6/5/07 spin on the blog carousel

I haven't shared links to my favorite articles in a while. Here goes:

The Frugal Law Student has compiled a massive, extremely impressive personal finance resource list. I haven't even clicked on 10% of the links yet. Lots here.

Advanced Personal Finance says term insurance is the only kind of insurance you need. I agree - don't overpay for whole life, etc etc. You need to leave money to someone in case you die - do it as cheaply as possible. This guy has two of my favorite articles of all time (because they speak directly to my sensibilities): Only buy term insurance, and Wal-Mart sucks. Cheers!

Get Rich Slowly asked "Is it better to invest or to prepay a mortgage?" I have posted about that here, and you know my answer is INVEST! But there are two sides to every story, and there is a wide-ranging discussion in the comments section there, with 96 comments as of this writing. I posted a few comments.

Money Smart Life has an introduction to exchange-traded funds (ETF's). I own SPY, DVY, RSP, FXI, and VTI. I consider these the anchors of my portfolio. Then I venture out with my other money into the individual small cap stock world.

The Money Mythos offers a way for small-time investors to get a piece of those high-flying hedge funds. Everyone has witnessed the 30% plus annual returns these funds generate for their wealthy investors, so now there's a way for the little guy to get it. Know the risks involved, though.

5/9/07 spin on the blog carousel

Advanced Personal Finance says he doesn't have a large emergency fund. I'm right there with you, buddy - I lean on the Home Equity Line of Credit when an emergency occurs - and they don't occur very often. I sweep all available cash to my 5 TDAmeritrade accounts, or pay down my HELOC - excess cash drives me nuts.

The Simple Dollar has a guide to eyeglasses. I have had awful vision since I was a kid, and am scared to get laser eye surgery. I bought an $800 pair of Koh Sakai eyeglasses back in 1997 (when that was a TON of money for me ... wait, it's still a ton of money!) and they have lasted me for 10 years. I truly got what I paid for.

Get Rich Slowly says blogging is not a quick path to wealth. Some poor fellow lost his job and wanted to start a blog to earn enough quick income to keep his house. Ouch. I sincerely hope to pull in a few hundred bucks a month some day, and while I do plan on blogging for many years to come, I can't imagine it will ever be my main source of income. He did mention John Chow, who seems to be the extremely rare exception to the rule.

Speaking of John Chow, here he details his amazing rise to Interwebernet prominence, including a whopping payday for the month of April. Holy phreakin cow, this guy is good!

Binary Dollar says taking a defensive driving course can sometimes save you money on your auto insurance. You should check with your insurance agent first to make sure taking the class will lower your rates (or if you desperately need to learn how to drive, take the class anyway!)

Great top 5 lists at Problogger.net

132 submissions on the first day! Wow..... I was perusing the list of first-day entries for Darren Rowse's Top 5 Group Writing Project. Great stuff.. here's a sampling:

• All Tips and Tricks has My five fingers ranked - now that's just damn funny.
• My Wealth Building has Top 5 Money Leaks in April. I'm right there with you on the coffee, although I spend more than $26/month on it.
• NZ Reality TV lists the Top 5 Reasons Paris Hilton Drove with a suspended license. Did anyone else shed a tear when she got sentenced. I didn't.
• Green Llama has the Top 5 money makers (for blogs). I am employing a few of them.
• Free Money Finance has Top 5 Steps to Grow Your Net Worth. "Spend less than you earn" - how could this still be a foreign concept to some?
  
• Generation X Finance has the Top 5 Ways to Become a Millionaire. Obviously, a list after my own heart.

And there's still several days left - many more lists to come. Stay tuned.

5/7/07 spin on the Blog Carousel

My Money Blog talks about trying to avoid lifestyle inflation. Similar to my article on buying the right size house, a smart financial life involves moderation and common sense. He does talk about being realistic about cars, which is so smart, but so very very hard!

Consumerism Commentary takes up the discussion on how renting makes you richer. As I stated in my article of yesterday, not every purchase you make in life has to be by the numbers. I would simply rather live in a house, a place for my family and I to call our own, so that's what we did. They say "the numbers never lie," but I choose to take a broader approach to this question.

All Financial Matters says young people are ignoring retirement planning. As I have stated and will continue to state, start now, start early, save often! It may not seem like a lot of money you're saving right now, but it will add up!

Get Rich Slowly discusses easy ways to spend less on your computer. Not buying more processing power than you need, taking advantage of free software, and even using Linux are all ways to save yourself some cash.

The Simple Dollar ranks 26 personal finance books, from worst to first. I spend most of my time reading the Wall Street Journal, and now PF blogs! I see a few Cramer books on there - the guy is a genius, but why don't humans come with a volume knob? :-)

Advanced Personal Finance says he pays more at Target than at Wal-Mart, and he does it on purpose! Bravo for this post - as I said in the comments section there, I wish I had posted that. Wal-Mart is a degrading experience.

Mighty Bargain Hunter asks "Is having an extra car worth it?" I say no, even though there have been numerous occasions where a 3rd car in our family would have really helped out. I cannot justify the expense, especially right now when my job is one mile from home.

The Sun's Financial Diary and Plus 6 Personal Finance both discuss the 7 net worth killers. My theme of the day seems to be real estate, so I will again point out the obvious - do not use your main residence as a retirement vehicle...... which means don't buy too much house.