Let me first point out that I feel that I do a fair amount of charitable work, and I do give to charities as well, so as a rule and as a concept I completely support charities and feel their good works are a wonderful thing. I strongly suggest to you, good reader, that you give at this time of the year (and all year round). Remember that giving is not just a monetary thing, many charities would love your skills and time as well, so please remember that as part of your charitable works.

What a Crock of Beans!

Now, for those of you who plan on sending me a card that says something like:

“We thought of you this holiday season and have made a donation to the Human Fund in your name”

let me be very succinct: BULLSHIT (note the Seinfeldian reference).

If you wish to give to Charity, wonderful, I applaud your giving, however, do not believe that your “giving” in any way, shape or form makes me feel more festive because of it. You giving to Charity is not a gift to me. If you don’t want to give me anything this year, that is cool, and you don’t even need a card, just drop me an e-mail something like:

“Dear Scrooge, we didn’t feel like sending you jack this year, enjoy the Holidays you unlikeable so and so”

No, I have not completely gone off my nut, but I am really kind of tired of Pious folks showing me how Good they are by “giving for me”, I give as much as I can, and that is as good as it can be.

If you want to give, please do, but don’t masquerade that it has anything to do with me, thanks. Oh and if you send out a card like that and DO NOT give, Karma and or the wrath of whichever God you worship will get you eventually (isn’t that a Happy Holiday thought as well).

Happy Thanksgiving my American Brother and Cousins

Enjoy your deep friend TurDuckEns and gorge yourself on this Happy Festival day.

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What gives? Can we not just enjoy Candy and Spooks for a while and then get to Christmas on All Saints Day (November 1st), better still after Remembrance Day (November 11th)? I am sure my Dentist would be much happier if we ate more candy (OK, that is a cheap shot, but there is a group of people who must have a spike in business after folks eat those Orange Halowe’en kisses and they rip out their fillings).

What is our absolute need to get to Christmas so darn soon? It is not like the 50’s and 60’s where if you wanted to send packages overseas you had to have them in the mail for September, now with overnight delivery to most of the world, that excuse is gone too.

Why now? Better still, why so darn much? Why has a relatively important religious period (remember Easter is actually more important (sorry folks, those are the rules)), turned into an excuse to vomit money worse than someone who has eaten a 1 month bad turkey?

Christmas Plans?

One thing you should have put together by now is your Christmas plan. Remember your plan needs to include the whole season, not just the day, because money gets blown on presents, but also on food, booze, and travel (and sometimes that is more than the presents).

Are you going to travel? Do you have a budget set up? Are you driving, what is your guess on how much gas is going to cost? My guess would be at least $1.00 a litre folks, keep that in mind.

The easiest way to hemorrhage money is to simply start Christmas shopping without a plan, so get that plan together and start planning for this happy season (ho ho ho and all that crap).

Yes, I am being grinchy, hopefully my heart will go three sizes one day!

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For some however, Thanksgiving is a terrible time, and that is for the Meleagris Gallopavo, or the Wild Turkey (ZZ Top even sings about the horrible Wild Turkey Bite (but I suspect that may not be what they really mean)).

Constantly hiding and ducking from now until January 2nd, think of these poor creatures as you scarf down their kins legs and breasts! Mmmm… kin…

Happy Thanksgiving?

Oh and one of my favorite Thanksgiving TV episodes:

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Don’t burn the turkey!!!!

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GDP Continues to Decrease

Stats Canada came out with data on the Canadian GDP in May on Friday and it seems it is the world of manufacturing that is causing the largest drag to the GDP, whereas the services sector remains relatively constant. This statement itself is no big surprise, given the Auto sector is in deep trouble and all the associated companies are suffering along with the big car makers.

GDP Down again for May

The energy and manufacturing sectors were the main contributors to May’s decline. Construction and wholesale trade also decreased. Conversely, the activities of real estate agents and brokers as well as retail trade advanced in the month.

Not horrible news, but things need to start picking up soon.

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Canada Day returns this year with Canada turning a majestic 142 years young today. There is no Expo 67 like celebration this year, however Canada is preparing for it’s third Olympics this winter in Vancouver.

