Droughts, Interest Rates, Posts and Some Random Thoughts

The drought in Ottawa continues on in Ottawa; even though we had some rain, we are still very brown and in need of more rain. Our forest fires are no longer as destructive, but we could use a few days of rain just to ease these problems as well.

Mark Carney said to expect higher Interest Rates, but only in 2014 (you know, the year after next), which is OK news, but we shall see whether economic conditions force a review of that idea as well.

As my 12 or 13 avid readers have noticed, I am cleaning up my archives and have found a few of my favourite old chestnuts, and I have also deleted many old posts that were just plain awful! With this in mind this post then becomes my 2100th Post, yea!!! That’s a lot of writing for 7 years, however, fear not, I won’t be writing a book with my content (unless someone wishes to edit it down for me).  Watch for more oldie but goodies in my Twitter feed as well, there are some interesting ones that even I had forgotten about.

The Olympics are coming, and luckily the UK has about 14,000 soldiers available to be drafted into the security for the games. That and the LIBOR scandal is making the UK a happening place to be, in terms of fun topics to natter on about.

Weekly Recap

With less crunchy grass in Ottawa, a new First Nations Grand Chief and my French class almost coming to an end, there were still some interesting things to write about this week:

• Cleaning Up and Sunday’s Best includes my favorite new YouTube video with Cookie Monster singing a better version of a popular new song. The clean up continues, however, the Google Smackdown is going to be here a while by the looks of things.
• Top 10 Advice Lists have always been a pet peeve of mine, and I point to an old chestnut where I think I get that point across quite well.
• Crunchy Grass and Lack of Rain was surprisingly on the one day it actually rained in Ottawa. Maybe I should write about the rain in Ottawa more often?
• I still cringe about Still the Worst Financial Advice I ever Gave, even 20 years later, yikes!
• In the new service models the only way to get better service costs, you must keep changing and hence my You Still Haven’t Changed Banks Yet, post.
• Slow Thinking, Fast Olympians and Random Thoughts for a Friday This has been a week where I celebrated the slow-thinking folks out there. Now I am not espousing decision grid-lock, but I do think it’s a good idea to think about things before making decisions.

And thanks to those who added me on Twitter. Check out my Facebook page as well.

Links for the Week

Here is a random sentence that no one seems to notice, since for the past few weeks I haven’t changed it, yet no one called me on it, Fabersham!:

• My Own Advisor asks Where is Your Focus … increasing Cash Flow or Net Worth? which is a very good question.
• Echo of Boomer and Echo gives us 35 Ways to Save Money, which has some very useful tips for those still figuring out why they are spending too much money.
• Jeremy at Modest Money points out How Airline Credit Cards Cost You More, you do sometimes have to pay a premium.
• Should you have a Hot Water Tank or not? there is a CMHC Study: Tankless Water Heaters and why they might be better for some folks, I have been wondering about that one myself.
• KrantCents gives us a few of the Red Flags of Personal Finance, wish there were actual red flags, might make more folks take notice!
• Canadian Budget Binder wonders Are You Mr. or Mrs. Money Bags, if so, would you like to buy some advertising space on my web site?
• The Blunt Bean Counter asks Are you Selfish With Your Money and Advice, me I agree with the Bean Counter, although I am not as adventuresome with my money as he is either.
• Michael James helps those of us who cannot read between the lines with some Marketing Translations, remember act now and SAVE!
• The Canadian Couch Potato gives advice for the more advanced investors out there explaining What are Managed Futures, I am still learning about Managed Funds!
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade gives our Summer Student workers a bit of advice with Summer Job Savings, good points made here.
• FrugalTrader from Million Dollar Journey outlines the scam with How PayDay Loan Schemes Work, read it and figure out why you shouldn’t use them!
• Riscario add Unethical E-mails ? Do Advisors Put Their Interests first? The answer is obvious, but reading it helps reinforce the point.
• Dad v. Autism points out the importance of A Place to Decompress, for those parents who are having it rough they can identify with this one.