Weekly Roundup – Renovation Homestretch Edition

We’re now in the home stretch on our home addition. Yet to be done:

(1) final coat of paint in kitchen/dinette,
(2) shelving in pantry, laundry room, and new closet
(3) install outlets, switches, and lights (the wiring’s been done for quite some time)
(4) counter tops and sink need to be installed in the laundry room
(5) finish painting the exterior (one small area delayed due to the window situation)
(6) stain the deck
(7) final grading around the exterior

It sounds like a lot, but most of this will be completed by the end of tomorrow. After the addition has been entirely finished and the new laundry room is fully functional, they’ll then tear out the old laundry room and convert it into a powder room.

With the worst of this behind us, it will be a Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

And now, on with the roundup…

MBH had some tips for your flexible spending account.

NCN put together a nice breakdown of effective tax brackets.

Jim provided some details on the tax credit for energy-saving home improvements.

JLP talked about turning $1,000 into $1,000,000.

FMF continued his index fund love fest.

JD talked about making frugality fun.

Flexo shared some ideas on how to save money without trying.

Jeremy asked if you’re doing anything about the falling dollar.

Ben talked about how to avoid paying into Social Security.

Sun got an e-mail from E*Trade saying that rumors of their demise are premature.

Lazy Man talked about a lazy plan for eliminating debt.

4M just experienced a hellish job interview that was so bad he actually longed for trips to the bathroom, saying “I never really saw the positive side of diarrhea till then.” That’s perhaps the single-best sentence that I read in a finance-related context this week.

Over at Raising4Boys, I wrote about the right age to start an allowance.

My Dollar Plan, whose theme looks fanatastic , wrote about finding discounts on postage stamps. (Despite the similarities between her theme and mine, I have it on good authority that she didn’t copy me — apparently great minds think alike!)

Finally, I just ran across a brand new site called Money Myths that already has some nice content. Being a parent myself, I particularly enjoyed Young Kids and Money.