A few years ago when I was on a big asset allocation kick, I bought some REITs (real estate investment trusts) for my RRSP account.  The amount was only about 5% of the portfolio but according to the experts, having some real estate is a good diversifier.

While I accept the idea that REITs are good for your portfolio in theory, I never liked the whole investment trust structure of REITs and their huge payouts.  I had bought some RioCan (REI.UN.TO) which is a reasonable proxy for the Canadian REIT market but started to get nervous when there was some news reports about the unsustainability of their dividend.

The other problem I had with my REITs was that my original investment was now only about 3% so I needed to buy more to get back up to 5%.  But I didn’t really want to buy any more and even if I did,  5% is not that much.  This was the same sort of thinking I had with my former leveraged investment plan – either go big or go home.

So I decided just to sell it and not worry about it any more which is what I did for $18.60 per unit.  I’m just leaving the proceeds in cash for the moment until I can do a proper asset allocation analysis of our investments.  Once that is done I’ll rebalance according to my desired allocation (roughly 80% equity, 20% bonds).

The Canadian Capitalist site got a big makeover this week as a result of his new affiliation with MoneySense.ca which is a really good Canadian money magazine.  I’m very happy for Ram but I have to say I was extremely disappointed in some of the comments he received on the announcement.  Numerous commenters said he sold out and they were disappointed and blah, blah, blah, blah….

I think this is ridiculous - first of all, if you read Money Sense and the Canadian Capitalist then you know that they are a great fit.  They both have exactly the same approach to personal finance and investing so I don’t see how there would be any interference from MS.  Second of all – Money Sense doesn’t strike me as big business. I suspect that they need Ram a lot more than he needs them so I don’t think they will be trying to influence him at all.

Ramit from I will teach you to be rich has been promoting some self-made products over the last year or so and has gotten a bit of flack.  His answer is that people who read blogs and don’t want to pay for anything (including even looking at ads) are free loaders and he’s ok if they leave.  I couldn’t agree more – there is nothing wrong with “free” content but you get what you pay for.  I’ve been involved in blogland for about 3 years and I’ve seen a lot of blogs come and go.  One thing I’ve noticed is that the staying power of blogs has a lot to do with the ability of the blog to earn some money and make continuing the blog worthwhile.  Bloggers who aren’t able to monetize their site almost always end up fading away.  Readers who say they want Ram to “not sell out” and not make any money might not be so pushy if the result was a formerly great site that hasn’t been updated in ages like so many others.

The rest of the links

Financial Uproar rated the hottest personal finance blog chicks.  Sure, it’s sexist but I can’t say I disagree with his list.    Check out his blog too – it’s pretty good.

Canadian Dream had a great post about guilt from not being able to get everything done.  He also uses bad words which I liked. 

Krystal got laid off this week – sounds like she got a raw deal.

Million Dollar Journey (aka Kathryn) gave some tips to know when it is time to leave your job.

Squawkfox shows us how to make a budget.

Fiscal Geek asks if there is such a thing as good debt.

Preet has a 4 part series on going bankrupt in Canada.

Financial Blogger says that the media is full of sh*t.  Well duh!

Debt Free Adventure got a refinanced home loan and saved a bundle!

The Wisdom Journal says that Net Quote is a good place to look for home owner insurance quotes.

ABCs of Investing wrote about reasons for doing a Roth IRA conversion as well as explaining how to convert to a Roth IRA.

Carnivals

Carnival of Money Hacks

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Personal Finance

We recently bought a Dynex portable dvd player for my son to use in the car on long trips.  This isn’t something that I really wanted to do since I grew up in the era of playing road kill identification games and making fun of people in other cars to help pass the time on long trips.  The idea of watching the “moving pictures” in the car still seems fairly alien to me.

The problem is that my son is often extremely loud in the car and it drives both my wife and I nuts.  We take a lengthy road trip several times a year to visit my parents so we have to deal with this fairly often.  It got so bad that my wife and I seriously considered drawing straws to see who got to ride the bus on the next trip.  My daughter doesn’t seem to be as loud in the car, although with a bit more training from her older brother – I’m sure that will change.

I bought a fairly cheap player from Best Buy which cost $70.  Even though this will only get used in the car, if it can create some peace and quiet then it would be worth paying $700!  You can pay quite a bit more for these kind of players but the main differences seem to be the screen size (ours is 7″) and battery life. Larger ones with better sound and picture (and more weight) can run $200 or more.  I can tell you and  that the screen and sound quality for our dvd player is quite adequate.

