Time Off, Elections, Victoria Day and #FreeFormFridays

After a few days off this week, helping celebrate my middle daughter’s graduation from the University of Acadia, I have returned, refreshed with some different ideas, we shall see if anything comes of it. I did enjoy visiting Wolfville, and it’s views of the Bay of Fundy, and we stayed in Windsor, (one of) the birthplace(s) of hockey. I was glad we flew down and I didn’t have to drive 17 hours in each direction (approximately). As a note, I have included a video about the S.M.I.L.E. program at Acadia, for those parents with special needs kids (in the Nova Scotia area), later on in this post.

Ontario is currently in the midst of a politically charged atmosphere, where recent polls indicate that the Tories are in the lead. However, I am baffled at the proposed plan of Tim Hudak, who wants to create a million jobs while simultaneously firing 100,000 civil servants and teachers. This “more is less” economics seems irrational to me, and it’s no surprise that the Liberals are trailing in second place. Frankly, none of the parties appeal to me, and I can’t help but imagine the voters holding their noses as they cast their ballots. Perhaps it’s time to start a Wacky Trillium Party, similar to the Wild Rose group in Alberta? On a more concerning note, the CRA might soon be able to share your tax information with law enforcement without requiring a warrant, which is a breach of privacy. It’s unacceptable that the police can access my tax information, especially since they don’t need to know that I declare my hamsters as dependents! It’s surprising that no one is speaking out against this violation of privacy rules. Finally, the Victoria Day weekend is here, which is unusual considering that May 24th is next Saturday. Nonetheless, it’s a long weekend for Canadians. Keep in mind that Memorial Day in the U.S. is next weekend.

My Writings for Week Ending May 16th

I did enjoy taking a few days off, but I did manage to get a couple of posts done:

• No Jobs, no jobs, no new jobs ? Stats Canada published some unpalatable numbers for employment in April. No real job creation for about 8 months? Not a good thing.
• Questions with the answer, “Get out of Debt” just to get back in the swing of things I went for a cheap chuckle on this simple Q&A on debt.
• Didn’t really write anything specific about this graduation, but when my oldest daughter graduated I did write, So That is What $50,000 looks like, still think it has been a good investment (for 2 of my daughters).

This Week’s Finest

Some interesting stuff going on in the web, as you will see :

• How do Poker Players get better? The Atlantic talks about Where the Card Sharks Feed, you need to learn from your mistakes, and completely forget your “gut” and know the math!
• I don’t agree with Scott Adams on a lot of his ideas, but I am inclined to agree with his statement that Big Goals are For Losers, typically all my “big” plans have ended very differently than what I had imagined (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse).
• Many folks have tried to convince me that being a landlord and owning income properties is the way to live, I know enough people who own properties and it is just too much damn work, but Mark from Blunt Bean Counter helps my argument with Rental Properties – Everything You Always Wanted to Know, but Were Afraid to Ask
• If you are an investor in stocks how many should you hold? Michael James does some useful number crunching with The Cost of Portfolio Concentration, this is why I buy Index Funds.
• Dividends, what are they good for? If you ask that, you had better pop over to My Own Advisor and check out Mark’s Dividend Tax Credit 101, to help get this straight in your head.
• An interesting breakthrough in the storage of frozen blood may show How to Boost Blood Supplies, and thus stop having to discard “old” blood.
• What are the Best Money Tips Ever ? Barry from Money we have hits a few of the important ones, with a useful video as well. He did miss, “Don’t take any wooden nickels”, but we’ll forgive him that one.
• Speaking of blood, MIT Tech review wonders Can Compounds in Young Blood Fix Aging?
• Do you stop trusting a company or store if they screw up with your personal info? Study: Data Breaches Make Huge Impact On Brand Reputation, seems to think you lose faith quickly.
• I learned a few things while in Nova Scotia: Windsor is one of the many towns that claims to be the birthplace of hockey and you can’t get Keith’s Cider in Nova Scotia. Wild!
• Preet writes in the Globe Your 2014 financial spring cleaning checklist: Get on it, a bit pushy title, but well worth ogling as well.
• The Harvard Business review revisits the Marshmallow Test with The Surprising Power of Impulse Control, and that most successful folks (in all aspects of life) have impulse control. Can I just have that 1 marshmallow please?

The Acadia S.M.I.L.E. Program

My daughter had the privilege to work in the S.M.I.L.E. program at Acadia for her four years at the school, and I think it was very worthwhile for her to volunteer. The program is a god send for the Parents of Special Needs kids in Nova Scotia. There needs to be more programs like this across Canada.

The Bay of Fundy

One of the most amazing parts of my trip was seeing the Bay of Fundy and it’s world famous tides:

Random Thoughts for 2014

Lots of these kinds of Best of articles in 2014. Here is a list of them.

• 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.