INFLATION EATS BUYING POWER - But you should eat...Pineapple Chicken

Everybody talks about it. Everybody hears about it. Everybody is effected by it. Yet I get the feeling that not everybody understands it. So what is 'inflation?'

I am sure that we have all been in the grocery store and have felt the pinch of higher prices on food items. These relentless increases in our grocery bill are blamed on inflation. Even when inflation is hovering at 1%, it always seems that the prices escalate by more than the rate of inflation.

Think about it. How much did a loaf of bread cost tens years ago? A tank of gasoline? A pound of butter? Ten years ago a pound of butter was still a pound. The ingredients remain the same, the weight remains the same, yet the cost has gone up over 60%. The butter hasn't changed: the value of your dollar has.

It seems inevitable that the value of money will shrink over time. The question is, by how much or at what rate? We regularly hear references to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is the measure that we use to track inflation. The CPI is a measure of the cost of a basket of goods and services compared to the cost of the same goods and services last year, and is reported monthly. The CPI is also 'seasonally adjusted' as some household goods are naturally more expensive at different times of the year. And all of those annual increases add up over time, constantly eroding the buying power of your dollar.

So when investing your hard earned money it is important to consider those asset classes that historically have outperformed inflation in the long run. Equities are the asset class to which I refer to. But remember, equities are a long term investment, and it is not wise to hold ALL of your investments in this one asset class. Don't forget about cash and fixed income investments.

Wow, all of this talk about how Inflation Eats Buying Power has got me hungry! Before getting started on today's recipe we have to mention that a good friend of ours has this fabulous business that specializes in preparing a wide selection of Party Favours. Corrie has put a lot of effort into her business, takes great pride in her work and strives to 'over promise'. Visit Corrie's website http://www.simplethankyous.com/ and she has assured me that she can ship your orders ... anywhere.


Pineapple Chicken

Before I get started I have to refer you to the picture to the right. This week I had a conversation (which should been a bet) about pineapples. It seems that my good friend (not mentioning any names Albert) has been under the impression that pineapples grow... on pineapple trees, much like coconuts.


But wait, I was equally surprised to find that he was not alone. So, for the record pineapples do not grow in the treetops but rather out of the ground as depicted to the right. For the record, chickens don't grow on trees either.

So if you take 6 chicken breasts
1 cup of flour
1 cup of grated cheddar
1 - 14 oz can of pineapple tidbits
salt, pepper and a pinch of poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons of shredded coconut

Put the dry ingredients in a bag, add the chicken and shake until the chicken is well coated.
Brown the chicken in your frying pan for a few minutes then put it in a casserole dish. Put the cheese and pineapple over the top of each chicken breast and bake for 45 minutes at 350, taking the lid off for the last 10 minutes.

It's quick, it's easy, and most of all it's pretty darn tasty!

So, we covered off the basics of inflation.
We encouraged you to check out Corrie's http://www.simplethankyous.com/
We cleared up the pineapple tree issue, and gave you a great chicken recipe.

That's a wrap!

Thanks for stopping by. Look forward to your comments and feedback

From all of us at DIGestingINvesting ...
Ciao!


Jeff

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL - Meagan's... Great! Baked Tomates

Crosbie, Stills and Nash pretty much nailed this one with this nostalgic yet time tested advice for all of us parents.

It has been said that the best way to teach our children about the value of money ... is not to have any money. They learn to appreciate it real quick.

As I was taking a few minutes to understand what this meant I remembered my friend who had purchased the newest PlayStation unit for his kids (nothing against Sony). I then remembered that this was the third PlayStation unit that he has purchased, along with GameCube, XBox and Nintendo, SuperNintendo and Nintendo 64. Of course the cost of purchasing all of these (soon to be obsolete units) are puny when compared to the hundreds spent on the games to go with them. In total it is safe to say that thousands had been spent in an attempt to keep the kids entertained and up-to-date. So much for Monopoly.