The unit itself is pretty small and light which is great since my son holds it in his lap.  It has an internal rechargeable battery which is supposed to last for a few hours.  It also has a cigarette lighter plugin so you can keep running it after the dvd internal battery has run out of juice.  I believe you can also get some sort of splitter in order to have 2 players plugged in at the same time.

We tried the dvd player out on our last big trip at Christmas and all I can say is wow!  It worked so well that I bought another one for my daughter.  The kids were surprisingly well behaved on that trip so we didn’t whip it out until the last hour of the return trip.  Next time we’ll bring it out a lot sooner!  I’m not a big fan of too much tv for little kids but on road trips things are different.  I don’t care if they watch movies and eat french fries the entire trip – whatever it takes to get them quiet!

What kind should I buy?

Portable dvd players come in all sorts of sizes and quality.  It really depends on your requirements.

Here are some considerations:

Screen size – Ideally it would be nice to have a larger screen size but the drawbacks are more weight, batteries won’t last as long and higher cost.

Battery/plugin – If you are using the player exclusively at home and in the car then the battery life isn’t that important.  On the other hand if you are using it in a plane or camping where you can’t recharge easily, then getting a longer life battery will be more important.

Weight – Obviously, the bigger the unit is and the bigger the battery then the more it will weigh.  A larger player isn’t necessarily ideal in an already crowded car.

Summary

I definitely recommend a portable dvd player for someone who wants to watch movies when they are on the go or don’t have access to a tv.  I can’t state enough how useful they are to get the kids to shut the f*** up in the car. 

The type you buy is really dependent on your usage and needs so think about what is important for what you want it for.  I would suggest that unless you have a specific need that requires a more expensive player then just buy a smaller cheap one.  They don’t cost much so you can always upgrade to a better unit later on.

Hi there, my name is Jay Harris.  I am a 21 year old guy living in Vancouver, B.C. I’ve been considering organizing my finances for a while now, but while I was a student I never felt that I was making/spending enough money to justify the effort of creating/maintaining a budget. However, having run out of money for school and being forced to find gainful employment – and with the hope that I will be able to save up enough money to return to school and finish my degree – I am today starting down the road of financial accountability, and I would like to invite you all to participate with me.

I will be penning a weekly article here on Four Pillars chronicling my exploration of this scary new world of financial accountability. Seeing as you may choose to read these articles from here on out, there are a few things that you should know.

1. I’m not writing as an expert; I doubt you will ever see me do an “answer the reader’s questions” article on budgeting here on Four Pillars.
2. I believe that budgeting my time to be at least equally as important as financial budgeting is, and I will be spending equal amounts of time covering the financial costs of things as well as the time cost/benefits of things.
3. I am young, and while it is true that sometimes I feel like I have all the answers, this is not one of those times. I would greatly appreciate feedback and advice in the comments section. I am – for all intents and purposes – Four Pillar’s very own sentient budget lab rat with access to the internet. Don’t be afraid to blast me if you think I’m wrong, but please offer a counterpoint when you do so.

Okay, that’s about all I’ve got to say for the moment.  Next week I will take an in-depth look at my financial situation, my immediate and long term goals, as well as what kind of budget system I’m using to reach those goals.

Again, I’m really excited to be doing this, and I hope you all can help me as I try to implement solid budgeting skills that will hopefully stick with me for the rest of my life

I can’t promise to make budgeting sexy, but I will try to make it fun.

Many thanks to Mike for allowing me to have this opportunity; I sincerely hope that I can become an excellent addition to Four Pillars.

For people who have grown up in a Western country, servants bring a number of images to mind.  There’s the Jeeves and Wooster ideas of butlers, valets and chambermaids, the fabulously wealthy lifestyle that would lend itself to mansions, luxury cars and servants or social justice issues where it’s unconscionable to even allow people to serve one another in this capacity.

I’ve never had a servant (my family is firmly lower / middle class and has been for as long as anyone remembers).  I’ve never really even interacted with one.  I do, however, have a number of friends who grew up in households with servants (or had relatives who had servants).  In many developing countries, it’s very widespread to have servants in your house (such that even the middle class has servants).  One of my friends from the Indian subcontinent said once “where I grew up EVERYONE had servants” (except the servants I suppose).

I was fascinated by this and kept asking questions until they got sick of them and refused to answer any more.  This post is a summary of some of the more interesting facts I gathered.

