1. March Money Madness Round 2 - J battles it out! @ Free Money Finance - My $100 Lottery post made it to round 2 ;) If you liked it & wanna vote, click & drop "Lottery" in the comments.
2. Jon Stewart sums up everything that is wrong with America in under 4 mins (video) @ Gawker
3. The curse of making too much money and not pursuing your dreams @ Financial Samurai
4. "I Had $14,000 in Credit Card Debt. I Paid Off 6K. Now What Do I Do!?" @ Lemon Drop
5. Scarlett Johansson's home for sale at $2mil loss @ Consumerism Commentary
6. The Clarks, An American story of wealth, scandal and mystery @ MSN
7. Empty Spaces (and Moving Past Loneliness) @ Life After College
8. Best of Money Carnival @ Budget Pulse
9. Festival of Frugality @ Miss Thrifty
10. International Personal Finance Carnival #1 @ PT Money - Yours truly represents the U.S ;)

Labels: giveaways, weekly roundup

1. Vote for your fave financial bloggers & products! @ Plutus Awards
2. Why paying the minimum on credit cards won't work (infographic) @ Cracked.com
3. To improve performance: Spend time, not money @ Well-heeled
4. Ten Things Millionaires Won't Tell You @ Free Money Finance
5. I'm tired of buying and spending @ Clever Dude
6. Being Frugal is Foolish @ Bargaineering
7. 12 Personal Finance Bloggers Answer: New or Used Car? @ You Have More Than You Think
8. Carnival of Debt Reduction @ "Can The Federal Gov't Cut Its Debt?" @ Ask Mr. Credit Card
9. Festival of Frugality #218 - "America Saves Week" @ Think Your Way To Wealth
10. Money Hacks Carnival #105 - "All Government, All the time" @ Live Real, Now

Labels: weekly roundup

1. Spend money on the stuff you love. @ Untemplater (written by ME :) )
2. Should you bring your own snacks to movies? @ Well-Heeled (Yes!!!)
3. I lived 80 years and all they gave me was this lousy box of stuff @ My Next Buck (hah!)
   
4. Millionaire gives away fortune which made him miserable @ Telegraph UK (wow)
5. Debt free news from a debt free reader @Enemy of Debt (I get interviewed)
6. How to get audited by the IRS @ Consumerism Commentary (this scares me)
   
7. 7 Rules for Job Seekers @ Mike Landman.com (#7 is KEY)
8. Carnival of Money Stories - "Just the facts" @ Centsible Life
9. Money Hacks Carnival #104 - "Have you ever?" @ Rabbit Funds
   
10. Carnival of Personal Finance - "Fiscally irresponsible TV characters ed." @ Len Penzo

Labels: giveaways, weekly roundup

1. The March 2010 "Manage Your Money" Challenge @ Enemy of Debt - Brad's got a great idea brewing, and is backing it up with all sorts of giveaways!
2. When Stuff Weighs Us Down @ Well-Heeled Blog - "Have you ever looked around your house and wonder, how the heck did I accumulate so much stuff?!" Every day ;)
3. "Jersey Shore" House for Rent at $6,500 a night @ Huffington Post - I know, it's all kinds of dirty sounding but how crazy is this? I need to start letting MTV use my house.
4. Q&A With Six Figure Blogger Flexo @ Studenomics - Very interesting answers here, esp. in regards to blogging un-anonymously - something I often think about.
5. "Only Greedy People Save" And Other Things Crazy People Say @ Debt Hater
6. 9 Unconventional Steps to a Thriving, "Very Small" Business @ Zen Habits - A GREAT guest post by the famous Chris Guillebeau.
   
7. Carnival of Personal Finance @ Get Rich Slowly
   
8. Festival of Frugality #216 @ Sweating The Big Stuff

Labels: giveaways, weekly roundup

1. FMF's Blogger Bracket: J. Money vs. No Debt Plan @ Free Money Finance - Did you enjoy my Lottery-to-Charity post the other month? I'm battling it out in FMF's blogger bracket and need help winning the 1st round (I never make it! haha..). Would love it if you could drop a comment there and vote for me by leaving "lottery" in the message. Thanks!
2. Jeff joins my Millionaire's Club! @ Deliver Away Debt - Our crazy club now has 26 members in it, but this is by far the funnest millionaire to-do list I've seen yet ;) The pictures alone are worth it!
3. I hate finances and money...simply hate them @ Clever Dude -Haha...
4. Do "C" students deserve "A" lifestyles? @ Financial Samurai - Interesting!!!
5. Who do you trust for online business advice? @ Copyblogger - Not the scorpion!
6. Best of Money Carnival #36 @ Financial Highway
7. Carnival of Money Stories - "Tell me a Fairy Tale" ed. @ Modern Tightwad
8. Carnival of Personal Finance #242 - "Fun Tax Facts" @ Cash Money Life

Labels: giveaways, weekly roundup

1. I'm working to make my slave as big as possible @ Free Money Finance (yes!)
2. 2010 NY's Bash Giveaway: $9,200+ in cash & prizes @ Money Crashers (CRAZY)
   
3. Weird/Cool things that I would not spend money on @ Well-Heeled Blog (Hah!)
4. Where Americans pay the most to live and why @ Financial Samurai (interesting)
   
