Alert us to this comment Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor’s rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem. Close

K evin MacLean’s strategy to reduce risk in his Sentry Select Precious Metals Growth Fund and outperform his peers has helped him win Lipper awards in the precious-metals equity category for the three- and five-year periods ending Dec. 31, 2009. His fund posted an average annual return of 8.5 per cent over three years, and 25 per cent over five years. He looks for companies that can thrive without depending on a rising gold price, and sticks to smaller-capitalization firms as opposed to giants such as Barrick Gold Corp. or Newmont Mining Corp. “When you hold these equities, which are the benchmark names, you should really not expect to make any money at all in the absence of a significant discovery or a rising gold price,” “I consider these shares to be dead money in a flat gold price environment.”says the 54-year…

If you have a decent income and can teach yourself to save, getting out of debt may not be as hard as you think. In some cases, debt isn’t always a bad thing; mortgages which are investments is actually good debt. Credit card debt though should be avoided if possible and cut down as soon as possible. Student loans are also considered a good debt, as you are investing in your future for a possible better paying job in the future. If you are a homeowner you can try to refinance your mortgage; this is possible even if your home is now worth less than what you owe on it. Check out the Making Home Affordable plan , a new government plan created to help borrowers in this situation. Giving a call to your mortgage lender is certainly a step in the right direction. Most…

With the cost of everything rising almost every day it seems and the bills piling up – Are there any ways to cut your living costs? Of course there are! There are ways to lower bills and even save you some money by changing your spending habits. The first and most importance step is to ensure that you eliminate all unnecessary spending. This includes eating out, getting take out and your morning routine of buying a cup of coffee. Try not to buy lunch at work, or the kids at school. Bringing a home cooked lunch cuts down a lot on funds every month. If you have monthly newspaper or magazine subscriptions, you can cancel them if they are purely for entertainment. These monthly subscriptions actually add up every month and most of them are even online now. Cancelling your cable TV or even internet…

Recent surveys have shown that most employees do not understand how their employer-sponsored retirement accounts work. In an age where pensions are less common and Social Security is on the verge of disappearing, employees have been forced to become more responsible for their comfort in retirement. However, employees have not been apt to embrace this new responsibility. Today, we will look at three of the most common mistakes employees are making with their retirement accounts. Lack of participation The economic instability of the last couple of years has changed America’s habits when it comes to the use of earned income. One of the worst effects has been in how employees contribute to retirement accounts. One sad statistic that I read about is the fact that about half of employees are not taking advantage of their employer-sponsored retirement account. While it is better…

Offering financial advice for women can oftentimes be a tricky subject. After all, we’re taught to treat men and women as equals in all things related to business: education, employment, and advancement. In most cases, that’s easy enough to do; we’ve long since passed the threshold where men and women are viewed as being capable of less as or more than one another. However, when it comes to financial advice, there are differences between the sexes that must be taken into account. It has nothing to do with intellect or financial ability. In fact, it’s all about lifestyle differences, and the fact that women continually outlive their male counterparts. Men and Women: Different Lifestyles, Different Incomes Although more and more women are entering job fields and making salaries that are comparable to men, the truth is that women consistently earn less than men. The…