I just ran across an interesting article about Disney receiving the go-ahead from China’s central government to build a new theme park in Shanghai. Current estimates are that the new park will cost close to $4B and will open in five to six years. I can only imagine how thrilled Disney is at being given access to such a huge market.

And now… Eight recent articles that caught my eye…

• Conduct a Financial Fire Drill
• Seven Zen Principles to Guide Your Money and Your Life
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Annuities
• Our Journey to Debt Freedom: Cresting the Hill
• Create a Home Inventory and Save Your Stuff
• Can You Buy Your Way Out of the Rat Race?
• Ten Tricks for Staying Warm This Winter Without Huge Energy Bills
• How to Budget for Lump Sum Payments

That’s it for now. Have a great week.

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» The Many Versions of Monopoly
» One Year Ago This Week (2006 Holiday Edition)
» Weekly Roundup – 03/02/07
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» Planning a Disney Cruise
» Living Above Your Means: Thoughts from the High Seas
» Weekly Roundup – Exterior Christmas Lights Edition

Guess what? Today marks the beginning of National Save for Retirement Week. Did you know that over half of all workers in the United States have less than $25,000 in total savings and investments?

While these stats include a lot of younger workers, we can do much, much better when it comes to preparing for the future. With that in mind, we’ll be featuring a good bit of retirement-related content here this week.

And now… Some recent articles that caught my eye:

• Money Tips I Learned From Poker
• How to Prepare for the Demise of the Dollar
• Ten Critical Money Management Skills Your Kids Need
• Why You Should Keep Contributing to Your 401(k)
• Living Below Your Means Does Not Mean Living Poorly
• Who Has the Time (or Money) for Deals?
• Fifteen Things More Important Than Money
• Why Dollar Cost Averaging is Popular

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

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» Weekly Roundup – 08/18/06
» Weekly Roundup – Missing Quicken Installer Edition
» Sunday Roundup – Gas Experiment Edition

After months of very sporadic “weekly” roundups, I’m actually doing a second one in a row this week. Things continue to be exceptionally busy around here, though, so don’t be surprised if I go back to my old ways.

And now for some great articles…

• Accidental Frugality – Can You Live on Half Your Income?
• Costs of Raising Children (and Part II)
• Earning What You Have: The Mindset I Hope I Never Lose
• Asset Allocation is Important, but…
• How to Buy Short Sale Real Estate
• How to Harvest Rainwater for Household Use
• Starting an Opportunity Fund
• Frugal Doesn’t Mean Frumpy
• The Right and Wrong Way to Quit Your Job
• Forgiven Debt Isn’t Really Forgiven at All

And finally… Be sure to check out JLP’s 2009 personal finance “how to” roundup, which lists 269 finance-related how-to articles broken down by categories.

P.S. Yes, we have hot water again.

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About three weeks ago, our hot water heater tripped the circuit breaker. In the time since then, it’s become clear that it’s in need of serious help.

While we could’ve had it repaired, we decided to go ahead and replace it. Unfortunately, the unit that we want had to be ordered, so we’ll be without hot water for the better part of this week. Bummer.

Anyway, here are some articles to entertain you while we anxiously await the return of hot water to our household…

• Should You Buy It? A Flowchart for Evaluating Potential Purchases
• Tyler Durden’s Guide To Personal Finance
• Should I Invest While Still In Debt?
• How to Break the Minimum Credit Card Payment Mindset
• Who’s Better At Managing Money? Men vs. Women
• Are You Saving Enough For Retirement?
• Budgeting with the Envelope System
• Taking Baby Steps Toward Financial Goals
• Why Entrepreneurs Fail
• The Little Things and the Big Things: Which are More Important?

And with that… Have a great week full of warm showers.

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» The Many Versions of Monopoly
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Our kids went back to school this past week. Seriously. At the beginning of August. When I was a kid, school always started the Tuesday after Labor Day. That old September-June school year is so engrained in me that it still doesn’t feel like summer vacation until early June, even though the kids get out a month earlier. That means our summers now feel like they’re two-thirds as long.

Oh, and get this… Our seven year old has already picked up a cold from his first few days back in the germ factory at school. We’re hoping against hope that it won’t spread to the rest of us.

And now, here are some recent articles that caught my eye…

• Next Month Syndrome
• What if There was no Tomorrow?
• The New Rules of Money
• The Costs of Selling Your House
• Radically Frugal
• Debt Reduction & Emergency Savings
• Five Tips to Protect Your Home
• Are You Your Own Worst (Financial) Enemy?

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Just about a week ago, our Xbox 360 crashed with an E74 error. The bad news is that this error code signals a “General Hardware Failure.” The good news is that it’s still under warranty. In fact, this problem is so common that Microsoft has extended the warranty to cover it for three years.

Unfortunately, when I went online to print out the shipping label to send our console in for service, the Microsoft website couldn’t produce a printable image. I tried in multiple browsers, both Mac and PC. Ultimately, I had to call in for help. Based on a bit of Googling, as well as the response of the CSR, this appears to be a known issue.

Here’s the funny thing… Instead of e-mailing me a pdf of the shipping label, as you might expect the largest computer company in the world to be capable of doing, they were reduced to sending the label to me via snail mail. It finally arrived on Saturday, so tomorrow I’ll be package up our Xbox and send it away for repairs.

And with that… Here are some recent articles that caught my eye…

• Ten Purchases That Can Harm Your Credit
• Money Lessons Learned From Monopoly
• Wealth Creation: Is it a Myth?
• The Cost of a New Home
• Money and Your Health
• Seven Secret Places to Hide Cash in Your Home
• Your Home is Not an Investment
• Micro-Goals and Staying Motivated

Finally, Matt’s article on “Breaking Free From a Culture of Temptation” was selected as an Editor’s Pick in the Best of Money Carnival. Have a great week!

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I debated about calling this one the “Father’s Day Edition,” but decided to go with the “First Day of Summer Edition” because: (1) today is, in fact, the first day of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, and (2) I totally forgot this little factoid until this evening and figured that I wasn’t alone. Either way, I hope you had a great day.

And now… It’s time for some recent articles that caught my eye.

• How To Protect Yourself From the Financial Insanity of Others
• Grow a Garden, No Back Yard Necessary
• Five Ways to Waste $276 Because Money Grows on Trees
• Homemade Laundry Detergent
• Cell Phone Contracts are Debt, You Just Don’t Realize It
• Major Bank’s Debt Relief Hotlines Revealed
• Travel Tips for Your Money
• Your Car is Making You Poor, and What You Can Do About It

Also be sure to check out the Best of Money Carnival, where FCN was a top pick.

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» Carnivals – Week of 06/02/08

A few months back, I was invited to do a “Guest Top Ten” list for Blogs.com, but I lost track of the e-mail and forgot to do it. Fast forward to last week when the e-mail resurfaced… Intrigued by the opportunity, I decided that it would be a great chance to give a shout out to some of the newer personal finance blogs out there. And thus, my list of the “Top Ten Up and Coming Personal Finance Blogs” was born.

In case you’re looking for even more financial goodness, I encourage you to check out the following list of articles:

• Ten Reasons Why Being in Debt Sucks
• 64 Funny, Inspiring, and Stupid Money Quotes From Famous People
• How to Save Money on Your Commute
• Eight Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy This Summer Without Going Broke
• 35 Resources for Building Wealth
• Is College Worth The Cost of Tuition?
• Save Money With Yard Sales
• Tips for the Budget-Phobic
• A Budget is Your Financial Seatbelt
• From Homeless to Homeowner: How I Did It

Also, be sure to check out the Best of Money Carnival as well as the Best of the Best in Money and Personal Finance. FCN was a top ten pick in both of them.

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In case you haven’t heard, the recent merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines has created an opportunity for frequent flyers that have miles in both programs. Simply click here, link your accounts, and then consolidate your miles. You’ll get 500 bonus miles for linking your accounts, and there’s no charge for transferring miles in either direction.

And now, some recent articles that caught my eye…

• What’s Next After Retirement Savings?
• 67 Ways Not to Sell a Car
• Four Ways to Put the Fun Back in Finance
• Finding Your Passion
• Your House is Not a Good Investment
• Stock Market Index Cheat Sheet
• My Employer Stopped Matching my 401(k) – Should I Still Contribute?
• Is a National Sales Tax in Our Future?
• Five Ways to Start De-Cluttering Your Life and Home
• Never Say We Can’t Afford It

That’s it for now. Have a great night! (Or day, depending on when you read this.)

