Finances & Money

Weekly Roundup: Midterm Edition

Well, it’s that time of year again, when I have to cram to finish my midterm because I slacked off for days. We got our midterm on Monday, and it’s due this coming Monday, but it’s now Friday and I haven’t done any work on it yet. Looks like my weekend is already planned out for me. Luckily, I only have one class this semester so the workload is much lighter. Next semester, I’ll be taking two classes again and they look to be killers. But after that, only two more classes to finish up my masters degree! The end is in sight! (although it’s a full year away).

This roundup will be a bit different as I’ll also be including some articles I found through the new community called “Tip’d“. You can read my review of Tip’d here. While I’m not keen on adding more reading to my already huge reader list, I’ve actually found the Tip’d RSS Feed to be useful. I’m seeing articles I never would have seen and getting more insight into finance, economics and even some money humor.  And no, I don’t get any kickbacks whatsoever from promoting Tip’d.

Oh yeah, a special announcement: I hit 2,000 subscribers this week. Although today is at 1,998 and I’m sure the weekend will be lower, I hit it twice (actually over 2,100 one day). Finally!

From the Tip’d Community

You’ll notice that these links point to the Tip’d page rather than the destination blog article. I’m doing this so you can see other comments on that article, and so you can see a bit more how Tip’d works:

• Master Your Card writes about why she rents instead of owns a home. I’ve wished many times that I didn’t have the responsibility of home ownership, but other times I’m glad I don’t need to worry about renewing a lease every year.
• BSchool.com gives us 100 Ivy League business courses you can take for free. I’m DEFINITELY going to check these out…right after I finish my own degree!
• MBA Case Study Solutions tells us what we should have learned from our MBA studies [Humor]
• My Journey to Millions tells us why to stay away from seller financing. It may sound easy when you’re selling your house to just accept the buyer’s payments and earn all that interest, but there are many risks along with the returns.
• USA Today has a good analysis based on Wal-Mart’s data that shopper’s habits are changing in a disturbing trend.
• The Wall Street Journal warns about a “liberal super-majority” if the Dems win. Even if you’re a democrat, you should be warned about the consequences when there is a lack of checks and balances in place.

If you want to check out more articles like these, consider registering an account with Tip’d.

From the Personal Finance Network

• MoneyNing thinks trust is important and gives tips to build it. Should we trust him on that?
• Squawkfox loves making spreadsheets. This time, she’s giving away 15 free printable home inventory worksheets. That reminds me that we seriously need to inventory our stuff!
• Quest for Four Pillars asks whether the market problems are good, bad or ooh, a shiny object!
• Blunt Money points out about two dozen things everyone should know about personal finance. It’s a very quick read, but a very good list.
• Canadian Capitalist hit a couple milestones: 1,000 posts and 1,000,000 visitors! And to honor that, he’s giving away two $50 gift cards (Canadian residents only). Just comment on the post if you’re a Canuck! Congrats CC! I’m almost to 1,000 posts myself, and well, halfway to 1mill visitors.

From my Personal Finance Reader List

• Ask Mr. Credit Card wraps up their bankruptcy experience with some lessons learned. Also, they provide a number of ways to teach your children about money and finance.
• Mighty Bargain Hunter gives some pointers for getting back to the basics by downsizing. The key to living a frugal lifestyle is surviving on what you need. I constantly consider selling my truck since I don’t drive much anymore, but I just like that darned truck! Oh, and I liked his other basics article: Plan, plan, plan.
• JLP from All Financial Matters rants about all those idiots claiming ‘victim’ in this financial mess. I totally agree with his article.
• Somone stole Mrs. Micah’s wallet! Now they’ll see her driver’s license and know her real name is Beatrice! Oh, and someone’s been stealing her gas too. Ok, maybe she’s just paranoid???
• Wise Bread warns of sexually transmitted debt. Need I say more?
• Gather Little by Little has 5 common myths/complaints about budgeting. Are you guilty of any?
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a devil’s advocate post that says failure is good. Actually, I very much agree. You can’t learn to be better if you don’t see how you can be worse, right?