Money Tips from Donald Trump

I would like to share some advice from Donald Trump’s book “How to Get Rich” with publisher Random House in 2004. In this book, Donald Trump gives his advice about career, money, and negotiation which are attracted us to learn it. Here are some of his tips about money.

1.      When you pick a financial adviser, trust your own common sense and pick a financial adviser with good and reliable track record.

2.      If you want to invest, choose simply with recommendations from reputable major firms.

3.      When you need to negotiate with banks, you have to do it yourself and cut out the middleman, because the middleman will eat your money.

4.      Teach your kinds to understand the value of money, how to work hard, how to manage expenses, how to save, and where to invest.

5.      When it comes to relationship and business, you have a right to protect your assets and use your common sense.

6.      Doing business is something that you have to practice everyday, you must understand the process and keep doing it until you get reward of the process.

How Much Money People Spend for Valentine’s Day?

Valentine day is a very popular day to celebrate in all over the world. On that day couples express their love for each other with celebration or gifts. Valentine's Day can also be an occasion for a more general celebration of love and appreciation of people who are personally important to an individual like family, friend, teacher, or co-worker.

Valentine comes from the name of 5^th century martyred saint of ancient Rome Saint Valentine (or Valentinus) who has buried in Rome on February 14. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, confectionery (chocolate and candy), and sending greeting cards. Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged cupid. The gifts that are very popular nowadays are chocolate, rose flowers, jewelry, restaurant dinners, or gift cards. The popularity of Internet at the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions, because millions of people use digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages such as e-card, love coupons or printable greeting cards. An estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent in 2010.

Now we will look at how much money people spend for Valentine’s Day celebration.

United States of America: This year, the average consumers spend out US $126.03 for Valentine's Day, an 8.5 percent increase over last year's $116.21.

Canada: According to recent data from BMO, retail consumer spending increased 9.25 per cent in the week leading up to Valentine's Day in 2011 that’s around  Canadian dollar $126.03.

Singapore, China, South Korea and Japan spend more money on Valentine's gifts than any other countries which is £173 (or C $ 260).

China: A bouquet of flowers with 11 roses will cost about 300 yuan (C $48) or more. Some imported roses will be priced at 60 yuan (C $ 10) each. Some hotel rooms priced at 200 yuan to 300 yuan (C $ 48). Some people do not think twice in buying gift like Swarovski necklace which is cost 980 yuan (C$157), or a quarter of her/his monthly salary.

India: A single long-stemmed rose is sold 60 Rupee (or C $ 1.2), for a bouquet of 10 roses it costs C $ 12. Cakes price is around 500 Rupee (C$ 10), and restaurant meals for two have been priced at an average 350 Rupee (C $ 7).

Indonesia: A bouquet of 10 roses costs Rupiah 120.000 (or C $ 13), valentine’s doll or plush which is price in between Rupiah 50.000 to 200.000 (C $ 6 to C $ 24) depending on the sizes. A silver ring with heart shaped could cost Rupiah 200.000 (C $ 24).

Japan:  Survey from japan-guide.com, 67% women celebrates Valentine’s Day and the most popular gift is chocolate. In Japan, it is only the women giving presents to men, but not the other way around. Men are supposed to return the favor received on Valentine's Day one month later on White Day. The very famous chocolate in Japan is Royce chocolate which is price in between C $ 8 to C $ 23.

A survey revealed (source telegraph.co.uk) that Irish couples spend just £134 (C $ 201) and UK couples only £145 (C $ 217) compared with the Spanish figure of £218 (C $ 327), The French spend £208 (C $ 312), Italians £176 (C $ 264) and Germans £153 (C $ 229) also outspend the UK and Irish.

Showing your love and making your relationship stronger is more important and it takes work not only money. Spending money for Valentine can be fun and very productive if it is well planned and affordable. So be wise in celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Why You Get Into Debt?

