Canadian Personal Finance Blog

Welcome to August 2014, and for those in Ontario who are soon to celebrate a long weekend, I have one query, what is this weekend called? It has many names, “Colonel By Day,” “August Bank Holiday,” or “August Long Weekend” how can a glorious long weekend not have an official title?

Argentina is now officially in default, to compound the bad news for that country (given they lost the World Cup final), but what does this mean? My feeble understanding of global economics suggests some creditors will not get paid, but who loaned them the funds in the first place? China? The U.S.? Russia? Maybe it is like Canada, where the country’s citizens hold a great deal of the Government’s debt like this issue. I suspect this will not make things better in the perplexed and scary world we live in.

For those who enjoyed Tom Clancy’s writings, the Ebola epidemic (not the correct phrase I know (the book I am referencing is Executive Orders)) in Africa lends itself to some interesting discussion points. The U.S. doesn’t comprehend how close they were to having someone infected with this disease from landing on their soil (an American Doctor has succumbed to the disease, but he was only diagnosed (i.e. he collapsed) while leaving one plane to then get on a plane destined for the U.S.. Let us hope the SARS protocols are put in place. The Canadian immigration folks will help if this outbreak turns into a more global problem.

For those not following me on Twitter, you have missed one of my favourite quotes from Gail Vaz-Oxlade, and it was aimed at me. We were discussing retirement and such and her final response to me was:

@bigcajunman luckily, you die; I live a long unhealthy life as a woman

This is in response to me whining about not having enough money to retire with, so I guess I should stop saving? No, she didn’t mean that, but it was fun to rib her about it.

My Writings for Week Ending August 1st

I had a drier writing week, with only two pieces. I have written or started about six ideas, but none of them were worth publishing yet (that means I have about 160 titles and ideas still to finish off).

• Financial Anarchy Day is another one of my many rants about the media and retailers attempts to make us go nuts and yell “FESTIVAL!!!” and spend like crazy people (Star Trek reference, for those who are unsure). I am not saying you should go watch the movie mentioned though, it is more of a Metaphor than a Recommendation.
• Sometimes I get fed up with the “Make Money on the Market Using This Fool Proof Technique” e-mails that clog my inbox, so I figured I’d write the most outrageous Stock Picking Idea I could, and then someone points out in the comments there is one even more outlandish one out there, wow.
• I did find in my archives one of my favorite phrases “Don’t Mistake Activity for Achievement” (a quote from John Wooden), just because you think you are working hard, doesn’t mean you are achieving your goals.

Read More »The Long Weekend with no Name, Defaults, and #BestFinancialForTheWeek

Yes, it is time for the Clown Prince of Financial Blogging to do the dastardly deed of unmasking our Financial Crime Fighting heroes!

Did you guess any of these Financial Writing Do-Gooders? Some are blatantly obvious, while others are more clever in their concealing their secret identities.

First, the accursed Money Media Maven, you have seen him, I know you have (unless you don’t own a TV), but you have seen his postings here as well. He is none other than… Preet Banerjee! I bet you didn’t know for his affinity to drive race cars, did you?

If you did not guess The Voice of Money, you aren’t looking very hard. That is none other than Gail Vaz-Oxlade, a lovely lady and a very plain speaking lady.

Who is  Judge Financial? That one is a little trickier. He hides his love of all rules and regulations well but never gets in an argument with him about rules. You will most assuredly lose! Da Judge is none other than Michael James.

As for Mrs. Financial Transmographier, you should know that one just based on the $3 HD TV antenna comment,  but that is, of course, Kerry from Squawkfox (in fact, you see her a great deal on TV and in Magazines these days).

The Summer here in Ottawa continues, with wonderfully oppressive heat (I am not sarcastic, I still remember those days in January where I complained about how cold it was) and tremendous storms. My only problem with this summer (and all summers) is that they pass far too quickly!

My Writings for Week Ending July 25th

Did you realize you missed both Ice Cream Day and Hammock Day this week? I need a calendar with this kind of important information.

• I was interviewed by Sheryl Smolkin and she published Big Cajun Man Shares RDSP, RESP Expertise, which is a very kind title (I am no expert, just a grizzled user). I also must work on my interview technique, noting I start most sentences with “Well”, dear me, I need to talk to the Financial Media Maven about his techniques.
• While missing out on Hammock Day, Stats Canada did point out that Inflation Stayed Up in June, which is not a good thing, even if loose money policies still prevail at the Bank of Canada.
• I do have a very good working relationship with one of my advertisers, so I figured I could ask the question what is the difference between Disability Insurance vs. Critical Illness Insurance, luckily I got a very good answer to write about.
• I am very much a geek at heart, and yes I did (and sometimes still do) read comic books (I read them WAY before they were cool), so I wandered farther afield with Comic-Con International and Financial Super Heroes, I suspect I may be in trouble with a few of those Financial folk, we shall see.

Read More »Unmasking Super Heroes, Dogs of Summer and #BestOfFinancialForThisWeek