Archives for Weekly Thoughts category
31
May
Posted in Weekly Thoughts by Roger, the Amateur Financier |
I don’t know about you, but I seem to have missed the whole season of Spring. Winter seemed to last forever this year, with snow coming down even into April. (Punxsutawney Phil must be losing his edge; he predicted an early spring this year.) Then, after a short, wet spring, we are already getting weather I’d normally associate with the hottest part of the summer. (It was ninety-four Fahrenheit yesterday (thirty-four Celsius); this wouldn’t be so bad, if I didn’t have to drive across the state of Pennsylvania in an un-air conditioned car.)
Still, it’s not that bad, I suppose. I have spent most of my time indoors, mostly doing research and working on this very blog, so I haven’t suffered too much from the hot weather. I suppose I could even consider going out and doing something summer-like, such as going swimming (there’s a pool near my apartment building, which would allow me to swim and spend some time with my fellow residents at the same time). Of course, that research isn’t going to finish itself, and try as I might, the blog refuses to update itself while I sleep. (Blogs, unlike dogs, apparently can’t be easily trained.)
Still, there’s plenty that I like about summer: long, bright days; trees and grass vibrant and full of life; young women in scant clothes (hey, I’m still a guy at heart). There’s a lot to like, and on the subject of things I like, let’s get into the heart of this article: the good blog posts from the past week! (How’s that for a nice segue?)
Contests and Giveaways
Tim of Faith and Finances is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card, always good for those of us who enjoy our books
On the subject of $25 Amazon Gift Cards, another one is being given away by Money is the Root
Good Yakezie Posts
How to Manage Uncertainty – Don’t from Todd of Todd’s Wanderings – Always good advice on how to handle things outside of our control.
The ABC’s of Debt Reduction from Miss T of Prairie Eco Thrifter – Helpful advice for those of us who have more work to do to become debt free.
What Will Inflation Do to Your Retirement Income from Life and My Finances - A handy reminder of the risk that inflation can hold to your retirement plans, with a handy inflation chart.
Frugal Knives: Babci Loves Shivs from Sandy L. of First Gen American – I’m not sure what to make of this, but if you want to save money on sharp knives, I suppose this is one way…
Staycation Ideas from Crystal on Passive Family Income – Not being much of a traveler myself (for both financial and personal reasons), it’s nice to see some thoughts on how to have a good time close to home.
Don’t Fall for Money Mind Tricks (Part 2) from Barbara Friedberg – Unfortunately, sometimes our worst enemy to managing our money well is our own mind; here’s some advice on keeping your mind focused (the second in a rather interesting series, thus far).
What is the Real Cost of Materialism? from Joe Plemon of Personal Finance By The Book – It’s always good to put your desire to have everything into perspective; otherwise, it’s way too easy to overspend.
Why Do Women Go Out With Deadbeat Losers? from Financial Samurai – I can’t resist putting in an article with this title, but it also has a good point on not settling in life (whether it comes to men or to your job).
Weddings on a Budget from Little House in the Valley – As you are probably well aware, I’m engaged, and as I and my fiancee Sondra are on the hook for essentially all the costs of our wedding, I appreciate any advice on cutting down the costs I can find.
Road Trip Ideas and Tips from Elle of Couple Money – On the subject of Sondra, we’re planning a trip to Niagara Falls later this month (next week, in fact), so again, a rather pertinent post for any fellow travelers. (As in, other travelers this summer, not Communist comrades, in case the FBI is watching my blog…)
Where The Amateur Financier Was Featured
My post Can You Make Money and a Difference with Social Impact Bonds? was an Editor’s pick in this week’s Totally Money Blog Carnival. Whoo Hoo! That post was also the best article in the Best of Money Carnival this week! Double Whoo Hoo!
My Frugal Friday – Pet Care article was featured in the Best Money Tips: Frugal Pet Care article on Wisebread.
Related Websites
24
May
Posted in Weekly Thoughts by Roger, the Amateur Financier |
As a blogger with a (reasonably) popular blog, I’ve gotten my share, perhaps more than my share, of spam comments. A quick look at my Akismet statistics shows that I’ve received 40,496 spam comments since starting my blog over two years ago (probably an even 40,500 in the time it’s taken me to write this entry), and they are unlikely to stop. Virtually all of them were caught by Akismet, and the few that slipped through, I noticed and eliminated rather quickly, to try to keep my blog as spam-free as a high-end dining establishment.
