MyMoneyMinute.com

Here’s a little Sunday reading for you from some fellow bloggers:

The Yakezie Challenge

The Yakezie Challenge is a group of personal finance bloggers who are working together to promote and improve their blogs through mutual promotion.  When we promote good content, we all win!

Each week, a “carnival” will be hosted by a Yakezie member.  The carnival links you to a selected article from each Yakezie member.  This week’s carnival was hosted by Jeff from Deliver Away Debt.  Jeff’s hardcore about paying off his bills, and has taken a weekend pizza delivery job to speed up the process, pulling down about $1,500/month doing so!

Here’s this week’s Yakezie Carnival hosted by Deliver Away Debt.

Outside of the Yakezie Challenge, here’s a few articles that caught my eye:

PT over at ptMONEY reveals how you can compare 401(k) performances with BrightScope.

‘Kita at Personal Finance Journey gives us the 5 Lessons from her encounter with a financial advisor.

Punch Debt In The Face wonders if he should keep his money in savings, or pay off a debt?

Jim at Bargaineering has a not-so-whacky idea to lower taxes on interest earned from savings — maybe then we’d save more?

Don from Money Reasons gave his thoughts on allowances for kids.  I disagreed to a point on his philosophy, but show his link some love — go read the article and tell him what YOU think!

MyMoneyMinute on the Web

My Happy Hour post, Wine On A Budget: Oak Creek, was featured in a weekly round-up by Paul over at Fiscal Geek.

.

Have a great weekend!

.

.

Follow MyMoneyMinute on Twitter.

.

.

Links O' The Week

I was out of town this weekend, spending time with The Lovely Miss H on a weekend trip to Austin, Texas.  We had a great time, but I didn’t get a chance to promote the Carnivals in which I participated last week, as well as some of my favorite links I recently read.  I’ll get a fresh post out tomorrow about the financial “Do’s & Don’ts” of a weekend road-trip.  Meanwhile, enjoy these links!

Carnivals

The 199th Carnival of Personal Finance accepted my article on finishing my taxes and a TurboTax Review.

My interview with the creators of moneyStrands was featured in the 59th Money Hacks Carnival.

The 2nd Carnival of Pecuniary Delights featured my article titled Beyond The Paper: How Your Digital Imprint Affects Your Employment.

Thanks to the hosts for each of these Carnivals for including my submissions!

Links O’ The Week

Here’s a few links for you to check out in your spare time:

Looking to make that resume sizzle?  Squawkfox has 8 Keywords That Set Your Resume On Fire!

Single Guy Money gives us 5 Reasons To Pay Off Debt.  Short, simple, and to the point.

Dog Ate My Finances says she’s glad that Cigarette Taxes Are Up.

Finally, Get Rich Slowly offers a Financial Literacy Compendium to start off Financial Literacy Month.  There is a WEALTH of information just in this post on all topics Personal Finance.  Take a look.

photo by amir taj

Links O' The Week

Lots of good reading out there. Here’s some recent favorites:

Carnivals

My post on What We Learn From Tragedy was featured in the 1st ever Carnival of Pecuniary Delights last week.  This Carnival features articles with information that’s more timeless content rather than the weekly fad, and will be a great recurring resource for its readers.

My post challenging you to Identify Your Underwater Financial Volcanoes was featured in the April Fools Edition of the Money Hacks Carnival.

The Carnival of Debt Reduction featured my post:  Don’t Laugh, It’s Paid For!

The Carnival of Personal Finance featured my Recession Buster: Increase Cash Flow With High Interest Checking.

Links O’ The Week

Money Grubbing Lawyer says we should Leave Emotion out of Negotiation (and if you find out how, let me know!)

Frugal Dad says Discover Cards for Teens Creates Bad Habits.

Pimp Your Finances has an Interview with Ramit Sethi, best-selling author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Five Cent Nickel shares with us some money advice and principles that he got from his followers on Twitter.

NCN also gets responses from his fellow “Tweeps” on Reasons Why We Fail To Stick To Our Budget.  Look for my comment in his post!

