INVESTING MADE EASY? How about easy Great Greek Potatoes?

Okay, it's me again and you might be wondering what I'm doing? (or what Jeff's not doing) Well, as I said in my last blog, I would take us all back to basics, so wanted to continue on this theme, so here I am.

I'm not the financial wiz in this duo (you might have guessed) and I usually get Jeff's opinion on this investment stuff, so I've been thinking, I'll figure this out myself and in the process - learn something too. So I went on a mission to find the easiest financial planning, investing made easy, financing for dummies books that I could find ... that was a task in itself and involved me viewing rows and rows and rows ... and rows of financial books in the local library. It's a challenge indeed to figure all of this financial and investment stuff out on your own, which explains what our primary objective is with this blog, to take the guesswork out of investing.

Ironically (or maybe not) all of The Wealthy Barber copies were already on loan. Hmmm, sounds like there's an appetite out there for this basic financial planning stuff.

So, I ended up bringing home seven (7 !)books, all of which have tons of information... but the question remains - is it easy enough to understand, and, are regular people able to incorporate the information into their lives without requiring an MBA or a PhD in business?

As I digested the contents of the mountain of reading material before me, I began to realize that most of the content of these financial guides shared a similar theme: get back to basics. This begins with assessing your financial fitness and goals, setting a budget (which we did in the last blog) determining what you have to invest and understand your risk tolerance. Easy enough.

The next step is to build wealth (grow your money, get rich slowly)) through investing - since that's what we're all about at DIGestingINvesting!

As you begin to put all of your objectives in line, connecting the dots, it is also imperative to factor in your age. This is very important due to the timelines you have ahead of you and the actual amount of time that you have to achieve your financial goals. Still kinda easy, eh?

Group 1 - age 17 to 25

Group 2 - age 26 to 38

Group 3 - age 39- 50

Group 4 - age 51-65

Group 5 - over 65

For each age group there are different suggested portfolios and risk factors. Risk ranges from conservative (for older investors who have fewer long-term financial needs) to average risk for (the majority of people who have a longer time to achieve their financial goals) to aggressive (for younger investors who have a longer time to achieve their financial objectives).

So based on age and risk factor, there are 4 investment categories : protection, income, growth and speculation. By determining where you fit on the risk spectrum, understanding the benefits and the risks associated with each category, you will have a good balance of safety and growth. This will ensure that you remain within your investment 'zone' and most importantly, get a good nights sleep.

In the next blog, we'll review each of the investment categories in more detail.

But now, I am pretty excited to reveal the recipe for the BEST GREEK POTATOES EVER !!!

I made them for Jeff's birthday party last Saturday and they were a big hit and today I thought I would post them in this blog. They are so easy to make... and delicious ...

Great Greek Potatoes

Heat oven to 375 F

5 or 6 Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut in half (make them all similar size)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

2 cloves of garlic chopped

Place potatoes in a baking dish ensuring that all the potatoes sit on the bottom of the dish.

Mix all the other ingedients together, and pour over the potatoes

Cover and bake for about 1 1/2 hours... being sure to turn the potatoes, once in a while, and being careful not to let the broth dry up... if so add more olive oil and lemon juice (mixed together)

Enjoy... OPA!!!

Thanks everybody for stopping by and be sure to check out our next blog where we will take a closer look at balancing your investment objectives with your timelines and your appetite for risk.

DIG IN !

Beverley and Jeff

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION /2 - Budgeting and Beverley's Gazpacho Delight

So how are those New Years resolutions going?

Are you sticking to the plan, whatever it might be?

In this entry I'm going to talk about BUDGETING... and Gazpacho(?) Yes as we said we are going to start from scratch this year... and learn together. So the BIG question is - DO YOU HAVE A BUDGET? If the answer is yes... is it working for you, or are you still trying to make ends meet? If it's working for you then you might want to skip this part and go straight to the gazpacho recipe (I know it's an odd time of the year to be thinking 'gazpacho' but personally, I like it as much in the January as I do in July)

In this economic downturn ... which 'they' say will soon be over (any year now), ensuring that your personal financial house is in order is imperative. Feeding the kids, paying the bills, paying your mortgage, clothes, school supplies, gas to get to work so you can keep that job, you get the picture, all of the 'non - negotiables' . What is negotiable are the extras, dinners out, fancy desserts, ultra light double grande with mocha cream, manicures (I love manicures) you get my point.

Budgeting involves understanding how much money you have coming in vs. how much you have going out. When you create a budget, you're creating a plan for saving and spending. Pretty basic stuff .

Step One - Understand Your Expenses - Track 'em!

Preparing a personal budget can be a mystery if the amount coming in and going out of your pocket is unknown. You'll need to list your expenses to better understand where your money is going. Best to track over the period of a month ... then when you are done.. you'll be better able to set a weekly or monthly budget. It may sound too simple, but try keeping a diary of how much you spend at the coffee shop each day, parking, gas, groceries, insurance (life, auto, car) hydro, electric, water, taxes and so on and so on and so on. (it never ends!) Keep a notepad close at hand and sit down every day and summarize all of the dough that you spent that day. Do this for a month and divide the total by 30 (I find that my daily total is less scary then my monthly total ... even though it is the same amount)

Step Two - Understand Your Income

Whether you are a single individual or a family, you need to determine how much money is coming into your household every month. Once this is determined, you will now know how much money there is to work with. If you find that you are spending more money then you make, well, some serious choices have to be made.

You may find that you will have to deal with choices or concessions in order to bring your spending or saving back into control.

1/ get a part-time job (or 2) 2/ go back to school or get training for a better paying job or, 3/ stop spending so much money!

REMEMBER ... SPEND LESS THEN YOU MAKE !

If you google "how to set up a budget" there are lots of web sites available, some will cost you money but they can supply you with templates of budget sheets. Or go to your local library, or bookstore. I found this link to a free household budget (printable) form. Give it a try.

www.homemoneyhelp.com/budgetformP.html

When you know how much is coming in versus going out.. you'll then have a better idea of what you can save, spend and INVEST... and we will get into the investing stuff over the weeks ahead.

Now I'm getting hungry... and I know Gazpacho really doesn't have anything to do with this topic but it is my FAVOURITE SOUP IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD !!! Just think, summers coming, and you can sit out in your backyard ... and have this wonderful, cool, tasty, (good for you) soup...

Beverley's Gazpacho Delight

1 - 1.36L can Tomato Juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
1/2 tsp pepper
1-28oz can Whole Tomatoes
2- onions chopped
2- green peppers chopped
1 cucumber, sliced thinly
2 -stalks of celery
1/4 -cup parsley chopped
dash tabasco (depends on how hot you like it)
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce


Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl - use a hand mixer to blend well.

Note: if you want to make a smaller amount - you can use an electric blender and put all ingredients into blender and blend. If you use 19oz tomato juice can suggest cutting everything else in half.

Refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to serve.
I constantly taste this soup throughout the process.. add a little here.... add a little there !!
I call it my Beverley Gazpacho Delight !!! Enjoy....


Good luck with the budgetting process.. it is cumbersome and boring... but take on the challenge, make that commitment to yourself get back on track and take control of your financial future. Be diligent, be committed and be in control!

Next blog we'll start to move on with what to do with all that money you now have to SAVE and INVEST.
Thanks for stopping by
DIG IN !

Beverley and Jeff