Random Thoughts: Happy Advent!

Advent is Here!

Yes, the season of hoping and waiting is finally here, for all of us to enjoy, Happy Advent. Advent is actually the start of the new year, for the Christian Church (at least some of them), so Happy New Year as well! Now you can put up your decorations and such, but don’t overdo it too much, no point in getting a Huge Ontario Hydro bill either (or only turn on your lights off-peak between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM, which may not make you very popular with your neighbours either).

Happy Hanuka to my Jewish readers as well, enjoy 8 days of giving too (but don’t overspend)! Can someone tell me why a Harmonica is a good Hanuka gift? Music? All my Jewish friends in school lamented that they’d get yet another harmonica for Hanuka, I never understood why.

This week Happy Advent topics I covered included:

• I took a day off and enjoyed a Guest Post: Side Effects of Credit Card Debt Build Up, which is good advice, no matter what time of the year it is. Thanks Janet!
• Nobody got too upset at my post Gifts You Shouldn’t Get Your Kids (ever) just folks pointing out I didn’t mention chainsaws and such.
• I missed Nancy Zimmerman‘s challenge for Buy Nothing Day but evidently many of my readers think they can succeed where I failed.
• I let my curmudgeonly side write with Billing Costs Money Too ya know! where I pointed out I didn’t appreciate Bell Mobility’s new green tax for getting a paper bill.
• If you read my Twitter feed you also saw some great OBG Oldie but Goodie posts like: I don’t know what to give for Christmas?, Christmas Shopping Perils, the controversial Men’s Health, Is Debt a Moral Issue, and many others.
• Random Thoughts: For a Black Friday is a recap of some of the best articles for the past week that included Black Friday 2010.

Were other financial bloggers full of the Festive Spirit of Advent/Hanuka/Festivus? Well some are, and others are a bit Grinchy, but all in all a good lot.:

• Million Dollar Journey asks the relevant question Have You Forgotten that the Stock Market Can Go Up? No, I have been enjoying some growth during the great financial swoon.
• No Michael James isn’t going soft, but he did ask us about Taking It Easy on Financial Advisors, Financial Bloggers beating up on Financial Advisors is like Sportscasters on Monday Morning pounding on a losing home team on the Radio, it is expected!
• Preet wrote in the Globe and Mail about Performance Anxiety? Know Your True Rate of Return, which fits with my Men’s Health post, but that is for another story.
• Like Boomer Ellen Roseman is lamenting What Happened to Canada’s Consumer Movement? We got apathetic and caught up in the BUY, BUY, BUY frenzy?
• My Own Advisor points out the parallels between Project Management and Personal Finance, which being in both businesses I notice every day.
• Riscario Insider quotes Albert Einstein on Education, which is a real gift to try to give this Holiday Season, buy your kid an RESP!

Remember

“Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you’re home. “

Carol Nelson