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.

The best question asked a few weeks ago was, “How long until there is an EBOLA vaccine and cure?”, the answer is, “About 50 infected rich white guys”. Now that the virus has landed in North America, will the speed of finding a cure increase? EBOLA is now on the North American continent, not sure what this means, but it does make for sensational headlines, doesn’t it?

Hong Kong is full of folks demonstrating, let us hope it ends better than previous “democracy” demonstrations in China. We really don’t need another Tank Man, or any of the other events that followed The Memory of Tiananmen 1989 (PBS Link). This site is already “blocked” in China (I have checked), so I don’t think I am in danger of that, however, I do note I get a lot of “illegal access” messages from Shang Hai, and Beijing (must be fans of mine?).

For those DIY Tech folks out there, should you ever break off the pin from your headphones in the jack of your iPad, all you need to fix it is a Q-tip and Krazy Glue. The video is at the bottom of this article (yes, I really did it, and it worked).

Canadian Blood Services, really needs donors, if you haven’t given lately, time to drop by, the blood supply is dangerously low!

My Writings for Week Ending October 3rd

Thanksgiving for Canada is next weekend, and that can mean only 1 thing, bad turkey puns, and lots of talk of Christmas.

• Autumn , United Kingdom, Beer Money, and #theBestFin4TheWeek some of the best from last week.
• Most of the information I found on my Equifax report was right, but my name is kind of wrong, as I outline in Equifax and Their Information
• On occasion I write blatantly obvious statements, in hope they cause folks to go, “Oh, yeh!”, and that was my hope with Best Way to Save Your Money
• I am a person who learns better from concrete examples showing me what would happen (money wise) if I started putting money in my child’s RESP, and that was my goals with RESP from Start to Spend, to create a concrete example to show how it is better to start early.

This Week’s Finest

Between Ebola, and Alibaba,  alliteration is making a big comeback for Headline writers.

• I think that PayPal may have a real battle with iPay (or Apple Pay) but with Paypal splitting from eBay, they may have a better chance of survival.
• Mark from 2nd Career Search is still looking for some work and tried the County Job Fair last week, didn’t turn out too well unfortunately.
• I made it to 2200 followers on the Twitter Machine, slowly but surely I move forward in my Social Networking onslaught (the great BCM Siege of Twitter).
• “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you are probably on the menu” -anon, this is true with finances as well as life.
• Our friend Mark at the Blunt Bean Counter won a Plutus Award, good for him, he took the chance to make a horrible pun, congrats on that too! Best Tax Blog, It’s Bean Four Years in the Making.
• My continued onslaught with Emojis on Twitter has caused nary a ripple, oh well
• Michael James pointed out on the Twitter Machine “S&P TSX drops to levels not seen since June. Either panic or calmly stick to your plan. Your choice.”, very true.
• Given I seem to be harping on Tuition Costs, Money on Trees gives us Forking it Over: Canada’s Highest Tuitions, read it, and maybe rethink where your child will go to school.
• Now that Costco is moving away from the Amex Card, towards a Mastercard system, Million Dollar Journey asks What is the Best Mastercard for Costco Members?
• Ezekiel J. Emanuel from the Atlantic writes Why I Hope to Die at 75, an interesting point of view on things, that most of us need to think about, and remember the most important part of your retirement planning, Don’t Die Beforehand.
• Are electric bikes a gateway drug to actual biking? Mr. Money Mustache asks that exact question, and inquiring minds want to know!
• Money after Graduation has a very interesting piece from Personal Finance Celebrity Preet Banerjee , interesting, except for the constant font changes, why not just put the thing in Comic SS ?
• We financial writin’ folks are complicated, so when Robb from Boomer & Echo confessed he didn’t follow his own advice in How Behavioural Biases Kept Me From Becoming An Indexer, I was worried that folks might think I did that as well, and then I realized, I did do that, so, well, whatever.
• An interesting question asked by Michael James, Do Financial Advisors Boost Savings Rates? I thought it should be like if you buy a gym membership or get a personal trainer, it should make things better, but does it?
• Normally I lament and lampoon numbered lists of things, but Mark from My Own Advisor’s 8 Things I have Discovered About Money still deserves a good read. Yes, Houses are bloody expensive.

The Q-tip iPad Solution

It cost $10 to fix this, Krazy Glue is about $4, and Q-tips are $6, but you get to use the Q-tips later (don’t play around with the Krazy Glue, it is not a toy!)

A How to Video!

But Krazy Glue does this too!

I miss these ads as well:

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.