Though the earlier example is a little extreme it is safe to say that video games, televisions, computers, running shoes, clothes, food or whatever ... it seems that our 'must be current, throw away society' of today has completely disengaged itself from the value of money (forget about cleaning up this environment). As we recklessly fill up yet another landfill sight - that we don't want in our backyard - I often wonder if we ever consider the amount of money that has been wasted needlessly ... on yet more useless, but current, stuff? Do they, or we, really need it? If so, at what cost?

I am sure that most of you reading this are frugal with your money and are constantly looking for ways to stretch your dollar a little further. But do you strive to send this message out to your children? "Money doesn't grow on trees" (it really doesn't!)

Recently there have been many articles written that address the decline in North America's standard of living. It has been stated over and over again that the children of today will not enjoy the same standard of living that we (babyboomers) enjoyed and that this paradox and financial shift will have an enormous negative impact on our children as they will not have the financial resources to provide all of the ... stuff ... for their kids, that they had enjoyed when they were young. Just think for a moment. Do your children have more stuff, new lunch boxes, bikes, restaurant meals, gum, ice caps, cell phones ... 'stuff', then you ever had? I'm betting they do. For now. But unless your kids are planning on staying with you after graduation, there is a very good chance that they are in for a big letdown. But you can help.

DO YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN about the value of dollar? Do you ever say, "Sorry kids but ... you don't need that/we can't afford that/that's not a wise use of our money?"

It's never too early to teach your kids about the ABCs of money. The sooner they get started the earlier they can make plans to take over the world, buy a house or just an iPod. And with the beginning of a new school year it is a perfect time for parents to establish a few financial lessons. Talk about allowance, and advise the importance of saving a portion of that allowance. Establish financial goals and encourage them to achieve those goals. SAVE is the operative word. Not SPEND. Your kids will thank you down the road.

In my previous blog I explained the importance of TIME and the benefit of compounding growth. Show your children the value of $20 / month compounded annually at 8% from age 10 to age 60. The total deposits are about $12,000 and the total value is just over $140,000.

Imagine if the deposits were increased, the timeline extended by 3-5 years or the annual return exceeds 8%? (at 9% the end value exceeds $200,000) WOW!

So take this time to sit down with your children and teach them about the value of money. The time is right. The time is critical. And for your kids, time is on their side, but they just don't know it. Yet.

Talking about 'time', what a perfect time to entertain the following recipe. Tomatoes are in season, taste great, and are loaded with goodness.

Jeff

THE FOLLOWING RECIPE IS A 'MUST TRY'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following recipe was submitted to me from our eldest daughter Meagan who has been waiting patiently for her name to appear on this big silver screen. Today, Meg started her third year in university and has been inspirational and creative with this DIGestingINvesting blog.(and she is pretty aggressive at correcting my grammar) AND, the recipe is in fact Meagan's own creation therefore I can take no credit, however if wasn't for me ... she wouldn't be here. HA! Meagan turned 20 this year and I have to admit that when I was 20, I was not making baked tomatoes. And I was reminded a few times over to be sure to mention that tomatoes are a superfood!

Meagan's ... Great! Baked Tomates (superfood)

Serves 4 and takes about 10-15 to prep and another 10 mins. to bake

Here's what you need:

4 medium sized ripe tomatoes (if they're not completely ripe put them in a brown bag overnight)

4 servings of brown rice (I use the microwave rice which is ready in a few mins)

2 eggs

Salt/pepper to taste

1 tbsp Oregano

2 tspn of fresh coriander

8-12 thin slices (1x3) of cheddar

Cut the tops off of those ripe tomatoes (after you've washed them) and using spoon and a sharp paring knife, hollow out the tomatoes, setting the tomato flesh aside for later.

Gently cut off a small slice of the bottom of each tomato so they sit flatly on the cutting board.

Separately cook up four (4) servings of brown rice and two scrambled eggs.

Mix together the rice, eggs and the flesh from those tomatoes, one clove of garlic (minced) along with a little salt and pepper to taste, oregano and coriander.