To clarify, what I’m talking about here is someone who lives with a family and does work around the house for extended hours on an ongoing basis as their principle occupation.  I’m *NOT* talking about people who come in once a week for 3 hours to clean your house, a landscaping company or a dry cleaner.

Not Slaves

First of all, there’s an important distinction to be made between servants and slaves.  I asked one friend if his family ever beat their servants, and he gave me a withering look and said “no, they’re not slaves, they’re employees.  If we beat them, they’d quit.”  Sometimes families hit the point where they can’t afford to keep the servants around, at which point the servants have to go off and find new jobs.  It’s a long-term career, with expectations of loyalty on both sides, but ultimately it is a job.

Limited Skills

It’s often more remarkable what servants are (supposedly) INCAPABLE of doing, rather than what they’re asked to do.  One Indian family I talked to, who had servants back home, told me that none of their servants would be capable of operating a washing machine.  I was incredulous and kept asking, couldn’t they be shown how to operate it, to which the family kept repeating “no, they couldn’t learn and would refuse.  If they wash clothes, they’ll do  it the old fashioned way by hand.”

Another friend did verify that I was right and servants could be taught more advanced skills, but he said you wouldn’t.  He and his brother had lived extensively in Western countries, and he said if they wanted pancakes, they’d make them themselves.  He said if he asked the servants for pancakes, he’d get something like naan (which I’d take over pancakes any day, but maybe it wouldn’t taste as good with maple syrup).

He acknowledged that you could teach your servants to cook western style food (or use a washing machine), but he said they’d promptly leave and find higher paying work at a richer persons house as soon as they’d learned (and he said if you wanted a servant with those skills, you’d be better off just hiring one who already knows them).  He also said they wouldn’t be the fastest learners:  it would take more than just sending them to a weekly cooking class or giving them the washing machine’s owner’s manual.  He said the same would be true if you got a servant to learn to give you Shiatsu massages.

One Boss

One thing that I found interesting (and seems to be fairly universal from the Indian subcontinent to Egypt) is that usually the household has one person who is the servants’ real boss (and it’s usually the matriarch).  When I asked one friend if he could send his servants out to run laps around the house, he gave me a pained expression and said their first response would be to give him a “Come on man!” look, then if he still insisted they do it, they’d go talk to his mother (who would then tell her son to be nicer to the servants and tell the servant he didn’t have to run laps).

In another situation, one of my friends had an aunt who was mean to the servants, and occasionally when the servants got upset, her grandmother would ask them what was wrong.  They’d reluctantly tell her the aunt was misbehaving, and the grandmother would straighten the aunt out.

Variations of Respect

There seems to be a spectrum of the respect shown to servants.  One woman I talked to had an older servant whom she said she and her mother would always talk to using the honourific phrases of speech appropriate for an older person.  She admitted that some families don’t follow this convention.  Another friend spoke the same language that his servants spoke.  His father understood it perfectly, but the son had never in his entire life heard the father *speak* in the servants’ language (he used a higher class dialect that the servants similarly understood but didn’t use).

One really interesting superstition I heard about is that if you don’t share your food with your servants you’ll get sick.  The expectation is that the servants eat what the family eats, and if they order something special (like Kentucky Fried Chicken), they order enough for the servants too.  One friend hypothesized that maybe the fear is the servants will poison you, but my feeling was that this was more a general superstition that a “poison-avoidance” strategy.  I laughed when I heard one friend say that his mother forces the servants to eat small portions of the same food she does, even if the servant doesn’t like that food (so she won’t get sick).  I suspect this superstition was started by a clever servant who wanted some of the food his boss was eating.

Do you have servants, or have you ever lived in a house with servants?  What was it like?  Have you heard experiences that differ from what I’ve described here?

If there is one thing I can’t stand is doing taxes.  I’ve always done my own taxes and although it wasn’t too much of a chore when my financial situation was simpler it was still a pain.  Now I have investment income, investment sales, a small business and things are a lot more complicated than they used to be.  Of course once I finish my return this year I’ll be thinking “that wasn’t so bad” but the problem is that by the time I do my next year, I’ll have forgotten too much info and the process will be painful once again.  This is one of those tasks that if you did it monthly, it would be a lot easier to do.

I decided to use QuickTax Business edition (affiliate link) this year – at one time the idea of paying $40 for fancy software just wouldn’t have happened, but now I value my time far more than money so I don’t mind paying a bit extra if it will make the tax return easier.

Please note that I will receive compensation for any sales resulting from someone buying QuickTax software through the links on this site.  If you are planning to buy this tax software then consider doing it through this site so I can get rich and never have to write about boring tax stuff ever again!)

