Weekly Roundup – Validas Edition

This week I had an Entrepreneur Spotlight interview with Todd Dunphy from Validas. In the interview, we promised to give away 3 trials to readers! The winners were: bojangling, Demitrius, and Rob. You will all receive e-mails later this week with the details. Thanks for entering the contest!

I’m rushed for time this weekend, so I will share a bunch of articles with everyone and run out the door. Be safe and have fun!

Here are my favorite articles this week from the M-Network and around the personal finance blogosphere:

• Being Frugal – 7 Things Women Wish Men Knew About Money. This is an interesting article. Men and women often think differently about money, so the most important thing here is communication.
  
• Gather Little by Little - Credit Card Companies – They really are out to get you. It’s true. The bait and switch tactics, exorbitant fees, and other tricks will get you if you aren’t prepared.
• I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… Inflation: A Concept I Wish I Understood Much Earlier. This is a timely article, because I think we are seeing an increase in inflation right now. It’s always better to earn some interest on your money.
• Moolanomy - Ask The Expert with Larry Swedroe, February 2008 Issue. Pinyo hosts a monthly “Ask the Expert” column with questions answered by professional investment advisor and author Larry Swedroe. This month’s questions and answers are very informative.
• My Two Dollars - Do You Think It Is OK To Walk Away From A Mortgage You Cannot Afford? David asks a good question, and the comments on this article are great. I don’t have an answer because I can honestly see it going both ways.
• Plonkee Money - how much money do you keep in your main account? Plonkee asks her readers how much money they keep in their checking accounts. It’s a good question – some people keep a lot for flexibility, others maintain little to maximize interest returns. I keep enough to cover one mortgage payment at all times. I transfer in and out for other payments.
• Single Guy Money - New Cash Flow Process. Single Guy has a new cash flow process to manage his money and keep the majority of it in savings where it earns more interest.
• The Dough Roller – Actively Managed ETFs are One Step Closer. ETFs will soon be actively managed. This is a good explanation of the how’s and why’s.
• All Financial Matters – Question From a Reader: What to do With My Mortgage? This is a great collection of articles dealing with whether or not to pay off your mortgage early. There are a lot of differing opinions.
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity – 4 Types of Life Insurance: Term, Whole, Universal, Variable. Insurance is something I know just a little bit about, so this article was helpful for me.
• Brip Blap – job jumper tip #3: it’s not all about the money. There is more to taking a new job than just money. Don’t forget about opportunity, benefits, networking, job satisfaction, etc…
• Free Money Finance - How to Hunt for a Job Without Letting Your Current Employer Know You’re Doing So. This can be a tricky thing to pull off and is sometimes easier said than done…
• Get Rich Slowly – How to Quit Your Job Gracefully. Great tips on how to resign if you are thinking about going to another employer. My tip – Don’t ever burn bridges. Life is too short to do that, and you never know what the future will bring.
• Mrs. Micah – Diets and Budgets. This is a guest article I wrote for Mrs. Micah.
• Prime Time Money – How I Manage My 50+ Online Acocunt IDs. I still need to organize my accounts…
• Swim Upstream to Wealth – Bar Stool Economics. I love this joke.
• The Wisdom Journal – Find A Job You Love. There is more to your job than just a paycheck. I’m sensing a theme this week…
• Wise Bread – The Pros and Cons of Dollar-Cost Averaging. This is a great article. Should you invest on a monthly schedule, or put your money in all at once?

This week’s Carnivals and Festivals:

• The Carnival of Financial Goals III – hosted at Brip Blap. My article, I Need to Organize My Financial Accounts!, was included.
• Here’s Your Team for The Superbowl of Personal Finance! (Carnival #138) – was hosted at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already. My article, There is Still Time to Fund Your 2007 IRA, was included.
• The Festival of Frugality #111 — Personal Finance Bowl Edition, was hosted by Being Frugal. This edition followed the same Super Bowl theme that the Carnival pf Personal Finance followed. My article, The Importance of Delayed Gratification, was included in this Festival and was selected as the MVP Quarterback for hte offensive team. What a great honor!
• The Carnival of P2P Lending #3 was hosted at Rate Ladder. My articles, Prosper – The Ebay of Person to Person Lending, and What is Peer to Peer Lending?, were included. Was I supposed to submit 2 articles? I don’t know. I tried to submit to the Carnival of P2P lending #2, and I must have missed the cutoff date!

Thanks, everyone!

Tagged as: Weekly Roundup