Random Thoughts: Lazy Days of Summer

Roll out them…

In the words of  Nat King Cole, roll out those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy days of Summer, the temperature is way up, but the markets are up as is the employment numbers, which suggests a rate hike is certain in the very near future (next announcement is scheduled for July 20th).

I did enjoy having a guest post this week on RDSP‘s, and hope to have other guest posts (but please if you are planning on sending me a proposal, remember who my audience is).  Remember to subscribe to my twitter feed as I do post a lot more of my favorite posts (not just in the area of Personal Finance as well), for your reading enjoyment.

My Writings for the Past Week

• Random Thoughts: Sweltering Hot was a recap of the best from last week.
• Blood Diamonds Blood Diamonds are those from war torn countries, sold to bolster warlords and such. Why do we value diamonds? I have no idea, but we should never be purchasing these stones that have been paid for with peoples lives.
• Employment Numbers Jump for June The June employment numbers came out on Friday and there was some very good news in those numbers (and more likely than not because of them, another Interest Rate Hike coming very soon as well)
• RDSP: The Other Government Registered Savings Plan. The RDSP is the other registered savings plan from the government of Canada. It is not well understood or well supported by the banks either.
• A Quick Brilliant Saving Idea I had lunch with a former co-worker, who always had interesting ideas which didn’t always pan out, but they always seemed so very interesting to me.
• Pet Insurance ?!? Do you need pet insurance ? If you own a large animal, maybe (but read the fine print), for a gerbil? Maybe not so much? As with all insurance, it depends.

From the Blogosphere

What is new in the Blogosphere this week (if you weren’t reading my oh so interesting Tweets?

• I trust not too many Pet Lovers were dismayed by my Pet Insurance post, I do like animals, but they shouldn’t bankrupt me, Young and Thrifty inspired the post with Good Bye Pet Insurance, but Free Money Finance also chimed in with What People Would Spend to Save their Pets. All in all a big Pet week!
• Michael James wondered if Poker Can Save Your Portfolio, acting as a replacement for thrill seeking investors. I disagreed and think Gamblers Anonymous might not agree either.
• Money Ning went to the Zen side of Personal Finance asking Spending Styles: Things vs. Experiences , I like things, but it is the experiences I remember.
• Preet (who appeared on my old favorite radio station in Montreal, CJAD 800) points out that the ECOFEE is a Tax! So not only do we have the HST, now we have ECOFEES, which Ellen Roseman alleges Canadian Tire is Overcharging for these ECOFees, too!
• BalanceJunkie asks the odd question, Why do Bears Always Wear Black Hats ? Sort of like why do Salmon only ride Unicycles? Of course they are writing about Bear markets, and folks who predict them always being ridiculed, but wouldn’t it be interesting to see a Salmon on a Unicycle too?
• The Gone Fishin Portfolio is reviewed by the Canadian Couch Potato, and of course anything that mentions, Gone Fishin, must be OK by me.
• Canadian Finance Blog has some tips on Calculating Fuel Economy with your car, and given how expensive gas is getting these days, you’d better watch that number closely as well.

Weekly Reminder

Remember that if you enjoy these weekly review of useful links in Personal Finance and Investing to subscribe to my Twitter feed where I retweet many great articles by some of my featured writers (and make the occasional odd or off colour commentary on life (in 140 characters or less)).