Money talks. Not all listen

I've talked about money a bunch of times on this blog. To sum up, if in is less than out, you have a problem. It's ok if that's true one month when you make a planned big purchase, but it's a big problem if that's true month after month, and it only gets worse the longer it happens. 

There's a number of ways to fix that. Increase the in by making yourself more valuable to your employer, or get a side hustle. Or decrease the out by saying no more often. No to cable TV. No to sales people. No to buying stupidly overpriced real estate. No to a new car more often than once a decade. No to that new iphone only a model newer than the one you have now. No to that new camera and lens that is the only thing preventing you from becoming a world famous photographer. You get the picture. Or you should.

Just now the world seems to be run by extremely rich people that got that way by screwing other people, or inheriting from those people, and they are determined to continue. They will use all the tricks in the book and try new ones to keep the economy working for them. The banks and insurance companies are not your friend, unless you're one of those extremely rich people, or are on the cusp of being so. Hint, for that you need to be in the top 2 or 3% of Canadians for net worth. Or in monetary terms, a million dollars in investible assets is barely table stakes for these people. But really, even the top 1% net worth barely makes the grade now, it's the top 10% of that where the real money is.

I could digress into an essay about income inequality and Lorenz Curves, but won't now. Maybe that's a blog for another day.

Recently people in the States were stupid enough to fall for the lies of a conman who is out for himself and nobody else. He calls himself a deal maker, and his current modus operandi is to break the system just because he can, and take bribes to unbreak it a little, and wants everybody to think he's a good guy. He's not. He doesn't even stay bought, if you were to be thinking you're on his good side. Compare these two statements about USMCA.

On January 30, 2020, Trump said: "The USMCA is the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It’s the best agreement we’ve ever made".

And

On February 24, 2025, during Trump's second term, he said that Mexico and Canada "made these great deals with the United States, took advantage of the United States on manufacturing ... I look at some of these agreements, I'd read them at night, and I'd say, 'Who would ever sign a thing like this?'"

Lastly, remember, this is a guy that went broke running casinos. And really, he stays up at night reading trade agreements??? I doubt it. Carney and Harper, I believe it. Trudeau, I doubt it but admit the possibility. Poilievre, no, that's beyond his pay grade. 

We've mostly escaped the worst of that up here by not voting in the party that wanted to enact the same game up here. The grifter in chief didn't get elected in his own riding, probably much to his surprise. Now he's parachuting into what is probably the safest riding in the country for him, hoping the rubes will fall for it once again. I reluctantly have to admit it's a pretty safe bet. He talks a lot of nonsense that a lot of people in Alberta like to hear. 

So what to do? Hunker down. Get a good grip on what your financial position really is. Cut non-essential spending. (See above.) Vacation in Canada, since there is no end of places to go. Where possible, buy Canadian. If you're properly invested, stay calm. Don't sell into a storm and make a current paper loss permanent, thinking you'll buy back in at the bottom of the market. You won't. 

As a bit of advice while I'm on that topic, there are people who day trade or try to time the market to make a quick profit. Do you know what the investment pros call such people? Losers.

Is that a giant mouth coming to eat the innocent remnants of a flower?

Of the Day

Driftwood (NZ)

Film

Linda

Newfoundland

This is sort of the equivalent of those photos you see of abandoned farmsteads out on the prairies. There is a large sign just out of sight to the left warning that this area is extremely hazardous.

Polar bears

Why ever didn't I publish this, and maybe I did

90 days, or so ago