I used to love investing. Stocks. Bonds. Dividends. p/e ratios. Yield. Acid tests (they’re not what you think). These are words more women need to know, love and own!

If you know my personal story (see vid on sidebar), part of the joy included building up my investments in tandem with getting out of debt and managing my day-to-day use of money.

But I’ve back-slidden.

Here’s what happened: When I started my biz, YMbD, I stopped investing in the market because I was investing in my business instead. Most of the time I worked part-time as well, and at least had a bit of work pension building up. For the past two years I’ve enjoyed building up an (ahem) public servant pension. And so I got lazy. It’s been too long since I’ve socked away money in a dead serious manner, nor have I been on top of the business world the way I believe I should be — and any woman, dare I say, should be.

I don’t feel good about this.

So I’ve made the first moves to get myself back in the investing saddle.

*** DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER ***

I am not a financial planner. I am not a financial advisor. Do not take any of what I’m about to say as advice. I am simply an average-joe-ette who learned how to make her own investing decisions because I’m nerdy and a control freak on these things (and want to save the commissions) and I genuinely like reading financial pages and annual reports. I’m also fun at a party.

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So here’s what I’ve done.

1. I’ve re-joined a women’s investment club which I’d actually co-founded 10 years ago. I withdrew 5 years ago, but it’s still going strong and they kindly accepted me back in. This is fertile ground for intel about which businesses are up-and-coming (but not penny stocks! We look for at least a 5 year track record). We each pay $40/month, and come to monthly meetings prepared with research on various companies. We pool the funds, and once we have a chunk of change, we debate the various companies and select one in which to invest. The person who recommended the selected company then keeps us informed each month on how it’s been doing.

2. I’ve also rejigged my budget so that a chunk of my monthly salary will start going automatically into my self-directed RRSPs. Truth be told, I’m not confident these days about buying stocks. I’m way more jaded then I was pre-2008 now that we know the extent to which markets (us investors large and small) were duped by corrupt employees and CEOs. Beyond that, I’m not seeing much in the macro picture that gives me confidence my investments will pay off for me over the next 20 years. But … I’m not about to put my money under my mattress either. So, I’ll hunt and peck until I find some companies I like and think will perform, larger picture notwithstanding.

That’s it for now. I’m quietly excited. Skepticism notwithstanding, there’s a real thrill from investing in companies, and at least in the past, I had a kick-ass success rate that beat that pants off the vast majority of mutual fund returns. Anyone care to join me online Saturday mornings, lattes in hand, and share good business / economics articles for an hour or so?

I was minding my own business on Thursday evening, greeting friends via facebook, when the ad appeared on the right.

Never did I think I’d consider a mobile home as a domicile, but, I mean look at those pictures!  In Yellowknife, either because we’ve had lame developers or in combo with difficult conditions (cold, isolation) for building, mobile homes are a-Plenty here and don’t have the connotations of The Boys.

PROS

1. It has the look and feel, nearly precisely, that I would want

• laminate
• wood stove
• soaker tub
• warm wood and white walls
• crown moulding
• stainless steel appliances (oh, to have a dishwasher again.  handwashing begone!)
• yard that does not require upkeep
• special bonuses:  the entertainment system (on my to-buy list, right down to the Bose audio system) and the persian rug runner down the length.  Seriously, it’s so.totally.me.
• 1.5 minutes away from Yellowknife’s best trail and lake
• close to the Co-op where I shop

2.  The monthly payments are only a couple hundred more than I’m paying for rent

3.  Unlike many people, I’m still gloomy about the long-term prognosis for the economy, and have been debating investing in real estate rather than stocks.  My hunch is that the north is going to continue to quietly boom and that real estate here is a good investment.

4.  I’ll verify this with an inspection (only 1 inspector up here apparently!  grrrrr) but it appears to be in good condition, including a 2007 furnace, a new fibreglass oil tank, and some kind of relatively new pvc (?) piping = not as likely to freeze.

5.  I estimate that in 3 years I’ll have built up about $20K in equity.

6.  It’s affordable.

CONS

1.  I hadn’t planned on this, at least right now, and don’t want to be rushed on at $250K choice.  The deadline, for reasons I won’t go into, is Tuesday (day after tomorrow).

2.  I’m not sure I can pull all my various funds together in time to get my down payment.

3.  The ceiling is rather low.

4.  I don’t know the market up here very well yet.   I suspect mobile homes don’t appreciate the way stick-built do.

5.  One huge, major issue.   The condo corp. is responsible for the roads and pipes and apparently they are well past the due-date for replacement, but the corp does not have the, oh, $20M or so needed.   Each person on the strata could well be on the hook for up to $50K, although then the equity would be higher as well – plus, their may be some federal funding available.

6.  My monthly costs will go up because I’ll now be paying heat, hot water and internet (currently included in my rent)

6.  And last, I’m just not sure I want to commit to a place yet.

Thanks to the fabulous Realtor in Vancouver, Urbanista, for some really great pointers on the real estate angle (like, lenders look at mobile homes differently).

Readers, any comments?  Ideas?  Objective thoughts? YIIIIKKKES!

Squawkfox? Krystal? Canajun Finance? Four Pillars? - opinions?