Friday Night Roundup: De-Caffeinated Edition

Written by nickel - 7 Comments

I quit drinking caffeinated beverages nearly six weeks ago. While caffeine was once a staple of my diet, it has become increasingly problematic for me, in that it was causing me to stay up until all hours of the night.

While I initially got a charge out of it, I was starting to feel increasingly rundown even with caffeine. Moreover, I was starting to get caffeine headaches even with caffeine in my system. And without caffeine? Forget about it.

So… After we got back from our Disney cruise, I decided to kick the habit once and for all. While it was a rough first week, it’s been great ever since. Unlike previous attempts to quit, I don’t miss it in the least. For whatever reason, water is suddenly just fine, thank you.

With that, here are some links to articles that caught my eye this week…

» Ideas For Your Income Tax Refund Or Stimulus Check
This is a timely collection of ideas for making the most of your tax windfall.

» Preparing Financial Information for the Less-Engaged Spouse
This is a topic that’s near and dear to my heart, and is actually one of my goals for 2008. I’ve made progress, but I’m nowhere near done.

» Should I Include Known Liabilities in My Net Worth?
This is an interesting question, and one which I’d never really thought about. I guess it stands to reason that you might want to include known (future) liabilities in your net worth calculations.

» Negotiate Once, Save Thousands Every Year
This is an interesting guest post from Get Rich Slowly. Good tips for getting the most out of any transaction.

» Flexible Spending Account Claims Strategies for Procrastinators
A nice list of tips if you’re staring at the “lose it” end of a “use-it-or-lose-it” FSA.

» Are You Willing to Sell Your Credit Score?
You can make a tidy little profit if you’re willing to lose a few points of your credit score. Is it worth it to you?

Published on April 11th, 2008 - 7 Comments
Filed under: Link Love
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Comments (scroll down to add your own):

Wow, congratulations on kicking the caffeine habit. It’s currently a monkey on my back, despite a few earlier attempts to cut back. I rationalize that since I drink diet pop the calories don’t matter, and, after all, a pop habit is a lot better than nicotine or alcohol. Either way, congratulations is in order for your success !
Comment by Todd — Apr 12th 2008 @ 1:04 am
Wow! Life without caffeine? Is that even possible?

That is something I have thought about from time to time, but I just enjoy the stuff too much. I do try to cut back though, making about half as much coffee as I used to when I brew my own and ordering medium sized cups instead of large when I go out for coffee.

Anyway, I commend you for your efforts and best of luck.
Comment by Eden — Apr 12th 2008 @ 10:17 am
I used to enjoy it too. But it eventually became nothing more than a necessary evil. Life sucked with it, and sucked even more without it. Like I said, unlike previous tries, this time I haven’t missed it one bit. I guess I was just ready for a change.

Comment by nickel — Apr 12th 2008 @ 10:42 am
I usually limit myself to one caffeinated beverage a week, but I hit the diet soda pretty hard the past couple of weeks while getting by on little sleep trying to get my thesis done. I figured I’d get back to my normal habits this weekend since the deadline for getting the thesis to my committee was yesterday. Then the vending machine ate my quarters yesterday and I wasn’t desperate enough to drink lab coffee so I gave up caffeine early and did my final revisions in a headachy fog.

Congratulations on kicking the habit.
Comment by E.C. — Apr 12th 2008 @ 12:56 pm
I’d love to hear what you’re covering in your spousal information packet.
Comment by Mrs. Micah — Apr 12th 2008 @ 6:57 pm
I weened myself off of coffee a few years back, but several months ago I started back up. Before I knew it, it was a daily habit yet again. You’ve just motivated me to kick the caffeine habit once more!
Comment by JP — Apr 12th 2008 @ 7:19 pm
I used to drink 4-5 Mountain Dews a day for the caffine kick they packed. Now I don’t drink much caffine, my tolerance is much lower so the occasional coke can keep me up all night!
Comment by Ben — Apr 14th 2008 @ 7:07 am