Fill each of the tomato shells with the rice/egg mixture and top each with a two or three of slices of cheddar cheese. (or your favourite kind)

Place the stuffed tomatoes on a small cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Okay, if I can do this, anybody can do it.

These are incredibly easy and pretty quick to make, taste delicious and make an awesome impression as not too many people make these. If you don't try them, you'll never know what you're missing! And if you serve these up with salmon, bean salad and a bowl of blueberries (with real maple syrup) you will have served up a feast of superfoods! And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Enjoy, have fun, and be sure to live!

Meg

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WILL MONEY BUY HAPPINESS? - Haley's 'Hasty Chicken Broccoli Casserole' Sure Will!

MONEY will not buy you happiness. However ... it can buy you the kind of misery that you prefer.

MONEY. No matter how hard you hug it ... it will never hug you back.

MONEY. You can't die with it ... and you can't live without it.

Ironically, when it comes to life, time is our foe. However, when it comes to money, time is our friend. That's right, time is our friend, if we use it wisely. And if we combine the wise use of time with a wise investment strategy, we can capitalize on the Magic of Compounding.

Did you know that in 2006, 21% of Americans were relying on lottery winnings to fund their retirement? Would it surprise you that 31% of Canadians between 35 and 54 do not have a registered retirement plan?

$200 /month ($2400/yr) saved from age 25 to age 65 (40 yrs) and yielding a long term return of 8% would net you $648,561.

If you waited until you were 35 and started putting away $200. /month for 30 years yielding the same 8%, you would net $283,723. (ten years cost you 340,000 [365,000-24,000])

Wait until you are 45, put away $200./month @ 8% for 20 years, you net $114,732. (20 years cost you $486,000[534,000-48,000])

Time clearly is ... money.

Is money important to you? If you said "yes" then we will assume that you have sat down with pen in hand and written down your short, mid and long term goals and developed a plan. A 'plan' that will capitalize on ... time.

Talking about 'time', how about this recipe? It was not too long ago that I posted Rocky's Broccoli Bake and here I am posting Haley's Hasty Chicken Broccoli Casserole (we'll call it HHCBC for short ... just kidding!)

For those of you that don't know, Connor (aka Rocky) is our 17 year old son and Haley (aka Haley) is our 16 year old daughter. Now if they can understand all of this cooking and investing stuff then anyone can.

______________________________________________________________________

Haley's Hasty Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Super easy and pretty quick to put together. Prep time is 5 minutes, cooking time is 30 minutes.

2 cups - cooked cubed chicken

2 - 10 oz packages of frozen broccoli

1 cup - shredded cheddar cheese

1 can - condensed cream of mushroom soup (sorry Sue)

1/2 cup of milk

1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs

3 tbsp of melted butter

Heat the oven to 350.

Cover the bottom of a 9x12 (?) glass casserole dish with chicken

Layer with broccoli, then more chicken and then broccoli.

Sprinkle 1/2 of the cheese over the top.

Mix up the soup with the milk and pour over the top.

Add the rest of the cheese and then sprinkle bread crumbs over the top of cheese.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

That's it! Easy as pie!

______________________________________________________________________

Remember, you can gamble your money with the hopes that you might be the one in 14,000,000 who wins the lottery, or the 1 in 10,000 chance of hitting it big at on the slots.

And maybe if you happen to be one of those lucky winners, your retirement dreams just might pan out after all. Maybe.

However, if you develop a time-proven strategy that capitalizes on compounding growth, use common sense and never lose sight of your 'plan' ... you will always come out a winner.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to Haley for making this recipe so darn easy.

Jeff

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER - Grilled 'Jet' Burgers

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER - Spock, Wrath of Khan - 1982

Did Beverley say that I was presenting a goulash recipe on this post? Well with this fabulous sunshine and the Labour Day weekend just hours away,

it really seemed like a great time to fire up the grill, enjoy the patio and cook up some real tasty burgers. So that goulash recipe is gonna have to wait. And remember, all of you people heading out of town for this long weekend just take your time and get to your destination safe-and-sound.

