Random Thoughts: As January Ends

One Month Down

It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating New Years, and now the month of January is already over, leaving us with cold temperatures, snow and hopefully all of our holiday bills dealt with in some fashion or another. The week showed us the specter of Inflation on the horizon (if Gasoline prices continue their upward spiral), and that in Canada a Spring Election may be in the air (given the number of Tory attack ads appearing on the television). A spring election could make for an interesting winter, will Canada finally elect a majority? I really can’t tell right now, but all is possible.

With all the snow everywhere else seems to be getting, it makes me wonder if global warming means that Ottawa doesn’t get as much snow? They sure seem to be getting a lot of it on the East Coast.

This week for me was me recovering from oral surgery and some ideas I had during my drug induced stupor over the weekend (pain killers mostly):

• Given the coming Tax season there was a reminder with Tax Time: The Children’s Tax Credit one of those interesting tax credits some folks might forget to take full advantage.
• With Points Overlapping I was merely espousing that you attempt to get the most customer appreciation points possible, if you were going to be spending the money in the first place.
• I quipped their might need to be hybrid for the consumer price index given that Gas Fuels Inflation for the End of 2010.
• I figured I’d share the economic impact of bad oral hygiene with Case Study: One Tooth, and you even got to see a picture of my odd smile.
• Random Thoughts: Mortgage Rules Change is a recap of the best from the previous week.

While other Personal Finance bloggers did not join in with my obtuse discussions about oral hygiene and such, they did bring up some very interesting points as well:

• Sandy at Yes I am Cheap theorizes that  The End of Credit Cards is Coming, but they will simply be replaced by some other even more convenient way to bankrupt yourself!
• Michael James pointed out that sometimes Zero Percent Growth in an Investment Account is not bad, but not for the reasons you might think. Seventeen years is a long time though.
• Ellen Roseman asks what ends up being a rhetorical question Who Will Take on Canada’s telecom Giants? Unfortunately no one for now, with regulatory controls in place and the monopolies held by Rogers and Bell, nothing is going to change unless an American carrier decides to stick their nose into the mix.
• Canadian Capitalist asks the question all investors ask Is My Portfolio Doing OK? Depends on what you call OK, I suppose, but you need to know how to calculate this to make sure you are not throwing your money away (as well).
• The Wealthy Boomer Jon Chevreau asks Are You Saving Too Much or Too Little for your retirement? Easy never enough, but I am doing as well as I can.
• Boomer of Boomer and Echo fame, laments Who Are Your Calling an Antique, remembering fondly some things parents have bought and an antique blender as well!
• Larry MacDonald talks about RRSPs and the Rising Cost of Government, and how a lot of folks are starting to think that RRSP investment is not that good an investment (not sure I agree with the sentiment of the commenters, but an interesting discussion).
• Mike at Money.Smarts does a great job on a TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage Review (my trading group), good run down of the pros and cons of the service (as usual by Mike).
• Sustainable Personal Finances suggests you make Healthy Lunches from Home and Save, which is a great idea, but I’ll let my wife make them, so I don’t poison myself.
• Preet points out in the Globe and Mail that Retirement health, happiness requires planning, which seems obvious to most of us, but how many of us really do have a plan?
• Jim Yih is off to a  new endevour, as he starts up The New Retire Happy Blog, we wish him good luck and hope he is successful as he normally is with this new site.

Remember

“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.”

Author: Woody Allen