If you are new to WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com, every Friday I run a post called “A Lap Of The Blogs” which provides links to articles I found interesting and think that others may want to read for themselves. I also include some commentary on what’s going on in my personal life and a weekly “racing video” since my former life was in the auto-racing industry. The name “Lap of the Blogs” is in reference to “A Lap Of The Gods” which is an old video series which chronicled on-board footage of the world’s greatest F1 drivers lapping various racetracks from around the world.

I keep forgetting to mention that a few months ago I met someone who was involved with marketing in the financial services – they will remain nameless, but they confessed to me that they had a hand in the introduction of mutual fund trailers (the annual ongoing fees advisors may receive for the funds they sell you). They were originally designed as a temporary marketing ploy to advisors to buy their funds (and hold them). It worked really well. Really, REALLY well.

From Around The Blogosphere

Mr. Cheap from Four Pillars talks about his philosophy on beggars. Remember, this is the guy who wants to wear a t-shirt that has a picture of a tuxedo on it to his wedding. (No, he’s not engaged in case you were wondering.)

Thicken My Wallet responds to a reader question about payout ratios exceeding 100% for REITs and Utility Trusts. Good? Bad? Depends…

Jonathan Chevreau looks at some statistics about ETF growth and Mutual Fund redemptions. Note that there is more to this than meets the eye – just examine the comments section!

Canadian Capitalist suggests you may want to consider a secured line of credit now… just in case.

Michael James on Money examines the “Market-Linked GIC” – might not be worth the trade offs in many cases.

Million Dollar Journey explains the terms “ex-dividend date” and “cum dividends” – important to know if you are buying dividend paying stocks!

Larry MacDonald writes about bank bailouts and bonuses. It’s true, these guys are clearly from a different planet.

Canadian Dream posts a Layoff Survival Guide. Hopefully you won’t need it, but there is great information here.

This Week’s Racing Video

If you can’t see the link, you’ll have to click on the title above (“A Lap Of The Blogs”) to go to the website and watch the embedded video. This week, I’m pulling out an oldie but goodie. These are a few clips of some Formula 3000 cars (one step down from the “big show”) – but instead of racing around a track, they are racing up mountain roads. Enjoy your weekends everyone!