Talking about taking your time and getting there safely ... did you know that 90% of the married women will outlive their husbands? Yep, that's right. In fact, you may have already figured this out and started making plans for your future but in case you haven't you might want to pay close attention because this also means that at least 90% of married women will end up handling there own finances in retirement. And for women who retire in their early sixties, statistics show that they will enjoy another twenty years or longer with only 30% of retirement income coming from government pensions and old age security.

There are a lot of reasons why women should pay attention to finances and all of this ho-hum investment stuff. Sure there are women who will never get married and they will always rely on themselves to get the job done. But if they do get married there is a 50/50 probability they have to deal with divorce. And if they don't deal with divorce, there is a 90% chance they will find themselves as widows. Add to all of this the motherhood ... handicap(?) ... which often results (or did) in women leaving the workforce for ten or twenty years to raise the children. Or the income gap handicap which is slowly being overcome. Clearly women have many hurdles to overcome to maintain their quality of life in retirement.

And yet, even in today's world, men typically handle the household financial/investment details, though I haven't quite figured out why. Whether due to nature or nurture women tend to have very different investment habits than men, and tend to be more conservative and careful. And yet many/most women don't get involved in investing and the primary reason is that they, do not understand.

So, DIGestingINvesting strives to simplify all of this investment jargon and present common sense investment material that makes the world of finance less intimidating and a lot easier to work with. And I might be so bold as to suggest that if you don't understand what a mutual fund is, or the difference between a common stock and a treasury bill, or you still don't see the benefit of a tax-free savings account, well you should be taking an exceptionally keen interest in this blog because there may be some huge financial benefits to you down the road.

Of course I like to think that the biggest payoff to you is trying some of these great recipes. Most of them are easy and quick and in many of them I/we have tried to incorporate at least one 'superfood' thereby making it a little more nutritious. If you are going to follow at least some of the financial advice offered on this blog, then you had better be eating right so that you'll live longer ... to enjoy your financial success! Or visa-versa.

Live Long And Prosper.

Grilled 'Jet' Burgers

This makes eight patties, prep time is 12-15 mins, start to finish is 1 hour (incl fridge time)

1 lb (450g) lean/extra lean ground beef

1 lb (450g) lean ground turkey (superfood)

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup medium salsa sauce

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 eggs

2 tbsp parsley

2 tbsp minced garlic

Toss the beef and turkey into a bowl and mix it up real good.

Add the bread crumbs, eggs ... what the heck ... toss everything in and keep mixing.

Cover the bowl and put in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Shape the meat into 8 big meatballs in the palm of your hand and squeeze down the centre to form a patty. This should be about 1" thick from side to side.

Put these patties (should be eight) on a plate and set aside while your grill is heating up on high heat.

Turn the heat from high to medium when you put these on the grill and cook to well. (remember, there is turkey)

I would serve these burgers up with fried onions and green peppers, a slice of old cheddar, and a thick slice of a fresh, ripe, juicy, hand picked tomato, (superfood) a good shot of ketchup and a couple of pickles.

And there's nothing better than a bbq'd sweet potato to go with this. I toss them in the microwave for a few minutes to prep them before they go on the grill.

And for dessert ...?

Grapes 'n Cream 'n Grapes

3 cups of green seedless grapes

1/2 cup of sour cream

1/3 cup of brown sugar

1 tbsp of lemon zest

pinch of cinnamon

2 oz of Grand Marnier (okay, this is optional)

If you toss everthing into a bowl, mix it up and set in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours, you're good to go.

Alright there you have it. A bit of an eye opener for the women to encourage them to get more involved in the household finance and investment stuff because one day ... ? And, a great burger recipe for the grill this weekend along with a pretty cool grape dessert that will keep you coming back for more (you have to try it with the Grand Marnier)

Remember, if you have any questions about the recipes or any of the other financial stuff posted here or have ideas for future posts, be sure to post in the 'comments' section below or send me an email directly jeffdouglas@digestinginvesting.com and I'll be sure to get back to you as quick as I can.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend. See you next time!