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» The Many Versions of Monopoly

Remember that $300B program called “Hope for Homeowners” that was supposed to ease the foreclosure crisis by encouraging lenders to write down mortgages? Congress envisioned it helping upwards of 400,000 troubled homeowners, but…

According to a recent report, the eligibility requirements are so strict that, in the time since it was established, only one borrower has completed the refinancing process with only 51 more in the works. Fail.

And with that, here are some recent articles that caught my eye…

• An Interview With the Millionaire Next Door
• Six Lessons Star Wars Can Teach Us About Money
• The Unownership Society
• Save Money With Fast Food Value Menus
• Financial Confession: I Don’t Budget
• Eight Small Changes to Save $100 this Month
• Eleven Tips to Go and Save Green
• How Do You Know When You Have Enough?

That’s all, folks!

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This past weekend, my kids and I went geocaching for the first time in a long time. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, geocaching is sort of like a high-tech, GPS-based treasure hunt. I like it because it gets us out of the house, and we also often stumble onto cool local places that we didn’t even know existed.

We went out late in the day on Sunday and found four of six caches that we looked for. I’m sure we’ll eventually find the other two, but there’s only so much searching you can do with multiple kids in tow.

And now, some links…

• I Have No Need or Desire to be Wealthy
• Saving Strategy: Bank Your Raises/Extra Income
• Eight Ways to Beat Bad Customer Service
• Do You Haggle? How to Negotiate a Price
• Save Money at Baseball Games
• Debit Or Credit? Which One Should You Choose At The Checkout?
• How to Avoid Excessive Bank Fees
• 33 Ways to Thwart Identity Theft
• Extreme Finance: Cutting Out 401(k) Contribution
• The Basics of Bonds
• Ten Tips to Go and Save Green
• Negotiation Made Simple: A 7-Word Weapon of Your Own

Oh, and be sure to check out this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, which was published over at Mighty Bargain Hunter.

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Time for a bit of shameless self-promotion… Did you know that I run a couple of other finance-related websites in addition to FCN? Well, I do. One is called Credit Addict, and the other is Money Tipper. Both sites tend to have shorter, more narrowly focused posts than what you typically see here, and the posting frequency is also lower — on the order of 2-3 articles per week.

If either of these sound interesting, I encourage you to click through and check them out. Just don’t be too disappointed if there aren’t very many updates next week. I’ll be on the road and haven’t had time to write ahead or schedule guest posts. Instead, I’ve focused my efforts on making sure that thing keep ticking along at FCN.

Oh, and I’m also fairly active over on Twitter where I post random bits and updates throughout the day. Some of what I post there is money related, but a lot of it isn’t. If you’re curious, feel free to follow me and don’t hesitate to give me a shout out.

And with that, here are ten recent articles that caught my eye…

• Tax Prep Tips for the Procrastinator
• Hobby or Business? Taxes Either Way
• Debt Reduction vs. Retirement Savings: Which First?
• Save Money on Medicine
• Save Money on Housing: Live Well in Less Space
• Five Things We Can Learn From the Market Bust
• Eight Ways to Make Huge Savings in Your Budget
• Avoid These Rookie Mistakes: Overdraft Fees
• Effective Time Management Tips for Web Workers
• Help! My Checking Account Was Hacked!

Have a great rest of the week!

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While I’d love to write some sort of witty introduction to my link roundup, I just don’t have it in me tonight. Instead, let’s just get to the links. What follows is a list of twelve recent articles that caught my eye.

• Carrying Bigger Bills? You’re Less Likely to Spend Them
• Three Investing Lessons Learned the Hard Way
• The End of a Recession Versus Recovery
• How to Invest With Small Amounts Per Month
• Ten Questions to Ask When You’re Tempted to Buy
• Asset Allocation: An Important Part of All Financial Plans
• How to Get Help After Your Car Warranty Has Expired
• March Madness Money Lessons
• Can You Pass My Identity Theft Test?
• Seven Things to Know About a SEP-IRA
• The Buy and Hold Strategy and Your Long-Term Investment Horizon
• Oil is Cheaper, So Why Isn’t Gas?

Finally, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that two of my fellow bloggers, Jim and JD, have started an internet radio show called The Personal Finance Hour. It’s currently scheduled for Monday evenings at 6PM Eastern, though they’re hoping to get a better time slot if they can build a large enough following.

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Over the next week or two, you’ll be hearing from more than just me. We’re heading out of town for a weeklong vacation, so I’ve lined up a number of articles from guest contributors to help fill the void. On top of that, I’ve decided to bring on an additional author whose first article will be appearing on Wednesday morning.

Depending on how things go, I’m actually hoping to expand things even further. This isn’t to say that I’ll be stepping away from the keyboard. Rather, I’m doing this in hopes of providing you with even more great content while simultaneously adding some unique viewpoints. And with that…

Here are eight recent articles that caught my eye.

MoneySmartLife has some tips for finding a freelance job.

Flexo wonders if buy-and-hold is still a good strategy.

MillionDollarJourney talked about paying the bills with coupled finances.

WiseBread listed 101 tax deductions for bloggers and freelancers.

Ron talked about the upside of a bad economy.

David listed some geeky tools for saving money.

ToughMoneyLove talked about being your own financial planner.

Finally, if you’re digging yourself out of debt, be sure to check out the No Credit Needed Notebook, which is a free offering from my pal NCN.

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Did you know that you can make a razor blade last forever (more or less) by simply cleaning/drying it thoroughly after you use it? Strange but true. Apparently it’s the oxidation that makes a blade go dull, as opposed to the actual act of shaving, so…

If you keep it clean and dry between uses, your razor blade will last for a long, long time. In fact, I used the same blade from Halloween through this past weekend, and I would’ve been able to keep it going considerably longer if I hadn’t gotten lazy and let it sit around wet during our recent travels.

Anyway, enough bathroom trivia for now…

NCN showed us all how to create a zero-based budget.

Lynnae shared some tips for making homemade laundry detergent.

Jeremy put together a nice list of free virus and spyware scanners. Also be sure to check out this compilation from Jonathan.

Lazy Man had an interesting guest post on helping your parents cope with damage to their nest egg.

SVB talked about managing stress at work.

David listed some good ways to use your tax refund.

Main Street shared some tips for entertaining on the cheap.

Jaimie suggested that you create a roadmap to help you find your way out of debt.

Finally, Pinyo talked about peer-to-peer lending risks.

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After having abnormally cold weather earlier this week (along with a malfunctioning heat pump) it’s now 70 degrees and sunny. As such, I’m coming to you live from the back porch. Gotta love that wireless internet! And now, time for a link roundup…

For starters, here are a few articles on budgeting:

• Lazy Budgeting: Planning $500+ Purchases Ahead of Time
• The $100-a-Day-Rule Prevents Impulse Buying
• How to Make a Budget In 10 Easy Steps

Next up, four articles about investing:

• ETFs or Index Funds: Which are Right for You?
• Can You Invest Solely in ETF’s?
• What Is The Best Porfolio Rebalancing Strategy?
• Behavior Gap: The Psychology of Investing

And finally, here are four other somewhat random articles that caught my eye:

• How to Buy Gas With Your Driver’s License
• Seven Money Lessons Learned During 7 Years of Marriage
• Five Personal Finance Tips You Don’t Always Hear About
• How the Winter Can Save You Money

I included that last one for those of you that are still mired in the midst of a long, cold winter. That’s it for now… Time to enjoy the rest of the day!

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This evening my wife and I got to talking about the term “baker’s dozen.” I can’t recall what got us onto the subject, but it prompted me to look up the origin of the term. According to Wikipedia:

The expression found its genesis in 13th-century England, when an Assize of Bread and Ale was introduced… Bakers who were found to have shortchanged customers could be liable to severe punishment. To guard against the punishment of losing a hand to an axe, a baker would give 13 for the price of 12, to be certain of not being known as a cheat.

Interesting. And do you know what else is interesting? The articles in the following list, which are drawn from a baker’s dozen of sites.

