This was written in 2008 when I was unemployed, and the stock market was still falling. The market issues were due to the Credit Bomb of 2008, but it snowed in Ottawa. Interesting times. The statement Stock Market Bottom is a misnomer since the bottom is Zero.
My regular readers will remember last week, I asked, “What is the Bottom in Stocks”. I pointed out we would not know what the stock market bottom is until six months later. I was proven right again yesterday when I (eternal pessimist) thought there was no way things could drop any lower. Things got worse. Canadian financial stocks (banks and financial folks) retook a hell of a pounding. TD and BMO both retook hits.
TD’s drop had a minuscule basis as their Ameritrade division announced some neutral numbers. The whole TSX went “Financial Apocalypse” for the last 45 minutes of trading. Many losses were incurred in that short time frame (stock value losses, I mean).
I keep wondering whether this is the bottom, but as I have said, we will only know in six months.
Financial Impact on Me
My RRSPs continue to drop in value. I am glad it is Dividend time since my DRIPs (Dividend Reinvestment Plan) will kick in. This means I will be buying some very cheap stock with it. I also continue to collect old investment vehicles into a single set of investment vehicles. The question is when and what to buy. I continue to “waffle” on what that decision might be.
E.I. Not for You
I got a call yesterday from a lady at the Employment Insurance office asking me many questions about my severance package and how it had been implemented. She was new on her job, so she and I fumbled around a few questions. I think it has been straightened out for now, but this did bring up an interesting point, which is that you MUST apply for EI when you are laid off, not when you think you need it. If you don’t use it immediately, your claim may be disallowed for taking too long to fill in the correct documentation.
At the end of the conversation, the lovely lady mentioned that I would not be eligible to get EI for about a year (the length of my severance package in their calculations). This didn’t surprise me, but I know now that someone at the EI office has said it to me out loud.
Weather Bomb
Ottawa will be the victim of a Weather Bomb in the next day or so. Before you start thinking that the folks at Environment Canada have created a Weapon of Mass Destruction that will cause massive storms, that is not what the term means. It is an actual Weather Forecaster term to describe a quick and significant drop in the Barometric Pressure, which is usually part of a severe storm system.
What does this have to do with Personal Finance? Everything!
- With 15-30 centimeters of snow coming Do You Have Your Snow Tires On? I don’t! If you live in Quebec, remember you need to have them on, it is the law now.
- Do you have enough food at home in case it is hard to get out in the next day or so?
- Is your furnace in good working order?
- What if the power goes off, have any wood in for your fireplace?
- Does your snow-blower work? Does it have any gas?
All those points either cost or will cost you money if they aren’t dealt with, so keep this in mind with the coming of “Old Man Winter.”
