Polar Vorteces, Olympics, Mayors and #FreeFormFridays

The talking heads are calling it a Polar Vortex, but in Canada, we call it the Winter. Yes it’s cold, yes it’s not nice, however, this is not abnormal, if it was +10C that would be weird, -30C highs in Ottawa in January are Normal folks. Don’t like it? I hear houses are cheap in Florida and Arizona right now. These are the days that make me appreciate the summer that much more.

More threats made on the Sochi Olympics by various folks (not just George Takei) could make it a very interesting International Sporting Event to watch. My hope is it does not turn into a Munich like situation (or even an Atlanta), but it remains to be seen how this all will play out.

Rob Ford got bored and decided he wanted to get into the news again? That is all I can figure out after watching Mayor Ford’s latest intoxicated rant which is sweeping the web.  Jim Watson seems like quite a dull chap (even though I have been told he looks a great deal like me) in comparison to this, maybe the Mayor of Ottawa should get the same publicist as the Mayor of Toronto? Maybe not.

My Weekly Recap

My Writings for Week Ending January 24th When Ice sounds like Glass on the Road, it’s Winter
Best Budgeting Tip? Don’t spend more than you make? Is that not a budgeting tip?	RDSP: Question for Canadian Big Banks Haven’t heard a word from any of the big investment houses on this one, so I guess TD Waterhouse is the only choice, right now.	Ideal Portfolios? What is the best portfolio? Whatever you want to choose, and whatever makes you comfortable is the short answer.	Financial Worries Counted and Compelled Another title I claim is unofficial Dr. Financial Feelgood of the Web, so here is another odd bit of psychological advice.

Swiss Army Knife Section

Some very interesting ideas brought forward this week:

• A sad story out of the NFL with former Rose Bowl hero Vince Young declaring bankruptcy this week. Given the amount of money he burned through, the NFLPA really needs to figure out how to protect their members better (or at least get them better financial advice).
• Mark from My Own Advisor tells us you don’t need to be a Landlord to get into Real Estate with Looking for income but don’t want to be a landlord? Try REITs 101 , join in on the Bubble(s).
• The Canadian Capitalist brings some more technical investing info with Performance of Currency-Neutral S&P 500 Index Funds for those worried about the decline of the US Dollar.
• Popular Science claims  School Snow Days Are Good For Education now I understand why they turned off comments.
• Mark W on 2nd Career Search brings us  Online courses – good but not as good as I thought, while on line training can be quite good, it depends on what you are trying to learn (never try to learn how to swim on line).
• Got a nice number of readers boost from Rob Carrick as he included me in Carrick on money: The complete guide to saving money at Starbucks
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s web site problems (with formatting) seem to be over and she gives us 5 Rules for After the Holidays, no going to Boxing Day Sales is not on the list.
• The MIT Technology review has an important bit of security for you Securing the Smart Home, from Toasters to Toilets , I have an insecure toilet??!?
• Michael James bravely looks back on Evaluating My 2013 Economic Predictions, this is why I don’t publish my predictions, don’t have to worry about being as wrong as I normally am.
• For all those looking for the nuttiest statement of the week, here is my nomination  Susanne Atanus, GOP Candidate: Autism, Dementia Are God’s Punishments For Gays, Abortions oh and tornadoes are God showing he is mad too.
• Kerry @ Squawkfox always writes about fun things like How to Microwave Gourmet Popcorn in a Brown Paper Bagit works too (not that she would write about falsehoods, just that it’s a cheap way to get good pop corn).
• Plunged in Debt wrote about Avoiding My Financial Nightmare which is where my Financial Fears post came from (yes a bit of plagiarism goes a long way).
• Preet from Where does All My Money Go (and other medias) claims Stop Over-Thinking Your Money! Now available in all formats which is a lie, since he doesn’t have it out in Audiobook format. I think he should do the narration as well.

Warm Thoughts

For those of us living in the frozen north, here is a warm place where people are playing golf.

Happier Days for Vince Young

Sad story, after a meteoric rise.

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Random Thoughts for 2014

Lots of these kinds of Best of articles in 2014. Here is a list of them.

