By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance

No, the kid from Blank Check isn’t running parliament. I checked.

In a revelation yesterday even Ottawa would admit is ill-timed, documents came to light showing the federal government has spent more than $15 million on bottled water in the last five years, $10 million of that in the last three.

Now, you don’t need me here to tell you that $15 million for water could, yeah, probably be spent a little bit wiser. But if one thing’s for sure about Canadians, it’s that they don’t like wasted taxpayer money.

By Gordon Powers, Sympatico / MSN Finance

While many Canadians are keen on the new TFSA, few are clear on what happens when the planholder dies, a recent survey by Mackenzie Financial suggests.

Of the one in five Canadians who currently hold a TFSA, just about half weren't sure whether the account would be taxable to their beneficiaries on death, and more than two thirds didn't know if the beneficiary would require TFSA contribution room to continue to enjoy tax-free growth.

By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance

Canadians can say goodbye to its neighbours to the way-south for the next few months; the Mexican outbreak of swine flu having turned the tropical hot spot into the Baghdad of world tourism.

Many of our leading airlines and tour operators have suspended travel to the country until various dates in June, and perhaps longer, as fear mounts over the epidemic few seem to still know much about.

Montreal-based Transat AT Inc., Canada’s largest tour agency, has wiped out all packages to Mexico until June 1 and is rushing to add new flights to bring existing customers, passengers and employees home from the south.

By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance

Yesterday in this space, we discussed how abandoned swimming pools – left untended by mass home foreclosures – were becoming havens for disease-spreading mosquitoes, a cruel sign of just how the recession is still affecting us.

It offered an interesting angle on the downturn, at least, and here – so does this.

Several news agencies have reported poor economic times have caused couples to rethink parenthood, resulting in a staggering spike in the instance of abortions and vasectomies.

By Gordon Powers, Sympatico / MSN Finance

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found that it’s possible to buy happiness after all: providing you spend money on others.

In a series of studies, a team led by UBC professor Elizabeth Dunn found that people report significantly greater happiness if they spend money on gifts for others or charitable donations, rather than on themselves.

By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance

Sure, everywhere you look, it’s darker and darker.

Your local Starbucks is closing. Paul McCartney and Elton John are losing cash. Chrysler dealerships couldn’t sell a Scarlett Johansson sex tape at this point.

Yet here’s a sign of the economic times no one’s talking about. Entomologists are finding abandoned swimming pools, of all things, are providing a daunting picture of the recession as they turn into breeding grounds for disease-spreading mosquitoes.

By John Calverley, guest blogger for Sympatico/MSN Finance

My thanks to all those who commented on my post on Wednesday. Readers seem about evenly divided between those who agree that housing prices will fall further and those who are angry that I am trying to talk the market down. The latter is certainly not my intention and, anyway, I have no illusions about my influence.

By Gordon Powers, Sympatico / MSN Finance

Is it worth driving the extra few minutes to save three cents a litre on gas or a couple of bucks on groceries? Should you hire a housekeeper to free up your time? A gardener?

Well, it all depends on what you figure your time is worth.

By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance

In case you haven’t noticed, newspapers ain’t exactly the place to be right now.

But Old Man Print is a resilient fellow. Even though his battle against the Internet might be more lopsided than one of those Kimbo Slice street fights, there’s now something the papers can offer you’ll never find online.

The Economist reports newspapers might be getting a shot in the arm by delivering edible ads inside its pages, an homage to Willy Wonka and a creative spin on those cologne/perfume pages you see today in magazines.

By Gordon Powers, Sympatico / MSN Finance

So, you’ve finally made the choice to get a handle on your finances. What’s the best way to pull it all together and then track your progress?

Perhaps you should draw a picture … or, more precisely, a map.

A financial network map is a one-page diagram that shows the links and relationships between each of your financial accounts, which include but aren’t limited to bank, brokerage, fund, retirement, credit card, and service accounts, says Jim Wang on his Bargaineering blog. Click here and here for some other examples.