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2015

More cowbell

Rhinos Return, No Good Debt, Election Banter and #BestMoneyStories

I was tickled pink to see that my favourite party had returned, the Rhinoceros Party for this election. This party had a plank in their platform about damming the St. Lawrence River for Hydro-Electric power. In Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s riding, it ran another candidate with the name Pierre Trudeau (I got to vote in that election in that very riding). Their first plank for this election in their platform? Nationalize Tim Horton’s! Glad to see the return to common sense politics.

I was glad to see Steadyhand come out with the commentary Good Debt, Bad Debt which points out the alarming rise in Canadian debt. Tom Bradley’s commentaries about the Banks encouraging an already heavily in debt society that a concept of “Good Debt” distresses him, and I agree. With low-interest rates about to go away, what will happen when the rates go up? Thanks to reader @Gene2u for pointing this out. An excellent article.

The rest of the parties seem very excited about the Mike Duffy trial, except for Mr. Harper, who hopes we aren’t watching it. We’ve lost 1 or 2 candidates thanks to unfortunate tweets in their past (I guess I’ll never be running for public office) as well. That is about all that has been going on in the election.

Gas prices continue to drop, which is bound to screw up the CPI for the coming months, but with oil sitting at below $40 a barrel, it is about time that gas prices dropped. Is this doing any good for Canada? It depends on where you live. If you live in Alberta, NO!

Did you realize there are 77 Expiration Dates that you Should Track? Time Magazine has an interesting list for you.

My Writings for Week Ending August 21st

The summer is slowly coming to a close, and an entertaining fall lies ahead (with plenty of election shenanigans and tom-foolery):

Change your bank
Keep this in mind if you want to change your Bank

I am also mentioned in this fun article too:

Read More »Rhinos Return, No Good Debt, Election Banter and #BestMoneyStories
Change your bank

More Reasons to Change Banks

There are many reasons to change banks , and remember you are the customer and they should be giving you good service, for the huge fees paid.

ATM Machine

A Great Financial Idea Dies

Back when the charges for using white ATMs or non-brand ATM machines cost too damn much.

coffee magazine

RDSPs, Thrifty NFLers, Election Ho Hum and #BestMoneyStories

There was an excellent article on Disability Tax Credits for disabled children and how to apply for it (on the Brighter Life website) done by Sheryl Smolkin, that I most heartily suggest you go read. This article and “interview” with me were what caused me to write RDSP Questions and Answers, but as usual, Ms. Smolkin did a much better job on the subject. Go and have a read to understand the intricacies folks with children with disabilities must go through to get help from the CRA (getting help from other places is even more exciting). I’d like to thank Ms. Smolkin for interviewing me.

There have been a couple of interesting articles talking about frugal NFL players living within their means, which is a heartening topic to read about.  The St. Louis Rams have a program for rookies about how to be Money Wise, but John Urschel (a noted mathematician as well), who is an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, has a roommate and drives a very frugal car. Urschel is a mathematician who has published a few papers, which is a few more than I have (and I claim to be a Mathematician as well). Another player Ryan Broyles (a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions) is also living a frugal life because he is aware of just how short his career might be. How short can your career be? Ask the Steelers who tore his ACL during the Hall of Fame Game on Sunday night.  My plan for Fantasy Football this year is to have Watson be my Fantasy Football Coach. Did you know that Zdeno Chara of the NHL has a financial planning certificate from Algonquin College? Not all players will squander their fortunes (but unfortunately, far too many do).

Good to see Mr. Duffy back on the public payroll during this trying time in his life. The biggest excitement economically was the Chinese government’s enforced devaluation of the Yuan. What will be the impact on Canada’s economy (ouch), and the fragile commodity-reliant Canadian Economy take another hit.

My Writings for Week Ending August 14th

Another sluggish week for me in terms of writing, but that was mostly due to being busy doing other things. I am attending CFPC (which LSM Insurance is giving tickets away for), so that may really reinvigorate my writing :

  • The only new writing I did this week was pointing out that there were 6600 more jobs in Canada (from June to July). Whether anyone on the election trail will use that as fodder for discussions, is unknown.
  • The continued Financial Blogger advice for young folks in debt, to move back in with their parents to “… save money…” caused me to erupt on Twitter and to also bring back one of my favourite acronyms in this area K.I.P.P.E.R.S. , read it and understand why a 54-year-old father of 4 might get twitchy with that kind of advice.
  • I do remember an N.C.F.B.A. that Rob Carrick attended where he erupted with a great line that I had to use as the title to an article Atrociously Dangerous Investment Advice.
  • I still haven’t heard from my query, Dear Market Gurus: How do I get 7% Growth? Not sure if I ever will.

Poor Krystal didn’t know that she hit a nerve with me:

Read More »RDSPs, Thrifty NFLers, Election Ho Hum and #BestMoneyStories
Stats Canada

6600 More Jobs in Canada in July

6600 More Jobs in Canada in July 2015. More jobs is always a very good thing in Canada, even back then. What might have caused that? Not sure.

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