• World Cup Side-Effects, Seinfeld Cars, and #BestofFinancial What happens around the World at half time of the World Cup Final? Is it like Flushed away? Is there a sudden tsunami? Who knows?
• Cuba, Rubles, Christmas and #BestThisWeek – getting close to Christmas but Ian McKellen can teach us about impulse control.
• Snow, Christmas, Enhanced and #BestThisWeek talk of more festive ideas, like how to save money at Christmas.
• A Gentleman, Day of Disability, Christmas, Rugby and #BestThisWeek noted the passing of Jean Beliveau and John Oliver’s views on Lotteries.
• Black Friday is Here, Advent, and #BestThisWeek speaks of the blessed Black Friday and associated sales but also includes a Fanfare for the Common Man.
• Lake Effect Snow, Web Cameras, Travel Insurance and #BestThisWeek November brings snow in Toronto, as we see, and other financial ideas.
• Asteroids, Tax Cuts, Lemurs and #BestThisWeek how many times has the Earth almost been hit by an asteroid? Too often to remember.
• Lame Ducks, Financial Literacy, Working for Free and #BestThisWeek lame duck leaders never really get that much done, no matter how they negotiate.
• Happy Halloween, Income Splitting and #BestThisWeek a wonderful financial time of the year is Halloween? Maybe income splitting is a better subject.
• Ottawa We Shall Remember, Bank of Canada and #BestThisWeek after a bad week in Ottawa, with senseless violence.
• Crashing Markets, Ebola, Low Loonie, Cheap Gas and #BestThisWeek even in 2014 the markets were a little volatile.
• Hockey, Turkey, Leaves, Carry On Bags and #theBestFin4TheWeek is it right that the hockey season starts before Thanksgiving?
• October, Hello Ebola, Give Blood and #theBestFin4TheWeek October arrived unexpectedly this week, almost unnoticed. As we have entered the final (calendar) quarter of the year 2014, it may be time to start considering a year-end review of your financial plans.
• Autumn , United Kingdom, Beer Money, and #theBestFin4TheWeek the colours in Ottawa during Autumn are truly spectacular.
• Pins, Alibaba , Apple Pay , Lecosse , and #theBestFin4TheWeek remember when Alibaba the IPO happened, those were heady days.
• Home Despot, iPhones, and #theBestFin4TheWeek
• Back to School, Tim Burger King, Knee Defenders and #theBestFin4TheWeek will the dutchie ever come back? I can only hope.
• Broken Humerus, Ebola, Anniversaries, Blood and #theBestFin4TheWeek remember when we thought Ebola was going to wipe us out?
• It is Done, Ice Bucket Challenge, Media Perceptions and #theBestFin4TheWeek
• WW1 Centenery, More Hacked Passwords and #theBestFin4TheWeek
• The Long Weekend with no Name, Defaults, and #BestFinancialForTheWeek
• Unmasking Super Heroes, Dogs of Summer and #BestOfFinancialForThisWeek
• All Stars, Al Stars and the #BestOfFinancialForWeek the world cup was a big thing in 2014 as was Bastille day too.
• Brazilian Defeats, Tour De Chunnel, and #BestOfFinancialForWeek you mean Brazil can lose at the world cup?
• Tennis, Racing, Inflation and #BestofFinancial Canada Day is the start of the summer for most Canadians, and financial stories too.
• The Stand, Football Biting, Naughty Banks and #BestofFinancial even in 2014 the banks were misbehaving with shenanigans.
• Elections, Dad’s Day, World Cup, Friday the 13th and #BestofFinancial somehow the Liberals won the 2014 Ontario Provincial Election
• No Rate Hike, Better Performance, Montreal Grand Prix and #Bestof-Financial back in 2014 we were worried about rates, but they were already pretty low.
• Elections, Farewell Knowlton, May Done, and #Bestof-Financial Knowlton Nash was the voice of news for Canada for a while.
• Internet Memory, Grand Prix of Monaco and #FreeFormFridays the Internet has memory?
• Time Off, Elections, Victoria Day and #FreeFormFridays Victoria Day is always a fun weekend.
• Frosts, Elections, Farley Mowat and #FreeFormFridays it does get cold in May!
• Rain, Budgets, Bloggers Meeting, May Day and #FreeFormFridays When financial bloggers meet what happens?
• Beware the Financial Jabberwock, Netflix Expansion, Model Trains, Backups and #FreeFormFridays a thematically odd article.
• Easter is Here and a Saturday #BestOf for the Weekend a time of renewal, new beginnings in life and financially as well.
• RIP Flaherty, Heartbleed, Tax Time, Quebec Elections and #FreeFormFridays the former finance minister did a lot of good for the economy.
• #Selfies, Quebec Election, Big Joe, Awareness, and #FreeFormFridays would Big Joe Mufferaw have been a good fit for the Redblacks? We’ll never know.
• Don Quixote, Tax Time, Cheap Mortgages and #FreeFormFridays gotta hate tax time.
• Spring Has Sprung, March Madness, Celebrity Blogger and #FreeFormFridays talking about Spring in March in Ottawa can be a bit early.
• Pi Day, March Break, Two Ferns, Snow and #FreeFormFridays given pi is infinite, how much pie can we expect?
• Quebec Elections, Eating Sugar, Suing Parents, Big Rocks and #FreeFormFridays those elections in Quebec are never dull.
• Saint David’s Day, Big Posts, RRSP Time, the Dating Game and #FreeFormFridays always a good time to put a Welsh Choir Clip in an article.
• Hockey Day, Tax & RRSP Time and #FreeFormFridays Hockey day in Canada? Well it does happen, right around RRSP time too.
• More Olympics, Budgets, Love Day and #FreeFormFridays Valentine’s Day: Celebrating Love and Dealing with Financial Whining.
• Olympics, Not Super Bowls, Creationism and #FreeFormFridays 2014 Olympics Opening Ceremonies and Soshi Stadium’s Doppleganger: The Super Bowl.
• Senators, Weak Loonie, Superb Owls and #FreeFormFridays Rugby is a Hooligan’s game played by a Gentleman.
• Polar Vorteces, Olympics, Mayors and #FreeFormFridays The Polar Vortex brings Winter in Canada. But don’t worry – -30C highs in Ottawa in January are normal.
• Giveaways, Oil tanks, Eagles and #FreeFormFriday Have you checked your oil tank if you heat with Oil? What will your insurance do if the tank ruptures?
• Truly Canadian Issues, Ultra HD TV, Car Loans and #FreeFormFriday Get your lock de-icer and unlock your Super Mailbox cubicle like I did – Canadian Tire to the rescue!
• Some #RandomThoughts from 2014 Some of the best of, best of posts on my random thoughts weekly post.
• CPP Reform, Snow, Christmas, Boxing day and #FreeFormFriday Did the CPP reform of 2013 fix much? Kind of, but Christmas was coming too.