I was very sad to hear of the untimely passing of Jim Flaherty, our former finance minister. I have poked jabs at Mr. F. but as I said when he stepped down from cabinet, I think he did as good a job as anyone could during a really scary financial period in Canadian history. My humblest of condolences to his family during this sad time.
“goodnight, sweet prince/and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest”
The Heartbleed Bug has caused significant damage, and it’s evident that nearly all major websites have been compromised. You’ll have to spend a considerable amount of time creating new passwords for each site, but the tricky part is figuring out which ones have been fixed. Additionally, since the CRA website is currently down for Netfile’ing, it’s reasonable to expect an extension on tax return submissions. We shouldn’t be punished for their system getting hacked, and if they don’t provide an extension, the backlash could be severe.
The Quebec Elections highlighted an important lesson: no matter how confident a politician is at the beginning of a campaign, only the final outcome counts. Madame Marois ran a captivating campaign, but surprisingly went from being projected to win with a clear majority to losing the election altogether. I find Quebec Politics intriguing and it’s the reason I still watch TV for this kind of content. It’s the best reality TV out there.
My Writings for Week Ending April 12th
Young Folk Finding Jobs in Canada in March 2014
Some better news from Stats Canada about the job situations for younger folks in Canada. Let us hope the economy can keep this growth up.
Bell Ringing Banks and Frank Costanza
Serenity NOW, was what I wish I’d yelled as I left my TD Branch after ringing the bell, showing my thanks for the ATM machine and its good works.
Smaug and Wealth Protection
Even the super-rich and super-chaotic need to think about their financial well-being and future.
Heartbleed Bug ? Should You Care ?
Yes, you should care. You should change your passwords too, but only after you are sure the sight you are accessing has been patched against this problem.
Cornucopia Section
Lots of interesting stuff not just about the holes in the Internet:
- Scientific American says that E-Cigarettes’s Effect on Cells Similar to That of Tobacco Smoke, I have been having a Twitter conversation with a few folks about E-cigs, I say they should be treated the same as cigarettes in all ways (e.g. socially, insurance, etc.,).
- Kerry at Squawkfox shows she has a great deal of “experience” with old technology ideas with Should You Buy It? A flowchart for smart consumers , flowchart? Wow, next time use Step-wise refinement.
- Phys.org’s medical side points out that In US, vaccine denial goes mainstream, this means comebacks for those old favorites: Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pocks and maybe even Polio! Seriously folks, WTF?
- Jim Flaherty’s death really does drive home my message to those planning for retirement, that no matter how much money you have, and no matter how much you plan, you may not get to enjoy your retirement, due to health issues. Get healthy as well as wealthy if you want to enjoy your retirement.
- Mark from the Blunt Bean Counter continues on with his auto-biographical post Confessions of a Tax Accountant -2014- Week 2 never knew accountants were that exciting.
- Michael James gave us some Bad Advice on Retirement , not that he wants you to follow, just that he has heard.
- Mark from My Own Advisor writes about an interesting book with My takeaways from Thinking Fast and Slow I have talked about being a slow thinker, and needing to remember that (don’t act on my first impression or decisions is always a good thing for me (unless it is whether to put out my trousers that have caught fire)).
- Mark (my brother for those that haven’t figured that one out) from 2nd Career Search is having a fresh dose of hell and he writes about it with Bermuda Triangle of Real Estate – TORONTO, I am not sure how anyone actually lives in Toronto these days.
- Preet wonders, Do you need balance protection insurance for your credit card? I think we can guess the answer on this one.
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.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I did a post on Jim Flaherty yesterday.
I find the tragedy of his situation very sad.
But from what we know of him, I don’t think he would see it this way.
He would probably say, he was thankful he got the timing right.
Thanks for sharing my Booze Budget post! I do think it is high as well. I may need to use this as a catalyst for change. Wish me luck convincing The Irishman!!
RIP Jim Flaherty.
Thanks for the mention BCM. Have a sunny weekend!
Mark
I wrote an article on Jim Flaherty a couple weeks ago. Who would have known he would pass away only 3 weeks after retiring? It just goes to show you should enjoy everyday and live it like it’s your last.
http://www.housingblock.com/blog/jim-flahertys-legacy-housing-market/
From our friends at TurboTax:
As you are likely aware the Canada Revenue Agency has temporarily shut down public access to all its online services including NETFILE and EFILE services to safeguard against the “Heartbleed†Internet threat.
While the CRA has advised it anticipates reopening NETFILE service this coming weekend, Intuit is recommending that Canadians still meet the tax deadline of April 30th by continuing to prepare their return with TurboTax.
Canadians simply need to prepare their returns within TurboTax and save their progress just before it prompts you to file. Once NETFILE is back online, all they need to do is log back into and securely file then.
Note, this situation affects all CRA certified software programs, even the programs that accountants and tax stores use to EFILE to the CRA.
In terms of TurboTax’s security, Intuit has examined its systems and has secured TurboTax to protect against the “Heartbleed†bug, a new Internet security vulnerability.
“Safeguarding our customers’ data is our top priority. We continuously monitor our systems to improve our security capabilities in service to our customers,†said ‘Nat’ Rajesh Natarajan, chief technology officer and vice president of product development and product management for Intuit TurboTax. “Taxpayers can be confident that TurboTax websites are secure and their personal and financial information are safe. They can file their return today with confidence.â€
Re: Heartbleed,
There are a couple websites that can check if another site is still vulnerable, and a Chrome extension: Chromebleed. The problem is anything other than an absolute positive is open to interpretation.
Check-out the xkcd comic: http://xkcd.com/1354/
And if you have trouble coming up with passwords I suggest Passwordmaker.org. It’s an algorithm (not a database so you never actually store your passwords anywhere) and you can find various implementations on the site. There’s extensions for Chrome and apps for Android.