DIG IN!

Jeff

BACK TO SCHOOL - Beverley's Skillet Pizza and Diversification

Hey everybody, it's me Beverley and I would like to welcome you back to another addition of DIGestingINvesting.

With 'back to school' just a week away I felt it timely to divulge one of my favourite 'quick meals' for all of you parents out there. It won't be long before we're scrambling to create those quick after school/work meals that our kids will enjoy and are healthy... before we dive back into the homework routine. aghhhhhh!

Before we get into my feature recipe I would like to touch on the 'back to school' issue and talk a little about 'diversification'. I have suggested to Jeff that we should really focus on the basics in some of these blogs and that is what we're going to do today. It's time to go 'back to school'.

Remember when you were young and you were advised, "don't put all of your eggs in one basket"? Did you ever wonder what the heck was meant by that? In short, this tidbit of advice refered to (in financial terms) 'diversification', and this suggests that we don't put all of our money in one bank, don't put it all in guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), bonds, stocks, real estate, gold coins and so on. But rather we hold varying degrees of all of these assets and investments. Diversifying our assets ensures that we don't have all of our eggs in one basket.

Websters Dictionary defines di-ver-si-fy like this;

1/to give variety to: vary: to diversify a meal

2/to distribute investments among different companies or securities to limit losses in the event of a fall in a particular market or industry.

Coincidentally, we often diversify our meals without even realizing it. Have you ever sat down and just had roast beef for Sunday dinner? Or did you have a variety of vegetables, pickles, bread, salad, yorkshire pudding, to complement the meal? By having a variety of food on your plate you ensure that you have all of the necessary protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins in your diet. This same principal applies to investing. By having a variety of asset classes spread over different industries, countries and currencies, you maintain a balance of investments that hopefully don't over-expose you to any one asset, industry, country or currency.

My recipe today provides a balance of nutrients to provide enough energy for optimal growth and development, which especially important for our kids.

Beverley's Skillet Pizza
Ingredients:

2 tbsps olive oil

5-6 thinly sliced medium (unpeeled) potatoes (mix it up with sweet potatoes?)

1 onion - sliced or diced

3 eggs - beaten

1 cup of cheese - grated

1 sliced tomato (optional)

Meat topping - I use pepperoni, sometimes cooked chicken, sliced ham ... whatever the kids prefer, or whatever you have in the fridge.

1 tbsp of oregano (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Take out a 10" frying pan..make sure that it is deep enough to hold the potatoes and other ingredients.

Coat the bottom of the pan with the olive oil. Heat on Medium

Put the first layer of thinly sliced potatoes in the bottom of the pan, then put on a few onions... continue layering the potatoes and onions. You should end up with three layers.

Put a lid on the pan to let the steam cook the potatoes and the onions for a bit (8-10 mins)

When the potatoes are soft ... add the tomatoes if you're using them, then add the meat in a pin wheel shape.

Pour the beaten eggs over the top of the potatoes and onions, replace the lid for a couple of minutes.

Now add that grated cheese. Put the lid back on and let the cheese melt... and you're done.

Ensure you have a nice spinach salad, or a great superfood like broccoli to complement (diversify) this meal. A great hit with the kids and because the recipe is flexible you can change the meat, add tomotoes or tomato sauce, change the cheese, add more eggs etc ... and it only takes about 15-20 minutes to make... which frees up more time for doing that homework.

So there you have it. A simple definition of 'diversification' along with a quick and easy recipe that everyone will enjoy. By the way, Jeff is posting this absolutely fabulous dessert along with a great goulash recipe in his next post, that you won't want to miss.

Thanks for stopping by and remember, if you like what you see here in this blog tell a friend. If not, be sure to tell us.

Bye for now,

Beverley