Enjoy the holiday Canadians!

Happy Moving Day in Montreal!

For those of you in Montreal, July the 1st is also the day that most leases begin, so enjoy your moving day, hope you found a moving van, and don’t carry too much up those winding stair cases!

And Now A Large Flag

Happy Birthday Canada

And Finally an NFB Vignette

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Labour Numbers

Stats Canada will be publishing a new Labour Survey this week and we shall see if the drain of jobs continues in Canada. From what I saw last week at a job fair I attended, I would suggest the unemployed numbers will be higher. Remember the February unemployment rate was 7.7%, but that may roll higher, in my opinion.

Earnings

Many firms are announcing their earnings this week, which could either crush the mini Bull market that started last week or it could help things keep going, with nice surprises (like RIM’s announcement last week). The upswing in the market may keep going, but how big it will be (or whether it is a sucker’s rally) remains to be seen.

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Lent is almost over

How goes your Lenten financial project? Mine is doing ok, but remember that Easter is the New Beginning you might be looking for as well. In Christianity, Easter is really the “big thing” (not Christmas), and it is an excellent time to start something new as well, so keep that in mind this week as well. Setting goals and keeping your focus on them is how you will succeed in your Financial Journey.

Tax Deadlines

Remember either in Canada or the U.S. your income tax filing deadlines loom. This long weekend coming up might be an excellent time to finish that off, and tick off another box on your list of things to do (or you can go out and rake leaves, either one needs to get done).

Pity the Billionaires

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As this is my first time hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance I figured Family Day would be a good thematic premise to build our list of submissions for the week from.

Family Day

Each section will be advice that might typically come from a member of your family (with a rating on the value of the advice as well (at least my point of view)).

Fatherly Advice

We all know what kind of advice this is, “… I remember in my day we lived on $10 a week and we liked it…” and other gems about “… a penny saved is a penny earned…” from our Dad’s. Stoic advice to keep us walking the “straight and narrow” path of Personal Finance.

• Vince from Scordo.com asks Do Your Children Hustle?, now that is Fatherly advice, work hard, earn a good living, show the world you are worth something.
• David on Finance presents A Macroeconomic Look at Credit Cards, and writes, “…the point here is to prove that credit cards are evil at the core. ”, that is definitely something your Father would tell you, “Neither a Borrower nor a Lender be!”.
• David from Payday Loans Review rants Stupid Advice from a Payday Lender Courtesy of Google News, and says, “Why paying off credit cards with a payday loan is a really bad idea.”, if your Father hasn’t told you that, he should!
• Miranda from Yielding Wealth presents Forget Economic Stimulus: Get Your Own Financial House in Order, which is very Fatherly, don’t worry about what the government is doing, worry about yourself first.
• MoneyNing from Personal Finance Blog wrote Stop Thinking About True Value and Just Buy What You Need, and says, “Are you thinking about value every time you buy something? Stop because you are losingmoney!”, very Fatherly advice, “Spend wisely!”
• Michael James on Money is actually giving out Fatherly advice in Teenager Jobs that Pay Well, and asks are there other good paying jobs as well?

Motherly Advice 

Enjoy Family day

This is the emotional advice that tugs at your heart strings and maybe isn’t well based in facts, but is “emotionally smart”, like “… loan your dead beat cousin $300 I know he’ll pay you back…”, and other interesting statements like that.

• Free Money Finance advises What to do When You Have a Job Offer but Are Waiting for Another One, as your Mother might say, “Make sure no one gets mad at you for something you forgot to say”
• Katy from New Money presents Time to Buy Stocks or a House?, that’s more of an emotional decision right now, and your Mother might tell you, you can’t live in Stock Certificates.
• Brooke from Dollar Frugal presents Super-Savings Mode – Food on Travel, this is the kind of “how to be frugal while on vacation” that most mothers might give out.
• Beth from WalletPop.com presents What the proposed stimulus means for your pocketbook, and says, “This is a breakdown of what kind of cash the proposed stimulus would put in the pockets of ordinary Americans. The answer: not much. “, but at least the government cares enough to think about you (like your mother might say).
• Jason from MyMoneyMinute sasy What We Learn From Tragedy, live every moment like it’s your last I heard many Mothers say.
• Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck rants Could you get by on half a million a year?, and says, “Should we cry for those who may suddenly find they have to get by on only $500,000 a year in New York?”, not really very motherly, not thinking about your fellow man.
• Matt from One Million and Beyond asks Are You Scared of Your Money?, don’t be afraid of things you don’t understand, dear.
• Megan from Counting My Pennies muses Knowing What’s Important, even your pet is important (I can hear my Mother saying that).
• Ben from Money Smart Life queries Valentines Day Flowers a Rip Off, it’s not the gift dear, it’s the thought that counts.

