Weekend Reading – Laptop back, CPFC12 and great blogs

It was a good week folks and it’s shaping up to be a great weekend.  I got my laptop back on Tuesday, they fixed my LCD screen and it works as good as new.  Work was busy this week but I got a bunch of things crossed off my to-do list.  I’m going to connect with some close friends in Toronto over the weekend, since I’m going to The Big Smoke to attend the Canadian Personal Finance Conference (CPFC).  Seeing some familiar faces and making some new friends at the conference should be fun.  I’m also looking forward to be part of the panel in one of the conference sessions.  Thanks again to Preet Banerjee and Krystal Yee for organizing this event – they’ve done tremendous work!

I found some great articles for you to check out this weekend.  Thanks for reading and supporting My Own Advisor!

Canadian Couch Potato demystified foreign withholding taxes.  Great post and I definitely learned something here, for example, for a Canadian ETF that holds a US-listed ETF of stocks (like XSP from iShares or VUS from Vanguard) your US withholding taxes are not recoverable in an RRSP or TFSA.  Ouch.

Financial Highway suggested we make the most out of our travel perks.

Money Smarts Blog wrote about being debt free.   Now what?  (I wish…now what!  I have 9 more years to go on our mortgage based on our current payment schedule.)

Retire Happy Blog wrote about making change and the power of pain to make it happen.  In my opinion, significant change comes from two drivers:  carrots (incentives) or consequences (pain).  Everyone has their own place and preference on that continuum.

CMT had a good post about mortgage penalty avoidance.

Kanwal asked…your friend just gave you a hot stock tip.  Do you take it?

SPF had an informative post about green cleaning products.

TFB said he’s quitting on paying off debts.  I wish I could do that….!

Passive Income Earner provided a review on Forex xe.com.

The Blunt Bean Counter found a few flaws in the “what you may be worth someday statements”.

A guest article on Invest It Wisely said you don’t have to be a born entrepreneur to be a self-employed success.  No, but it helps!

The Dividend Guy said dividend growth is the answer to failed government pensions.

Andrew Hallam wrote about his index investing strategy to the world, or, at least Globe and Mail readers.  This was a great article outlining how he manages his 7-figure portfolio.

MDJ discussed how co-operative housing works.

Y&T welcomed a new talented writer to their staff.

Boomer & Echo had a post that debated urban versus suburban living.

My friend over at Dividend Ninja expanded his online empire recently, buying a blog, networking with the very best in personal finance and investing space at FINCON12, while continuing his work on Web Ninja.  I think Avrom is going to need some staff soon!  Kidding aside, well done and I wish you all the success with your many ventures!   #hardworkpaysoff

Big Cajun Man said he wasn’t surprised tuition costs are moving in one direction.

Arbor Asset Allocation was kind enough to include my article in their roundup this week.

Michael James said to just close your eyes and swing, to describe his take on the conflicts of interest that often exist with investing.

Dividend Monk was cautiously optimistic of JNJ stock at $68 per share.

Modest Money caters to his readers.

Lastly, all the rage is about the iPhone 5.  I can’t justify the cost of this toy so I decided to tweet about it 🙂