Weekend Reading: More Books To Give Away Edition

We had such an incredible response to our Victory Lap Retirement book giveaway last week that I thought we should run another book giveaway contest!

This one is easy. We’re using Rafflecopter once again to collect entries and the winner will receive his or her choice of books from the bookshelf of my own personal finance home library (see image below). We’re hosting this book giveaway on our Facebook page, so all you need to do is head on over there to enter for a chance to win. This contest runs until Friday January 13th at 5pm EST. Good luck!

Stock Picking Is Bad. Stock Picking Contests Are Worse:

Every year I enter Financial Uproar’s stock picking contest where participants each select four stocks that they think will outperform. Every year my picks perform badly, and 2016 was no different. I swing for the fences with technology and growth stocks (FitBit, GoPro, Under Armour) and then hedged with a safe financial bet (MasterCard). Well, I lost. Badly.

The biggest winners went heavy on marijuana stocks, so for 2017 I thought I’d go mostly all-in on green energy. My picks for this year are:

• First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)
• Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ)
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)
• Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM)

I fully expect to lose again (hangs head in shame).

I do have fun with this but I’d wager some investors don’t put much more effort into their real life stock picks as I did with a silly contest. The rationale might go something like this: I have a FitBit, many of my friends and relatives wear a FitBit, I’m going to invest in FitBit! Guess what? FitBit stock was down a mind-blowing 75% last year!

This Week’s Recap:

On Monday I wrote about using Monte Carlo Simulations in your retirement planning.

On Wednesday Marie opened up the mailbag and answered a reader question about budgeting for the Christmas season.

And on Friday Marie continued her financial planning for couples series with a look at building your net worth as a couple.

We had 109 entries in our Victory Lap Retirement book giveaway and I’m pleased to announce that reader ‘Carmen’, who left a comment on December 30th at 6:14am, is the winner – congratulation Carmen!

Finally, I, along with several other personal finance bloggers, offered some financial predictions for 2017 and beyond.

Weekend Reading:

Some great stuff around the web this week. Let’s get to it!

Why do some older people remain mentally nimble while others decline?

“Superagers” (a term coined by the neurologist Marsel Mesulam) are those whose memory and attention isn’t merely above average for their age, but is actually on par with healthy, active 25-year-olds.

Watch out if you’re a federal employee with a lavish pension plan. Bill C-27 could mean changes for defined benefit pensions.

Investor alert: Your most important investment statement ever is on its way.

Preet Banerjee continues his YouTube series on learning to invest with an excellent look at risk:

J.D. Roth loves reader stories over at his Get Rich Slowly blog and carries over that tradition to his new blog, Money Boss. This reader lost five years of early retirement by not having a plan.

One book I’ve been meaning to read is, “The Undoing Project” by Michael Lewis. Here’s a conversation with Lewis about the friendship that created behavioural economics.

Garry Marr shares eight things you need to know about your TFSA to maximize your money.

Jason Heath answers a reader question about when NOT to contribute to a TFSA.

Trevor Tombe and Nicholas Rivers look at the cost of carbon pricing in Ontario and Alberta:

“Claims that carbon pricing will lead to skyrocketing price increases throughout the economy are misplaced at best—and misleading at worst.”

Under 35? Why you face at least three tough challenges in the 2017 economy.

Subscription boxes, time shares, and fast fashion are among the 10 things you should NOT buy in 2017.

A Wealth of Common Sense blogger Ben Carlson is best known for dishing out investing wisdom, but he’s vowed to spend more time writing about personal finance in the coming year. Here are his 20 personal finance rules.

How blogger Krystal Yee managed to save 50 percent of her income and increase her net worth by $40,000 last year.

Speaking of saving half of your income, Half Banked blogger Des Odjick explains how to manage your money like a pro, even if you’re not one.

Why you should think ‘smile’ when planning your retirement spending path:

“expenses often decline during the early years of retirement, before reaching an inflection point and rising in the second half of retirement — in the shape of a smile.”

Money Boss describes the five types of retirement (traditional, early, temporary, semi, mini).

Helaine Olen answers a reader question: What to do when your significant other is terrible with money?

Alan Whitton doesn’t hate Sean Cooper, the 30-year-old who paid off his mortgage in three years. But some people do.

Finally, a couple of great pieces by Morgan Housel. First up a look at thinking for a living and how John Rockefeller was ahead of his time. Next, a look at Deep Blue and how automation doesn’t make human skills irrelevant, but allows us to do things we’re good at, such as context, communication, and empathy.