5. Lifestyle Design and Debt Freedom go Hand in Hand @ Enemy of Debt (100%)
   
6. Overdraft Protection is a good thing @ Bargaineering (esp. if tied to another acct.)
   
7. Carnival of Personal Finance #241 @ My Journey To Millions
8. Best of Money Carnival #25 - "All over the place" ed. @ Studenomics
9. Carnival of Money Stories @ My Journey To Millions

Labels: giveaways, weekly roundup

1. 7 Money Lessons from Monopoly @ Financial Highway
2. 5 Warning Signs You Will Stay Poor @ MikeKey.com
3. More couples taking the money over the wedding @ Free Money Finance
4. How we paid off our mortgage in under ten years @ Five Cent Nickel (CONGRATS!!!)
5. How Good is Your 401(k)? @ BusinessWeek
6. How to optimize your computer @ Bargaineering
7. Money Hacks Carnival #100 @ Ultimate Money Blog
8. Carnival of Personal Finance - "Support Haiti" ed. @ Million Dollar Journey
9. Carnival of Money Stories - "Springtime in Arizona" ed. @ Funny about Money

Labels: weekly roundup

1. Four words in personal finance that piss me off...and the wife says them all the time @ My Journey to Millions
2. 3 Steps to getting your finances on track @ Mrs. Micah (I cheated, this is a post I wrote over there. Hehe...someone's gotta pimp my stuff though, right?)
3. The lessons from two lemonade stands @ Seth Godin
4. How getting married wrecked my finances @ My Next Buck
5. 15 Minute resolution #2: Start Spending Consciously @ My Money Blog
6. 50 Personal Finance Bloggers to watch in 2010 @ Bible Money Matters
7. Reality series seeking people who need financial help @ Consumerism Commentary
8. Carnival of Personal Finance #239 - "Hot Money Trends of 2010" @ Darwin's Finance.
9. Carnival of Money Stories @ Dough Roller

Labels: weekly roundup

1. 10 Ways to Financially Kick Ass in 2010 @ Life Excursion (I'm featured)
2. The 12 Best Songs about Money. Ever @ 20 Something Finance
3. J.O.B. Just Over Broke @ Moneyseeker300
4. MoneyCrasher's NY Giveaway Bash: $6,200 in Cash & Prizes!! @ MoneyCrashers
   
5. Attention complainers: Why you STILL aren't saving money @ I Will Teach You To Be Rich
   
6. Recession's Emerging Credo - Do More, Buy Less @ NY Times
7. Should you convert to a Roth IRA? @ LA Times
8. Looking Out to 2010: Economy and Personal Finance @ Fiscal Fizzle (I'm featured)
9. An Old-School Board Game Goes Viral Among Silicon Valley's Techie Crowd @ WSJ
10. Carnival of Personal Finance #238 @ The Financial Blogger.

Labels: weekly roundup

1. Top 135+ Personal Finance Posts for 2009 @ Good Financial Cents. The best posts from us bloggers, all in one spot! Probably the best roundup you'll ever see actually, so if you're looking for something in particular this is the 1st place to check :)
2. Announcing "Improve Yourself 2010!" @ Engaged Marriage (You can win prizes!)
   
3. Do you Have or do you Need an F.U. Fund? @ Debt Hater.
4. Our Journey to Freedom: The Ultimatum @ Clever Dude.
5. My call from a debt collector @ Money Relationship.
6. Reactive vs. Proactive Finances @ Five Cent Nickel.
   
7. Inspirational 14 y/o investor on track to become a millionaire! @ DINK's Finance.
8. Relationships and Money: Are you a Communist, Socialist, or Capitalist? @ My Money Blog.

1. Carnival of Personal Finance - "Last Carnival of The Year" by Gather Little by Little.
2. Carnival of Money Stories - "Happy Pseudo Boxing Day" by Canadian Personal Finance Blog
3. Money Hacks Carnival #97 - "End of 2009" ed. by Canadian Finance Blog.
   

Labels: weekly roundup

1. Twas the night before Christmas @ Suburban Dollar (FUNNY!)
   
2. 7 Lies we tell ourselves about money @ I Will Teach You To Be Rich.
3. The best advice you'll ever get: Hang out with rich people! @ Quicksprout
4. From Mainstreet to Meanstreet: Conversations with The Homeless @ Downturn Living
5. Wanna buy a beer company together? @ My Money Blog (YES!)
6. How I Escaped The Rat Race @ Christian PF
7. Best Personal Finance Practices of 2009 @ Mrs. Micah
8. On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas @ Copyblogger

1. Carnival of Personal Finance - "Parts-of-speech abuse" ed. by Mighty Bargain Hunter.
2. Festival of Frugality #209 - "My Birthday Sucks" ed. by Studenomics.
3. Carnivals of Money Stories - hosted by Almost Frugal.
4. Money Hacks Carnival #96 - "The Holiday Edition" by Own The Dollar.

Labels: weekly roundup

Fave Articles:

1. 45 of the weirdest college scholarships @ Zen College Life - Hahaha...sure are weird!
2. 3 Reasons you are poor @ Big Fat Moneybags - There's def. some truth to this.
3. Top 10 financial stories of the decade @ My Dollar Plan - Wish I could forget ;)
   
4. Why The Affordable Home Really Isn't @ Wisebread - Homes are expensive!
5. Getting rich quickly will make you poor @ Quick Sprout - So don't win the lottery? ;)
6. Frugally and naturally fighting Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) @ Fighting Foreclosure - I know what you mean. Gotta get lots & lots of sunlight!

