Short Takes: Behavioural Economics, Renting vs. Buying a Home, and more

I decided to check out the Microsoft software class action settlement.  They say “If you bought PC versions of Microsoft MS-DOS, Windows, Office, Word, Works, and/or Excel between December 23, 1998 and March 11, 2010 (inclusive), you may be eligible for compensation from this settlement.”  There is a link to submit a claim online.  I bought 4 computers during the relevant period, each with Windows and Office.  They assigned a claim value of $13 for Windows and $8 for Office (at least in my case).  So my claim total came to $84.  You have until 2021 Sept. 23 to submit a claim and if you get any money, it won’t be until 2022 sometime.  By then I will have forgotten about it and any money I get will brighten my day.

Here are my posts for the past two weeks:

The Myth of Simple Interest on Loans

Your Money or Your Life

The Total Money Makeover

The Right Way to Calculate Net Worth

Is Delaying CPP “Actuarially Neutral”?

The Sleep-Easy Retirement Guide

Here are some short takes and some weekend reading:

Kerry Taylor interviews Dan Ariely, well known behavioural economist and best-selling author.

The Stress Test Podcast (Episode 6 of Season 2) brings in Preet Banerjee for a sensible discussion of the rent vs. buy decision for your home.

John Robertson takes a first look at Tangerine’s new mutual funds with lower MERs than their old funds.