The Amateur Financier

It’s the end of November again, and that means many things.  The snow will start coming more often (and be thicker when it does come), the holiday season is well upon us, the fall semester finals season is right around the corner, and before too long, I’ll be mistakenly writing ’2011′ when I date things, even if it has already become 2012.  Speaking of which, if you believe all those people who think the Mayans were correct, we have a little over a year left before the world is destroyed, or we reach a new level of consciousness, or something big and impressive happens.  So…watch for that.

But back to 2011 for now.  I’ve had a pretty good year, all in all, although I didn’t get quite as much done as I was hoping.  It’s not too late to pull off some last minute (or last month, at least) catch-up, although it’s hard to resist the siren call of spending time with friends and family during this holiday season (to say nothing of hours spent locked in a small room trying to study, but I digress…)

Yup, this shows you how I will be spending the next few weeks...

So, it’s a pretty busy looking month for me.  For now, though, let me try to share some of the love and some of the good articles that have been published in my friends’ blogs in the past week.

Good Yakezie Posts

Gain Time and Money Through Outsourcing and Trade – Nobody can do it all (although single mothers do come pretty close).  We can all have more of what we want by outsourcing some of the tasks we do and trading with our friends and fellow people, as Keven of Invest It Wisely notes in this Yakezie post.

I Don’t Understand the Safe Withdrawal Rate Discussion – If you’ve done any reading about or planning for retirement, you’ve probably heard that the ‘safe’ amount to withdraw from your savings to cover your living expenses is 4%.  Evan of My Journey to Millions shares his aggravation with the whole discussion, as well as the belief that retirement does not act as a fundamental switch on your money needs.

Learn to Shop Like a Pro; High Quality, Low Cost – Looking for a number of good tips on saving money, presented in an amusing, entertaining manner?  Look no further than this video from Barbara Friedberg, which attempts to share some methods of cutting down on your shopping expenses.

Why Donations to Charity are Important – Given the impending holidays, as well as the fact that the Salvation Army is already out in force, charitable donations are likely already on your mind.  But just in case you hadn’t quite gotten around to it, here are some more reasons why donations are needed from Miss T.

How a $35 Flu Shot Can Save Your Money and Your Life – Vaccinations are one of those situations where planning ahead can cut down your expenses in the future.  Sure, as Tim of Faith and Finances notes, you can skip the vaccination and save a few bucks now, but the cost of treating the flu itself will be significantly greatly if (or perhaps, when) you end up getting the flu.

The Obligatory Thanksgiving Post – Just about every blogger (myself included) felt the need to say something about the holiday that just passed, and this one from Live Real, Now happens to have one of the wittier titles that I’ve seen.  The fact that it also shares how a communal approach to work and property nearly destroyed the original Plymouth colony (even Pilgrims tend not to be motivated by ‘working for the common good’, apparently) is a nice bonus, as well.

That’s it for this week; here’s hoping everyone has a great (and frugal, or as frugal as possible while holiday shopping) December!