Carnivals Participated in:

1. Festival of Frugality - hosted by Negotiation Board.
2. Carnival of Personal Finance #235 - the "Cinderella" ed. by Well-Heeled With a Mission
3. Carnival of Twenty Something Finances - hosted by How I Save Money.
4. Money Hacks Carnival XCV- the "Tiger Woods, We Hardly Knew Ye" ed. hosted by Len Penzo.
5. Carnival of Money Stories #32 - "Winter is Here" ed. hosted by Canadian Finance Blog.

Labels: blogging, in the media, weekly roundup

Favorite Articles This Week:

1. I'm selling everything I own @ Money Funk - Minimalism.
2. The Psychology of Money and Wealth @ Enemy Of Debt - Passionate.
3. YouKnowYourHouseIsRidiculousWhen.com - WOW.
4. Domestic violence and separate savings accounts @ Single Guy Money - No Excuse.
5. 3 Interesting coins you might find in your change @ Consumerism Commentary - Buffalo.
6. Can doing what you love become a chore? @ Ultimate Money Blog - Yes.
7. Don't buy a home within 5 years of graduation @ Bargaineering - Agreed.
8. Excess is a liability @ Man v.s Debt - Balance.
9. PF Comics Launch @ Credit Card Finder - Hah!

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Carnival of Personal Finance #234 - "Weirdest Toy Crazes" ed. @ Suburban Dollar
2. Carnival of Money Stories #31 - "Getting Ready for Christmas" ed. @ Ultimate Money Blog

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite Articles This Week:

1. If you had $5 and 2 hours, what would you do to make as much money as possible? @ Sachin's Posterous - One of the BEST articles/videos on entrepreneurship I've ever seen. I highly recommend checking this out to help your brain juice up a bit...man this $hit excites me.
2. The Pareto Principle @ Cash Money Life - A GREAT summary & analysis of applying Pareto's (the bad ass Italian economist) principle to your finances and your entire life. I totally believe 20% of our effort turns into 80% of our returns. Master the big stuff and you're rockin.
   
3. Four Things 50 Cent Can Teach You About Connecting With Your Audience @ Copyblogger - If there's one thing I like more than finance, it's hip-hop music. And if there's one thing I like more than hip-hop music, it's business. And 50 Cent is a master of all 3 of these ;)
4. Review: Unclutter Your Life in One Week @ The Simple Dollar - I'm a firm believer that the more organized you are at home/work, the easier it is to manage your finances. While I agree w/ Trent that you can't do it all in one week, he gives an awesome breakdown of the tips provided to get a good start. Esp. if you're too lazy to read the book ;)
   
5. The Richest Americans @ Dual Income No Kids - A quote that I really liked, "These individuals didn't make their money by working for someone else. They are innovators; people who thought of a good idea and were willing to see that idea through to completion and were thus rewarded in a significant manner financially."
6. Jack Dorsey Talks Square And I Buy Him Coffee With It @ Tech Crunch - Twitter creator comes up with another beast of an idea! Using smart phones to swipe credit cards for payment! Man I wish I had just a fraction of the smarts this guy does. Entrepreneurship at it's finest.
7. Eavesdrop DC - Okay, so this is the farthest thing from personal finance there is, but I can't help but to promote it because it just cracks me up! Seriously, you have to at least give it a try ;)

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Best Of Money Carnival - hosted by Me In Millions.
2. Carnival of Personal Finance #233 - hosted by A Gai Shan Life.
3. Carnival of Money Stories - "My Financial Dreams" ed. hosted by The Financial Blogger.

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite articles this week:

1. Scratch-off lottery games WILL eat your lunch @ Mighty Bargain Hunter - A great analysis of my $100 scratch off project! Much better at mathematics than myself ;)
2. Contemplating a Big Financial Move @ Fabulous Financials - Keep $50k in the bank, or use it to pay down your 2nd mortgage? Financially one makes more sense than the other, but you always have to keep the emotions in mind too. I'd probably keep it in the bank, but read on to see what she's thinking.
3. The 7 Harsh Realities of Starting a Business @ Quick Sprout - A must read if you're considering starting up your own joint. The more I got through it, the more I was perfectly content with my full-time gig ;) Working for yourself is still exciting though!
4. How to Answer the 10 Most Common Interview Questions @ Bargaineering - I usually skip over these types of reads (kinda boring to me) but the nuggets of knowledge here really CAN help you! If you're fresh out of college and/or starting the interview process again, at least skim over this - one wrong answer could shut the door on ya.
5. The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing Machine @ Copyblogger - Not at all related to finance, but a really REALLY cool article if you're a blogger or writer. You don't even have to like Eminem to enjoy it! Just an overall creative article in my opinion.
   

Carnivals I participated in:

1. Money Hacks Carnival - "Thanksgiving Dinner" ed. hosted by Being Frugal.
2. Best Of Money Carnival #26 - hosted by The Corporate Barbarian.
3. Carnival of Money Stories - "Great Questions" ed. hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunter.
4. Carnival of Personal Finance - "Thanksgiving Survival" ed. hosted by Fiscal Geek.

