Unmasking Super Heroes, Dogs of Summer and #BestOfFinancialForThisWeek

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.

This Week’s Finest

The world is a very hard place right now, with a few too many Red Hot Spots in terms of conflict, but remember, at the end of it all, it’s all about money (yes, a trite view, but that is the usual explanation):

• Mark from the Blunt Bean Counter is enjoying his summer break but he does give us CRA Audit – Will I be selected ? In my case I have been asked for receipts many times but no audit yet (touch wood).
• So the Chinese are subcontracting Shoe Manufacturing to Ethiopia where the Chinese pay the works 1/10 of what they would make in China? Now that is Capitalism at its finest! Guess the Chinese are too busy making knock-off sex toys.
• Larry MacDonald returns in the Globe with another investor profile (he did one of me remember) This investor looks for ‘wonderful businesses’ at fair prices.
• Barry from Money We Have wants us all to have “the talk” with our spouses. No, not THAT talk, but Saving for Retirement, talk about it.
• The Globe and Mail asked on their twitter feed what you would do if you got a $100,000 windfall, I answered, “Subscribe to the Globe and Mail”, surprisingly they didn’t reply.
• Mark from My Own Advisor opens up the e-mail inbox for Reader Questions – Savings and Investing Stuff, no not the same stuff that Michael James is writing about.
• The New York Times claims from a study that a Vasectomy may increase your chances of getting a nasty version of prostate cancer, wonder what your chances are if you have had two?
• It is always interesting to read about possible apocalyptic events two years later isn’t it?  How a solar storm two years ago nearly caused a catastrophe on Earth
• We went to the moon 45 years ago, you don’t believe me? Popular Science shows their original Apollo 11 coverage, so it must be true!
• Mark from 2nd Career Search in his spare time is trying out some new ideas in investing and he wrote about Trying out the Protective Put Option Strategy
• The title Stuff Tax might be construed about Michael James having a hatred of taxes (I think we all do) no he is talking about the Tax on Stuff, and how much we pay without even thinking about it.

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.

My Twitter feed is where I re-tweet many great articles by some of my featured writers (and make the occasional odd or off-colour commentary on life (in 140 characters or less)).