Category: Announcements

We didn’t write about it earlier, but Mike and I recently got a chance to speak at a blogging conference down in Boston (we got some laughs playing up the Canadian accents). The talk went well, but what was really crazy was on the way back we actually saw Bill Gates at the airport! He was getting a coffee at Starbucks and hitting on the barista, and although his two security guards tried to stop me, he saw me walking over to him and actually talked to me!

After chatting a bit (I didn’t tell him I was a Linux user), I mentioned that we were there for a blogging conference, and that we were going to be meeting a potential advertiser while we were at the airport. I asked him if he’d be willing to walk by and greet Mike and I by name (just to impress the advertisers). He had a chuckle about that and said that he would.

About 30 minutes later, we were half-way through our meeting and true to his word Bill walked up and said “Hey Mike and Cheap, how’s it going?” To which Mike replied “Dammit Gates! Can’t you see we’re in a meeting here?!?”

Today’s weight was 180.5  pounds. I’m not making any progress in my new goal of getting down to 175 but at least I’m holding steady at the 180 lb range.  I kept up the running this week and ran three times.

I wanted to highlight a new blog that was also featured in the latest Carnival of Personal Finance that I hosted on Monday.

Squawkfox.com is a very entertaining blog which covers personal finance, investing, frugal foods, some calculators which she created and much, much more with a healthy dose of puns thrown in. I took the time to read through her archives and the following items caught my eye:

The post that was awarded the “top hoser” award from the carnival – Ten financial lessons I learned from my dog – if you haven’t read it, then read it now.

Why good debt is a lie – I don’t agree with everything she says, but she makes some great points – particularly about education.

How to soak and cook dried beans – Ok this actually caught my wife’s eye who went out and bought several tons of dried beans.

Other posts of note

I’ve been meaning to link to this post for weeks – Clever Dude gives a well-photographed post on how he makes his sandwiches for lunch in bulk. I don’t know why I like this kind of stuff, I just do. 🙂

Welcome to the Carnival of Money Stories #50. I figured a carnival of money stories should have a theme about…money stories!.

A lot of great posts this week so let’s get started!

photo by WalkingGeek
Donald Trump seems to be mostly show business sometimes but at the end of the day he is all about money.

Trump picks

• Millionaire Money Habits shares his financial epiphany. An excellent story.
• Million Dollar Journey put together a great series on determining his life insurance needs. It’s a three part series so check them all out.
• Paid Twice reminisces about how she fell for some shady marketing.
• Canadian Dream talks about his top three investment mistakes.
• Debt Reduction Formula details how he consolidated his high interest credit cards by borrowing from Prosper It was good to a read a post from a Prosper borrower and see that side of the story.
• Wooly Woman had a good post on how she avoided the RRSP (401K) hype.

photo by Mrs. Pillars

Dutch tulip bulb mania of the 1600’s. That particular mania along with others are often used to illustrate one of the key points of investing your money into the markets (stock, real estate etc) – don’t get too depressed if prices are falling (it’s a good time to buy) and don’t go crazy and buy in when things are going too well.

The bulbs

• Antishay Ventenne tells the story of how she battled debt and is winning.
• Dividend Money has some ideas on reducing student loans.
• Mighty Bargain Hunter wants to turn the volume down when doing banking transactions.
• Sound Money Matters has an exciting debt breakthrough – with her husband.
• Chief Family Officer admits that her dumbest mistake was a fur hat. She doesn’t say how much she blew on it however.
• Debt FREE Revolution rants about tipping for pizza delivery. I used to deliver pizzas a long, long time ago so this post was quite interesting.
• Money Blue Book talks about saving money at the amusement park.
• The Digerati Life shares some thoughts about dealing with a heavy debt load.
• Cash Money Life faced a moral choice involving money. I’m happy to say that he make the right choice.
• Gather Little by Little talks about his path into debt and eventual financial epiphany.

photo by army.arch

Fort Knox is where a huge amount of gold is stored. Gold isn’t technically money but in the days of the gold standard you used to be able to trade your money for gold.

Gold bars

• Rocket Finance asks the question, what is $6992? You might be surprised at the answer.
• Finance Freelance Life tells us about her wisest purchase ever. I’ll give you a clue – it wasn’t a Nintendo Wii!
• Plonkee Money talks about some great customer service she recently experienced.
• Credit Withdrawal admits that he made some home ownership mistakes, but it worked out in the end.
• Remodeling This Life says that debt free equals happiness.
• The Financial Blogger says he doesn’t mind paying for medical service. I think if he knew how much he would be paying then he might reconsider.
• Being Frugal details her path into debt and the long road back. You’ll get there BF!
• Money Ning raced to complete his wife’s tax return in 13 minutes flat.
• Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest Of The Time I Know You talks about her mother getting a small windfall.
• Fire Finance had a mixup with a credit card fee. Luckily he got it straightened out.

