to open Bitcoin accounts for the majority of the worlds population, therefore fails as a medium of exchange. At least gold and silver will be accepted anywhere in the world. My hard earned cash gets exhanged for a good, service or productive asset. Crypto is a hard no for me.

@pricingpower thanks very much for the suggestions. Will have to check out Spitznagels book. Also agree with scenario analysis.

@Blake Hampton haha! Probably an important consideration across many asset classes. Whether you consider housing prices, AI, crypto etc. Key thing is not to hold when the music stops.

Wonder if this reflects the cost of 'bandwagoning' or 'groupthink'. Everyone jumping on the same asset class at the same time inflating prices well above market through supply demand imbalance. Nothing like a price correction to recalibrate!

Fact is, for people who chase money, there is no satisfactory level. Even Jeff Bezos is jealous of Musk. Yet Musk was f u even before he had money. F u is an attitude, not a monetary level.

That's the leveraged opportunity IMO. When price undercuts value by a significant extent. Agree margin calls can be problematic, but there is mitigation. Ex: buying quality, conservative borrowing, diversification, strict valuation entry points, monitoring cash flow, collateralizing property etc.

@benchmark Scotiabank and UBS. Was definitely easier when rates were lower. Still possible however. Margin rates seem to be below 5.5%.