NCN described his concept of the debt deluge. It’s similar to my alternative to Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball.

Jeremy talked about why the recession will be good for our country.

MBH put together an argument in favor of frugality. Of course, if a frugal lifestyle isn’t enough to make ends meet, then you should think about how to earn extra money.

While we’re on the topic, Lynnae provided a definition of frugality. And guess what? She’s right — cheap is not necessarily frugal.

Kay (who just published a new book) noted that state tax refunds are likely to be delayed due to the budget crisis in California.

JD shared some lessons in wealth that he learned from a recently deceased friend.

Lazy Man talked about GradeFund, which puts a new spin on paying your kids for good grades.

Looking for a safe place to stash some cash? If so, Jim just updated his list of the best money market account rates.

David reminded the unemployed that yes, you do have to file taxes.

Madison talked about how long we have to keep various financial/legal documents.

Ben talked about five of his shortcomings and how he’s working to overcome them.

Ron listed ten ways that college made him poor and ten more ways that it made him rich.

Finally, the Tip’d blog listed a bunch of free tools for managing your money online.

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Did you hear about the fraudulent $0.25 charges from a company called Adele that hit millions of consumers recently? Mint did. And guess what? They reviewed their customers’ accounts and notified everyone that was affected. Pretty cool.

And now for some other cool stuff…

David compiled 50 tips for saving money on vacations.

Ben pulled together a list of forms that you’ll need when preparing your tax return.

Flexo talked about keeping your job amidst layoffs.

Frugal Trader has a list of six reasons that recessions are a good thing.

JLP took an interesting look at how long it will take to get back to even in the wake of the recent market meltdown.

Lazy Man has some tips for being successful in the New Year. Failing that, check out his advice on how to stock a bar.

Finally, MoneyTipper has some advice for making your razor blades last longer.

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After a successful year, I just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who take the time to drop by and read/comment. If you’re not currently an RSS or e-mail subscriber, I encourage you to become one — it’s free! Details can be found here.

I also wanted to thank those sites that have sent readers this way. As a token of my appreciation, I’ve compiled the following list, which is comprised of the fifteen weblogs that sent the most visitors during 2008. Be sure to check them out.

1. Smart Spending
2. Get Rich Slowly
3. Lifehacker
4. The Simple Dollar
5. The Consumerist
6. All Financial Matters
7. Free Money Finance
8. No Credit Needed
9. Wise Bread
10. My Money Blog
11. Consumerism Commentary
12. Blueprint for Financial Prosperity
13. Mighty Bargain Hunter
14. Paid Twice
15. Credit Addict

Thanks to everyone for your support!

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Here we are, halfway between Christmas and New Year’s. Our holidays started with a relaxing Christmas Eve followed by an enjoyable Christmas morning. We then headed to the airport on Christmas afternoon and jetted off to visit family. Since then, we’ve been busy, busy, busy, as I’m sure many of you have been.

All of this being said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least point out a few articles that are sure to broaden your financial horizons. So…

Here are ten quick links that caught my eye:

• Seven Real Estate Myths Busted Wide Open @ Million Dollar Journey
• New FICO Credit Scoring System in 2009 @ Credit Addict
• Credit Cards Made a Little Less Evil With New Rules @ Stop Buying Crap
• The Best Colleges for Your Money @ MoneySmartLife
• 10 Reasons Why Credit Unions Kick Ass @ pfBlueprint
• List of 50 Largest Mutual Fund Companies @ GenXFinance
• Tips To Avoid Becoming A Scam Victim @ The Digerati Life
• Home Prices Continue to Fall @ Lazy Man and Money
• Should You Invest In Target Retirement Funds? @ Moolanomy
• Inexpensive Ways to Stay Warm This Winter @ My Two Dollars

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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.

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With the economy in the crapper and the holidays just around the corner, I though I’d highlight a few articles from around the web that are guaranteed to save you some money…

Jim put together a massive list of 100 tips for saving money when giving gifts. He also listed eleven ways to save on shipping.

Tightwad Tod put together a list of free shipping offers and other promotions.

JD weighed in with 34 do-it-yourself gift ideas.

Ben talked about strategies for finding Christmas deals on eBay.

Speaking of eBay, here’s an older article on how and where to buy cheap LEGO.

Intent on giving gift cards this year? Then be sure to read this article about buying gift cards at a discount.

SVB had a guest post that was chock full of holiday shopping tips.

FMF put together a list of tips for negotiating on electronics

The Wallet advises that you should keep your receipts if you’re shopping holiday sales — price may drop, and many stores have price match policies.

If you’re thinking of taking the kids out for pizza over the holidays, be sure to check out MBH’s article on conquering Chuck E. Cheese.

Finally, Ramit is on the money-saving warpath with his “Save $1000 in 30 Days” challenge. It’s not specifically holiday-related, but you can always use the money that you save to defray holiday expenses.

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As you’re no doubt aware, the Presidential election is next week. But did you know that you can most likely vote early to avoid the election day crowds? Perhaps the easiest way to find out about the possibility of voting early in your state is to run a Google search for: early voting <your state>. Another source for information is the 2008 Voter Info from Google Maps. But hurry. Around here, early voting ends today.

And now for some articles that caught my eye recently…

Kay took an interesting look at the tax implications of Sarah Palin’s $150k shopping spree. She also has a tip for bargain hunters… Hit Goodwill on November 5th. After all, the RNC claims that her new duds will be donated to charity after the campaign.

MoneySmartLife published a nice summary of what Obama and McCain will do with your money. Be sure to read both.

SVB argued that the economy isn’t as bad as you think. Really? So why, then, is Jaimie feeling so down?

Cap put together a list of five reasons to stay away from store-branded credit cards. Guess what? I agree with all five.

Finally, over at Credit Addict I wrote about surviving the financial crisis with your credit intact. Credit card issuers appear to be actively reducing credit limits, increasing interest rates, and tightening their approval standards.

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Over the weekend, I finally decided to replace my wallet. My previous wallet was so old that I can’t remember when I bought it. It’s held up well, but it was time for a change. When it comes to wallet shopping, I always head to TJ Maxx or Marshalls, as they always have a big (but somewhat random) collection of nice wallets for cheap. This time around, I found a really nice bi-fold leather wallet for ten bucks. Not too shabby. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought two.

And now, some recent articles that caught my eye…

Cap asked his readers if they learned anything about personal finance in school. Interestingly, 83% said no.

SVB took a look at how the presidential candidates would affect your pocketbook.

Jim put together a collection of the best CD rates at national banks. On a related note, I noticed that PenFed is currently offering 5% APY for 3, 4, 5, and 7 year CDs.

Lazy Man talked about the worst gifts he’s ever gotten.

Flexo talked about his recent experiences try to “buy the dips” in the stock market. In short, it hasn’t worked very well.

MBH came up with ten different ways to visualize $10 trillion, which is the the current size of the national debt.

Finally, Mrs. Micah put together a brief overview of asset allocation. Check it out. It’s a good read, especially given the recent market turmoil.

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This past week, I decided to part ways with the MoneyBlogNetwork. It was a completely amicable separation — I just decided that it was time for a change — and I wish them all the best. And with that, it’s time for a quick trip around the personal finance blogosphere…

• Flexo provided firsthand evidence that you should never (ever!) expose short-term money to the stock market. In short, he dumped some cash into a charitable gift fund with the intention of disbursing it later this year. Unfortunately, he put it in a broad market index fund and it’s dropped 20%.
• Jim talked about how to get out of jury duty. I’ve never actually been called for jury duty (knock on wood), but this was an interesting read nonetheless.
• Trent talked about the dangers of rewarding children for normal behavior. Honestly, I think that his point goes far beyond material rewards. Far too often, my wife and I hear parents lavishing praise on their children for doing the most mundane things. While it’s important to be a positive influence in your child’s life, there’s no need to go overboard with congratulations for simply living life.
• Jeremy warned against compounding your investment losses. As I’ve said in the past, it’s important stay the course, and avoid trying to time the market.
• Finally, Ron has some great tips for getting ‘back to basics‘ in the face of our current financial crisis. It’s simple, really… Start living within your means, paying off your debts, and saving for the future.

And with that… I hope you all have a great week!

