There was an excellent article on Disability Tax Credits for disabled children and how to apply for it (on the Brighter Life web site) done by Sheryl Smolkin, that I most heartily suggest you go read. This article and “interview” with me was what caused me to write RDSP Questions and Answers, but as usual Ms. Smolkin did a much better job on the subject, go and have a read to understand the intricacies that folks with children with disabilities must go through to get help from the CRA (getting help from other places is even more exciting). I’d like to thank Ms. Smolkin for interviewing me.

There has been a couple of interesting articles talking about frugal NFL players that are living within their means, which is a heartening topic to read about.  The St. Louis Rams evidently have a program for rookies about how to be Money Wise, but John Urschel (a noted mathematician as well) who is an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, has a roommate and drives a very frugal car. Urschel really is a mathematician he has published a few papers, which is a few more than I have (and I claim to be a Mathematician as well). Another player Ryan Broyles (a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions) is also living a frugal life, because he is aware of just how short his career might be. How short can your career be? Ask the kicker for the Steelers who tore his ACL during the Hall of Fame Game on Sunday night.  My plan for Fantasy Football this year is to have Watson be my Fantasy Football Coach. Did you know that Zdeno Chara of the NHL has a financial planning certificate from Algonquin College? Not all players will squander their fortunes (but unfortunately far too many do).

We learned more about the new Ontario Pension Plan this week as well, which is exciting. The Fraser Institute had some helpful hints for the Ontario Liberals (not sure they want their help) about how best to start this new Retirement scheme.

The only excitement this week in the Federal Election is the Duffy trial and seeing if there is any new fodder for the oppositions’ cannons. Good to see Mr. Duffy back on the public payroll during this trying time in his life. The biggest excitement economically was the Chinese government’s enforced devaluation of the Yuan and it’s impact on Canada’s economy (ouch), the fragile commodity reliant Canadian Economy takes another hit.

My Writings for Week Ending August 14th

Another very lazy week for me in terms of writing, but that was mostly due to being busy doing other things. It is nice to be busy with life sometimes, but I should be back to a more regular schedule in September (I hope). I am attending CFPC (which LSM Insurance is giving tickets away for) so that may really reinvigorate my writing :

• The only new writing I did this week was pointing out that there were 6600 more jobs in Canada (from June to July) and whether anyone on the election trail will use that as fodder for discussions.
• The continued Financial Blogger advice for young folks in debt, to move back in with their parents to “… save money…” caused me to erupt on twitter and to also bring back one of my favorite acronyms in this area K.I.P.P.E.R.S. , read it and understand why a 54 year old father of 4 might get twitchy with that kind of advice.
• I do remember an N.C.F.B.A. that Rob Carrick attended where he erupted with a great line that I had to use as the title to an article Atrociously Dangerous Investment Advice.
• I still haven’t heard really from my query, Dear Market Gurus: How do I get 7% Growth? Not sure if I ever will.

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Poor Krystal didn’t know that she hit a nerve with me:

@krystalatwork @BoomerandEcho @CBCNews NO THEY SHOULDN'T!!!! Enough with the #KIPPERS (Kids in Parents Pockets Eating Retirement Savings)

— Alan Whitton (@alan_whitton) August 11, 2015

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Plenty of Good Money Stories from this Week

I receive updates from the IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada) which usually has updates on penalties and settlements against members and such, but the update about the $500,000 fine that Scotia Capital had to pay (due to them amalgamating DWM Securities (link to IIROC document), as the penalty was against DWM) was a very interesting read. Glad to see there is some regulation in the investment industry. Is Beating the Market Harder than Ever? That is a question the Canadian Couch Potato wants to know.

Mark from the Blunt Bean Counter continues on with his greatest hits with Stress Testing your Spouse’s Financial Readiness if you were to Die Suddenly, a very useful (if a little morbid) exercise. My main comment for that is I have told my friends and family that if I die at work, you can walk around the “Hey Ho the Caj is Dead” party saying, “Man he is really pissed off that he died at work!!!”. If you think experts never make mistakes, Blomberg gives us How a Harvard Economist screwed Up and then Saved Her Retirement.

