# Mistake not to be done with RRSP



## Taxsaver (Jun 7, 2009)

The title should rather be: Use your brain before investing!

Following a colleague's suggestion, I changed my RRSP and RSP portfolio from conservative ("Cash and Equivalents") to a more aggressive portfolio consisting in 80% in Canadian Equity and 20% in Canadian bonds. He told me he has done a lot of money. I made the change 9 days ago, and my portfolio lost value like $70 on $10,000. Well... It's my fault, but I got my lesson. I should never do something because someone did, whatever success he claims he had. I am going to educate myself to make sound, not peer pressured, decisions. "Smart money, man!".


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

If you are worried about a paper loss of 0.7% over the course of a few days, then I would suggest you shouldn't be investing in equities at all.

What would have been your response in Mar 09, when that portfolio would have been down >35% ($3500)?


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Sampson said:


> If you are worried about a paper loss of 0.7% over the course of a few days, then I would suggest you shouldn't be investing in equities at all.


I emphatically agree. OP should have spent some time studying how the market behaves. 0.7% is basically normal daily variation.


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## Taxsaver (Jun 7, 2009)

Sampson said:


> If you are worried about a paper loss of 0.7% over the course of a few days, then I would suggest you shouldn't be investing in equities at all.
> 
> What would have been your response in Mar 09, when that portfolio would have been down >35% ($3500)?


I'm not crying.  But I may have had with 35% down!!! I'm just new at this. I never bothered to check how my RRSP is doing. I'll see how I manage with risk. Thanks.


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## Taxsaver (Jun 7, 2009)

andrewf said:


> I emphatically agree. OP should have spent some time studying how the market behaves. 0.7% is basically normal daily variation.


Thank for your empathy. I'm going to take the next few to educate myself. I'm looking for a group of people who meet once in a while in Toronto to share their knowledge and experiences on money matters. If any one knows one, please let me know.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Taxsaver said:


> Thank for your empathy. I'm going to take the next few to educate myself. I'm looking for a group of people who meet once in a while in Toronto to share their knowledge and experiences on money matters. If any one knows one, please let me know.


Meetup.com is a site for coordinating these kinds of groups. Just don't buy anything on the say-so of the people there (it might be a scam).

That said, you're more likely to find decent information on the internet by looking at a few investing blogs like those of our hosts here (Milliondollarjourney and CanadianCapitalist). Feel free to ask any additional questions here on the forum.


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## Taxsaver (Jun 7, 2009)

andrewf said:


> Meetup.com is a site for coordinating these kinds of groups. Just don't buy anything on the say-so of the people there (it might be a scam).
> 
> That said, you're more likely to find decent information on the internet by looking at a few investing blogs like those of our hosts here (Milliondollarjourney and CanadianCapitalist). Feel free to ask any additional questions here on the forum.


Meetpeople.com was what I had in mind, but could not remember the exact name. Thanks. It's just that I would find the human interaction very interesting. We're getting great answers on the web, though.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Yeah...the markets were down the last few days...would you have complained if you were up $70? B/c either way you would have still held the same investments. You have to be comfortable with what you are invested in.


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## George (Apr 3, 2009)

Taxsaver said:


> Thank for your empathy. I'm going to take the next few to educate myself. I'm looking for a group of people who meet once in a while in Toronto to share their knowledge and experiences on money matters. If any one knows one, please let me know.


The Canadian Moneysaver (www.canadianmoneysaver.ca) has groups of "Shareclubs" whose purpose are to exchange financial and investing knowledge - it sounds like this is what you're looking for. There's a Shareclub listed for Toronto, and the volunteer coordinator is Gord Kozak - his number is 416-540-3733. 

And to echo what other people have said, equities will vary in value quite a bit from day to day. Oddly enough, so will most investments except they might not be as transparent. If you own a house, for example, its value varies all the time, but you don't ever worry about that value until you decide to sell the house.


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## Taxsaver (Jun 7, 2009)

George said:


> The Canadian Moneysaver (www.canadianmoneysaver.ca) has groups of "Shareclubs" whose purpose are to exchange financial and investing knowledge - it sounds like this is what you're looking for. There's a Shareclub listed for Toronto, and the volunteer coordinator is Gord Kozak - his number is 416-540-3733.
> 
> And to echo what other people have said, equities will vary in value quite a bit from day to day. Oddly enough, so will most investments except they might not be as transparent. If you own a house, for example, its value varies all the time, but you don't ever worry about that value until you decide to sell the house.


I'll check out the link you provided. And thanks for the house price analogy. It puts things in perspective. Thanks to everyone's answers, I'm a better investor now.


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