Ok totoro...
Garth was preaching how the bond market controls the mortgage market- NOT the national bank setting overnight rates. He was right. He said bond dividends were going up, so lock in that mortgage.
So here's what I did:
I redid my mortgage of 90k from 6% (land only mortgage- long story)
LOC 50k at 6 %(loc from supplemental pension fund so I could buy in to 300k worth of dough at 51!)
plus 20k loc at 6% from building my garage
into a mortgage at 3.18 fixed over 5. Saved me 50% of interest payments which in year 1 was around 6k in after tax dollars.
Also, Garth was preaching how the stock market was undervalued (for sale is his term) so I bought what equities I could in jan 2012 and then it's gone up 11-14%.
He also talks about a balanced portfolio- I copied canadiancouchpotato.com portfolio and I sleep very well at night knowing I'm protected with bonds (that still pay me money) and equities that protect me from inflation.
True, most of his posts are about smashing the realtors cartel- they deserve it.
Also remember he's from toronto and it's totally out of whack out there.
He's making me rethink building our dream home for 500k and retiring in 13 years. Instead, I'll make do with what we have, and buy a house in hawaii with the extra cash.
Other than MMM, Garth has had the most impact on how I view investing and money.
Who has influenced you?
Brian Campbell from money talks?
The stock idiot on CNN?
Don't turn this into a Garth bashing. All advice is somewhat biased.
Okay, it sounds like you refinanced to a lower rate based on his advice that rates would rise. They have dropped. I'm not sure why you did not refinance earlier given the rates you had, but if he clued you into the fact that you could do that great.
The second bit, it sounds like you have used the Smith Manoeuvre. I agree that turning your trapped equity into other investments and making the interest tax deductible is a good strategy. However, had you followed Mr. Turner's "the Strategy", which it sounds like you did, back when his book came out you would have invested in Nortel and other tech stock and lost money. The market has been really strong over the past few years and his advice there worked out well.
And Canadian Couch Potato? If that is what you did it is not what he is known for recommending. Did he recommend this to you or did you find it from other sources?. If you contact him for fee-based services it seems that you are not going to be referred to Canadian Couch Potato:
http://canadianmoneyforum.com/archive/index.php/t-11763.htmlhttp://www.advisor.ca/my-practice/holmes-winton-garth-you-dont-impress-me-much-1687What he is most known for is recommending that you sell your home, invest the proceeds and wait for a crash while renting - which he predicted would happen many years ago. It might work out that way one day, but we might have a long flat market with low interest rates too.
So, as far as who I take advice from, I do my own research. I don't rely on anyone without independent verification and research.
I do this for real estate and have learned through my own experience - I've written about this on the blog in lots of spots.
I invest in Canadian Couch Potato as a result of advice received online from multiple sources. I ordered the book first and read it. I'm not a sophisticated stock investor and I haven't put the time in to feel like I could do better than this.
I participate in the Smith Manoeuvre as I read the book about ten years ago.
In terms of corporate investments, I tend to spend a fair bit of time reading CGA columns and the associated CRA tax bulletins. I do the same for taxation issues related to various investments.
I don't use an investment advisor.