Black Friday, Sales, Stampede(r)s and Friday #Shoutouts

Black Friday is finally here, the one day of the year where normally rational folk run around like the Archons on Star Trek, acting insane, shrieking festival but then at the strike of Midnight, returning to their normal selves (watch the episode The Return of the Archons for a full understanding of my comparison). You are not of the body!

Will there be huge savings for folks? I have no idea, I may purchase one thing, but we shall see what interesting items are on sale before I commit my huge cash reserves on any purchase (I might need to buy a cup of coffee instead). The concept of Bargains and standing in line to get them never really caught on with me.

Grey Cup weekend ahead with the Stampeders playing the Argonauts in Toronto. I am old enough to remember the Leon McQuay fumble Grey Cup, so it should be interesting to see how this game goes. I haven’t really been watching the CFL that closely but in a year or so I may (when the Ottawa {Insert Your Name Here that is not Rough Riders} start playing in the league again.

Weekly Recap

An odd week, where I became more interested in the hopey side of personal finance, I get that way sometimes, not sure why, maybe I am getting in touch with my inner nice guy:

• Black Friday, Movember Perils, Liars and #OldieButGoody Tweets is a traditional Sunday post back from a hiatus of a few weeks. Movember can be dangerous? For me it’s mostly Mrs. C8j attacking me with a razor to get rid of the old soup strainer.
• Some More Christmas Ideas was mostly just to mess with my readers about the upcoming overspending for the holiday season, with a rant about Christmas disappearing as a term around this time of year.
• How Can You Justify Buying That? After getting appalled by an ESPN documentary on how Pro Athletes squander their fortunes, I realized that I am not without my vices as well, where I spend my hard-earned cash.
• Dumb Investment Reasoning shows that sometimes the reasons folks don’t invest in something may not be sensible, but you may end up making the right decision anyhow.
• It’s Almost Black Friday and some other thing too well it is today, but also wishing my American brethren a joyous Thanksgiving day and a short list of the things that I am thankful.
• Affairs, Recalls, Bloggers Meet and Friday #Shoutouts The week began with the head of the CIA stepping down due to his extra-marital activities and the fact that it was becoming public knowledge.

Links for the Week

Preparing for Black Friday as well as still continuing on with Financial Literacy Month as well, there were a lot of good writing by some of my favorite writers:

Top Stories of the Week of November 23rd 2012 Financial Literacy Month
Taxable Employment Benefits The Blunt Bean Counter reminds us that while Christmas is on our minds, Tax season is coming real soon too! Useful pointers on what you may be taxed on from your job.	Are Children’s Extracurricular Activities Worth It? Boomer asks this question,  as have I many times, and while it is expensive, an active child is a good thing (without TOO much parental intervention).	Extreme Fitness coupon trapped him into $4,000 deal Ellen Roseman unearths another slimy trick by another Gym bent on profits not fitness (it seems)	Note to CRA “ foreign income reporting doesn’t need to be a foreign concept Mark at My Own Advisor wonders if the CRA is trying to create an intelligence test for their reporting requirements, it sounds like it.
What Causes Mortgage Defaults? Michael James points out that you might be surprised by some reasons that are being espoused out there	Can You Please Stop Buying Drinks For Girls Financial Uproar has a Guest Post from Studenomics about the economics and futility of buying girls drinks in bars (especially if you are a broke student).	How Much Debt Is Too Much Debt? Gail Vaz-Oxlade tackles consumer debt once again, and you can guess her answer to how much is too much consumer debt, can’t you?	Investing in Taxable Accounts Can be Worthwhile Canadian Capitalist is back with a detailed study of whether it is worthwhile to “save” in a non-tax exempt investing vehicle, as usual it’s not obvious.
Your advertisement here send an e-mail for information to bigcajunman at canajunfinances.com !	What to Do About a Stolen Debit Card While a decidedly U.S. slant on the advice, still some of it is quite usable. Mrs. C8j has had her Debit Card cloned twice now, so be careful where you use your card as well!	Why time matters Is another perspective from the Physics of Finance about (in my opinion) the most important variable in any financial plan, Time!	Podcast Ep. 11: More Door Knocking Dorks, The U.S. Fiscal Cliff, and How Not To Interpret Research about Financial Advisors Yes, Preet is a man of his word, and he is back on line and working on his podcast as well! Listen in to him toy with yet another door knocking “salesperson”.