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite articles this week:

1. Nicolas Cage loses 2 homes to foreclosure @ MSN Money - Want to NOT be like somebody? Make Cage your man. He claims his former business manager "sent him down a path toward financial ruin." What?! You didn't notice $20MM missing over time? Come on now, take some responsibility. (like not buying 22 cars in 1 year)
   
2. Reader Story: A Very, Very Fine House @ Get Rich Slowly - An awesome account of a couple making $170k (combined) but living in a 450 sq ft. home. A perfect example of using your money for things that truly make you happy! Watch for the 30-day-challenge at the end, too.
3. Being Dumb is a Good Thing @ Punch Debt In The Face - This line sums it up perfectly, "Being dumb has its benefits...namely an opportunity to learn." Well done, sir. Well done.
4. We're free of consumer debt!!! @ Clever Dude - Help congratulate my blogger friend (& mentor) Clever Dude and his wife for kicking $113,000 of debt in 3 years!!! Incredible. Can't wait to read *how* they did it next.
5. List of the Top Personal Finance On-Going Series @ My Next Buck - Who knew there were so many ideas brewing out there! From "Mail Box Monday", to "Friday Financial Foul Ups" there's a lot of blogger greatness going on :) And I'm happy to say my PF Blogger Showdown & Net Worth updates are also included.

Carnivals I participated in:

1. Carnival of Money Hackers - "My Money Success" ed. hosted by Gather Little by Little.
2. Carnival of Debt Reduction - hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunger.
3. Best Of Money Carnival #25 - hosted by Managing Money God's Way.
4. Carnival of Personal Finance #231 - "Financial Fables" hosted by M is for Money.
5. Carnival of 20 Something Finances - "Puppy" ed. hosted by The Amateur Financier.

Labels: celebrity finance, weekly roundup

Favorite articles this week

1. The Day I Killed My Credit Card (story) @ Enemy of Debt - This was by far my favorite post this week. Brad had me crackin' up the entire time with his crazy made-up story on killing his last credit cards. Haha...even fans of them can appreciate this work of art ;)
   
2. Pay Yourself First RAP by PT Money @ YouTube - I don't know how I'm just now comming across this, but it's AWESOME. Work it out PT, work it out! (thx for the tip Money Smart Life)
3. How Is Your Relationship With Money? @ Your Money Relationship - Truthfully? I like to think of my money as my bitch ;) In the nicest possible way.
   
4. Do What You Love: Idealistic Nonsense or Good Advice? @ Wisebread - If you've never heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, recent author of Crush It, I highly recommend this read. Breaks down some interesting thoughts on work & life.
5. Hip Hop Industry Feels The Recession @ Finance Your Life - Another superb video this week! Slim Thug on the Daily Show talkin' all kinds of silliness. Man this cracked me up.
6. What Was The Best $100 You've Ever Spent? @ Money Smart Life - I couldn't think of anything myself, but I like reading about others' bargains. Good post idea.
7. Money Hacks Carnival #90 - @ True Adventures In Money Hacking, "Minimalist Ed." I totally forgot to participate in the other carnivals, so this is it for this week.

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite articles this week:

1. Does this recession make me look fat? @ Time - One of the best headlines I've read in a long time :) You'll have to read to see what it's about, I'm not even gonna try to be clever here.
2. 24 Ways to save money @ The Simple Dollar - You find the usuals here (like bring your lunch to work and what not) but there's some gems as well. My favorite, "brush your teeth!" Haha...you don't hear that one every day.
3. What is the average household credit card debt? @ Bargaineering - Cool breakdowns of what the averages are out there. Do you fit in or beat 'em out?
4. It's Amazing! (how much stuff we don't buy anymore) @ Debt Dad of 6 - Wanna know what helps? Cutting out all the ads you see on a daily basis :) Wanna know how to do that? Read the post! (although easier said than done)
5. The truth about credit card rewards programs @ Good Morning America - Companies may be cutting them, but I'll still be rockin' mine out until they go 100% bye-bye. That's FREE money we're talking about! (as long as you pay off in full every month)
6. $1,000 Giveaway and your chance to make millions over your career @ Financial Samurai - Are you currently applying/going-to-be applying to college or grad school? If so, enter this contest by Saturday for a chance to get some great help!
7. My National Novel Writing Month Alternative: HANOWRIMO @ Jessica Knows - I KNOW some of you are participating in this year's novel writing dillyo, but for those who aren't hand-writing a letter a day is a nice compromise. When was the last time you got an actual letter in the mail? (btw, I'll be waiting for mine Jessica!)

Carnivals I participated in:

1. Carnival of Personal Finance #229 - "Candy" ed. hosted by The Centsible Life
2. Money Hacks Carnival #89 - "My Favourite Coffee" ed. hosted by The Financial Blogger
3. Carnival of Money Stories - hosted by Christian PF

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite articles of the week:

1. Being good with money when you're bad with math @ Fiscal Fizzle - "I'm bad with math is not a good enough excuse for financial failure. Either come up with something better or accept the fact that you can be bad at math and still do well with your money."
2. Should we get rid of 401(k) plans? @ Five Cent Nickel - Blasphemy! Of course, I'm biased with my 100% matching, but I still think they're a great tool for those who ACTIVELY use them. Nickel does a good job of summarizing some pros and cons here.
3. The whole armor of personal finance @ Debt Free Adventure - If you don't have time to read it thoroughly, at least take a peek at the picture @ the top. Clever!
4. Want to become a millionaire? Don't be like this guy @ Generation X Finance - Haven't seen Who Wants to be a Millionaire in a while, but this clip makes me want to watch again :)
5. Something is better than nothing @ Life After College - Yes! This applies to all aspects of life, especially finances. The only way you can get to XXX amount of savings is to start with X! If you can't make your goal of $100 this month, put in whatever you can, even just $5.
6. Civility doesn't cost a thing @ Well-Heeled - A nice reminder to all commenters that leaving f'd up comments isn't cool. Criticism - yes. Outright bashing - no.
7. The Clingstone House - An Island Home @ Donkee House - If someone buys this for me, I will give you my blog! And maybe an extra $100.

