Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Patience & Energy Investing

The biggest spikes in oil prices historically, have always occurred as a result of wars, embargoes, or other political tensions in the Middle East. The reason is obvious. This area produces 30% of the world’s total crude, so any disruption sends prices skyward. What isn’t so obvious, is the timing of those disruptions. Most have caught the experts and general public alike, completely unaware. Because the Middle East is so unpredictable, the best investment strategy, is to wait for a time when the world is stable, oil prices are down, and oil stocks are cheap. Simply buy, hold your nose, and wait. A Middle East crisis will eventually appear out of nowhere - pushing prices higher.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Working Longer

People are living longer, healthier lives. Over the past 50 years, average global life expectancy has risen from 62 to 75 years. Developed countries saw longevity increase from 72 to 82 years. This has many experts worried that those extra years in retirement, and the risk of lower government benefits, will lead to a financial crisis. Thankfully people are paying attention, and their solution is to simply work longer. Since 2000, the average number of years a person stays in the work force has risen by 12% - from 34 to 38 years. Economic necessity, is guiding people to make the adjustments necessary to ensure their retirement is successful.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - The Alberta Advantage Revisited

The Alberta advantage, is all about living in a place where you can earn more, and your cost of living, especially for homes and taxes, is less. This advantage really shows up in the amount people can save. Between 2019 and 2025, the average Alberta household was able to put about $65,000 in the piggy bank. BC, because of its high costs, saw household savings over the same period between 10 and 15 thousand. The Alberta advantage allows residents to save 4 to five times as much as those in the province next door. BC might have milder winters, but the cost for that privilege, makes it almost impossible for the average person living there, to get ahead financially.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Share Buybacks & Stock Prices

For well over a century, most of the gains from owning stocks came from the dividends they paid - up to 90% in fact. Then things began to change. In our present era, only 30% of gains come from dividends. The remainder, or 70%, now comes from share price appreciation. One of the reasons for this, is, companies are using more of their profits to buy back shares instead of using them to pay out dividends. Last year, companies globally spent 1.3 trillion dollars on share buybacks. This pushed their share count down, and their share price up. It is one of the reasons, for the incredibly high prices, stocks are currently enjoying.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Dividend Growth

Dividend paying stocks are a wonderful thing. But companies, that can both, pay and grow their dividends over time - are even better. Like many Canadian investors, I have banks stocks in my portfolio that have been owned continuously for decades. This sector has amply rewarded us for our patience. Many of these bank shares have grown their dividends to a point where the yearly cash distribution per share is greater than the price originally paid for the shares in the first place. This is providing an annual cash return of 100% or more on the original investment, and that isn’t even including share price appreciation.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Strategic Reserves & Supercycles

During the Covid epidemic, global supply chains collapsed, leading to shortages of many critical goods. It is happening again with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. We are experiencing shortages in oil, natural gas, fertilizer, aluminum and sulphur. The country that has spent many decades preparing for this is China. They have built massive surpluses in critical minerals, fossil fuels and grains … to be tapped into, during times like these. Other countries, who haven’t been nearly as well prepared, are starting to follow China’s example and create stockpiles of their own. This extra demand has some believing we could be entering a commodities super cycle lasting a decade or more.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - The Best of Times

Even though the world has its problems, we are still living in the greatest period in history. Across the long arc of human existence, economic growth crawled forward at a rate of perhaps 0.1 percent per year. This was enough to support a very gradual increase in population, but not enough to improve the average persons living standards. Then came the industrial and knowledge revolutions. Suddenly, there was progress, when before there had been none. Economic growth began to move upward much faster than the growth rate of the population. This has continued through to the present day, leaving mankind much better off financially than they have ever been.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Orbital Data Centers

Rocket companies are the next big thing among tech investors. They will provide the transportation needed to build data centers in outer space. The advantage touted by fans of orbital data centers, is that they can be powered by solar energy - which is available 24/7 in space. The disadvantages no one wants to talk about, are the incredible costs to lift all the pieces into orbit, and the complexity of carrying out repairs when parts fail. Once again, investors are looking way over the horizon, and making bets on things that are far from reality, and even farther from profitability. Hope has never been a profitable investment strategy. But maybe this time, the dreamers will prove us wrong.

For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - We The People

I recently watched a public debate on economic policy. The audience would cheer and applaud every time one of the debaters would blame politicians, the rich, or big business for the economic quagmire we are in. Over the 90 minute event, the one group that was conveniently ignored was the general public. You, me, the neighbour next door, the rest of us. We take no blame for being economically illiterate, sinking in debt up to our eyeballs and continually electing people who promise to shower us with the most economic goodies. In a democracy, solutions start when the group known as “We The People”, starts taking accountability for their own actions, instead of blaming others. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.

Making Money Minute with Ron Hiebert - Old School Economics

Current economic thinking is to narrow the tax base as much as possible and get fewer and fewer people to pay more and more. And secondly, the solution to everything involves spending lavishly and not fiscal restraint. I am obviously showing my age here, but I can remember not too far back when most nations pushed for policies that expanded the tax base. They created economic conditions that allowed its citizens to earn more, causing the tax base to expand - not shrink. They also had the discipline to cut spending to match the revenue coming in. If we want a sustainable economy, we are going to have to get back to those strategies that made us a success in the first place. For more information listen to our Making Money podcast with Ron Hiebert and Graham Hicks at letsmakemoney.ca or CFCW.com.