Home Despot, iPhones, and #theBestFin4TheWeek

Home Depot lost my personal information, so now I got free Equifax? I still don’t think it’s a fair trade. Reminds me of a bad joke by Henny Youngman:

Someone stole all my wife’s credit cards, but I won’t be reporting it. The thief spends less than my wife did.

Henny Youngman (a classic)

That’s not very funny anymore, but at least it’s topical? Oh, and remember it is not just Home Depot card users that are hit with the data breach, it is anyone who used any credit card in a Home Depot in the past few months.

The new iPhone 6.0 is out and everyone is flocking to the Apple Store to be the first one in line to have one of these technological marvels. It has more computing power than all the computers on the Apollo space mission, but can I figure out how to turn off Bluetooth, WiFi, Notifications and keep it from running up a huge data bill? This is the question I would like answered! (Yes, I know how to do this, but it is not as easy as you might think). Hipsters are flipping their straw hats in Starbucks, whilst sipping their Hot Frappucinno Skinny Lattes over this new piece of Marketing-ware. I am sure I’ll end up with a newer phone some day, but I have just spent 2 weeks making Apple repair my “Sleep Button” and “Battery” recall issues on my iPhone 5.0, so I will be happy with the old technology I have.

Yesterday was the 13th  anniversary of a day that changed the world, to it seems still very brilliant in my fading memory, the day, where I was, how the day transpired, but let us hope for a better day today.

My Writings for Week Ending September 12th

Autumn leaves are appearing here, and there soon will be a chill that only means one thing, the Fall is coming.

• In your financial life there are plenty of Questions, but what if I gave you the Answer could you figure out the Financial Question Associated with it?
• Nothing in life is Free, and my Free Equifax subscription came at a steep cost, as you can read about in Free is a Good Price (but sometimes is still too expensive).
• The new iPhone 6.0 is causing the normal amount of Hoopla with the Apple Hipster crowd, so I figured I’d join in with Apple Pay and Near Field Communication, so now you can use your phone to empty your bank account (and surprisingly not on Cell Phone Fees (only)). What security problems could there be? This is Apple, think how safe all those dodgy celebrity photos were in the Cloud?

This Week’s Finest

With Ebola, ISIS, and troubles in Ukraine, the world continues to be a worrisome place, but luckily the Fraser Institute came out with a new info-graphic to help calm your retirement concerns:

• Mark the Blunt Bean Counter wants us all to sing a song, tell a tale, dance a jig and Just Do It Write Your Financial Story! What the Heck are You Waiting For?
• Interestingly, Rob Carrick mentioned my RESP Page in the Globe and Mail in his article College is a Ludicrous waste of Money, thanks Mr. Carrick (big readership bump, if only for the day).
• “A bum asked me “Give me $10 till payday.” I asked “When’s payday?” He said “I don’t know, you’re the one who is working!””  – Henny Youngman too.
• The Economist seems to think that the Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, with their coverage of DragonCon 2014. I am reading Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It, reminiscing about my younger days when I played D&D.
• What can Mathematics tell us about Social Media and Uprisings,  surprisingly a great deal (from the University of Waterloo).
• “A guy complains of a headache. Another guy says “Do what I do. I put my head on my wife’s bosom, and the headache goes away.” The next day, the man says, “Did you do what I told you to?” “Yes, I sure did. By the way, you have a nice house!”” – Henny Youngman as well.
• Bloomberg Newsweek brings us Work-Life Balance and the New Night Shift, when you read this, see if you are guilty of what they are talking about (I know I am).
• For the TMZ fans out there I give you 7 Celebrity Net Worths You Won’t Believe, let us hope they keep that net worth, and don’t end up broke and friendless later in life.
• What the heck is Alibaba and why is my inbox full of “insights” from folks telling me all about it? Read here to see what the Wall Street Journal has to say, no I am not going to invest in it.
• Quartz points out that Painfully, American families are learning the difference between Median and Mean, remember these are important concepts to understand (as I said here).
• Why is the Canada Pension Plan using an Active Management Strategy? Andrew Coyne from the National post thinks it is a Crock!
• Speaking of Pensions, Blessed by the Potato (a new site I am reading, but not new on the scene) was asked if you Use RRSP with a DB Pension? The answer is quite good.
• Debt Debs is having her 6 Month Bloggiversary, good on you! Call me when you get to 10 years, I’ll laugh louder that time.
• Barry from Money We Have talks about When a Deal Isn’t a Deal, which is kind of like the price of Free things, not being free. The Deal he writes about doesn’t sound like a “Deal” to me either.
• There has been quite the buzz about eliminating embedded commissions in Mutual Funds which started with Steadyhand’s Unfinished Business piece, Robb from Boomer and Echo took up the topic with Ban On Embedded Commissions Coming Despite Industry Objections, and then Michael James jumped in with Embedded Commissions: Mutual Funds vs. Cars, all very interesting pieces that you should read.
• Best non-Henny Youngman one-liner of the week from Bloomberg Biz Week, “Buying a Porsche is like ordering an exquisite 10-course meal and paying a la carte for every spice and sauce.“
• Mark over at 2nd Career Search gives us an Update on his Protective Put Strategy, keep updating us.
• Swami Mark over at My Own Advisor goes back to his Crystal Ball to look back  on his 2014 Financial Predictions (September Update), unfortunately his, “… and the BCM will win the Lotto Max…” prediction has yet to come to fruition.

John Oliver on Student Debt

I do like John Oliver’s point of view, very refreshing, and all said with a lovely English accent.

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)).

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.