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Early yesterday morning, I headed to the airport to catch a flight out of town. After clearing security, I headed to the news stand to pick up a couple of magazines – paying face value for magazines is one of my traveling vices. And speaking of vices…

When I reached the magazine rack, I noticed that they stocked not only the usual collection of celebrity gossip rags, business and finance publications, and sports magazines… They also had a healthy dose of “adult” magazines, including Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, and Club.

This all got me to wondering about their target audience. Since they stock this stuff, it seems clear that there’s a demand for it in the airport. Perhaps they’re after business travelers who buy it “for the articles” and are planning on “reading” it at their destination.

Regardless, I couldn’t help but think of the poor travelers who get stuck next to someone who sees fit to enjoy their purchase on the plane. I’m sure it’s happened before.

On that note, let’s get to the roundup…

JLP talked about the importance of money matters in marriage (yes, I’m sometimes prone to alliteration).

Jeremy is soliciting tips for visiting Las Vegas on the cheap.

FMF asked for feedback on the best fundraisers you’ve ever seen. Back before we moved, our kids’ school raised about $50k every spring with their “Spring Fling.” Not a bad chunk of change for a school festival.

JD published a tutorial for building an effective budget.

MBH talked about the importance of having access to cash in a pinch. For more on the topic, check out my article on keeping cash on hand, which has drawn nearly 70 comments.

Pinyo talked about improving your investment performance.

Finally, over at Credit Addict, I talked about (another) Citi credit card being potentially compromised.

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This past week I had the opportunity to play around with an Amazon Kindle, and I must admit that I was impressed. The “electronic paper” display is really easy on the eyes, much like a real book page. I’m also somewhat dazzled by the ability to get my hands on a wide variety of reading material whenever and wherever I want.

All of this being said, I’m still trying to figure out is why I would actually want to buy one. The Kindle itself is rather pricey ($359) and the books aren’t that cheap. I was also disappointed to learn that there isn’t any sort of backlight for reading in the dark, but that’s apparently a technical limitation of the E-Ink that makes the display so readable.

Anyways, if you have a Kindle, feel free to sing its praises or complain about its shortcomings in the comments.

And now, time for the roundup…

If you’re in debt, NCN has some words of encouragement for you.

Flexo talked about dealing with unpredictable income.

Jim reported that Amazon is no longer offering their price guarantee. Booooo!

Ben wants to know if you’d take a better job for a lower salary. For me, the answer would depend (at least in part) on how much better and how much lower.

MyRetirementBlog talked about the advantages of couples staggering their retirements.

Pinyo put together a list of tips for asset allocation tips.

Jaimie says that coupons are good for more than food. I must admit, we’ve never been big couponers when it comes to groceries, but we do use them elsewhere.

Finally, Madison talked about the importance of tracking your Roth IRA contributions.

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I’m not sure about you, but we had a great Labor Day weekend. We went to a college football game, had breakfast out as a family, spent an afternoon at the pool, and got a bunch of errands out of the way. And now… It’s time for a roundup.

FMF asked about the ethics of sneaking snacks into the movie theater.

Lazy Man listed some tips for saving money at restaurants.

JD put together a list of every job he’s ever had. It’s an interesting read, and one that got me thinking about all the crappy jobs I’ve ever had.

Credit Addict making money with 0% balance transfers.

Jeremy looked at who pays more taxes, the rich or the poor?

MBH talked about the importance of saving money when you’re young.

Wise Bread put together a simple guide for re-gifting.

Finally, SVB detailed a simple system for keeping your finances in order.

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In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve added the ability to send articles via e-mail from right here on the website. Just scroll down to the end of an article, click the “e-mail this article” link, fill in the required fields, and send it on its way. This is a great way to share articles with friends, or even send them to yourself for future reference.

With that said, let’s get to the roundup…

NCN put together an illustrated guide to debt reduction. He also put together a nice list of tips for playing golf on the cheap.

SVB looked at how much college will cost by the time your kids get there.

Ben put together a nice list of financial tips for college students.

Flexo was thinking along the same lines when he compiled his own list of financial tips for the college bound.

Jim continued his Seven Deadly Sins of Personal Finance series by warning against being penny wise, but pound foolish.

JLP took a critical look at 401(k) accounts.

Mrs. Micah listed the things that her parents taught her about money management.

Jaimie talked about how easy it is to reclassify wants as needs.

Madison talked about what it’s like to leave the workforce at 29.

Ron compiled a list of tips for spotting a home improvement scam.

Over on Credit Addict, I put together a rundown of how to make money with 0% balance transfers. And prior to that, I published a list of 0% balance transfer credit cards offers with no fee.

David recently moved and has a list of tips how to decorate on a budget.

Credit Addict talked about using 0% balance transfers to reduce your debt.

Finally, be sure to check out the Carnival of Personal Finance.

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A few months back, I mentioned that I had launched a credit card website called Credit Addict. It’s been in need of a facelift for awhile, and this weekend I finally got around dressing it up. In case you’re curious, I invite you to drop by and check it out — and maybe be subscribe to receive updates via RSS or e-mail.

And now, the roundup…

David put together a list of frugal ways to re-use everyday items.

FMF wrote about the best way to get a raise based on his past experiences.

Jim asked people to share their definition of “rich” and an interesting discussion ensued.

Lazy Man shared some resources for researching a purchase. This dovetails nicely with my recent post on the very same topic.

J.D. shared some tips for creating a quick and dirty budget. As far as I’m concerned, nothing’s quicker (or dirtier!) than our reverse budgeting process.

MBH wants to know how much you’ll fight for in the checkout line. I have to admit that I’m sometimes driven to fight for a pittance just on principle. Not usually in the checkout line where I might inconvenience others, but I’m otherwise not afraid to stand up for myself.

Jeremy wants to encourage you to start planning for holiday gift-giving today.

Pinyo put together an interesting graphic for visualizing wants vs. needs.

Finally, Kay published a list of the states ranked by tax rates. In case you’re curious, Alaska has the lowest rate whereas New Jersey has the highest.

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This week marked the official end of summer in our house, as the kids are now back at school. Is it just me, or is there something unnatural about starting back to school in early August? When I was a kid, we got out of school in early June and started back on the day after Labor Day. Now, the kids get out a month earlier and go back a month earlier. The problem with all of this? I still don’t get into the summer mindset until early June, at which point there’s only two months left.

And now, here are some articles for your end-of-summer reading pleasure…

Ron put together a great list of tips for increasing your productivity.

MBH talked about eBay’s new feedback system. He also put together a list of 118 finance bloggers that use Twitter. In case you’re curious, you can follow my Twitter feed here.

Jeremy talked about how correlations among asset classes affect your portfolio. If you’re interested in asset allocation, check it out.

SVB talked about grading your personal finance skillz. Speaking of which… I just published a couple of articles on this general topic this week: The State of Financial Education in the U.S. and Ten Things Teens Should Know About Money.

NCN took a look back at the financial impact of their new baby.

JD talked about hidden price increases at the grocery store.

Connie talked about why gas costs so much. I tackled this question a couple of months ago when I wrote about what goes into the price of gas.

Smithee finally woke up and smelled the coffee — no more bottled water for him.

JLP talks about how you know when you’ve saved enough.

Finally, PaidTwice talked about how to get the most out of coupons.

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Earlier this week, my wife knocked out all of our back-to-school shopping in one fell swoop. Between clearance racks and sales at both Target and Kohls, she picked up pretty much everything the boys need clothing-wise. And then she hit the freshly stocked Wal-Mart school supply section. She had it pretty much to herself, and got everything knocked out in short order.

That’s the upside. The downside is that we won’t be taking full advantage of this year’s sales tax holiday. On the one hand… Bummer. On the other hand… Back-to-school shopping with no crowds? Priceless.

And with that, here are some interesting articles…

NCN talked about how he’s able to enjoys spending now that he has a financial plan. Plus… I’m one of his heroes!

Madison put together a list of tasks for your mid-year financial checkup.

Dovetailing nicely with my article on how to freeze your credit record, Ben talked about some of the ramifications of identity theft.

Flexo talked about how net worth calculations are best used as an internal metric for tracking your progress.

JLP illustrated the value of making your extra principal payments earlier rather than later.

