Mid-Week Reading: Book Giveaway Edition

A mid-week round-up; what the heck is going on here?  I’d meant to publish our weekend reading last Friday, but when I found out it was Robert Britton’s last day of work before he retired, I just had to publish his retirement story that day.

But that meant we missed revealing the winners of our book giveaway.  My mom and I were overwhelmed by the number of comments and kind words on our anniversary post.  There were 109 comments and a ton of amazing suggestions for blog topics – you’ll keep us busy for the next three years!

The winner of Book package #1 is Helen who commented at 11:30 on Aug 12.  Helen has won these books:

• MoneySense Retire Wealthy: A Financial Plan for Canadians of All Ages
• Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School
• Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry

The winner of Book package #2 is BGhosh who commented at 07:01 on Aug 12.  BGhosh has won these books:

• Fight Back: 81 Ways to Help You Save Money and Protect Yourself From Corporate Trickery
• 10 Ways To Stay Broke Forever: Why Be Rich When You Can Have This Much Fun?

The winner of Book package #3 is Charlene who commented at 08:09 on Aug 12.  Charlene has won these books:

• The RESP Book: The Complete Guide To Registered Education Savings Plans for Canadians
• More Money For Beer And Textbooks: A Financial Guide for Today’s Canadian Student

Thanks again for all of your amazing support of our blog.  I’ll contact the winners and send out their books this week.

Globe and Mail update

This is a reminder that if you haven’t yet signed up for Globe Unlimited you can still get access for just 99 cents per month for the first three months.  Sign up here to get this exclusive offer for Boomer & Echo readers.

There has been some great stuff in the Globe this summer, especially from its subscriber only features like Streetwise and ROB Insight.

My favourite columnist at the Globe is Rob Carrick, and he recently wrote about how affordable housing has become an oxymoron, saying “Housing affordability in Canada is as alive as the chances of the Toronto Blue Jays making the baseball playoffs and the appeal of eating a Cronut burger.”

Mid-Week Reading

Here are my top 12 reads from around the web so far this month:

1. Why seniors’ debt levels are on the rise

August 24, 2013 · Financial Post · After 40 years working as a bookkeeper with little in the way of savings to show for it, Margaret Kelly found herself in what is becoming the new senior nightmare — mounting debt with not enough income to pay it off. Open this article

2. My Dumbass Financial Moves

August 26, 2013 · My Own Advisor · To help you avoid some of the money management mishaps I’ve made over the years, today’s post highlights some of my dumbass financial moves. Open this article

3. How To Figure Out If A Home Is A Good Investment

August 20, 2013 · She Thinks I’m Cheap! · We’ve all been told that a home is a great investment but it can be difficult to quantify how good it really is. To answer this question, we need to ask ourselves a few more: Open this article

4. Do you talk openly about money with friends?

August 19, 2013 · Give Me Back My Five Bucks · Do you talk openly about your finances with your friends? Or is it still something you keep mostly to yourself. To me, it seems like 20 or 30-somethings are more open to talking about finances than older generations. Open this article

5. Would You Prefer Restaurants Without Tipping?

August 19, 2013 · Don’t Quit Your Day Job · In theory, tipping is supposed to incentivize servers, hostesses, and waitstaff at restaurants to provide superior service in order to merit a rewards in the form of a tip. Open this article

6. A 10 Year Mortgage? Yes Please.

August 14, 2013 · Financial Uproar · What’s this? The guy who just sold his house is giving mortgage advice? And is recommending a 10 year mortgage? Why, this is outrageous! Open this article

7. It’s easier than ever to beam streaming content from mobile devices to your TV screen

August 14, 2013 · Houzz · Google recently announced a new product called Chromecast, which doesn’t look like much, doesn’t cost too much and doesn’t take up much space in the already-crowded lineup of stuff connected to your TV. Open this article

8. Dividend Investing Advantages and Disadvantages

August 13, 2013 · Michael James On Money · Both dividend investing and index investing have a lot to offer. Sticking with either for the long term is likely to work out well. Indexing has an edge in terms of diversification and taxes during investors’ accumulation phase. Dividend investing has an edge in sticking with the plan through tough times and with taxes during retirement. Open this article

9. This is how your pension will probably change

August 12, 2013 · Today’s Economy · The debate about Canada’s pension system comes down to four key ideas. Here’s what you need to know about each of them. Open this article

10. How to Argue With a Couch Potato

August 12, 2013 · Canadian Couch Potato · Last week, Advisor.ca published a debate under the heading “Faceoff: Index, friend or foe?” The arguments against passive investing should be helpful to mutual fund salespeople trying desperately to defend their turf in the face of overwhelming evidence that they are failing investors. Here’s a summary of the arguments in the article, along with some helpful tips: Open this article

11. Your Financial Plan is Not a Slap-Chop

August 1, 2013 · Spring (the blog) · The point: If your financial advisor is giving you a financial plan for “free”, what’s his incentive for doing it well? Open this article

12. My $270 dinner in a summer of financial restraint

August 25, 2013 · thestar.com · Crash financial diets can get you back on track, but to stick to it for the long term you’ll need to build in rewards. Open this article

Carnivals and links to us

We were also included this week in the Carnival of Wealth, the Carnival of Personal Finance, and in Carrick on Money: Looking ahead to retirement on my last day of work.

Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone!  We’ll see you back here with a new post on Friday.