Welcome to the Carnival of Personal Finance edition #143!

As you might have guessed by the flag in the header, this blog is based in Canada so I thought it would be fun to have a Canadian theme!

Bob and Doug Mackenzie were part of the show SCTV (Second City TV) which is one of my all time favourite shows.

Top hoser picks

Squawkfox has gone to the dogs this week with ten financial lessons she learned from her dog. Any dog named “Tivo” is ok by me! (This was my favourite post of the carnival.)

• Amateur Asset Allocator wrote an excellent post on variable annuities and why most people shouldn’t buy them. Very easy to understand article.
• Paid Twice loves her pre-paid cell phone and looks at some good cell phone deals.
• Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck wrote about home affordability guidelines now that the boom is over.
• Funny About Money wrote about something that isn’t funny at all – libel and slander insurance for bloggers. Check this one out if you are a blogger!
• Pinching Copper explains very clearly why they rent.
• Money Under Thirty gives four excellent reasons why we spend more than we should in a review of the book “Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold On To Their Money”.

photo by pointnshoot

Hockey is the most popular sport in Canada – by far!

Best skaters

• A Penny Closer faces some harsh decisions when deciding on rental applications.
• Finance Freelance Life tells us how to hide money from an abusive spouse.
• Brip Blap says that the days of double digit equity returns are over.
• Value For Your Life explains how to get your spouse involved with the finances.
• The Financial Blogger tells why he doesn’t like free government services and would rather pay for them.
• Canadian Dream wrote a post about the new Canadian Roth. Ok, it’s not exactly a Roth but close enough.
• Prime Time Money has a good analysis for the question should I pay the minimum payment on my credit card or the whole thing?
• Not The Jet Set describes some friends who are a financial train wreck waiting to happen and wonders has anyone learned anything?
• Stock Market Investing For Beginners does a brief biography on the king of equities, Benjamin Graham.
• Blunt Money says that people who make excuses for not changing their financial habits need to alter the wording of their excuses.
• Cash Money Life is dedicating this week to giving away free stuff (including money).

photo by dobakCanada Goose – I didn’t even realize until I looked it up, that “Canada” is actually part of the name for these birds. I always thought it was just the name Canadians called geese. 🙂

The Canada geesers

• Million Dollar Journey had an interesting look at 30 personal rules of thumb. and provides some good analysis of them.
• My Two Dollars did a post on one of the few Dave Ramsey ideas that I completely agree with, college funding for children.
• So Sick of Debt wrote a pretty good piece on trying to have patience with reducing debt. I feel the same way about my mortgage but do I want to be older and debt free?
• Military Finance Network has some excellent advice to guard yourself against identity theft and what to do if it happens to you.
• My Dollar Plan had a very interesting article on why her retirement contributions are decreasing as a percentage. Turns out, it’s a pretty good strategy.
• Being Frugal gives some guidance as to how to make a budget that works, from her own experience.
• Bible Money Matters did a three week tryout of buxfer.com which is a personal finance software.
• Moolanomy came up with 40 Alternative Income Ideas and Resources.
• Living Off Dividends is happy that his passive income has passed $2000 per month. Way to go!
• FIRE Finance goes over all the details of a check scam.

Terry Fox is one of the biggest heroes from my youth. He lost part of his leg to cancer, started running across Canada to raise money for research and although he didn’t make it all the way across the country, he captured the imagination of the entire nation and raised the level of awareness for cancer research.

Terry Fox selections

• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity says don’t invest in the stock market.
• Free Money Finance shows how it’s possible to improve your place in life, no matter how bad things are.
• Where Does All My Money Go analyzes the sale of Manhattan back in 1626.
• Economic Essays shows how to survive a recession.
• Plonkee Money talks about expat finances for people who have worked abroad.
• Chance Favors submitted a very useful post on how to reduce your taxable income if you are a blogger or self-employed.
• Ryan posts about his 24 hour rule which prevents him from making some bad decisions.
• No Debt Plan says that playing the lottery is just plain dumb.
• Don’t Mess With Taxes covers some business expenses related to phones.
• Free From Broke is considering buying another house by borrowing against his current property.

photo by VigourWhile moose are not exclusive to Canada, I always think of them as Canadian.