FMF listed three ways to save money on greeting cards.

Jim covered the best sites for selling your stuff. I’ve really only used eBay and craigslist (and had the most luck with eBay).

Lazy Man talked about good debt vs. bad debt.

The Good Human pointed out that gas is still cheap in the United States (by global standards).

Clever Dude and J. Savings both lamented the practice of splitting dinner checks evenly.

Credit Addict pointed out that you can get a free credit report simply by placing a fraud alert on your credit record.

Finally, for all of you that are convinced that the glass if half full, Jaimie brought us five benefits to financial pessimism.

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As I alluded to on Friday, FiveCentNickel is now sporting a new look. Like I said previously, it’s fairly similar to the old look, but it’s very (very!) different under the hood. The heavy lifting (including a complete CSS re-write) was all done by Leia Scofield, who did an excellent job. While this site used to be an utter mess on the back-end (just ask Leia!), it’s now squeaky clean and very orderly.

In terms of visible changes, we’ve freshened up the fonts, widened the right sidebar, cleaned up and tweaked a variety of interface elements, and added Google site search (much more powerful than the old search). I’m also pleased to report that you can once again subscribe to comments via e-mail. I’ve had some problems with this in the past, but have decided to bring it back for a trial run.

Links of interest

Jim has some unconventional financial advice: Save money by getting a divorce. Don’t worry, it’s a Devil’s Advocate post, but it does make some interesting points.

In a very timely piece, Donna talked about celebrating freedom from wants. Distinguishing wants from needs is a key step along the path to financial freedom.

Lazy Man talked about Parkinson’s Law, which is just a fancy name for what I’ve always referred to as “time expansion theory.” In short, tasks will take as much time as you have available.

It seems like everywhere I look, people are writing about long term disability (LTD) insurance these days. This time, it was Jaimie’s turn… Methinks I should get off my butt and get a private policy to back up my employer’s LTD policy. I’ve been planning on doing this for a long time now, and just haven’t made it happen.

JD put together an excellent list of grocery shopping tips.

In case you’re not content to shop for groceries and cook at home, Wise Bread has a nice list of tips for eating out on the cheap.

MBH (who recently started a weight loss site) highlighted ten ways that being fat costs money.

On a related note, SVB talked about losing weight and saving money.

Jeremy compared and contrasted ETFs and mutual funds.

Lynnae talked about saving money by buying in bulk.

Finally, Madison talked about fun and frugal summertime activities. If you run out of things on her list, you should also check your local theater for free summer movies.

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We just got back from vacation today and I was delighted to find that our internet is down due to a dead DSL modem. I’ve been in touch with AT&T (formerly BellSouth) and they’re sending us a new one. Unfortunately, it won’t arrive until Tuesday, so…

Until then, I’ll be limping along with my Palm Centro (with unlimited data thanks to the Sprint SERO plan) and a copy of USB Modem, which is a shareware program that lets me access the Sprint network from my laptop using my cell as a modem.

Recent links of interest

Credit Card Addict covered what merchants can and cannot do when it comes to limiting the acceptance of credit cards.

Ben talked about saving money on gas. I’ve recently written up some gas saving tips, and have also managed to improve my gas mileage by about 15%.

Flexo pointed out that better student loan rates are on their way… As of July 1, you can consolidate your loans for as much as 3% less in interest. I don’t have any student loans, but if I did I’d be chomping at the bit to do this.

JLP pointed out that this is shaping up to be the second worst June in history for the S&P 500. Before you panic, be sure to check out this post from FMF in which he shares some wisdom from Vanguard on investing in a down market. In short, stay the course.

Paid Twice share four strategies for avoiding fighting “the takeout urge.” With four kids, a busy work life, tons of extracurricular activities, etc., we eat out a lot. Perhaps I should take this article to heart.

And that, my friends, is all that I have the patience for. This slow cell phone-based internet is killing me!

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Later this week, we’ll be jetting off for a much needed ten day vacation. While things will likely slow down a bit around here, I still intend to post a few articles here and there while we’re on the road. In the mean time…

Recent links of interest

Jim talked about using a leftover calendar to reduce food spoilage. This is something that we could use, as we often forget about leftovers until they’ve gone bad. In fact, we’re furiously eating all of our leftovers right now as we prepare to leave town.

JD published a fascinating (and touching) letter that his father wrote to him back in college. What were the most useful bits of insight? Well, one of my favorites was that “girls can be handy.” Another was an admonishment to “wear clean underwear.” There was also a good bit of financial advice embedded in the letter.

As gas prices continue to spiral upward, you might want to check out Wise Bread’s list of tips for deterring gas thieves.

NCN wrote about breaking the addiction to credit. Of course, I also run a site called Credit Addict, so I’m obviously not averse to using plastic. But if you’re having problems, and looking to kick the habit, this article is definitely worth a look.

Lazy Man talked about saving money on groceries by shopping at the right store. When I was a kid, we had a neighborhood grocery/convenience store where we always went for our milk as well as a few essentials in between trips to the “real” grocery store. Unfortunately, it seems that the days of smaller-scale, reasonably priced store are long gone. Nowadays, your best bet is a full-scale grocery store or (especially if you have a big family) a warehouse club.

Jeremy has a nice collection of tips for optimizing your homeowner’s insurance. The only thing that I’d add to it would be that you should be sure to update your coverage if you renovate your house.

SVB talked put together a list of five reasons that people spoil their kids (along with a bunch of super-extravagant gifts). It’s an interesting read, and I’d have to say that she’s pretty much nailed it.

Finally… I’ve actually been meaning to link to this one for awhile, but I never got around to it… Mrs. Micah wrote about what to do when you receive a collections letter. This is something that we actually had to deal with last fall even though we had paid our bill (and had proof).

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In case you missed all the excitement, FiveCentNickel got hacked last Thursday (more details here and here). If you’ve fallen to this hack yourself, check out JD’s instructions for cleaning up the mess.

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

Flexo looked at some possible sources of passive income. Guess what? More often than not, it’s not passive at all.

Kay talked about the state tax treatment of your tax rebate. Turns out some states will tax it, but others won’t.

Ron put together a nice list of frugal tips for increasing your home’s value. This is a timely article for anyone trying to sell a house in this market.

JLP talked about cheap sources of summer entertainment — how about some free summer movies?

Madison put together a nice collection of tips for ten financial tips for new grads.

Ben talked about protecting yourself against identity theft. There’s some good info here — definitely worth a read.

FMF talked about what to do when you find money in a public place. We’ve dealt with this ourselves, once on a small scale with the kids, and once on a much larger scale.

SVB put together some tips for a low-maintenance, low-cost yard. Hardscaping? Astro turf? No thanks. But I’m all about drought tolerant, native plants.

Finally, Pinyo e-mailed to let me know that he launched a new site called pfBuzz. I haven’t messed around with it very much, but it looks interesting.

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This past week I (along with pretty much everyone else in the U.S.) paid more for a gallon of gas than ever before in my life — $3.959. After filling my tank and reading an interesting article over at The Good Human, I’ve decided to experiment with my driving style to see if I can coax out a few more miles per gallon.

I’m not talking about doing anything extreme here… Rather, I’ll be focusing on accelerating gradually, anticipating stops to minimize braking, and minimizing air conditioning usage when not necessary (though it just turned hot, so I’m not sure how that will work out). I’ll report back after my next fill-up. Since I typically get very consistent mileage, it shouldn’t be too hard to see an effect.

And with that, here are some articles that caught my eye over the past week…

» Save Money on Gas By Learning How to Ride the Bus
Instead of trying to save gas by driving more carefully, combining trips, etc., why not hop on the bus?

» How Will My Decision To Stop Drinking Soda Affect Our Finances?
NCN is kicking the caffeine habit. I did the same thing back in late February and haven’t regretted it for a minute. Also be sure to check out NCN’s latest project, 99 Changes, where he’ll chronicle 99 different lifestyle changes that he’ll be implementing over the coming months.

» From Bad Investing Habits To Investing Sins: Many Unhappy Returns
This is an interesting bit of behavioral finance that looks at the many pitfalls of being human (and an investor).

» Is it the End of 6% Real Estate Commissions?
Apparently the Justice Department has recently reached an antitrust settlement with the National Association of Realtors. Gone are the days of Realtors locking up MLS data and keeping it for themselves.