Having a debt is not wrong and even it’s almost impossible to live debt free. We know that there are good debt and bad debt. Most of us can not pay cash for our homes and our children’s college educations, so we borrow money from a bank or mortgage company. Those are categorized as good debts, because those are considered as investments.  Since homes usually appreciate in value, the mortgage loan you take out to pay for the home is an investment. A student loan that is taken out to finance a college education is an investment, because earning a college degree usually means that you’ll make more money over your lifetime.

In other side, there is a bad debt which some people are trapped in it. Bad debt is debt you've taken on for things you don't need and can't afford, such as go on vacation, buy a designer clothes, shoes (consumer products). Some people do not realize their bad debts until they find out that their bank account balance is zero or even minus, their credit card bills aren’t paid and bank or debt collector starts calling.

What are the reasons people get into such a big and bad debt?

Difference between Needs and Wants

Some people do not know the difference between needs and wants, they spend too much for something they want but it’s not a basic need. Needs are the things we need to live comfortably, such as food and shelter.  Wants are things that we don’t really need, but we would like to have, such as a motorcycle, earrings, a hot tub, 500 cable TV channels, a brand new luxury car, 5,000-square-foot homes in exclusive neighborhoods, lavish ski vacations, and smart phones that do everything for us.

Bad Spending Habits

Bad spending habits come from ignorance (you avoid learning about how to spend money wisely and you don’t want to change your habit), carelessness (you are lazy to care about bad debt). You know it's wrong, but you do it anyway, telling yourself “It's just once”, but you keep doing that.

Lack of Discipline

Some people lack the self-control to discipline their purchases. Others may not want to control their spending.

Lack of Contentment

Some people never feel satisfy and happy with their life. People seem to ‘need’ a lot, because of not content, greedy, or have a high level of need. Some people feel pride with their ‘not genuine’ luxury life which is based on bad debt.

Living Beyond Your Means 

Your are tempted to try the finer things in life like expensive restaurants, luxurious holidays and fancy car, but the trouble is that once you start, it’s a difficult habit to stop

Not Knowing Your Limits

Borrowing money is fine as long as you can afford to pay it back within the conditions set out by the lender.

The question now is what is the normal limit of debts that you can have? Ideally, experts say, your total monthly long-term debt payments, including your mortgage and credit cards, should not exceed 36 percent of your gross monthly income. Other experts say your rent or mortgage payment should be no more than 25% of your income (including taxes and insurance) and your credit card debt and auto financing can safely equal 10% of your annual income. If you and your spouse’s net annual income are $ 48,000, your mortgage payment, property tax and home insurance can not exceed $ 12,000 per year or $ 1,000 per month. And your credit card and auto loan payment should be limited to $ 4,800 per year or $ 400 per month.

If you don’t feel comfortable at your current level of debt, begin immediately to take proactive steps to reduce debt, such as consult a money advisor/ personal accountant, redesign your monthly spending budget, and change your spending habit.

How Long You Can Afford to Buy a House?

Buying a house is a wise decision in your life. You pay the house mortgage for your own house instead of pay rent for a place that is not yours. Buying a house is al so a way to build your personal wealth. When the house is sold when the mortgage loan is paid and the housing price rises, the house sale is turned into profit. However to buy a house is not easy, not everyone can afford to buy a house. It depends on how much income you get, how much saving you can put for the down payment, and also how much cash flow you can afford for the regular monthly cost of a house.

There are many indicators to measure the house affordability index, but in this article we use the index from Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. The survey compares the median household income in the market to the median house sale price. For example: the median house sale price is $ 678,500 in Vancouver, while the median household income is $ 63,800, so the ratio becomes $ 678,500/ $ 63,800 = 10.6. It means you need 10.6 years income to buy a house in Vancouver. Table below gives data about housing affordability in some cities in Canada.