Why don’t I use an accountant you might be asking?  Well, I don’t know – I had thought about it this year but one of the problems I have with an accountant is that I still have to do all the bookkeeping tasks in order to give the proper info to the accountant.  I don’t have an accountant so I have to go through the process of finding one.  It might happen still but not this year.

I had been using a cheap efiling program for the last few years which was basically the electronic equivalent of using paper forms.  In other words – no help at all.  I was always skeptical of claims about products like QuickTax and TurboTax (American equivalent) that they could “help” you with your return.

I have to say that I was quite amazed with QuickTax.  Basically you go through the screens filling in appropriate data.  If you need help or clarification at any point then you can branch off onto a different set of help screens.

One of the main advantages I found with QuickTax over the simple program I used to use is that you don’t have to know anything to use QuickTax.  For example if you made RRSP contributions and want to record them on your tax return then you need a schedule 7 form.  With my old program, I had to look that up and ask the program to load that form before I could enter the info.  With QuickTax, it asked me during the process if I had any RRSP contributions and then provided boxes to fill in.  Same thing with dividend income, interest income, interest expenses, business income and expenses.

An example of the type of help

I thought I would show exactly the kind of help you can expect.   At one point in the return it asks you if you are eligible to claim for the spousal amount.  There is a little check box in case you don’t know if you are eligible or not.

If you don’t know what the spousal amount is or whether you are eligible for it then click the box and you get a pretty good explanation of the spousal amount.

Drawbacks of QuickTax

I was very impressed with some of the features of QuickTax – the help function and interview process is a huge benefit for someone who is filing taxes for something they haven’t done before (ie new business) or haven’t filled out many tax returns.

The problem is that if you do know what you are doing then the interview process gets very cumbersome, very fast.  In my case I have struggled with a simple tax return program for the last couple of years, but I have learned all the forms I need and how to fill them out.  After a while I realized that I would be better off with the old program and decided to give up on QuickTax.  It’s a great software package but it’s just not useful if you know what you are doing.

I also haven’t given up on the accountant idea either – one of the things that came apparent with the QuickTax interview process is that there are quite a few questions that I need answered regarding my business (incorporation?) and even dependents – are kids dependents for tax purposes?

Quicktax versions

For the record, if you don’t have a business then there are lower priced options – in fact there is a free option but you need to have a fairly low income to qualify.  The cheapest version for most people is the online $15 version which should  be pretty good.  The premier version will cover things like investment moves and the business edition will handle your unincorporated business.  There is also a corporation business version but I doubt very many people with corporations will do their own taxes.

Online or desktop?

I was planning to get the desktop version (the one you download to your computer) but the cost was $100 whereas the online version was only $40.  Pretty easy choice.

What do you use to do your taxes?  Does anyone else with a business do their own taxes?

This guest post was written by Investing Thesis: Credits Toward Financial Freedom – a personal finance and investing site from a Canadian perspective. If you like this article, I would encourage you to subscribe to our articles

You would be hard pressed to find a person without a cell phone in this day and age. Parents buy cell phones for their kids in order to have a way to “keep in touch” and even seniors are becoming more comfortable with the technology available today. While some people still prefer to use a cell phone for the original purpose, to make and receive calls, there are many other perks associated with today’s phones. Specifically, owners of smart phones like the iPhone or iPod Touch have so many features on their phones, they might not even be aware of all the benefits they could be experiencing. There are new cell phone apps available that allow cell phone users to manage their money on the go.

Here we look at these cell phone apps and how they can help you manage your cash.

Bloomberg- This free mobile app is available for iPhone users as well as Blackberry users. Bloomberg.com is a website that helps active investors follow stocks, bonds, commodities and other business news. You can download the mobile app free of charge and keep track of all news associated with your investments from your cell phone. This is very helpful for busy investors who don’t have the time to be parked in front a computer all day.

Mint- Available to iPhone users, Mint.com has a mobile phone app that brings all the benefits of the online system to the palm of your hand. A popular website that allows users to track and manage every aspect of their personal finances from checking account balances to credit card payments, Mint.com offers a free mobile phone app that will help you budget and manage your finances when you are away from the computer.

Paypal- Paypal is used worldwide as a means of sending and receiving money. Whether you want to track payments received, send payments or view past transactions you can do so from your mobile phone while on the go. The mobile phone app offered by Paypal is available to iPhone, Android and Blackberry users free of charge.

