So I read today that Canada's dollar is now at par with the U.S. As a Canadian, I am happy for Canada, but I live and work in the U.S.

I regret not acting on the slide of the U.S. dollar earlier: kindergarten, work, vacation, and other projects took time away from investigating the matter further. I really regretted not doing anything July 13.

If I am going to invest, I need to feel comfortable with my decision, and not urged by greed and panic. I can only feel comfortable with my decision if I have researched at least three options, drawn up pros and cons. I draw the line at using Excel for pivot charts and matrices.

Earning 1.75% on $10060 is not enough for me. I'm earning 0.75% on $4900 in a non-contributory Traditional IRA. That sucks for me too.

Here are the options I'm thinking of:
* As September was a heavy expenditure month, lock $1500 in a 12-month CD and $1500 in an 11-month CD each earning over 5%.

* Stash $1500 in a 6-month CD.

* Put $1000 more in my Roth IRA and buy a Gold ETF.

* With the $4900 in the non-contributory IRA, put $1500 in a selection of foreign currency ETFs.

Good things I did:

I contributed $960 yesterday for my 2007 Roth IRA.

I compared CD rates at two credit union institutions.

I checked out what of my assets stored at my discount brokerage SIPC will insure.

I bought some shares of a Canadian dollar ETF. I have some Canadian gold coins and some $20s from April.

I reviewed my current 401(k) plan. It's going to get some more tweaks to evenly distribute my risk.
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The contractors have not yet come to do the windows. They claim they are over-scheduled. Did I mention I paid/booked for this in June? I wonder if they will pay for my heating bills in the interim.
Then again, the later they take to do the installation, the later I'll have to pay. I am considering not paying cash all at once, but rather kiss $3000 goodbye initially, and borrow the rest from the HELOC.