Hello everyone. This weekend marked the first official day of summer, though I’m sure most people have already felt the heat! It’s been getting much warmer here over the last few days, but it’s still relatively mild compared to last year. In fact, we’ve only run our AC once this year, and only for a few hours. Most of the time we’ve been able to run fans during the day and we open the windows at night. I’m sure we’ll have to run the AC more often in the near future, but thankfully I know a few ways to lower my AC bill, so hopefully it won’t get too crazy!
PopTop Ranks. Madison from My Dollar Plan (and her husband) launched a really cool blog ranking site called PopTop Ranks. PopTop Ranks lists the top blogs by number of subscribers in 5 categories: Food, Health, Life, Parenting, and Personal Finance. My site is currently hovering somewhere on the second page of the personal finance section. Not bad! Cool site, Madison!
Life without credit cards: No Credit Needed was featured in CNN Money for a feature about people who don’t use credit cards. Very cool! If you haven’t checked out his site, I highly recommend it. Also be sure to check out his story about how he got out of debt and remains out of debt to this day.
Here are some notable articles from my feedreader:
- David is moving from southern CA to New Mexico and asks, “is it better to hire movers or move yourself?”
- Single Guy tells us how gas prices are determined. Crude oil, refining, and taxes all play large roles in the price we pay at the pump.
- Plonkee says credit cards are like alcohol. Broke Grad Student says money is like sex. Hmmmm, maybe these two should meet up? (to discuss credit cards and money of course!)
- Ron from The Wisdom Journal wrote two stories, Bad Debt Leads to a Bad Job and a Rough Life, and Turning Around Your Financial Life (Part 2 of the story). The story is about the financial decisions we make and how they can multiply and affect us in ways we cannot predict. Very good writing.
- Brip Blap muses about how America got fat, rich, and unhappy.
- Trent wrote about having financial independence as a goal. My ultimate goal is to have enough money or residual income that I can work because I Want to, not because I need to.
- For those who don’t know, Trent lives in Iowa. He mentioned he and his family are safe from the floods, but there are many in need. He lists several ways everyone can help flood victims.
- Kevin from Rate Ladder discovered a security breach at Zopa, a P2P lending company. He contacted Zopa and they got on it right away. It’s good to see how responsive Zopa was.
- MBH says being fat can cost you extra. There are a lot of reasons to lose weight, and money is just one of them. Your health, though, will always be more important than money.
- Free Money Finance has a list of 12 “necessities” that drain your cash. LIke FMF, I don’t think some of these are really necessities.
- Jeff from My Super-Charged Life asks whether banks or individuals are responsible for the credit crunch?
- The Money Blog Network had a group writing project about finances at graduation. There are links to quite a few good articles by different bloggers all on the same topic – financial tips for the new graduate.
- Lazy Man went to Stanford’s commencement and saw Oprah’s commencement speech. I bet that was well worth attending!
- My Money Blog found a way you can buy US money at a discount. It won’t make you rich, but it is kinda cool.
- Affiliate Confession is teaming with Market Leverage and Vat19.com to give away more than $500 in prizes. Read more about the contest at the contest post.
This week’s carnivals.
- The Carnival of Personal Finance #157: Third Anniversary Edition was hosted at Consumerism Commentary. My article, Financial Advice for the High School Graduate, was included. Congrats on three years!
- Carnival of Careers #2 was hosted at Brip Blap a couple weeks ago. I was on vacation at the time and forgot to mention it! My article, How to Resign Gracefully , was published.
- The Eight Little Pigs – Festival of Frugality #130 was hosted at Out of Debt Again. My article, Freeze Your Air Conditioning Costs, was included.
- The Carnival of Debt Reduction: Advice from Dad Edition was hosted at Blunt Money. My article, Can’t Pay Your Credit Card Minimum Balance, was included. This was actually a guest post from Jonathan at Master Your Card. Thanks, Jonathan!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for mentioning the new PopTop site! Glad to see you on page two… won’t be long before you’ll be on the first page;)
Yes, summer has arrived and with it, the heat and humidity!
Thanks for the mention!
Excellent round-up of articles! Thanks so much for including me.