Clever Dude has a great post on Deconstructing the Job Offer.

Counting My Pennies talks the size of our Emergency Funds.

I’ve got more suggested reading, but that’ll do for now.  Have a great weekend!

Links O' The Week

It has been another busy week for me, but I’ve managed to find time to read a few other blogs here and there.  Linked below are some articles I found interesting.

This week I’m planning on posting an interview with the creators of MoneyStrands, which is a spending & financial tracking program, similar to Mint or Wesabe.  I’m also anticipating talking about wills & estate planning.  I may even have a guest post from another blogger, and of course, life happens so we’ll check in with current events if need be.

Have a great week and stay tuned for updates.  If you haven’t subscribed yet, enter your e-mail address in the box to the right and you’ll get updates in your e-mail automatically.

Links O’ The Week

How many times have you heard that it is “normal” to have credit cards, car payments, and student loans — to the point where you’re ridiculed if you don’t have this bondage in your life?  Frugal Dad discusses this in what he calls The “But Everyone Has A…” Mentality.

Do you want to learn about economics, finances, investing and day trading?  Best Forex Brokers lists 50 Free Open Courseware Classes for Investors and Day Traders.

Christian Personal Finance talks about Major Money Mistakes: Paying Too Much For A Car.

The Wisdom Journal gives us a few links to educate us on economics.

No Debt Plan gives us advice on how to Cut Monthly Costs by Asking for a Discount.

Weakonomics gives us The Pros and Cons of the Income Tax, with a great link to a graph of the world’s income tax rates.

Stretchy Dollar says It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Make, but what you do with what you have.  Judging by his examples of the numerous pro athletes and lottery winners that are again broke after their big paydays, I’d say he has a point!

Fiscal Fizzle gives us 10 Reasons Why Budgets Fail.

Links O' The Week

Subscribe to Blog Feeds

Read Blog Feeds at Google Reader

How many blogs do you keep track of?  Currently I have 78 blog feeds that I read.  If you are new to the blog reading thing, I suggest using Google Reader or a similar program.  These allow you to combine all your blog subscriptions into one program.  This consolidation allows you to relax and read, rather than try to remember each individual blog’s website address and check them daily.  It’s like creating your own personalized magazine or newspaper!

RSS Feed

Any where you see “RSS” or its usually-orange logo (see above), you can add that feed to your Reader.  My RSS feed is available on the site’s right margin; or, you can subscribe via e-mail.

Links O’ The (Mid-)Week

Here’s some more articles I found interesting enough to pass along to you:

Blog Talk Radio

If you’re into podcasts, some fellow Personal Finance bloggers host their own internet radio show:

• Get Rich Slowly & Bargaineering co-host Personal Finance Hour.  Their inaugural show was this week – go check it out!
• Frugal Upstate & Being Frugal co-host Frugal Coast 2 Coast.  Jenn & Lynnae put on a great show.

Family

Simple Marriage gives us 20 Must-Read Blogs for Married People.

Cash Money Life provides a guest post by Neal of Wealth Pilgrim on Creating a Financial Continuation Plan for Your Family.

Money Mate Kate talks Unmarried Couples: Borrowing/Lending.

Fiscal Fizzle recommends Using A Monthly Report To Discuss Money With Your Spouse.  I’m looking forward to seeing a template of his report.

Technology/Software

The Simple Dollar gives us 10 iPhone & iTouch Applications For Personal Finance Success.

Christian PF proclaims The 23 Best Freeware Programs For Windows.

Investing

Everything Finance gives us the 10 Investing Habits of Rich People.

Prime Time Money shows us 5 Reasons NOT To Borrow From Your 401k.

Links O' The Week

Hi Everyone,

I have so many selections to my recommended reading list, I’m supplementing my traditional Saturday postings of “Links O’ The Week.  Without further adieu…

197th Carnival of Personal Finance — Editor’s Pick!

My article that asks Should I Buy Pet Insurance? was an Editor’s Pick in the 197th Carnival of Personal Finance!  Thanks to Four Pillars for hosting and selecting my post as a top pick!

