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2014

It is in you to give

Black Friday is Here, Advent, and #BestThisWeek

Black Friday

The month of November is effectively Black November, but today is allegedly the beginning of the Christmas rush with Black Friday. The folklore behind it being called Black Friday is that this day is when Retailers actually get into the Black (in their accounting books), and from now on is profits. My e-mail inbox has been inundated with great Black November sales and such, some almost too good to believe. Who would believe I could buy a TurDuckEn 🍗 at Costco for $95?!?

Will all this spending help everyone get that much more festive about Christmas and such? I really have no idea, but Advent begins on Sunday for those wondering what the Christian Church view is on the topic.

There is talk again of the Tampa Bay Rays moving, for now to St. Pete’s (across the bay) but there is also an undertone of Montreal getting in the mix as well. Thanks to Jeffrey Loria (one of the most hated owners in sports) Montreal lost it’s team in the 90’s, but a returning team that was in the same division as Toronto and had the hope of a new downtown stadium? That brings old Expo lovers like me, hope. I grew up within walking distance of Jarry Park âš¾  , and would go to games if they came back.

There seems to be a bit of a backlash in the US about stores opening on Thanksgiving Day, for the Black Friday sales, and I support that backlash. The next logical step is opening on Christmas Day for Boxing Day sales. We live in a Consumer Society, but we do not need to consume that much!

My Writings for Week Ending November 28th

The snow all went away this week, but we are left with the cold weather and we can now see all the “early deployment” Christmas Lights as well:

  • Inflation Stays High Despite Lower Gas in October is another example of how numbers don’t necessarily mean what you think they do. I still think the collective lifestyle of Canadians is slipping due to price increases, but you wouldn’t think it looking at the reports.
  • I tried a small poke at the mainstream media with the TFSA Retirement Welfare Bums, but no one seemed to get too indignant about my analysis.
  • RRSP to TFSA Grand Jeté is really just a rehash of many other articles about what to do with your RRSP refunds, although Mark from My Own Advisor pointed out the model does loan the government money, which is something I never like doing.
  • I had some spare time on the weekend so I came up with Financial Tweets of the Week, just to expose you to some other good financial stuff.
Read More »Black Friday is Here, Advent, and #BestThisWeek
Winter Sucks

Lake Effect Snow, Web Cameras, Travel Insurance and #BestThisWeek

We got to see what Lake Effect Snow means with some vivid photos of Buffalo getting buried by 7 feet of snow. They are getting more snow today. This is why I am happy that Ottawa only has a river running through it. The worst part of this is that it might rain in Buffalo putting all roofs in the area in peril (7 feet of heavy wet snow is not what anyhow is designed to support).

Winter Sucks
Mr. Cardinal Confirms, Winter Sucks

Enjoy  your web cams and such? The laptop I am typing on has one pointed right at me, but evidently our Russian hacking friends have sites from hacked cameras that folks can go and check. You know how to fix this (aside from having good anti-virus and security), cover the camera up with a piece of paper and tape, or point your web cams elsewhere when you aren’t using it.

A couple in Alberta learned just how expensive medical costs are in the US, when their bundle of joy showed up 9 weeks prematurely, and they are now stuck with an almost $900K bill, that their insurance provider (Blue Cross) refuses to pay. Travel insurance is always a tricky world, always be sure you are covered

My Writings for Week Ending November 21st

Winter has come with snow and all of that, but luckily this is Ottawa, so it is supposed to rain on Monday. Note that I am experimenting with a new grading system for comments (so far I only have Gold Stars, but I will be looking to expand that capability very soon).

Read More »Lake Effect Snow, Web Cameras, Travel Insurance and #BestThisWeek
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