Weekend Reading: Super Bowl XLIX Edition

The Super Bowl is the most-watched program on television each year and this year’s match-up between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will be no exception – as 113 million viewers are expected to tune-in to the big event.

I don’t have a horse in this race. My team, the dysfunctional Cleveland Browns, faded away in December and missed the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year (sad face). But that won’t stop me from spouting off predictions about the game and who I think will win Sunday.

The Patriots are favoured to win by 1 point, but so were the Denver Broncos and their record-setting offence last year before running into Seattle’s Legion of Boom defence en route to a 43-8 loss.

Prediction: New England will overcome the absurd ‘Deflategate‘ allegations that hogged headlines for the past two weeks and keep the game close for three quarters before Marshawn Lynch and the Seattle offence takes over in the fourth quarter to grind out a 28-20 win.

This week’s recap:

I was proud to be part of this event last night as the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s hockey players shaved their heads in support of goalie Dylan Tait and trainer Brennan Mahon, who were diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this season. Sportsnet turned up in Lethbridge to cover the post-game head shave, an event that raised close to $15,000.

Monday on the blog we had a guest post by Richard Garand of Master Your Portfolio. He explained the importance of international diversification.

On Wednesday, Marie looked at the problem with comparing your net worth to others.

On Friday, I explained why a core-and-explore investing approach is a bad idea.

Over on Rewards Cards Canada I looked at the best credit cards for travelling outside of Canada. Hint: It’s the ones that don’t charge a 2.5% fee for foreign currency conversion.

Weekend Reading:

My switch from dividend stocks to a two-fund ETF solution has generated some buzz in the media. Jonathan Chevreau of MoneySense and the Findependence Hub wrote about two other Canadians who’ve made similar changes to their portfolios.

A fascinating read about two Capital One fraud researchers who used massive amounts of credit card transaction data to make $278,000 trading options on shares of Chipotle, Coach, and Cabela’s after determining whether revenues were increasing or declining.

I’m not sure that the Bank of Canada’s 0.25 percent rate cut was intended to shore up bank profits, but Canada’s big 5 banks finally caved to pressure and (partially) lowered prime rate by 0.15 percent.

A pair of surveys shows a wide gap between what the public thinks and what scientists know about everything from genetically modified food, climate change, vaccinations, and evolution.

Sandi Martin addresses the problem with financial facelifts and soundbite financial advice.

Ben Carlson lists several questions that most investors don’t ask.

Jonathan Chevreau explains how low interest rates have changed retirement planning.

Michael James was a stock-picker for 12 years before making the switch to index investing. He’s come up with a tongue-in-cheek check-list for investors who still want to feel good about picking stocks.

Dan Wesley does a nice job explaining one of the more complicated financial decisions – a pension buy-back.

Mark Seed put a lot of thought into listing his income sources, needs, and wants in retirement.

Million Dollar Journey continues its net worth series – this one profiling a 30-year-old Calgary engineer just getting started with a negative net worth.

Alan Whitton wrote about a new website designed to help lower-income families open RESPs and access the Canadian Learning Bond.

Retirees shared their biggest financial surprises in this piece from the Financial Post.

Finally, for the hotel and travel enthusiasts, Marriott International acquired Delta Hotels and Resorts from my former employer, bcIMC, for $168 million.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Super Bowl, everyone!