But even with all this effort, I’m all but certain that a few pieces of spam have managed to sneak through. If you are a spammer hoping to get a comment up on my blog and not having me instantly delete it, though, here are a few pieces of advice on making your comments less likely to be instantly deleted:
- Don’t use a product or service as your username: Before we even get into the comments proper, here’s something I use as an instant test for spam: if your username is something like ‘Cheap waterbeds’ or ‘benaughtyfree’ (yes, I’ve actually gotten a comment using this username, and my spam filter didn’t red flag it), your comment is instant spam fodder. Is it so hard to use a normal name like John or Kelly (or the name of your own blog) when writing a comment?
- Make it relevant to the article in question: If I had a dollar for every comment I’ve deleted that said something like ‘Yes, I completely agree’ (or its reciprocal, ‘No, I have to disagree’) without any reference to the content of the article (aka, why you agree or disagree), I would probably have tripled my income from this blog. If your comment could be used on any blog article without any edits, I’m assuming the reason is because it IS used on dozens of different blogs, but it won’t stay up on mine.
- Make me think: If you really want to ensure that I keep your comment up on my blog, then make me think with your comment. It doesn’t have to be exceptionally deep or profound, but if I pause for even a moment and wonder what to say in response, I’m that much more likely to leave it up and write that response.
So, there you have it; use a good name and write a relevant, thought-provoking comment (also known as a ‘legitimate comment’), and I’ll leave your comment up. Now that that’s all straightened out, let’s get to the main event: the great articles from the last week!
Contests and Giveaways
There is a Shutterfly Photobook Giveaway on The ¢entsible Life until June 1st. While we’re on the subject, there is a MASSIVE giveaway of baby supplies involving The ¢entsible Life and numerous other blogs that ends on May 31st.
Life and My Finances is giving away a $100 Amazon Gift Card (enter until May 31st) to celebrate the release of his new e-Book.
Eric of Narrow Bridge Finance is celebrating breaking 200,000 in his Alexa rankings by giving away two sets of business cards for sharing your favorite frugal tip.
The Wellheeled Blog is giving away a $25 gift card for the Emma Stine Jewelry Store to one lucky reader.
Good Yakezie Posts
One Angry Customer and One Brilliant Business Plan by Darwin (Posted on Yakezie.com)
Ethical Investing 101 from Prairie EcoThrifter
Wow…Debt Really Is a Motivator from First Gen American
Power Saving Technology That Helps You Save Money on Energy from Sustainable Personal Finance
The Importance of Meeting New People from The Financial Blogger
What is an IPO? from Faith and Finance
The Three Methods of Finance, When Enough is Enough from Early Retirement Extreme
14 “Dubious” Financial Moves It’s Ok to Do. (Really!) from Len Penzo
An Unemployment Epidemic for College Grads from Financial Samurai
Should You Only Own a Single Target Retirement Fund? from Money Help For Christians
Where the Amateur Financier was Featured
The Rock and Roll Accountant (great blog name) included my post on Finding the Right Investment Firm in his latest round-up It was also included in the Integrated Finance Carnival for May 22. (The Integrated Finance Carnival also included my post on What Happens Now That America’s Hit the Debt Ceiling; sorry for the double submission)
My post looking at the Money Aspects of (Media) Piracy was included in Invest It Wisely’s Weekend Reading: Power & Sex Edition
My Frugal Friday – Pet Care post was included in the 20th Totally Money Blog Carnival, which also poses a really interesting ethical question.
y po
Related Websites
17
May
Posted in Weekly Thoughts by Roger, the Amateur Financier |
Well, it’s finally here: my finals are over, my projects are turned in, my presentation on my research this year has been given (just in case you’re curious, my research is off to a pretty bumpy start, although the presentation went quite well); in short, my first academic year as a graduate student has now come to a close! So, time to take a long awaited trip around the world, living a free and adventurous life, right?
Not exactly. You see, summer is considered the ideal time for graduate students to get caught up on their research, with such petty distractions as ‘taking classes’ and ‘teaching undergrads’ out of the way. As such, I’m almost going to be busier in the summer than I have been for much of the semester, when there was the tacit understanding that the ‘student’ part of my grad student responsibilities had to take the front seat when it came to my time management.
