Weekend Reading – Mayan mayhem, holiday wishes and great blogs

Will it end or won’t it end?  Is that the question?

I’m not talking about all the craziness in the stores lately or the NHL strike, I’m talking about the end of the world.

By most interpretations, by way of the last cycle of the Mayan calendar, the world is expected to end very soon…in a matter of hours.  Some have argued the Mayans, whose civilization spanned across southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize from 1000 B.C. to 1519 A.D., have long known the day the world would end – December 21.  Do you believe it?  Or is this a bigger hoax than Y2K?

Over the last week, I’ve read about people making bunkers out of their basements to people flocking to Serbia to live at the foot of a mountain that apparently delivers a source of electromagnetic waves where they will celebrate the end of the time.

Reading this far, you can probably guess where I stand on the Mayans’ prediction – mainly because nobody has ever predicted tomorrow with any accuracy let alone a few thousand years.  Besides, the Maya people didn’t invent the calendar in the first place.

After you survive December 21st, I hope you’re looking forward to the holidays like I am.  It’s certainly a time to reflect, be thankful and spend time with those you care about.  Whatever your holiday plans are, enjoy them and be safe.  Although I don’t expect the world to end soon you can never take what you have today for granted.

The blogposts on My Own Advisor might be few to none, I’m not sure yet, so just in case I’m not online much between now and early 2013 – I wish you a very Happy Holiday and Best Wishes for 2013!

Enjoy this list of Weekend Reading,

Mark

For podcast # 14, Where Does All My Money Go interviewed John DeGoey, Financial Advisor of Burgeonvest Bick Securities, discussing advisor fees and transparency.

Mr. Money Mustache said the high cost of living – is a state of mind.

Canadian Couch Potato shared how the new Loblaw’s REIT will likely be added to the index.

Andrew Hallam was a big fan of this new movie:  Passive Investing – The Evidence.

Boomer & Echo provided his answer to this question:  should you pay off your mortgage early or invest?  He wrote:

“I’m taking a balanced approach by putting an extra $800 a month on our mortgage on top of our regular monthly payments, saving $800 a month in our tax free savings accounts and investing $400 a month in my RRSP.”

Kerry Taylor had some budget-friendly holiday decorating ideas.

Retire Happy reminded us about your most valuable asset.