I’d like to thank God, my agent, my wife, and of course Odie, who without him this Editor’s Pick would not have been possible… **cue music / cuts off acceptance speech**

Okay seriously, not THAT big of a deal but glad someone enjoyed the post!

Links O’ The (Mid-)Week

Here’s a few articles I found interesting:

My Journey To Millions gave us the Top 10 Reasons You Need To Get A Will ASAP.

Frugal Dad posted on Personal Financial Software.  Read the comments for great suggestions too!

Lose your job recently?  Fiscal Fizzle gives you timely advice with a Layoff Checklist.  I believe he’s newer to the blog scene just like I am, but he’s got some great content.  Take time to check out his site!

Here’s a recommended triple-play of posts written by Gather Little By Little:

• Delayed Gratification
• Budget Categories: Less is More
• Debt Snowflaking

My Two Dollars says Look At Me And My Designer Clothes!

Don’t Mess With Taxes gives us 13 Often Overlooked Tax Breaks.

photo by Jeff Belmonte

Links O' The Week Carnival of Personal Finance, Editor's Pick

Carnival of Personal Finance

Hey everyone, I wanted to let you know that a recent post of mine, Beyond the Resume:  How Your Digital Impring Affects Employment, was featured in the 196th Carnival of Personal Finance:  Music Edition.  There are many wonderful articles included, so take a look.

Thanks to Green Panda Treehouse for the inclusion!

Links O’ The Week

I’ve been trying to catch up on my blog reading.  To avoid falling too far behind and posting a ton of suggested reading all at once, here’s a few that caught my eye.  I’ll pass along a few more mid-week and during our normal “Links O’ The Week” segment:

Pets

Green Panda Treehouse talks Ways to Save on Pet Care.

On AIG Executive Bonuses

Suburban Dollar gives his reasons Why He Thinks AIG Should Get to Keep Their Bonuses.  Very gutsy article!

Conversely, The Coin Jar gives take on Scaring Wall Street Straight.  My question is, who is going to scare Obama & Congress straight?  I think they need to add more personal finance blogs to their Google readers!

Bailouts & Financial Crisis

Four Pillars gives us The Curse of Pretend Money, a guest post by Rob Bennett of A Rich Life, explaining how financial crises happen.

Art of the Coupon talks Personal Bankruptcies and the Recession.  Good call to think outside the box on how to stimulate the economy.  While you’re contemplating, check out the two-part MyMoneyMinute Economic Stimulus Plan.

Spending & Frugality

Not the Jet Set asks What Area of Your Life is Super Sized? Excellent question!  You can be doing so well in so many areas of your budget, then blow it by super-sizing one or two areas.

Get Rich Slowly posts along similar lines, with his entry: What Do You Do When Frugality Gets You Nowhere?

Emergency Funds

No Credit Needed discusses Debt Reduction And The Emergency Fund.  Just how big of an emergency fund should you have?

Giving

The Simple Dollar has a great idea to use The Giving Pocket.  What a great idea!

Home Computer

Frugal Dad gives us Free Software To Soup Up The Home Computer.

More to come this week — have a great weekend!

Photo by visulogik

Links O' The Week AIG, Carnival of Personal Finance

I’ve been a little behind on my blog reading, so I’ve got tons of links to share with all of you out in Internet land.  I’ll stick with a few here, and add a few links here & there throughout next week for you to enjoy.

Clever Dude gives practical advice with 7 Tips to Extend the Life of Your Business Clothing.

My Money Blog brought us an interesting way to “Fail-Safe Investing”.

Get Rich Slowly has been putting out some great content.  Here’s two articles I enjoyed:

• 25 Financial Rules of Thumb
• Are Pets Worth The Money?

The Passive Dad also has great content.  Here’s two of his great ideas:

• Putting a Savings Account on Your Baby Registry
• Did You Find a Passive Income Idea Today?