Still, it’s not a complete horror show; while I might have to put in ten hour days sometimes, I do have surprising flexibility in WHEN those hours fall. I can sleep in until noon, or come in early and leave by mid afternoon. When I get the work done is less of a concern than whether I get the work done. It also means that I have quite a bit of flexibility; while I’m waiting for my bacteria to do their thing (or waiting for any number of tests or procedures that I’m running to finish), I can be writing blog articles, checking my email, or catching up on some of the other great blog articles out there. While we’re on the subject (and as I research what I need to do next to keep my experiment rolling), feel free to check out some of these great blog entries from around the web:
Good Yakezie Posts
Don’t Quit Your Day Job by Buck Inspire (posted on Yakezie.com)
How to Get the Most Money Out of Your Old Textbooks from Life and My Finances (One of my favorite subjects as a student who just ended a semester)
Where Did My Tax Dollars Go? from Faith and Finance (Always a question that gets asked around this time of year)
A Wii is NOT an Investment from Retire By 40 (This misuse of the word ‘invest’ is a big pet peeve of mine)
Creating Extremely Valuable Connections in Life from The Financial Blogger
20 Money and Life Lessons From Mom from Barbara Friedberg (Happy (Belated) Mother’s Day to all the moms reading, while we’re at it)
If the Royals Don’t Need a Prenuptial Agreement, Do You? from Bucksome Boomer (Not a question I thought I would ever hear…but a good one to consider)
Developing an Income Stream with Affiliate Programs from Couple Money (Something I’ve been trying, with limited success; it’s always nice to get some fresh perspective)
The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mutual Funds, Index Funds, and ETFs from Money Help For Christians (A decent example of truth in advertising, which is always a nice thing to see)
How to Get the Most From Your Savings Accounts from Mrs. Not Made of Money (always nice to get a refresher on the basics)
Where The Amateur Financier Was Featured
My post on Preparing for a Test At the Last Minute was included in a thought-provoking round-up from Kevin of Invest It Wisely and in the Totally Money Blog Carnival #19.
My post on Choosing the Right Investment Firm was included in the Integrated Finance Carnival.
Last, but not least: Apparently, there is at least one economics class where The Amateur Financier is an acceptable source, at least when the subject is marijuana legalization. So…I’ve got that going for me.
Related Websites
10
May
Posted in Weekly Thoughts by Roger, the Amateur Financier |
You might remember that nearly two months ago, I decided to try out only spending cash for my purchases for at least a month, just to see how well I could do (and how much money I could save). Since the month long period will come to an end at the end of this week (how’s that for convenient?), I figured now would be as good a time as any to review how I’m doing on going cash-only. So, here we go:
The Good: Well, I am spending less money. I’ve cut back on the food I buy at the supermarket and any spending that I do online significantly. (I’m nearly down to zero spending online, although the occasional magazine renewal or book purchase sneaks in.) Combined with increased attempts to pay off my current credit bills, and my level of credit card debt has gone down significantly since I started trying to cut down my spending.
The Bad: I haven’t cut down my spending nearly as much as I would like. There are still areas where I use credit cards rather than cash (when I pump gas, for one), and numerous times when I’ve been caught short on cash, I’ve whipped out the plastic rather doing the more financially frugal thing and going without until I had the money on hand and could afford to pay for it that way.
The Ugly: I’m still spending more each month than I am taking in (especially now that my boost in alternative income last month due to long-term advertising arrangements has concluded). I’ve managed to pay off a substantial amount of the credit card debt with student loans, but (a) that’s only swapping one type of debt for another, (b) it doesn’t even do that if I end up simply adding on more credit card debt in its place, and (c) as the rappers say, ‘Mo’ Debt, Mo’ Problems’. (Alright, they normally say, ‘Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems’, but if more of them had $9000+ in credit card debt they were trying to clear on an $1100 monthly income, you can bet there would be more songs denouncing Visa and American Express.)
All of this is to say, I’ve got my work cut out for me if I hope to really go cash only, to say nothing of paying off all this credit card debt. I’m sure that, if I put my nose to the grindstone, I can get everything paid off, but it’s going to take some time and some effort to reach that point.
Luckily, there’s plenty of encouragement out there, if you know where to look. May I suggest starting with some of the great post in the Yakezie Network? Here’s just a small sampling:
Good Yakezie Posts
6 Ways to Change Your Spending Habits from Prairie Eco Thrifter
Teaching Your Kids About Managing Money from Passive Family Income
16 Driving Tips to Improve Gas Mileage from Sustainable Personal Finance
Review: A Random Walk Down Wall Street from The College Investor
How Much Money Do You Need to Start Your Own Business? from Life and My Finances
How to Figure Out How Much Life Insurance You Need from Free From Broke
How to Pay off $35,000 in Credit Card Debt In One Month from Financial Samurai
What’s My Wedding Budget? I Have No Idea from Well-Heeled Blog
Where The Amateur Financier Was Featured
My Frugal Friday – Honeymoons post was featured in the Totally Money Carnival #18
Related Websites
