Random Thoughts: A MAX New Year

Lotto Fun to the Maxx

This first week of the New Year brought us some interesting financial information but also brought us our first controversy with the Lotto Max phone center issue. I love it when money brings out the ugly side in people; it gives me a warm feeling about Human Nature at its smelliest. Did I mention I should get some of that money, too?

Canadians watched in horror as our World Junior Hockey team was upended after squandering a 3-goal lead, but our consolation was at least the Russian team (and their gold medals) were thrown off a Delta Airlines flight for being too rowdy. Yes, we are a proud but petty country (at least some of us are). Can’t blame Canada for that one, Delta is an American airline (if it was a Canadian airline, there would have been Snakes on it !).

Given the year is only a few days old, there is still a lot of interesting stuff to write about (or rant about, depending on how you look at it, I suppose):

• Money Makes us all Crazy points out that you really should have all your financial documentation up to date, not just for your lottery pool.
• Merry New Year: Open your wallet outlines the changes in CPP, EI and the tax code for the coming year. Yes taxes may go down a smidge, who knows?
• I even break down and discuss my New Year’s Resolutions in Merry New Year: It all Starts again, will I live up to them? Who knows?
• I allowed some of my friends to help me out to start the year out with Personal Financial Rants: the 2010 version where I allowed other financial bloggers to air their grievances. It was fun to read other folks’ problems with the world
• Attempting to cash in on the whole new Oprah Winfrey network I published My Favorite Things 2010 where I outline some of my favorite posts for the past year. Well worth a read if you are a new subscriber.
• Happy Pseudo Boxing Day a recap of the best of that week around Christmas.

The year is only just starting for most of us, but a lot of the Financial blogging community is already hard at work helping you get ready for 2011:

• Million Dollar Journey pleads the case for Why Low Interest Rates Are a Good Thing, at least for those of us still carrying debt loads.
• Michael James discusses the RRSP vs. TFSA: Downside protection considerations, maybe an RRSP is better if you are pessimistic? It is your call of course.
• Sustainable Personal Finance investigates a topic I like to read about My Journey to the Best Canadian Rewards Card, which I don’t agree with, but it’s still a good post! A new friend as well, always a good thing.
• Speaking of Portfolios my favorite Financial Tuber posted about Unveiling the 2011 Models, no they are not talking about cars, they are talking about model portfolios. This Years Model is one of my favorite Elvis Costello albums.
• Larry MacDonald stretches the use of the English language with his post Backwardization boosts commodity ETFs, I think Larry is creating his own language here, but you can read for yourself and see.
• Hopefully my college aged kids read Tom Drake‘s post Money Saving Tips for College Students on a Budget, if not, more fool them.
• Preet gives us Driving a Ferrari 430 Scuderia in Las Vegas … and an update, which is nice of him to reassure us that he is still alive (although after watching his driving video, I am amazed that is still the case). Come back to the land of blogging, Preet; we miss you!
• Speaking more of Portfolios Mike at Money.Smarts writes about the 2010 Personal Investment Portfolio Returns for his Canadian Couch Potato portfolio.
• Echo of Boomer and Echo wrote about Why I Cancelled my Gym Membership, which is an exciting way to start the new year (most folks join gyms at the start of the year and then forget to quit).

Remember

“Remember, that time is money.”

Author: Benjamin Franklin

but The Rolling Stones said, “Time waits for no one”

so I guess:

Money Waits for No One,  Big Cajun Man Corollary