The Wisdom Journal is another one of my favorites.  Here’s a few I’ve been impressed with over the past couple days:

• Here’s a post where he gives us a recipe for How He Paid Over $120,000 of Debt in 52 Months.  Awesome analogy and congratulations.  I hope to join you one day!
• Here he asks the poignant question:  Is Money Real to You?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Follow Me on Twitter!!

photo by Robert Brook

Links O' The Week

Hope everyone’s having a great weekend!  Here’s my favorite articles I read this week.

Carnival of Personal Finance

My article on What We Learn from Tragedy was selected for the 192nd Carnival of Personal Finance.
Thanks to Canadian Personal Finance Blog for the selection!

Links O’ The Week

PT from Prime Time Money gives us 15 Things You Should Never Pay For.  Well, actually 14, but who’s counting?

Bargaineering posted an article on the Basics of Retirement Planning.

Then again, Crackerjack Greenback’s 100th blog post has him Rethinking Retirement.

Learn Financial Planning says Your Car is Not an Investment.

Taxes

My Dollar Plan provides us The Ultimate Tax Resource.

Get Rich Slowly tells us of Bankrate’s 2009 Tax Guide.

Economy

We’re all beginning to save because we have too much consumer debt, but the government wants us to spend & borrow to keep the economy going?  Consumerism Commentary discusses The Paradox of the Thrift.

The Digerati Life asks for discussion on Obama’s Foreclosure Bailout Plan.  I happily obliged and participated in the comments!

Children & Family

Need to explain the bad economy to your children?  My Two Dollars gives us a post called Money Management Advice from My 9 Year Old.

Frugal Dad talks real life issues regarding More Adult Children Moving Back Home.

The Simple Dollar writes that he is still struggling with choosing a guardian for his children.

Follow me on Twitter!


photo by visulogik

Links O' The Week

Well I finally caught up with all my blog reading since being gone on vacation!  That means I have a pretty hefty Links O’ The Week this time around.  Without further adieu, here is our Valentine’s Day edition of Links O’ The Week!

Learn

When you have a significant other, you are always learning about them, and about how relationships work.  So it is with personal finance.  We must constantly be learning to grow.

No Credit Needed challenges us to Dedicate 7 Hours for Healthier Finances.  This is a 7-post series, so I linked to the final one.  Review it and let me (and NCN) know what you think.

Money Grubbing Lawyer helps you to Plan for your Digital Death.

Christian Personal Finance gives us 10 Tips for Surviving a Layoff.

The Wisdom Journal came up using the TRACK Method to Achieve Your Goals.  Take a look!

Laugh

Michael James on Money posts on Teenage Jobs that Pay Well.  I put this here because it reminds me of some of the things I did for money when I was a teen!  Seriously though, lots of good ideas in this post.

Live

When life happens, we need a team of experts to help.  Scordo is right on the ball when he recommends 6 people you should build relationships with.  I added one in the comment section — Spiritual Counsel.

Ashley & her husband from Wide Open Wallet started a business.  Congratulations on taking the plunge into self-employment!

My Journey To Millions noticed a higher percentage of audits on estate tax filings in his post on Audit Worries.

So You Think You Can Write? The Wisdom Journal found some links to help you get paid for writing.

Money Grubbing Lawyer asks the tough question:  Would you rather talk about Money or Sex?

Frugal Dad challenges us to Start A Sunny Day Fund.

Frugal Dad goes back-to-back here, with a post asking Is Frugality The Anti-Stimulus Plan?

Being Frugal gives A Full Cup Review.  A Full Cup is a website about learning and locating coupons.

Mrs. Micah evaluates Online Money Management Tools, including Mint & Geezeo.

No Debt Plan talks Can Not, Will Not, and Why Not? What are your excuses for not getting out of debt and in control of your finances?

Love

Stuff Christians Like asks, “Are you offering things that don’t cost anything?” in his post on Giving people the easy stuff.

Christian Personal Finance reminds us that God’s Economy is strong.

As teammates in a relationship, one may do most of the money management.  Mrs. Micah provides advice on How Much Should We Ask Our Spouse To Do?

Happy Valentine’s Day and have a great weekend!

photo by Jan Tik

Links O' The Week