Stockwatch- Keeping track of your portfolio performance each day is made easier with the mobile app offered by Stockwatch.com. This app will allow you to organize stocks and mutual funds while automatically calculating your daily return. You have access to news, charts, analytical tools, all for just $2.99.

Tipulator- A tip calculator does not offer life changing financial advice, however it can be fun app to have on hand when you are out for dinner. You will pay just under one dollar for this mobile app that helps you calculate the proper tip based on percentage and how to split the bill if there are several parties. Is it necessary to have a tip calculator? No, but it’s fun to try out and very handy for people who are not proficient at doing math in their head.

Pennies- If you need help keeping track of your spending, the Pennies app is a great way to establish a monthly budget while recording and tracking daily expenses. Instead of jamming your money and receipts in your pocket or purse, you can simply update the information on the Pennies app and see if you are in line with your desired budget. This app is not free but very affordable at $2.99.

There are many more mobile apps available for cell phone users. Most large banks offer apps that allow users to receive mobile alerts and reminders to avoid going over their limit or paying a bill past the due date. In the increasingly mobile world in which we live, it only makes sense to take advantage of cell phone apps that make managing your money on the go easier. By staying on top of your financial transactions you can improve your personal finances, in this case, with the touch of a button.

What apps do you guys use to manage money or check balances with?

We’re coming up on Valentine’s Day, when the young (and old) hearts and thoughts take a romantic turn. In this spirit, my posts up to today involved love and personal finance.  I invited fellow bloggers to join in on the fun and send me their links, but sadly I only got one blogger to take me up on it (you’re all a bunch of heartless cupid-scrooges ).  Fortunately, 2 Cents (the blogger who took me up on it) did an excellent post, True or False: Compatibility = Similarity, about compatibility with your partner.

I actually found out about this a little while ago, but have been saving it as the crescendo of the Valentines day posts.  I’M GETTING A BOOK PUBLISHED!!! (can you feel the excitement?!? ).  I had the idea some time ago when the mother of an ex-girlfriend told me she liked reading historical romances because “she liked to learn something while she was reading a romance”.  I contacted the good people at Harlequin and explained my idea of a romance novel that incorporates personal finance concepts.  They were skeptical at first, but admitted that there is more curiosity about the sub-prime meltdown and general financial topics among their readership than before the recession started and they decided to take a chance on me.

Supposedly the book will be available at finer newsstands and drug stores in July or August, but we’ll definitely get some here at Four Pillars for readers who don’t want to track them down (and I can write a smutty inscription at the front for anyone who buys through us ).  I’d like to give a heartfelt shout-out to Squawkfox who encouraged me to write a book and to my off-line friends and regular readers.  I feel a little bad about my review of Jon Chevreau’s book now, as I’ve experienced how hard it is to inter-weave financial topics with a “classic fiction structure”.

I asked for permission to post an excerpt, and although the publisher initially resisted, I talked them into letting me post the first few pages (they insisted I use the unedited, draft version I submitted to them – something about copyright, so blame any typos and awkward phrasings on me).  My editor, Carolyn, is amazing (a class act all the way) and after she re-wrote a good part of Chapter 7 I realized she has the filthiest mind of anyone I’ve ever met (which I mean in the best possible way ).  I *still* turn beat red whenever I read it…

—

“So that’s it, it’s over once again?” she asked, her tone casual, almost like she was inquiring if there was any further discount possible on the floor model from a sales manager.  She propped herself up on one elbow and stared intently at the man in the doorway.  Her womanly curves were hugged by the off-brand Egyptian cotton sheets.

The passion she never failed to ignite, tinged with anger shone from his eyes as he turned to face her.  Like getting an unexpected margin call, he visibly steeled himself to deal with the conflict he’d hoped to avoid.

“You’re an active trader and I’m a passive man, we’ve been through this before” he began, warming up to his now familiar tirade about the dangers of trying to beat the market.  ”You can’t stop yourself from taking insane gambles on companies on the verge of bankruptcy.  You thought I wouldn’t find out that you’d lost our downpayment -”

He was cut short as she slipped out of bed, looking deeply into his icy blue eyes as the sheet fell away from her body.  She was every inch a woman, oozing sexuality and fiscal responsibility as she advanced on him, her naked body indifferent to the open doorway behind him.

“Sometimes you make money and sometimes you lose it” she began matching her familiar refrain to his chorus.  ”Reward goes hand-in-hand with risk.  Judge me by my whole record, not the most recent trade” she defiantly challenged as she closed on him, pulling him into her embrace with a swift tug on his wool coat’s collar.  She got a mischievous look on her face as she continued “Besides, you always talk about renting being a better option than owning.”  His resolve broke, like an increasing stock price smashing through a resistance trend line and they pressed into one another.