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Carnival of Money Stories - "Halloween Candy" ed. hosted by PT Money
2. Carnival of Personal Finance #228 - "Halloween" ed. hosted by Money Crashers

Labels: weekly roundup

Fave articles of the week:

1. Learning from a millionaire @ Money Seeker 3000 - If you ever come across any millionaires, learn from them! Pick their brain and take notes - Just like you were writing The Millionaire Next Door (or the new book coming out: "Stop Acting Rich", woohoo!)
2. Education is not the solution to all personal-finance problems @ I Will Teach You To Be Rich - Some people love Ramit, and others can't stand him. If you want to know why, read this article :) I, personally, have a man crush on him - but I don't necessarily agree with all of his stuff. Nevertheless, it IS interesting.
3. The Rule of High School @ Seth Godin - My favorite quote (by Tom Hanks): "Hollywood is like high school, but with money." Hah!
4. The most common things people steal @ The Red Stapler Chronicles - Haha...I would venture to guess you guys have at least done half of these ;)
5. Debt Free Day @ Debt Free Hispanic - "...wouldn't it be cool if one day out of the year everyone would celebrate debt free day by paying cash for every purchase we make." Yes!
6. My Top 10 Worst money making ideas @ Quick Sprout- Number 1 & 9 makes me want to punch him in the face, but the rest are fairly creative. The reason I liked it though was the message behind it - sometimes you have to fail a lot in life to make it big!

Carnivals I participated in:

1. Carnival of Personal Finance #227 - hosted by Fabulously Broke In The City
2. Carnival of Money Stories - "Autumn" ed. hosted by Simply Forties
3. Carnival of Twenty-Something Finances - "Amazing Anime" ed. by The Amateur Financier

Labels: weekly roundup

Posts that excited me this week ;)

1. Abe, Nooo!: Gallery of Geek-ily Defaced Bills @ Geekologie - What I wouldn't do to own some of these dollars! I think I'll have to whip some out myself and see what I can conjure up.
2. How God worked in the life of one debt-free blogger: A testimonial @ Bible Money Matters - This is a guest post from my boy Brad at Enemy of Debt and how religion came back into his life. Very inspirational and just an overall cool story :)
3. Twenty Dollar Mentality @ Backing Up The Truck: Do YOU think $20 is "a lot of money"? AG's dad does, and I give him mad respect for it too....perhaps I'll tell my kids the same one day.
4. Savers vs. Spenders: Opposites Attract? @ Five Cent Nickel - While the Mrs. and I are on the same page with our spending habits (as in we don't like to spend much), only one of us like to talk about it 24/7 and mange it all. *ahem*
5. How a Silly Little Experiment Helped Me Get Out of Debt @ No Credit Needed - Experimenting with new ideas is crazy smart, especially when they work out well.
6. What Would You Tell Yourself 10 Years ago? @ Counting My Pennies - I don't think it mattered *what* I told myself then as I wouldn't have listened anyways! haha...but in the spirit of the idea, I'd have said to save 10% of my total income - as hard as it would have been.
7. Children And Money: Are you helping your children learn the basics? @ Enemy of Debt - Not yet, but as soon as we get some you better believe I'll be looking for the best ways :) Enjoyed it as an adult though. haha...
8. Have an iPhone? Nab the iGarageSale App! - 99 cents to connect w/ all the yard sales in your aread posted on Craigslist. Pretty cool stuff, just wish it was yard sale season still :(

Carnivals I enjoyed this week:

1. Best Of Money Carnival - hosted by Stretchy Dollar.
2. Carnival of Money Stories #23 - hosted by My Journey To Millions
3. Carnival of Personal Finance - "The AMF Turns 5" ed. hosted by All Financial Matters.

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite Articles of The Week:

1. 60% of Workers Living Paycheck to Paycheck? @ DINK's Finance - This freaks me out. Especially since I was one of them a few years back. If you can work yourself out of it, do it now! Life is much less stressful that way, believe me.
2. Love talking about money! @ FruGal - YES, me too :) It's a wonderful thing when friends and family opens up and you can have *real* conversations about finances.
   
3. Little savings or big savings? @ Counting My Pennies - I always enjoy reading about how others decide whether things like clipping coupons or bringing lunch are worth it or not, compared to bigger savings like selling a car or downgrading your living situation. I've been falling on the Bigger is better train lately, but I think both are key to a happy wallet.
4. Financial Companies On Twitter @ Bargaineering - Yup, that's exactly what it is :) If you're bank is on the list, give 'em a shout and thank them for their awesomeness. (or, shoot over a complaint. you'd probably get a faster response that way than the outdated telephone)
5. TwitterLotto: Jackpot Awarded on Christmas Day, 2009 @ Twitip - This is a bad ass idea - this college kid is trying to convert publicity into money! All you have to do is follow @twterlotto on twitter, and he'll award the one lucky winner the jackpot on Christmas. Check out the link for more info, it's at $171.67 right now (last week it was at $23).
6. Why Blogging is like the Wizard of Oz and there's no place like home. A polemic or maybe a manifesto. For all the red shoe bloggers @ Problogger - Haha... this girl's voice is all kinds of refreshing. Not related to finance but def. interesting if you're into blogging.

