Random Thoughts: Wild Finishes

As a young lad, I used to enjoy walking to Jarry Park to watch the Expos play baseball. Even watching the games in the Olympic Stadium was thrilling. But over time, my love for baseball has dwindled due to the length of the games. However, Wednesday night, I witnessed two teams incredibly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This kind of unbelievable finish gives me hope that the global economy can also turn itself around, but only time will tell. Will I be watching the baseball playoffs? I’ll watch it like most baseball games: turn on the game, watch the first inning, do some chores, check out the 4th inning, read War and Peace, watch the 7th inning, do something else, and then catch the 9th inning.

Go Expos! Yes, I know they don’t have a team (yet), but I can always dream (of Rusty Staub, Mack Jones, Bill Lee, the BUS Squad and Blue Monday)

OK! Blue Jays! Let’s, Play, ball… no seriously, this week I was all over the map in terms of content, but still some exciting stuff:

• With the Financial Apocalypse and Sunday’s Best I point out just how close the edge the Global economy has stumbled.
• Sometimes it is the little things, and the surreal paragraph found in credit card bills got me going on the weekend.
• More folks knocking on my door had me dub September the month of exasperation
• Remember I am a sarcastic so and so, when I write debt is just not your fault
• Another hard to believe statement but I don’t trust cash (completely, I like it a lot, but I have trepidations).
• Random Thoughts: Gloom and Doom was a recap of the best of the previous week.

Were other financial bloggers fixated on baseball and such? I doubt it:

• Michael James points out that Buying on the Dips may sound like sound investing advice however, is that really the case?
• Canadian Couch Potato gives us tips on ETFs again this week, but answering Ask the Spud: RBC’s Target Maturity ETFs and what are they and how they might work
• Frugal Trader at Million Dollar Journey gives us a guest post about What is a Pension Adjustment which is very important if you are part of a pension plan (this will usually lower your RRSP room (at least)).
• Mike at Money.Smarts gives us an important tip on How to Avoid Cell Phone Roaming Charges when traveling to the US, and let me tell you those charges can be substantial!
• Promod from Riscario Insider gives us Life Lessons From a 50 Year Old, which is useful, given I am also 50 years old.
• Canadian Capitalist points out that Dividends are not the Only Way to Return Cash to Shareholders, but I always like getting dividends, anyhow.
• Sustainable Personal Finance asks the interesting question, Does Your Spending Match Your Values? An interesting query.
• Sandy at Yes I am Cheap points out that 15% of Americans are Officially Poor, but is that number going to increase?
• Larry MacDonald gives us some optimism with Buying at the point of Maximum Pessimism, which is what we should be doing, but it is also when that is the hardest thing to do.
• Preet has a friend that sounds a lot like some folks I know with The Phone That Works Like a Bank, that he wrote up in the Globe and Mail this week.
• Boomer of Boomer and Echo gives some interesting marital advice with Treating Your Marriage Like a Business, wonder what happens if you declare bankruptcy?
• Our amigo My Own Advisor revisits Why I Drip, and surprisingly it is not just about his garden faucet, it is about dividends and investing

Carnivals this Week

I did make it into a carnival or two this week too:

• Tom over at Canadian Finance hosted the Canadian Carnival of Finance #55 which included my article CPI on the rebound forAugust 2011

Remember

“Only Burnside could have managed such a coup, wringing one last spectacular defeat from the jaws of victory.”

Author: Abraham Lincoln (allegedly)