Moose selections

• The Personal Financier goes over his steps to buying a home.
• Money Blue Book answers questions about the tax rebate check.
• Rather Be Shopping says that getting your finances under control can mean peace of mind.
• Consumer Commentary had a post about teaching financial skills to teens with learning disabilities.
• The Digerati Life says that small change can eventually add up to a million dollars.
• Debtbeater explains what he did with their tax refund.
• Credit addict explains how to place a fraud alert on your credit record.
• Five Cent Nickel gives us twelve tips for preparing your house for sale.
• Everyday Finance highlights some new investment products which will hedge your personal exposure to gasoline prices.
• Mighty Bargain Hunter contemplates writing his own tax software.

photo by Steve DegerThe loon is another animal which is very common in Canada.

The “loonies” of the carnival 🙂

• Wide Open Wallet teaches her kids about money.
• The Dividend Guy reveals his top three investing mistakes.
• Finance ViewPoint writes about those pesky bank fees and how to avoid them.
• The Coin Jar explains their decision to not buy a bigger house. It’s nice to hear a story about someone making do with what they have.
• Dividends For Life says that he’s dealing with low paying interest accounts by getting into dividend stocks quicker.
• Online Savings Blog wrestles with the conundrum of short term goals vs. long term goals.
• How to live well on nothing a year has some suggestions on how to build an emergency fund.
• The Happy Rock is trying to write a check on his ING orange account.
• Millionaire Money Habits does a review of Zecco.

photo by Vigour
And of course you can’t have a Canadian carnival without including the mighty beaver:

• All About The Ben talks about options available for green investing.
• Can I Get Rich On A Salary explains his various bank accounts.
• Oh My Aching Debts has found a new way to save money.
• The Great Loan Blog tells us why we don’t understand mortgage rates.
• A Dollar a Day talks about her educational choices.
• Business is Personal created some spreadsheets to show investments returns across different tax structures.
• Daily Money Tips quotes Buffet when talking about how high the Dow can rise.
• Think Your Way to Wealth has some wealth building suggestions.
• Uncommon Cents says the bond market is just fine.
• My Debt Free Life has some cheap recipes.
• Ask Mr. Credit Card gives us the breakdown of his credit card expenses.
• Pennies to Nickels saves money for a car trip.
• Save and Conquer explains how they save money on daycare.
• Trees Full of Money puts forth a pretty good argument for having a one income household.
• Increase revenue, decrease cost says you should have an emergency fund.
• Father Sez sez that you should look for opportunities.
• One Million and Beyond says that paying down debt takes time.
• Smart Easy Money thinks that money can buy you happiness.
• Marc and Angel have 11 practical things to spend money on.

Ok the weight today was….179.5 pounds.  This was a big decrease from last weeks bloated 183 pounds so my decision not to eat any food for the last seven days was clearly a good one! 🙂

I wanted to highlight a new Canadian blogger this week, Cheap Canuck who lives in western Canada and has quite a few interesting posts. Check it out!

I haven’t paid tribute to my top fourteen referrers for a while so here they are and thank you very much for the traffic you have sent over the last month.

Canadian Capitalist
Million Dollar Journey
Cheap Canuck
Canadian Dream
The Financial Blogger
Being Frugal
The Dividend Guy
The Money Gardener
My Dollar Plan
Loonies and Sense
Mighty Bargain Hunter
Finance Freelance Life

Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted at Broke Grad Student
Festival of Frugality was hosted at Savvy Frugality

Thought I would highlight a few more articles that I enjoyed this week:

My Dollar Plan wrote a great post about the work/life mix.
Canadian Capitalist did a book review on “Worry Free Investing” which takes a too conservative look at retirement planning.
Million Dollar Journey asks if 40 year mortgages are a good idea.
Cash Money Life posted about a moral choice that he made – great story!
Chance Favors talks about the differences between the regular 401k and the Roth 401k – believe it or not I really like reading about different retirement accounts from other countries.
Moolanomy needs help to determine how he should increase his foreign equity (maybe buy more Canadian?).
Finance Freelance Life had an interesting post about talking/advising relatives on their investments.
The Wisdom Journal lists some retail ripoff tactics (by salespeople – not the shoppers!).
Canadian Dream is skeptical that “debt free” is really “debt free” if there is still mortgage debt.
My Two Dollars writes about duct tape and wallets
Plonkee Money shows how couples can live a lot cheaper than singles.
Rocket Finance thinks the new US stimulus package is a crock.
Dough Roller has posted his virtual library which contains a lot of great links to investment resources.
Millionaire Money Habits says that maybe smoking isn’t so bad after all.
Prime Time Money doesn’t invest in single stocks for a good reason.
Remodeling This Life has an emotional post on her family’s past troubles.