This week our friends down south, castrated (politically) their President by electing a Republican majority in both the Senate and the Congress, creating a truly lame-duck president. There is talk of “working together for a better America” right now, but by January, there will be talk of impeachment, and attempts to undo Obama care as well, which should make for a very interesting couple of years. US politics are always a much more interesting topic than Canada (although we do have a few nasty stories in Canada this week about Harassment, and elections over-spending too).

For Montreal Expos diehards like me, MLB threw us a few more crumbs of hope, with the Blue Jays playing some exhibition games at the Olympic Stadium in the Spring. Might go down to watch, but I also remember just how old the concrete is at the Big Owe, so maybe I’ll just watch it on TV.

Remember that November is Financial Literacy month here in Canada, so look for Tweets with the #FLM2014 on them, for interesting stories about financial literacy. I am also growing back the Big C8j Mostache for Movember (I shaved it off, and four people thought I was Jim Watson, and no I can’t help you with the parking problem on your street in the Glebe).

Stephen Poloz the new Bank of Canada Czar had a novel way for todays youth to get jobs, that is to work for free. I have always wondered about this whole Intern Works for Free scam that has been going on at many companies, but Mr. Poloz thinks his exact quote is:

“When I bump into youths, they ask me, you know, ‘What am I supposed to do in a situation?’ I say, look, having something unpaid on your CV is very worth it because that’s the one thing you can do to counteract this scarring effect. Get some real-life experience even though you’re discouraged, even if it’s for free,”

I see where he might be coming from, and it does somewhat make sense (i.e. better to have experience working for free than, “I sat at home and played X-Box” as a statement about that time in your CV ) maybe he could have put it in a way that the media talking heads didn’t have such an easy talking point?

Mrs. C8j and I were immortalized on the Twitter, talking about my retirement plans (currently, not being dead by age 65 is the first thing on the list). Nice picture of us on our last vacation together in 1992 (yeh, that’s 22 years ago). The tweet is at the bottom of this article.

My Writings for Week Ending November 7th

Christmas ads are in the air, it’s dark at 4:30 PM, must mean it is Autumn in Ottawa.

• Given this is financial literacy month, I felt it important to start with some Key Financial Rules, and then lampoon them as best I could. Remember a penny saved, is still worthless.
• Most folks don’t think about how much it costs when you buy something with a credit card, but you are paying for that privilege, but luckily that transfer fee is now frozen The Cost of a Credit Card Transaction, outlines that.
• Keeping in mind it is financial literacy month, maybe you want to ask, What is Financial Literacy ?

This Week’s Finest

Ebola has taken a back seat to the American Elections, crashing commercial space vehicles, and AC/DC’s drummer going off the deep end:

• The Blunt Bean Counter brings us this week The Great Estate Planning Challenge, do you have a cottage in your future? Do you know how much it costs if it is left to you in a will? Better read this.
• Remember when no one believed that baseball players were on steroids? Seems so long ago, but Ken Caminiti confessed to SI not that long ago.
• Barry from Money We Have joins in on the Literacy side of things with Money Terms You Need to Know (and understand). Knowing the word compound interest and understanding it, are two different things.
• Colour me Frugal sings a tune I like to hear with All Debt is Risk, whether it is Good or Not. I don’t believe in “Good Debt”, it’s all bad, but still a very nice piece.
• Now that you have followed me on Twitter, who else should you follow? How about 55 Must-Follow Twitter accounts ?
• Marie from Boomer and Echo gives us 6 Life and Money Lessons from our Elders, you know the folks that didn’t have 25 credit cards and paid off their debts?
• Ellen Roseman wrote in the Star that Low-Income Canadians Hit By Banking Frills, and their associated charges, are the Banks hijacking Financial Literacy Month? I hope not!
• Mark from 2nd Career Search asks is Deflation Good For Anyone ? If you think it might be a good thing, call me after your wages are cut.
• No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. –Aesop
• Million Dollar Journey brings us Net Worth Update for November from Sean Cooper, it’s always good to kibitz over someone else’s portfolio, as it will help you learn about yours.
• Preet is back in the Globe and Mail asking a nasty question, Do financial experts invest better than non-experts ? The answer may surprise you, but then again, maybe not.
• Pretty sure Warren Buffett got it right when he said “If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.“
• A small issue has arisen with the “tap to pay” technology for visa, where Contactless cards fail to recognize foreign currency, and thus allow for hilarious hi-jinx to follow.
• Mark from My Own Advisor brings us his ideas on Short-Term Savings Options That Works for Him, best to read this if you are not sure abou this type of thing.
• Michael James shows us more of his cards with A Deeper Look at My Portfolio, if you want to see a very good example to start from, read this article.

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Deep Thoughts

Some more deep ideas, what happens when you drop a bowling ball and a feather in a vacuum ? Just watch and find out:

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See more

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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?
• Autumn , United Kingdom, Beer Money, and #theBestFin4TheWeek the colours in Ottawa during Autumn are truly spectacular.
• Pins, Alibaba , Apple Pay , L’Écosse , and #theBestFin4TheWeek remember when Alibaba the IPO happened, those were heady days.
• 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?
• All Stars, Al Stars and the #BestOfFinancialForWeek the world cup was a big thing in 2014 as was Bastille day too.
• 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.
• 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.

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