City	Years Income to Buy
Vancouver, BC	10.6
Victoria, BC	6.8
Toronto, ON	5.5
Montreal, QC	5.1
Calgary, AB	3.9
Quebec, QC	3.8
Ottawa, ON	3.7
Edmonton, AB Halifax, NS Winnipeg, MB Charlottetown, PEI Saint John, NB Windsor, ON	3.5 3.5 3.4 2.9 2.6 2.2

In Toronto you need to generate income to almost 6 years to afford a house, while in Windsor you just need 2.2 years income to buy a house, because the median house price in Windsor only $ 149,000 compared to the median household income of $ 67,900.

From this index result, we can learn that the house price factor is very dominant, the higher house price the longer we can afford to buy a house. As comparison 2 bedroom’s house with land size 33 x 110 and house size 895 sq feet, the price is $ 749,900 in Vancouver, while in Windsor the price of 2 bedroom’s house with land size 30 x 117 is $ 76,900.

Tenant Insurance

According to Statistics Canada, in 2008, 4.4 million households in Canada rent their home, but only 41.8% covered with insurance. Insurance Bureau of Canada said tenants are not required to have insurance, but they can purchase it for about $ 20 to $ 30 a month. It seems that Tenant Insurance is unpopular in Canada. Here we will look at some basic information about Tenant Insurance.

What is Tenant Insurance?

Tenant Insurance is a form of insurance where the tenant of a house, condo or apartment can have insurance to protect the contents of his place. Tenant or Renters Insurance provides coverage for your personal belongings in case they are stolen, damaged, destroy, or if your actions (e.g., leaving the bathtub running) caused damage to: your apartment, your neighbor’s apartment, and the apartment building itself.

Why Do We Need Tenant Insurance?

Tenant insurance protects you from having to cover the damaged costs out of your own pocket and also gives you a peace of mind.

How Much the Tenant Insurance Premium?

A basic tenant’s insurance package for an apartment in a building can cost between $125 and $200 a year for the coverage of $ 15,000 to $ 30,000 of personal property. The premium is largely determined by the amount value of coverage a tenant needs for personal property. Premiums will vary according to location, insurance history, optional coverage, etc.

The insurance cost increases if you live over a store or restaurant. The risk increases if you add additional coverage for items of higher value, or if the space also is used for business purposes.

What Is Standard Tenant Insurance Coverage?

All Risk Contents Coverage insures all your belongings inside your home for the most common types of losses. When you have All Risk coverage, your contents are insured for everything. Named-Perils coverage includes a list of the most common types of things covered under your insurance. Named-Perils include fire, theft and water damage.

The Additional Living Expense coverage pays for your reasonable and necessary expenses to temporarily live away from home if you are forced to leave your home because of a loss. Hotel and food costs are the type of expenses that would be covered under such circumstances. There is usually a limit on this kind of additional living expense coverage.

Tenant Insurance also covers Personal Liability that protects you from having to pay damages to people, if you've been found responsible for unintentionally injuring them or damaging their property.

How to Make Claims Easier?

As soon as you get the tenant insurance you need to document, take picture or list all your belongings. A record of your things will be valuable in settling claims with insurance company.

What Are Nominal Income and Real Income?

There is a difference between nominal income and real income. Nominal income is the amount of money that we receive as wages, rent, or interest, while real income is the purchasing power of nominal income.

The formula is:

Real income =    Nominal income  :  Price index (in hundredths)

For example: (source : Statcan)

The Nominal Income of Canada based on median total income in 2007 is $ 66,550, and the consumer price index in 2007 is 111.5. So the Real Income becomes: $ 66,550 / 1.115 = $ 57,870

In 2008 the nominal income is $ 68,860, and the consumer price index is 114.1. The Real Income now is: $ 68,850 / 1.141 = $ 60,350.

In 2009 the nominal income is $ 68,410, and the consumer price index is 114.4. The Real Income is: $69,410 / 1.144 = $ 59,799.

The rule that tells us by how much approximately the real income will change:

Percentage change in real income = percentage change in nominal income – percentage change in price level.

Between 2007 and 2008, the nominal income changes 3.47%, the price changes 2.6%, so the real income increases 0.87%.