Brotherly Advice

This is advice that may be a little weird and not exactly the best advice, but always with an interesting angle to make you at least wonder if it is good advice or not:

• Fabulously Broke in the City presents Why I rent instead of buying a home, and says, “Why I think renting is getting a bad rap. I have many good reasons for renting instead of buying, and I go over them, with numbers to back it up.”, yes, but is it the right thing to do?
• Matt from StupidCents presents Attention College Students – How to Make Money While at School, an interesting idea, but what if you still need your old books?
• Jake from Debt Sucks presents Birthday Money Pays Off, Xbox Support Caves,this one is a bit of a stretch on being advice, more of a story that I am not sure is the best way to deal with an issue (much like your brother might).
• Ryan from The Better Credit Blog presents Signed up for a credit card to get a free sandwich, now that doesn’t strike me as good advice, unless it’s a great sandwich!
• Always the Planner asks Cash vs. Credit, never take advice from your brother in this area, do what is right for you.
• ABCs of Investing presents Stock or ETF Symbols, but just a brief explanation, just like your brother not to fill the picture in completely.
• Rocket Finance claims I can’t wait to get fired, and says, “Why getting fired might not be so bad after all.”, all I can say is careful what you wish for!
• Trevor from Financial Nut tells us Pros & Cons: Moving From Microsoft Excel To Google Docs For My Budgeting, I guess figuring out where to store your financial info is good on Google Docs, but maybe not…

Spousal Advice

We all know this advice type, “… why did you buy the 1080i HDTV, when the dishwasher is still broken?”, and other useful “buzz kill” type pieces of advice.

• My Journey to Millions presents Work at Home Scams on the Rise, what, I can’t make a million dollars sitting in my pyjamas and running a business out of my house? What a buzz kill man!
• The Coin Jar queries When having a land line and cell phone make sense, well maybe I want a Crackberry too!
• Todd from Harvesting Dollars presents Cloth Diaper Analysis, which I guess is good advice, if you like poo and pee covered cloth.

Hopefully your family gives you as good if not better advice.

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Why Buy Two?

Simple, I know my inability to do anything correctly (when it comes to home repair or improvement) the first time. I do usually succeed on the projects I attempt (I don’t try things I know I can’t do), but I usually mess it up the first time, so I have learned the importance of buying back up parts for the project.

This home repair would have cost well over $100 if I could have found a plumber that would have come in on a Sunday, but in the end cost me $13 (for both flanges). It also needed to be done, given the toilet is on the second floor of our house, and this kind of a leak can really make a mess of the main floor ceiling and possibly compromise the home’s structural integrity (water damage to trusses). We also replaced the toilet flapper which caused water to leak, which cost me money as well (water bill).

My wife and I were also still talking to each other afterwards (occasionally we quibble in these kind of projects as well). 

Advent Financial Calendar Box Day 2

For your Financial Advent Calendar, today’s box has a slip of paper in it:

Day 2: Investigate and open a TFSA account for January 1 2009. 

Sort of a Financial Christian Fortune Cookie, really.

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For some however, Thanksgiving is a terrible time, and that is for the Meleagris gallopavo, or the Wild Turkey. Constantly hiding and ducking from now until January 2nd, think of these poor creatures are you scarf down their kins legs and breasts!

Happy Thanksgiving?

Financial Apocalypse Humor

In case you really need a dose of Financial Information, watch this helpful video on how the markets really work in these times of trouble. Go get some coffee, and come back and enjoy this 8 minutes of clarity.

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