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Carnival of Personal Finance - "Planning Winter" ed. hosted by Studenomics
2. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights - "The Race to the World Series" ed. by Stupid Cents
3. Money Hacks Carnival #85 - "Saturn's New Ring" ed. hosted by Dough Roller
4. Festival of Frugality #198 - "Signs of the times" ed. hosted by Improve the Quality
5. Carnival of Twenty Something Finances - hosted by 20s Money
6. Carnival of Money Stories #22 - hosted by True Adventures in Money Hacking

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite Articles of The Week:

1. Stop Feeling Sorry For Me - I'm Frugal, Not Broke @ Frugal Dad - Gotta love this guy :) If there's something on his mind, he'll say it! And I happen to agree w/ post 100%. A quote - "The fact is, most frugal people are in much better financial positions than those feeling sorry for them." YES!
2. The 10 Dumbest Things To Buy at a Dollar Store @ The Red Stapler Chronicles - I seriously can't believe some of these things! Home pregnancy tests, sleeping pills, tampons? *shiver* It's no wonder this post has been read over 167,000 times! Congrats Kevin!
3. Cell Phones By The Numbers @ Mobile Maven - A cool infographic on how much more smartphones cost us! $208 vs. $58 for "regular" phones. s-c-a-r-y.
   
4. Frugal Reality TV Show @ DINK's Finance - If you've ever wanted to be in the limelight you frugal bastard you, now's your time to shine ;) Sign up and give us a shout out if you make it!
   
5. A Fist Full of $100's @ Financial Freak Show - A pretty funny story of a blogger showing up at Starbucks with $1500 in cash to pay for his coffees. Check it out to see his reasoning.
   
6. Can You List Every Single Item You Own? @ Man vs. Debt - No, I can't (yet), but I'm working on it! And seeing Adam's list of 200 is enough to keep me motivated.
7. PF Bloggers: Trademark Your Frugal Names Quick! @ Mighty Bargain Hunter - I'm not sure if any of you've heard this lately or not, but someone's trying to trademark the name "Frugalista" and it's been all the rage around the PF blogosphere ;) This article pokes some fun at it, and renames a handful of our blogs. Perhaps I should register Frugal Is Sexy.com?

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Best of Money Carnival #18 - hosted by Moolanomy.
2. Carnival of Personal Finance #224 - "National Dog Week" hosted by My Life ROI.
3. Festival of Frugality #197 - hosted by Funny About Money.
4. Carnival of Money Hacks #84 - hosted by Military Finance Network.
5. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights - "Welcome to Canada ed., eh!" hosted by Financial Highway.
6. Carnival of 20 Something Finances - hosted by Control Your Cash.

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite Articles This Week:

1. Dreams For Sale: $1 @ FiLife - I'm cheating here and placing up a guest post I did over at FiLife ;) If you enjoy playing the lottery, you will appreciate it.
   
2. Are You Clogging Your Financial Arteries? @ Life After College - Brilliant post from my online friend Jenny Blake! All those daily indulgences add up over time and gets you in trouble - health-wise AND finance-wise.
3. Business Card Doodles @ The Simple Dollar - By far my favorite post ever from Trent. And not only because it has pretty pictures (which it does - if you like doodles) but because each card tells it's own story! Short and sweet too, just how my A.D.H.D. likes it.
4. Surfing, To Big To Fail, and Capitalism @ My Money Shrugged - A great look into Capitalism, really easy to understand too!
5. Keeping Going Keeping Going @ Plonkee Money - "Automatic investing...takes a while to build momentum...but when it gets going, it really goes"
6. Cars Make Us Go Crazy @ Finance Your Life - "Many people have always stated that cars are the worst investment known to man...I can't think of anything else that loses value the moment you purchase it?"
7. Selling A Dead Horse for $500 @ Blogging With Success - Excellent story with blogging tips at the end! Who knew?
8. Turn Your Blog Into a Book with Blog2Print @ Blogger Buzz - Sooooo cool! It would cost a ton to make *this* blog into a book (would be over 600 pages!) but would be incredible to have on the bookshelf once/if I shall retire.

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Best of Money Carnival #17 - hosted by Steadfast Finances.
2. Carnival of Debt Reduction - hosted by Bob over at Christian PF.
3. Carnival of Money Hacks #83 - hosted by Cash Money Life.
   
4. Carnival of Personal Finance #223 - "Financial Meltdown, A Year Later" by Taking Charge.
5. Carnival of Money Stories - "The Lessons In Stories" ed. hosted by M Is For Money.
6. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #25 - "Stephen Covey" ed. hosted by Fiscal Fizzle.
7. Festival of Frugality #196 - "Juggling" ed. hosted by Green Panda Treehouse.
   

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite Articles of the Week:

1. Tyler Durden's Guide To Personal Finance @ Man vs. Debt - I really don't know what to say here other than a) this post is GENIUS, and b) I really wish I had thought of it myself ;) Very very well thought out and put together - a must read.
   
