Weekly Roundup – Festivus Edition

This evening, I was reminded that last year’s Festivus celebration hasn’t technically concluded in our household. As the head of the house, I still haven’t been pinned, so the Feats of Strength are still ongoing. Given that our oldest son is just eleven, it may be awhile before this wraps up. That being said, I sure am looking forward to this year’s Airing of the Grievances.

And on that note… Here are some recent articles that caught my eye:

Jim talked about mutual funds with low minimum investments. This is a great topic for those that are just getting started and don’t have a lot of money to invest.

Jeremy took a closer look at extended warranties on cars. We actually bought the extended warranty on one of our cars a few years back, and were glad that we did. More recently, we’ve focused on buying cars that are unlikely to need an extended warranty (we’ve become a Honda family) and we haven’t bought on since.

Lazy Man talked about evaluating gym memberships. Earlier this year, my wife and I decided put together a home gym of sorts. We got a nice elliptical, a rowing machine, an adjustable bench, and some PowerBlocks. It’s been great thus far, especially since we have kids and rarely have an opportunity to get to a gym.

With the holidays just around the corner, check out Cap’s seven tips for easier air travel. My #1 tip is to not travel with four young kids. Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice, so we just make the best of it.

SVB talked about dealing with job loss. While we haven’t been faced with this, many people have been, and her list contains come good tips.

NCN listed ten tips for escaping the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. He’s walked the walk, so be sure to click through and check out what he has to say.

Ron talked about how to research a charity. In addition to his suggestions, I would add Charity Navigator.

Finally, over at Credit Addict, I dissected a credit cardholder agreement. If you haven’t read yours, you should. You might be surprised at what’s in there.