Here’s a smattering of links that caught my eye over the past week from the various members of the MoneyBlogNetwork…

Flexo of ConsumerismCommentary wrote about the cost of raising a kid from birth to age seventeen. He also talked a bit about the costs incurred just during the teenage years. Wow. And to think that we have to multiply these values by four! Actually, I’m pretty sure we’re running quite a ways behind these estimates thus far (in a per-child basis, that is).

MightyBargainHunter is looking for ways to reduce his electrical usage.

FMF of FreeMoneyFinance wrote up some tips on how to deal with a debt collector. My best advce in this arean would be to stay out of debt in the first place. But what do I know? Stop by and check it out.

JLP of AllFinancialMatters has posted his first ever financial calculator. It’s a cool little mileage calculator that lets you run what-if scenarios and predict your gas expenditures for the year based on a number of variables.

Jim of pfBlueprint wrote up an interesting piece on money abstraction and the dangers of spending money when it doesn’t feel like you’re dealing with ‘real’ money.

Finally, I’d just like to close with a plug for the informative and fun MoneyBlogNetwork Forums, where you can find all sorts of great information and discussions on all sorts of blog-related topics.

And that’s it for this week. I usually try to report more broadly, but my laptop is down for the count (and in for service), so I’m just limping along.