2. Accidental Frugality - Can You Live on Half Your Income? @ Stop Buying Crap - I like this post a lot :) Cap doesn't write as much as he used to (he's pretty busy over at Billshrink's blog) BUT when he does it's freakin' hilarious. To answer his question though, No I cannot live off half my income but I am def. working towards it! Or at least to live off of 1 of the salaries between the wifey and I.
3. No More Paper Checks At Walmart @ Mrs. Micah - I never heard this until Mrs. Micah wrote about it, but her theories as to whether it'll be a good or bad idea are pretty interesting. Instead of paper checks, they'll now be getting their money on DEBIT CARDS! I'm not totally sure how that's going to work out.
4. Life Project Plan @ Debt Free Dad of 6 - I love seeing outlines of how others are managing their finances and life in general. When you put it all down in one spot like that, it's MUCH easier to stay on track and hold yourself accountable/motivated.
5. How Passion Can Transform Your Blog @ Pro Blogger - While this post is centered around blogging, the idea of using your passion to get better can go along way with anything in life - in particular your career!
6. McDonalds Combo Meal Includes Gun and Bags of Pot @ Consumerist - You can't really learn too much from this post (unless, of course, you're in the business of dealing drugs at fast food joints), but it's a pretty entertaining read :) Big thanks to Jesse over at PF Firewall for finding this gem - I don't know how I missed it.

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Best of Money Carnival #16 - hosted by Wise Money Matters.
2. Carnival of Money Stories - "Baby Faces" ed. hosted by Suburban Dollar.
3. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #24 - "Friends" ed. hosted by Pecuniarities.
4. Carnival of Personal Finance - "Live From Monticello" ed. hosted by Simply Forties.
5. Carnival of Money Hackers - "82nd" ed. hosted by Four Pillars.
6. Festival of Frugality #195 - "Apple" ed. hosted by The Good Life on a Budget.
7. Carnival of Twenty Something Finances - "September 14th" ed. hosted by Rabbit Funds.
8. Carnival of Debt Reduction - "Mid-September" ed. hosted by Climbing From Debt.

Labels: weekly roundup

Bitchin' Articles This Week:

1. Top 25 Most Badass Personal Finance Blogs @ Credit Card Finder - This is HILARIOUS! Even if you don't feel like reading through them (although there are some excellent write ups), you *have to* check out the blinged-out caricatures of some of your favorite bloggers.
2. The article Cash4Gold doesn't want you to read @ Consumerist - An insider leaks the goods! Very very interesting...and damn viral too - getting a lot of attention, well done guys.
3. Would you go to a wedding if you had to pay for your meal? @ Clever Dude - Haha...oddly enough, I had a similar conversation with some newly engaged friends who brought up the idea of a pot-luck wedding! They'd save costs AND you get your choice of meals & deserts ;) New blog post?
4. 50 Cent shares his attitude towards investing @ CNBC - Love hearing about rappers and finance! A quote - "50 Cent said tough situations in his life, like the death of his mother, helped him develop a fearless approach to investing..."
5. All money in the world divided equally - @ Free Money Finance Been reading a lot of FMF's posts lately and he never ceases to keep my attention! Always something fun going over there, so much so that I just added him to my blogroll.
6. Why Nobody Reads Your Blog @ Shoe Money - Not finance related, but def. interesting if you're a blogger or you're thinking about starting one. Basically says to have your own voice and not be "boring" by just spitting factual news all over the place. I agree!

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Festival of Frugality - "First Hosting Gig" ed. hosted by The Centsible Life.
   
2. Carnival of Personal Finance #221 - "Labour Day" ed. hosted by Financial Highway.
3. Carnival of Money Stories #18 - "Labour Day" ed. hosted by The Canadian Finance Blog.
4. Carnival of Money Hackers - The "81st" ed. hosted by ABCs Of Investing.
5. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights - The"23rd" ed. hosted by Almost Frugal.
   

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite Articles This Week:

1. A New Stage In My Financial Journey @ The Happy Rock - An awesome AWESOME post on the different stages of what money really MEANS to the Happy Rock. Insightful stuff.
2. Men Paying for Dinner: Is It More Romantic? @ Consumerism Commentary - Half of me says no, and the other half says...yes? I dunno I'm not a girl :) I FEEL like I'm being romantic when I pay! Esp if I use my own reserves instead of our "joint" account. What do you think?
3. How to save and store critical financial information for your family @ Mrs. Micah - Excellent post on compiling your info into one sexy Word doc! Even if you don't want to read it entirely, at LEAST download her Financial Life Worksheet and make time to fill it out. Genius :)
4. 11 Dumb Ways to get in Debt @ Financial Highway - Some of these are common sense, but others might surprise you! There's just one I'd like for you to overlook - playing the lottery ;) $1 makes for some good entertainment!
5. Prayer Requests @ Janie Out of Debt - The first paragraph says it all, "Here is a list of everyone that I am currently praying for that has credit card debt. Please pray for them as well because they are struggling financially and they are in need of your prayer too." Love the love :)
   

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Best Of Money Carnival - hosted by my good friend Man vs. Debt.
2. Carnival of Personal Finance - "History of College Football" ed. hosted by Stretchy Dollar.
3. Carnival of Money Stories - hosted by The Dough Roller.
   
4. Money Hacks Carnival #80 - hosted by Automatic Finances.
5. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #22 - "UFC" ed. hosted by The Canadian Finance Blog.
6. Festival of Frugality #193 - "G.I. Joe" ed. hosted by The Canadian Finance Blog.