Between 2008 and 2009, the nominal income changes – 0.65%, the price changes 0.3%, so the real income decreases 0.95%.

If the percentage change in nominal income is similar to the price level, so the real income will remain the same.   

Basic Information about Canada Retirement Plans

Basically there are two kind of retirement income in Canada: public and private. The public retirement income is from the Government of Canada which provides these pension benefits: the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension, the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor. The private retirement income comes from the savings and investments you accumulate during your working years that include: money in savings accounts, investments in stocks and bonds, Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs), and Tax-Free Savings Accounts.
The information below will explain four major retirement plans which are: OAS, GIS, CPP and RRSP.

OAS (Old Age Security)
OAS pension is a monthly income from government that available for most Canadians age 65 or older. You are eligible to receive OAS if your age is 65 or older, you are living in Canada and have lived here for 10 years after turning 18, or you are not living in Canada but have lived here for 20 years after turning 18. You can apply for OAS 6 months before you reach age 65. If you live in Canada for 40 years after turning 18 you will get a full pension, if not you’ll get partial pension. For October 2011 the average amount OAS received is $ 508.35. If there is any increases in the cost of living, government will increase the pension payment.
Your OAS pension will stop: if you did not live in Canada for at least 20 years after you turned 18 and if you are out of the country for more than six months after the month of your departure, or if you make a request to have your pension stopped, or when you die.
The Old Age Security pension is taxable income, like most other retirement income. Pensioners who earn individual net income of $66,335 or more as of 2009 (including the Old Age Security pension) have to repay part of their pension benefits.

GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement)
The GIS is provided to OAS pensioners with little or no other income. Not like OAS, GIS is not taxable. The single recipient of GIS will receive lower amount than both spouse recipients. The yearly income of applicant and or spouse can not exceed certain limit. For October 2011, if you are single and your income per year is below $ 16,368 you will get GIS monthly of $ 491.40 (average amount). If you are a married couple, both of you are retired and both of your income does not exceed $ 21,648, the average amount each of you will get monthly is $ 309.05 (source: servicecanada.gc.ca).

CPP (Canada Pension Plan)
CPP is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. The CPP program mandates all employed Canadians who are 18 years of age and over to contribute a prescribed portion of their earnings income to a nationally administered pension plan. If you are an employee, the employer contributes 4.95% for you and you yourself also contribute 4.95% in paying the pension plan. But if you are self employed you have to contribute 9.9% to CPP. The minimum pensionable earning for year 2006 is $3,500 and maximum is $ 42,100. If your annual salary is $ 30,000, the CPP contribution is $ 30,000 - $ 3,500 x 0.0495 = $ 1,312 /year, and your employer contributes the same amount, so the total contribution is $ 2,624.
As an example, if you have lived and worked in Canada most years between the ages of 18 and 65 (47 years) and earned about the average Canadian wage ($40,500 in 2004), at age 65 you would receive a CPP retirement pension of about $814.17 a month. So if you have worked for only 20 years the amount you get is less 30% to 40%.
To calculate the exact amount how much you will get from OAS, GIS and CPP you can go to servicecanada.gc.ca.

RRSP
RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) is an investment account designed primarily for saving toward your retirement years. RRSP is regulated by the Canadian government and have special tax benefits. RRSP can help you maintain your standard of living when you retire, because you can’t rely only on government pension. RRSP is available through chartered banks, trust companies and other financial institutions. By law, when you turn 71 your RRSP must be converted to other retirement income form like RIF (Retirement Income Fund). When you die your RRSP is paid to your beneficiary (spouse or anyone you have designated). The earlier you accumulate RRSP the more balance you’ll get. For example with the total amount invested is the same, but look at the difference in results.
Total RSP balance after 40 years of $500 annual contributions equals $77,381.
Total RSP balance after 20 years of $1,000 annual contributions equals $36,786.
The calculation based on 6% rate of return (source: tdcanadatrust.com).