Weekly Roundup – Veterans Day Edition

This Sunday is Veterans Day. I would like to extend a sincere thanks to everyone who has served in our country’s military, or loved someone who has served. I salute you.

Now, I’d like to share some of my favorite articles published this week in other personal finance blogs. I’ve also included a little background info about the article – hopefully you will find these articles as inspiring or thought provoking as I did. The article by Gather Little By Little was my favorite this week, the rest follow in no particular order.

• Gather Little By Little – 1 Year Ago Today – 10 Things We’ve Done To Regain Financial Control. This is a heartfelt personal story about how glblguy and his family took control of their personal, financial, and spiritual situation, and why they are better for doing so. This is not just a heartwarming and motivational story – this article is full of great financial tips.
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity – You Are A Business, Act Like One! Jim writes that we need to maximize our time, minimize our expenses, and that we are ultimately responsible for our own fate. This article ties in perfectly with the following article by Money and Such.
• Money and Such – Active Resume Building. This is a great article about consciously defining and planning your career vs. allowing your career to go where it may. Being proactive is one of the most important things you can do for your career.
• Consumerism Commentary – Higher Health Insurance Premiums for Overweight: Discrimination? This is an interesting debate with no easy answer. There are a lot of interesting comments on this article.
• The Happy Rock – Do We Earn The Right Not to Budget? Do we need a budget to the penny, or if we can just live within reasonable means and not stress about the details? I think to a degree, we earn the right not to stress about the tiny details. But the big picture is always important.
• Advanced Personal Finance – Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Basics. This is a great primer for the TSP, which is similar to a 401(k) plan for government employees and military members. Here is some more information about the TSP: TSP – A Great Retirement Vehicle, and TSP – 5 Drawbacks.
• The Simple Dollar – How to Construct a Killer Resume From Start to Finish. This is a great article about making your resume stand out from the crowd. This is very useful for me right now because I am currently reconstructing my resume from scratch. Why? 3 reasons – read the articles mentioned above from Blueprint For Financial Prosperity and Money and Such, and my recent article Writing a Resume for an MBA Application.
• Generation x Finance – Use The Rule of 72 to Understand Compound Interest. How long does it take to double your money? The rule of 72 is a great way to estimate interest or other investment returns to answer that question! This article also has some great examples of how time works in your favor for compound interest.
• I’ve Paid For This Twice Already – HSA As a Retirement Account? I am not against using an HSA (Health Savings Account) for a health insurance plan, but I wouldn’t think of it as a retirement investment. Sometimes financial planning advice is not very good. This article is an example of when it pays to do a little research and do what you think is best – not what the person selling products on commission recommends.
• Million Dollar Journey – Wealth Strategy: Buying Second Mortgages Part 1. Buying a second mortgage as an investment opportunity is something I hadn’t thought about before, but after reading this article, I see it can be a lucrative investment if done properly. If you are looking at other investment possibilities, this may be an option.

This Week’s Carnivals:

• Carnival of Debt Reduction #112, Making Progress Edition – hosted right here at Cash Money Life! Thanks for all the great contributions from all the participants!
• Carnival of Personal Finance #125 @ My Two Dollars. (included my article, How to Build a CD Ladder).
• Festival of Frugality #99, Learning to Be Frugal @ I’ve Paid For This Twice Already. (included my article, Build a Professional Wardrobe on a Budget).

Have a great weekend everyone!

photo credit: tony26.

Tagged as: Personal Finance, Weekly Roundup