» 29 Free or Low Cost Ways to Save Energy & Money
Nice collection of earth-friendly money saving tips.

» Can Saving Prepare Us for the Oncoming Recession?
Whether or not we’re currently in (or entering) a recession, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the economy is in the crapper. Unemployment is up, inflation is up, and housing prices are down (among other things). So how are you dealing with it?

» Financial Independence as a Goal
This is an interesting look at how people progress through various stages of financial independence throughout their lives. We’re currently working on the ultimate level: freedom from financial reliance on employment.

» Free Summer Movies for Kids – 2008 Edition
Got kids? Check out this rundown of free summer movie promos at major regional/national theater chains.

Finally, Jim at pfBlueprint put together an e-book for recent college grads.

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Related Articles at fivecentnickel.com:

» Hack Your MPG: How to Improve Gas Mileage by 15%
» Daylight Savings Time Coming to an End
» Sunday Night Roundup – 100 km (and Counting) Edition
» The Many Versions of Monopoly
» Weekly Roundup – Actually Weekly Edition
» Sunday Roundup – The Back Porch Edition
» Keeping Your Business and Home Life Separate
» Sunday Roundup – Back to School Edition

While Memorial Day weekend is traditionally three days long, I played hooky at the end of the week and am stretching it to four. Yesterday was actually the last day of school for the boys so, instead of going to work, I headed over their school for a combination of field day and end of the year parties. Fun was had by all and we’re now transitioning to summer mode.

With that said, here are some articles that caught my eye recently…

» What’s the WORST Financial Thing That Could Happen?
This is a great article on an incredibly important topic.

» How to Cut College Costs by 13%-25%
Jim shares some solid tips on keeping college costs down.

» Maimonides’ 8 Levels of Charity
This is an interesting post on the various levels of charitable giving. We’ve made it up to #2.

» The Power of Reinvested Dividends – It’s Amazing!
This is a nice illustration of the power of plugging your dividends back into the market.

» Saving on Gas Myths
Gas prices keep heading up, so be sure to check out this collections of ways you can (and can’t) save money on gas.

» Identity Theft Tips
This is a nice rundown of how thieves get their hands on your info, and how to stop them.

» When We Received a Collections Letter
Lessons learned after receiving a collections letter. Something similar happened to us last fall.

» What is a Self-Directed IRA?
This is a nice description of how to invest in “non-traditional” assets in an IRA.

» 10 Websites Where You Can Manage Your Money Online for Free
Just what the title says. Ten different options for managing your money online.

» Frugal Living for Beginners
If you’ve ever thought about living a more frugal life, but didn’t know where to start, this one is for you.

» Save Money on Gas, Water, and Electricity
Speaking of frugality, this is a great list of links to resources for saving tons of money on your utilities.

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Related Articles at fivecentnickel.com:

» Weekend Roundup – Labor Day Edition
» Weekly Roundup – Exterior Christmas Lights Edition
» Our House is on the Market
» Sunday Night Roundup – 100 km (and Counting) Edition
» The Many Versions of Monopoly
» Weekly Roundup – You Can’t Go Home Again Edition
» Weekly Roundup – Actually Weekly Edition
» Weekly Roundup – Credit Addict Facelift Edition

I just ran across an interesting site that features personal accounts of how people are spending their tax stimulus rebates. Some of the more amusing uses include:

- donating it to the Obama campaign (take that, W!)
- buying plane tickets to catch the New Kids on the Block reunion tour (seriously?)
- treating “a sudden and particularly messy case of giardia contracted by our puppy” (yuck!)
- installing a giant chocolate fountain in the backyard (yum!)

And with that, here are some articles that caught my eye over the past week…

» The Financial Realities of Having a New Baby
NCN details some of the financial implications of a growing family.

» My Tax Mess
This is an interesting post, not so much for the specifics of FMF’s problems, but for the underlying lessson… Even if you hire a pro to do your taxes, you still need to check their work. As I told him, this is why I do my own taxes — that way I can screw things up for free.

» Don’t Pay Your Dues
An interesting perspective from Jim… Life is too short to be wasted “paying your dues.”

» Craigslist vs. eBay
Jaimie’s experiences are similar to mine. Craigslist is a great way to get rid of items locally, but you can probably do better on eBay if the item is easily shippable.

» Plan Ahead: Six Steps to Secure Your Financial Future
The key to financial planning is that you actually need to plan. And the earlier you start, the better.

» Want Some Extra Income? Try Odd Jobs!
If you never seem to have quite enough money, why not pick up some odd jobs on your spare time and pocket a bit of extra cash?

» Taking a Deeper Look at Wants vs. Needs
One of the keys to living below your means is being able to distinguish between wants and needs.

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Related Articles at fivecentnickel.com:

» Second Stimulus Check: How Would You Spent It?
» New Economic Stimulus Package Delayed
» Friday Night Roundup: De-Caffeinated Edition
» Second Stimulus Check? Another One Might be on the Way
» Tax Stimulus Rebate Payments to Start Early
» Economic Stimulus Spending: Expecations vs. Reality
» The $1000 Emergency Energy Rebate
» Investing on Friday the 13th

As some of you may recall, we renovated our house last year. Part of the renovations involved tearing out our deck and replacing it with a new, larger deck. Since that time, we haven’t gotten much use out of our deck because we haven’t had any patio furniture. But…

That all changed this weekend when we picked up a new 40″ x 84″ patio table (aluminum frame with with aged bronze powder-coated finish). Why so big? Because there’s six of us.

We also picked up six chairs to go along with it, as well as two matching benches for the front porch. While I had planned on setting it up this afternoon, I couldn’t find my tube of Loc-Tite so I decided to wait.

And with that… Here are some articles that caught my eye over the past week.

» Making the Move from Spender to Saver
JD broke the spending cycle. If he can do it, so can you!

» Trouble Selling? How To Enhance Your Home’s Curb Appeal
It’s spring and the housing market is slow, so… If you’re trying to sell a house, be sure to check out these tips for enhancing curb appeal. Also be sure to check out my twelve tips for preparing your house for sale.

» Ethical Consumerism, an Introduction
Sasha put together a nice introduction on ethical consumerism. If you don’t like the way things are going in the world today, vote with your wallet.

» 50 Ways to Save Money by Not Wasting
This is a great list of money saving tips that are also easy on the environment.

» The ABCs of Selling
This is a nice list of business tips from Harvey Mackay. Guess what? The customer is not always right. Your job is to find ways to make them right.

» Practical Investing Guide For Beginners
If you’ve been looking for the Cliff’s Notes version of investing, look no further… This is a great primer for the investing newbie.

» Where To Find The Down Payment For Your Dream Home
Slow markets are buyers markets. If you’re starting to think about buying a piece of real estate, this article on where to find the cash for a down payment might come in handy.

» Is it Smart to Buy Disability Insurance?
This one falls under my rule of “insure what you cannot afford.” In fact, despite having a policy through work, I’m looking for a private policy, as well.

» Should I Stop 401(k) Contributions to Pay Off Debt?
My gut reaction is that you should contribute at least enough to get your employer’s match. However, the “right” answer to this one will vary depending on your circumstances — how much debt you have, your cash flow situation, etc.

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Related Articles at fivecentnickel.com:

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» From the Archives (August 12th – August 18th)
» Newspaper One, Craigslist Zero
» Daylight Savings Time Coming to an End
» One Year Ago This Week (July 2nd – July 8th)
» Buying New Bedroom Furniture: Shop Around and Negotiate

This past week I finally gave in and joined all the cool kids who have a Twitter account. In case you’re not aware, Twitter is a “micro-blogging” service where you can make short (140 character max) text-based posts using a variety of methods (web, 3rd party app, IM, or text message). This is an interesting little service that provides an outlet for the sort of minutiae that you just have to share with someone, but which isn’t really worth bothering anyone.

If you’re curious, you can follow me on twitter by going here: http://www.twitter.com/fcn

And with that, let’s get to the roundup…

» The $100-A-Day-Rule Prevents Impulse Buying
NCN weighs in with another nice money saving tip… For every $100 that something will cost, wait one day before making the purchase. So if you decide that you want something that will cost $100, wait ’til tomorrow. $1400? Wait two weeks. This sort of cooling off period give you a chance to re-think your buying decision and to search for cheaper alternatives.

