Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Eating Your Own Dog Food?

Interesting turn of phrase I have seen used to mean a few different ideas in the software development world and in a few other places as well.

The Interpretation I got for this phrase from the person who sent me was:

Eating your own dog food

1. Coined by a Microsoft manager, to use the products you develop in your office as your customers would (with the same software quality), to ensure you understand your product and understand your customers needs as well.

It seems to be an extension on the concept of “Practicing what your preech” or “Walk to the walk, don’t just talk the talk…”, but finding a company that actually uses their own product can be a good thing, I have found in my travels in the world of high tech.

Financially Eating Your Own Dog Food

Investing and Financial Institutions are a little harder to figure out if they “Eat their own dog food“, I think it would be amusing to find out that the CEO of my bank didn’t use the bank for his finances (if not very disconcerting).

I would be very interested to see if the following might be happening:

• The President of the insurance company that espouses “Freedom 55″ actually uses that program him or herself? I kind of doubt that one, but I’ll gladly retract that statement if it is not true.
• Does the CEO of BMO  use their “Mortgage Insurance” facility, or does he or she simply buy term insurance as others do? My guess is No, they don’t use that either (they may not have a Mortgage mind you either).
• All those insurance sales folk who want to sell me “Whole Life” insurance, do they buy the product? My guess is some do, but maybe at a much cheaper rate than we do.
• Does the President of TD use their Stepper GIC product? I think no is the answer on that one too.
• Do the CEO’s of the Mutual Fund companies that have MER’s of 4 and 5%, buy their own mutual funds? My guess would be not likely.
• Did Mr. Madoff buy into his own Ponzi scheme? Don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical, by the by, he got 150 years, given he is 72, he’ll be spending the rest of his life in prison (is that enough).

Any other examples of “Eating their dog food” in the financial world I have missed, please chime in the Comments section.

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