Barry from Money we Have covers the importance of learning how to handle money when you are young enough to take advantage of that knowledge with his article Managing Your Money in Your 20’s. It is better to learn about what to do with money then, than being forced to learn about it in your 50’s. Mark from 2nd Career Search imparts one of the more important “Life Hacks” he learned as an executive which is It’s not Good to be Right When Things Go Wrong. The “I told you so” factor might help you feel smug about things, but no one likes to hear, “I told you so!”. Marie from Boomer and Echo wants to help educate folks about money as well with 3 Financial Mistakes to Avoid, some bad ones there.

Mark from My Own Advisor wants to help you invest even small amounts, and with What to Buy with $1,000 to Invest he tries to help out in that area. For me it is simple, I use the money to try to re-balance my portfolio and buy the Index Funds I use in my Couch Potato Portfolio. I really should hire this guy to answer my comments, might get a few more comments.

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What is Your Net Worth

Preet tries to help you figure this one out:

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Have What Tattooed Where?

Yeh, I have fun on Twitter sometimes:

@GailVazOxlade @DRyan4006 I think the statement "Debt is Forever" should be tattoo'ed on a few folks foreheads #IMHO

— Alan Whitton (@alan_whitton) August 12, 2015

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2015 Random Thoughts

• January 2nd Random Thoughts on 2014, Welcome to MMXV and #BestOf
• January 9th Frigid Temps, Plunging Oil, Paris and #BestThisWeek
• January 16th Canadian Economy on the Edge, Frigid Temps and #BestThisWeek
• January 23rd Looser Money, Plummeting Loons and #BestThisWeek
• January 30th CLBs, Weak Loons, Tax Time, Superb Owls and #BestThisWeek
• February 6th Superb Decisions, Gas Going Up, Rugby and #BestThisWeek
• February 13th RRSPs, Valentines, 50 Shades of Debt and #BestOfThisWeek
• February 20th Lent Begins, Freezing Temps, Apples and RRSP and #BestOfThisWeek
• February 27th RRSPs, Saint David, Right Arm and #BestOfThisWeek
• March 6th Illness, K-Cups, Interest Rates and #BestOfThisWeek
• March 13th March Madness, Taxes, Friday the 13th and #BestOfThisWeek
• March 20th Spring has Sprung, Ten Years, The Madness and #BestOfThisWeek
• March 27th Death of EPost, More Madness, and #BestMoneyStories
• April 10th Senators, Retiring Rich and #BestMoneyStories
• April 17th Playoffs, Tax Time, Beer tax and #BestMoneyStories
• April 24th RRIF Allowances, Bursary Changes, Budgets and #BestMoneyStories
• May 1st Tax Extensions, Golf Season, Bank Fees, May Day and #BestMoneyStories
• May 8th Alberta Valium, Mother’s Day, Che Guevara, Pay Day Loans and #BestMoneyStories
• May 15th Starbucks, Monty Burns and #BestMoneyStories
• May 22nd Coach Money, CPP Up 18 pct, Losing $15B and #BestMoneyStories
• May 29th Easy Money, Better Cell Deals, Dirty Football and #BestMoneyStories
• June 5th Starbucks, Hacked Government Folk and #BestMoneyStories
• June 12th Voldemort for PM, HSBC Cuts 50K, Hockey Talk and #BestMoneyStories
• June 19th Aeroplan Student Loans, Dad’s Day, Kill CSBs and #BestMoneyStories
• June 26th Summer is Here, Canada Day, Christmas and #BestMoneyStories
• July 3rd 2 Day Work Weeks, 4th of July, Greece, and #BestMoneyStories
• July 10th Glitches, Greece, Recessions and #BestMoneyStories
• July 17th Loosest Money, Weddings, Greece and #BestMoneyStories
• July 24th, Family Allowance, Diving Dollar, Access Sharing and #BestMoneyStories
• July 31st, Elections, Heat, Cheap Oil, and #BestMoneyStories
• August 7th, Cheap Gold, Cheap Oil, Weak Dollar, Election Week 1 and #BestMoneyStories

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