My name is Mark Goodfield. Welcome to The Blunt Bean Counter ™, a blog that shares my thoughts on income taxes, finance and the psychology of money. I am a Chartered Professional Accountant. This blog is meant for everyone, but in particular for high net worth individuals and owners of private corporations. My posts are blunt, opinionated and even have a twist of humour/sarcasm. You've been warned. Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The Blunt Bean Counter noted in The Globe and Mail

Thanks to Preet Banerjee for referencing me today in his Globe and Mail column. His column today is titled "Share your family fortune now to reap the rewards". Preet is a well-known financial expert, who writes a column for the Globe and Mail, is the money expert on the W Network and is the blogger behind the blog WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com. I am not sure if he still has another real job :)

I would also like to give Preet props for participating in my Bloggers for Charity initiative, in which he raised $5,000 for charity. He is obviously an altruistic financial guy; yes, I know that term is usually an oxymoron.

This is the fifth time that I know of, that one of my blogs has been at least in part an inspiration for a newspaper column. Preet's column today quoted from my blog "A Family Vacation- A Memory worth not Dying for". Personally, it is self-satisfying when my blogs provide an inspirational thought or idea for others, given the time and effort required to create many of the blog posts.

I am particularly pleased that only one of the inspired newspaper columns has been an income tax based article. I look at my income tax blogs as loss leaders. I write income tax blogs since they show a professional competence (or incompetence) and they fill an information void since I think there is only one other mainstream blogger (Canadian Tax Resource) doing such that I am aware of. 

However, what I really enjoy writing are my blog posts on how money and finances impact families, relationships and the psyches of individuals. After 25 years of practice as a CA, I have seen most of what is to be seen in that regard, so I write from a perspective of experience.

Since I have severe restrictions on site advertising as a Chartered Accountant, I am not blogging for financial gain (although I do get the occasional client from my blog), but mostly because I enjoy doing so and as such, I appreciate it when columnists such as Preet, Roma Luciw, Rob Carrick and other financial bloggers, most notably Boomer & Echo, Canadian Capitalist, Big Cajunman, Michael James, Jim YihMy Own Advisor and Money Sense Online appreciate my blog posts whether as an inspiration for a column or as a recommended read. Thanks!

The blogs posted on The Blunt Bean Counter provide information of a general nature. These posts should not be considered specific advice; as each reader's personal financial situation is unique and fact specific. Please contact a professional advisor prior to implementing or acting upon any of the information contained in one of the blogs.

8 comments:

  1. Did you mean Rob Carrick?!? :-) Rob and Preet both are powerful men and men to be reckoned with!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oops thanks for pointing that out. See I was told the BCM is the real guy to watch out for because of his barbed tongue and wit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't mess with the Clown Prince of Personal Finance!

      No, I was looking for the post, and couldn't find it, but yes go over and check out Mr. Carrick's post, and expect an avalanche of readers afterwards (well deserved).

      Delete
  3. First, I enjoy reading your posts. As you know, it’s not easy to write about complex matters in an easy-to-understand format. I think you do a fantastic job (if the opinion of an accountant is of any value).

    Second, thank for mentioning my site!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thx Dean, u were doing a great job long before the BBC even existed

      Delete
  4. " ... and they fill an information void since I think there is only one other mainstream blogger (Canadian Tax Resource) doing such that I am aware of."

    I don't know what you mean by "mainstream" blogger, but I've been blogging about income tax here in Hamilton for almost seven years. Welcome to the party!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John,

      Congrats on blogging for 7 years. You obviously were at the forefront of blogging. I doubt very much I will be blogging 7 years from now; in fact I will be happy if I am still standing 7 years from now :)

      From what I can tell, your blog appears to be part of your firm’s website and fairly technical. Maybe your firm is an exception, but most firms’ websites don’t get significant traffic other than clients and the occasional prospect and thus, would not be considered “mainstream”, but rather niche or client focused.

      I guess what I consider mainstream is where you get traffic from all across Canada and the world to your blog. If that is the case with you, then I apologize for not noting your blog as a “mainstream” blog, but in any case, congrats. on writing for 7 years, that is a significant accomplishment.

      Delete
    2. No offence taken. I do get traffic from surprising places, and my writing has led to some media exposure, but I doubt I have thousands of readers following my tax blog!

      Delete