Labels: weekly roundup

Articles I Enjoyed This Week:

1. NYC's 'skinniest' house has a fat price tag: $2.7M @ Yahoo! News - I eat this real estate stuff up. Big props to Clever Dude for linking to it, along with his previous find of Toronto's smallest house that went for $177k!
2. "What are you saving it for?" @ Counting My Pennies - I used to be all about saving the "fine china" and "good stuff" for special occasions, only to realize I NEVER used them! And if I did, it would be like once every 2 years or something. Now I try to use the nice stuff all the time...not that I even have fine china or anything anymore ;)
3. Is This It? @ FruGal - I like pieces that make you take a step back and *think*. Here's a snippet from the post: "You've worked hard, you're finally being nicely rewarded for your efforts, and you've got to a place that closely resembles what you imagined a 'career' was when you were fresh out of university. But then what? IS THIS IT?"
4. Student Loan Sob Story @ All Financial Matters - Pretty spicy debate going about this guy who's up to his neck in student debt. He'd like to have legislation passed to wipe out a lot of this stuff that many people suffer from now. JLP says it's his own fault and that no one should bail him out :) Interesting discussion going on, check it out.
5. The Craigslist Penis Effect @ I Will Teach You To Be Rich - Haha....talk about grabbing your attention! If you're afraid to click over, here's the gist: "The Craigslist Penis Effect describes situations where everyone else is so horrible that, by being even half-decent, you can dominate everyone else and win."
6. Learning to live on less @ Debt-Free Dad of 6 - They've already knocked down $30,000 in debt over 20 months!!! Very inspiring to say the least.
7. Make Money Blogging Free eBook @ Daily Blog Tips - For all interested in this kinda thing.

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Carnival of Personal Finance #219 - "Little League" ed. hosted by Your Money Relationship.
2. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights - "Edition 21" hosted by The Paycheck Chronicles.
   
3. Money Hacks Carnival #79 - "Hack The Planet" ed. hosted by Modern Tightwad.
4. Carnival of 20 Something Finances - hosted by How I Save Money.

Labels: weekly roundup

Favorite reads this week:

1. What is your motivational burrito currency? @ My Money Blog - Jonathan (aka Wellheeled's crush --- awwww!) strikes again. A brilliantly written piece on correlating dollar amounts you save/earn to actual items you deem worthy. Example: I sometimes thinks "ooh yay that $10 I just saved could buy me 10 lottery tickets!"
2. Just when they thought they'd lost it all... @ The Penny-Wise Family -An inspiring, sad, makes-you-appreciate-life type article. Not directly relating to personal finance (the theme of the week!) but it does put having money in perspective.
   
3. Twitter your way to bargains @ MSN Money - While twitter still remains the common way to "stay up to date on what people are having for lunch", MSN gets into some ways where you can actually LEARN by using/following people on Twitter. Imagine that ;)
4. The Big Rocks @ John Chow - Another great "life" read...kinda hard to pay attention with all the ads all over his site (some of you know how John's site is), but the actual content is killer.
5. Ask The Readers: What is your Appetite for Risk? @ Get Rich Slowly - Pretty high! Big risks = big rewards, no? At least while we're young ;)
6. 26 T-Shirts for Internet Geeks and Web Workers @ Daily Blog Tips - Please buy me #5 and #6, thank you kindly.

Carnivals I participated in:

1. Carnival of Money Stories - "It's All Stories" ed. hosted by Almost Frugal
2. Money Hacks Carnival - "Looking back at summer" ed. hosted by Studenomics
3. Festival of Frugality #191 - hosted by Frugal Upstate.
   
4. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #20 - hosted by Counting My Pennies
5. Carnival of 20 Something Finances - "Personal Finance Communities" by Realm of Prosperity

Labels: weekly roundup

Fave Articles of the Week:

1. Minimalist Lifestyle @ The Frugal Bachelor - One of the most inspiring posts I've read in a long time...I'll be posting more about this later, but it really has got me thinking about de-cluttering and getting my belongings down to a sizable number! Very very interesting stuff...
2. Do More @ Life After College - Another inspirational read, and less than 50 words long!
3. High School Money @ Punch Debt In The Face - I'm a big fan of more financial education in schools, but I'd be lying if I said post didn't get me to rethink it. On the other hand, I'm not sure what a good resolution IS if you don't increase it? Perhaps it would require me and Debt Ninja to come up with a more exciting way to learn ;)
4. What do your bank records say about you? @ My Pretty Pennies - That I'm a sucker for Starbucks and a massive cash xfer'er?
5. How many savings accounts do you need? @ Debt Hater - 3 for us! 1 for "house savings", 1 for "J. Money Savings", and 1 for "Mrs. Budgetsaresexy Savings".
6. The Best Career Advice, in Ten Words or Less @ The Simple Dollar - Pretty cool way to spice things up - lot of responses from the twitter world.
7. Chrometophobia - Fear Of Money @ Cash Money Life - Come again?

Carnivals I Participated In:

1. Carnival of Personal Finance #217 - "The French Money Quotes" ed. by Almost Frugal
2. Best of Money Carnival - "That's The Way (uh-huh! uh-huh!) I Like It" by Mighty Bargain Hunter
3. Festival of Frugality - hosted by It's Frugal Being Green
4. Carnival of 20 Something Finances - hosted by My Beauty And Fashion
5. Money Hacks Carnival - "By The Book" ed. hosted by Personal Finance By The Book

Labels: weekly roundup