“Oooh” she purred moistly into his ear, running her fingers through his short cropped hair “I can feel that interest rates are rising.”

“The bed wants us to forget about all this and get back to discussing mergers and acquisitions.”

With an irresistible force, like an overvalued real estate market crashing back to fundamental value, he pressed her against the wall and his mouth hungrily met hers.  Pinning her arms above her head, his animalistic hunger exploded as they explored one another’s mouths.  His teeth caught her lower lip and held it with the precise pressure that ignited her like investor greed in a market bubble.  She heard his sharp intake of breath as he greedily sucked in her scent like a gold bug buying yellow rocks in an inflationary environment.

“There is no more ‘us’ Desdemona” he said coldly, his voice matching his eyes, and was gone.

One of the oldest mantras of customer service is that the customer is always right.  I doubt very many companies actually follow that idea since it clearly can’t always be true.  And even if it is true then the company still has an obligation to the shareholders to maximize profits even if it means losing some clients.

A few months we ordered take out dinner from Swiss Chalet which is a very yummy Canadian chicken place.  My wife ordered a family pack which is a whole chicken, 4 fries and some buns.  Because it was near the holidays they had a special where they include stuffing and cranberry sauce for another couple of bucks.  My wife is a big fan of stuffing so she got the holiday special.

We picked up the dinner and everything was great except they forgot to include the stuffing!  I didn’t care but my wife did.  I suggested that she phone and complain – perhaps they would give us 10% off next time.  She entered a complaint online and surprisingly enough someone called the next day and said that we could get another holiday family pack for free!  I was quite surprised since I didn’t think the omission of some stuffing was worth it for them to give us a $28 dinner for free.

As I expected we had the usual problems claiming “the prize” since the outlet we went to had no idea about this freebie we were supposed to get.  Eventually we got it sorted out and had another great meal.

Personally I thought this was overkill.  They could have just given us 25% off and that would have been good enough.  I’m not complaining of course, but I think if you are going to run a business then you shouldn’t give too much away.

Tim Hortons (another Canadian institution) was in the news this week when they literally banned a customer who kept returning coffees because they were bad.  From the description in the article it sounds like they were very patient with the guy but eventually they just decided to cut rope and move on.  This makes a lot of sense to me and the only part of this story that is hard to understand is why the guy (who was banned) is complaining about it.  Tim Hortons is really just preventing him from buying more coffee which is something that he should have done himself.  Ie if you don’t like the product, then don’t buy it.

Maybe “the customer is always right” should be changed to “the profitable customer is always right (most of the time)”.

Recently I wrote about the external flash I bought for my Sony A350 DLSR camera.  While the flash itself seemed pretty good, both my wife and I found we really didn’t need it for the shots we take.  After a couple of months of not using it I decided to heed Mr. Cheap’s advice and sell it.  On the original post there were a lot of very inspirational comments but the reality is that we just aren’t going to take the time to learn how to use the flash properly.

The cost of the flash and batteries was about $410.  Because this package would cost around $470 if bought from Future Shop I decided to try selling it for $375.  I put an ad on Kijiji and waited.  After about 2 weeks with no replies I decided to lower the price and also post on Craigslist.
I put a new ad on Kijiji and Craigslist asking for $300.  I didn’t get any responses from Craigslist but after a few days I got several responses from the Kijiji ad.  One guy was very keen and came over that night and bought it.  I know I could have gotten the full $300 for it but he asked if I could move on the price at all and I said $280 would be ok which he accepted.
I thought it was interesting that while I’ve learned a lot about negotiating over the last few years and was able to recognize that he would have paid the $300 – I still lowered the price a bit.  I guess I’m just not a hard-nosed negotiator. 

The overall loss was about $130 which is a fair bit but considering I overpaid about $50 for the batteries (yes, dumb), the actual depreciation was about $80.

As Mr. Cheap said, the flash is new and if I’m not going to use it then I should sell it right away.

Definitely sell it, if it’s going for $435 at Future Shop, I’m sure you could get $300. Even $200 sounds like it’d be better than a flash you’re not using. With tech like this, it depreciates quickly, so sitting on it and trying to sell it in a year or two will probably lose you a lot of money.

Now I think I might take a look in the basement and see if there is anything else of value… 25 year old cross-country skis anyone?