» Top 5 Online Banks: Savings or Checking Accounts
A nice little list of banking options from Jim. This is essentially a slimmed down version of my “reader’s choice” article on the best high-yield online bank accounts, though he takes a broader view by talking about checking accounts as well.

» Do You Use Money to Discourage Bad Behavior
FMF tackles the issue of whether or not it’s okay to “fine” kids for their transgressions — is an allowance only to be used for teaching kids about money, or is it okay to use it as a disciplinary tool, as well?

» Save More Gas by Safely Following Trucks
An interesting idea for slowing down on the freeway without getting honked at.

» Why Debt Stinks: Every Windfall Is Already Spoken For
The title says it all… If you’re in debt, every little windfall that might otherwise brighten your day is already spoken for — unless, of course, you want to incur more debt.

» Six Ways to Find Additional Money
We’ve all heard (and said) it before… If only I had a bit more money, I’d [do x, y, or z]. Well, guess what? Most of us actually have plenty of money — we just need to free it up.

» Retirement Planning Checklist: 43 Tasks to Get You Ready!
Most of us still have quite awhile to before retirement. But for those who are getting close, here’s a great list of tips for getting ready for the big day.

» The Snowball Effect: How Little Moves Now Can Create Huge Effects Later
Trent talks about how “paying it forward” from one frugal move to another can create an avalanche of savings. Very insightful.

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» Weekly Roundup – Self Promotion Edition
» The Many Versions of Monopoly

FiveCentNickel participated in five carnivals this week. Here they are along with links to my articles that were included in each.

The Carnival of Personal Finance included “Ten Things to Do With Your Tax Refund.” Also included was “Beware the Promise of Interest Free Purchases” from creditaddict.com.

The Festival of Frugality included “Five Frugal Shopping Tips.”

The Best of Me Symphony included “Twelve Tips for Preparing Your House for Sale.” Also included was “FICO Credit Score Changes Looming” from creditaddict.com.

The Tips for Green Living Carnival included “The Lazy Cheapskate’s Guide to Saving the Planet.”

The Carnival of Financial Planning included “Building an Emergency Fund.”

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Related Articles at fivecentnickel.com:

» Carnivals – Week of 04/10/06
» Carnivals – Week of 11/06/06
» Carnivals – Week of 01/08/07
» Carnivals – Week of 08/13/07
» Carnivals – Week of 05/28/07
» Carnivals – Week of 09/03/07
» Carnivals – Week of 05/21/07
» Carnivals – Week of 03/27/06

A couple of weeks ago, I noted that we purchased a Concept2 rowing machine. We actually got it back during early March and, while I’m still not setting any speed records, I’m pleased to report that I recently broke through the 100 km mark in terms of lifetime meters rowed.

My goal for the next indoor rowing season (May 1st – April 30th) is 1,000,000 meters (1,000 km). In truth, this shouldn’t be terribly hard to achieve, as I’m already pretty much on pace — I just need to keep it up for 52 weeks. Anyway, enough about that…

Here are some articles that caught my eye over the past week…

» Following Your Bliss: Good Advice or Bunk?
Flexo talks about whether or not doing what makes you happy is the best strategy for success. While I agree that it’s important to enjoy what you do, I also think that a bit of pragmatism is in order.

» Why I Pay More For Everything
This is a great article that touches on the many ways that we as consumers justify spending more than we have when making a buying decision.

» Why PayPal Makes it a Chore to Pay by Credit Card
MBH talks about the many hoops that you have to jump through in order to use a credit card with PayPal. Not surprisingly, this high level of inconvenience is driven by one thing — PayPal’s bottom line.

» Money Does Buy Happiness… Imagine that!
And even if it didn’t, you could certainly use it to buy a more pleasant form of misery…

» Death of the Coupon
Interesting. While I’ve always known that coupons are pretty pervasive, and always suspected that the vast majority of them never get used, I had no idea of the magnitude… Last year there were 285 billion coupons issued and only 0.5% were actually redeemed.

» 20 Ways To Earn More and Spend Less: Steps To Becoming A Frugal Capitalist
Great list of tips for improving your top line and your bottom line.

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» Keeping Your Business and Home Life Separate
» Sunday Roundup – Back to School Edition

Here are some of my favorite FiveCentNickel posts from a year ago the past two weeks:

» Opened a 457(b)
» Ask for Credit Card Fees to be Reversed
» FDIC Insurance Higher on Retirement Accounts
» Buying New Bedroom Furniture: Shop Around and Negotiate
» 2006 Taxes in Review
» How to Prioritize Your Retirement Accounts
» Max That Roth! (Yet Again)

And here’s what was going on two years ago:

» Improving Our Curb Appeal
» Finding a Mortgage
» The Lengths to Which Mortgage Lenders Will Go
» How to Write a Mortgage Gift Letter
» Bought and Sold in Under Six Days

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Related Articles at fivecentnickel.com:

» Important 2007 Tax Filing Deadlines
» Welcome Newsweek Readers
» One Year Ago This Week (March 25th – March 31st)
» What is a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)?
» The Best of March 2008
» Year End Money Moves
» From the Archives – (March 16th – March 22nd)
» From the Archives – (March 23rd – March 30th)

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?

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» Black Friday Retail Sales: Up 3% Compared to 2007
» Internet Outage
» Weekly Roundup – First Day of Summer Edition

Not quite a month ago, I decided to buy a Concept2 rowing machine. We’ll have had it in the house three weeks as of tomorrow, and I absolutely love it. It’s a very efficient machine in that I can get a full body workout in about 30 minutes, and it’s actually kind of fun (to me).

One of the nice things about Concept2 is that they have a fantastic online community, complete with discussion forums, an online logbook (you can upload your workout data automatically), worldwide rankings, and virtual teams with a variety of different goals. All in all, the community aspects of their online presence are very motivating.

Anyway, with that said, here are some articles that caught my eye over the past week…

» Top Career Choices in a Recession: But is This How We Should Be Selecting Jobs?
Flexo talks about recession-proofing your career, but then wonders whether or not concerns over the economy should be a guiding principle when making career decisions. He closes with a particularly wise thought… “If you have a boss other than yourself, you don’t have job security.”

» Five Strategies to Survive and Economic Slowdown
While we’re on the subject of economic troubles… Pinyo provides a nice list of tips for surviving and thriving during an economic slowdown.

» Eleven Ways to Ease Your Commute
Do you hate commuting? If so, then this list should be right up your alley. You’re not allowed to complain about it unless you try to do something to change it!

» It’s Not Always Necessary to Shoot for the Moon
JLP cautions against taking unnecessary risks when trying to meet investing goals. Not everyone needs an uber-agressive portfolio to reach the promised land.

» The Hidden Costs of Cash
An interesting perspective on how cash purchases subsidize credit card purchasers.

» Do You Spend More With Credit Cards?
While we’re on the subject of credit vs. cash… Despite all the oft-cited studies claiming that people far more money when they use credit cards vs. cash, there’s a surprising lack of available data out there on this topic.

» Amazon Grocery: When Is It More Cost-Effective Than the Local Supermarket?
Trent takes a critical look at the Amazon grocery service. Since joining Amazon Prime, Amazon has become my go-to place for shopping of all sorts. We still haven’t dabbled in their grocery service, but it’s certainly intriguing.

» 100 Ways to Cope With Inflation
A nice collection of tips for fighting back against inflation.

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Related Articles at fivecentnickel.com:

» Sunday Night Roundup – 100 km (and Counting) Edition
» Weekend Roundup – Labor Day Edition
» The Many Versions of Monopoly
» Weekly Roundup – Actually Weekly Edition
» Weekly Roundup – Exterior Christmas Lights Edition
» Weekly Roundup – First Day of Summer Edition
» Weekend Roundup – Four Day Weekend Edition
» Weekly Roundup – Credit Addict Facelift Edition

While we were out of town this past weekend, we had an opportunity to play a bit of Guitar Hero III for the Wii. Having never played it before, all I can say is… Wow! It was a ton of fun. So much fun, in fact, that we just picked up a copy for ourselves this afternoon. Now we just need to master it before the Aerosmith version comes out in June.

And now here are some articles that caught my eye over the past week…

» Taxes on Irregular Income
The ins and outs of estimated taxes. This is a complete non-issue for those that work a regular job with regular withholding. But if you’re self-employed or you earn side income, then estimated taxes can be a pretty big deal.

» 12 Things I Learned By 42 That I Wish I Knew At 22
Ron put together a very nice list of important lessons that many of us could learn from (even if we’re not 22).

» Which is Better, a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA?
JD tackles the age-old issue of whether it’s better to invest in a traditional or Roth IRA. Lots of good info — definitely worth the read.

» How the Government Spends Our Money
This is a nice breakdown of how the federal government spends our tax dollars. I have no idea how accurate the numbers are, but it makes for an interesting read.

» Outsourcing Tasks That Cost Less Than Your Hourly Wage
Jonathan takes a critical look at the idea of outsourcing your chores. If you can get it done for less than you earn in the time required to do it yourself, then why not? Click through and see what Jonathan has to say.

» Clean Up Your Finances Four Times a Year
Ben recommends catching up on your finances at the end of each quarter (FYI: Q1 ended today). This is solid advice, and should keep you form falling too far behind.

» Signs You May be a Victim of Tax-Related Fraud
With Tax Day just around the corner, this is a timely post. In case you’re curious, I just posted a similar list of signs that you’ve become the victim of identity theft.

» Warren Buffett’s Credit Score
Guess what? There’s a pretty good chance that your credit score is higher than Warren Buffett’s.

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» Q2 Estimated Tax Payments Due
» Cyber Monday – Who Knew?
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» Weekly Roundup – 06/02/06
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» Weekly Roundup – Actually Weekly Edition
» Weekly Roundup – First Day of Summer Edition

First of all, I’d like to wish a Happy Easter to everyone out there who happens to celebrate it.

Second, given the large number of people out there that are competing in March Madness basketball pools, I thought I’d share something that I heard on the radio the other day. Apparently, ESPN received 3.65 million entries in their online pool. Of these, nobody got all 32 first round games correct. Of course, given that there are nearly 4.3 billion unique combinations of results, this isn’t terribly surprising. But if you had a bad first round, don’t fret… You’re not alone.

And now for some articles that caught my eye over the past week…

» Your Take: Pay for Academic Performance for Children
This is an interesting discussion about whether or not you should pay kids for their grades. I’m still undecided on this one. The only pay I ever got for my grades as a kid was when I took my report card to the local arcade and got free tokens in return for every A or B (I forget the exact exchange rate). Anyway, our kids aren’t really old enough for this (yet) and we haven’t really thought about it yet.

» How to Start an Investment Club
While investment clubs were all the rage in the late 1990s, I haven’t hear much about them since the dot com bust. Nonetheless, this is a nice rundown of how to start you own club from someone who’s done it before.

» How To Hire An Illegal Immigrant
JLP dissects an interesting “How To” for homeowners that are interested in hiring illegal immigrants.

» 5 Ways to Teach Young Children About Money, Counting, and Making Change
NCN talks about five different ways to teach little kids about how money works. Interesting (at least to me) aside… Our six year old’s kindergarten class is learning about money right now, and we were amused to learn that kids in his class are clamoring to be paired up with him whenever they do breakout groups because he does all the money counting for them.

» Two Good Ways to Respond to Poor Decisions and Sunk Costs
Next time you make a bad financial decision, read this article before throwing good money after bad.

» How to Improve Your Credit Score
Interested in bumping up your credit score? Read this for some tips. Sadly, there’s no silver bullet.

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» Weekly Roundup – Witless Edition
» Weekly Roundup – First Day of Summer Edition
» Money Madness: The Champion
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» The Many Versions of Monopoly
» One Year Ago This Week (April 15th – April 21st)
» Weekly Roundup – Exterior Christmas Lights Edition

Today was a big day in our house, as soccer season is once again upon us. Unlike last fall, when my wife and I coached three teams between the two of us, we’ve scaled back to just one team this year. But we still have three kids playing, so it’s busy, busy, busy nonetheless. Just think… Two years from now we’ll have four kids playing, so I guess we should enjoy the relative calm while we can.

And now for some recent articles that caught my eye…

» 8 Benefits of a Recession or Down Market
As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. In this case, Flexo argues that the current economic environment provides us with a multitude of opportunities to go along with the pain.

» Pros and Cons of a SEP IRA
Given that I have a SEP-IRA, I’m always interested when I see other writing about them. In this case, Ciaran does a nice job of breaking down the pros and cons. This is definitely worth the read if you have any self-employment income.

» 11 Ways to Trigger an IRS Audit
Want to avoid an audit? Who doesn’t? Check out this article for a list of common red flags that might get you audited. In many cases, there’s not much you can do about it. But it’s still good to be aware of the common risk factors.

» Why is Gasoline So Cheap? A Cost Comparison of 40 Common Household Liquids
This is a fun and interesting (albeit not particularly useful) comparison of the cost of a gallon of a variety of common liquids. And guess what? Despite the recent runup in prices, gas is still comparatively cheap. Just be thankful that your car doesn’t run on Neutrogena or Krazy Glue!

» What the Heck is a Passbook Savings Account?
MBH takes a trip down memory lane and talks about passbook savings accounts. I have fond memories of taking my passbook to the bank to make deposits as a kid. I was surprised to learn that such accounts are still available.

» What Do Credit Card Numbers Mean?
Ever wondered what the digits on your credit card stand for? Well, wonder no more. This post explains everything.

Finally, while I realize that I’m wandering wildly off topic here, I just wanted to point out a site called No Calories Needed. This is a “weight loss” blog run by friend and colleague NCN of No Credit Needed fame.

While I’ve never been big on diets, NCN recently posted about a diet that I think I could live with… It starts out like this: “Step 1 – When you are hungry, eat.” Check. “Step 2 – Eat what you want, not what you think you should.” Check.

Wow, I think I might already be on this diet without even knowing it. (Though it does go on from there.)

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» Weekly Roundup – Actually Weekly Edition
» Weekly Roundup – Soccer Madness Edition
» Carnivals – Week of 10/08/07
» Weekly Roundup – First Day of Summer Edition
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» Weekly Roundup – Combining Miles Edition
» Weekly Roundup – 06/30/06 (A Few Days Late)
» The Many Versions of Monopoly

Don’t worry, I’m not going to show you any racy pictures of political wonks. The stripped delegates that I’m referring to are the Democratic party delegates that Florida and Michigan lost when they moved their primaries up against the wishes of the Democratic National Committee (these states also lost half of their Republican delegates).

Naturally, these states are now up in arms, claiming voter disenfranchisement. They’re now asking for the opportunity to re-vote, but it’s unclear who would foot the estimated $20-$30 million bill for holding another primary. Perhaps the best solution that I’ve heard has been Roland Martin’s suggestion:

If this is all about seating delegates, fine. Split their numbers down the middle and give half to Clinton and the other half to Obama. There. We just saved $30 million.

And now… A quick rundown of some articles that caught my eye this past week…

» 10 Mistakes I Made as a First Time Home Buyer
This is a nice rundown of moves not to make when buying a home. Learn from Ron’s mistakes instead of your own.

» Contribution Goals and Time Frames for Retirement and Education Savings Accounts
I liked this article not so much for the minutiae details of NCN’s savings goals, but rather for the nifty graphic that he put together for visualizing his goals. If you have a hard to staying on track with you goals, I highly recommend subscribing to his site… He’s full of great ideas like this.

» Examples of How Poor People Can Get Ahead Financially
Following up on another article about poor people getting ahead, FMF highglights some real life examples from readers.

» 20 Books That Will Change Your Life and How You Think About Retirement
Jeremy put together a great list of books to help members of Generation X start planning the rest of their lives. This looks like a nice complement to my list of eleven great books about money.

» An Introduction to Time Banking
This is a nice introduction to a fascinating concept that I’d never heard of — time banking. In short, it’s a system for earning and spending hours whereby you can “earn” services by volunteering. Very cool.

Finally, be sure to check out this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, which included “Twelve Tips for Preparing Your House for Sale” as well as “How to Place a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Record” from over at creditaddict.com.

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