this weekend i had some time to poke around the pf blogosphere and catch up on some reading that have piqued my interest, whether through carnival editions or random encounters.

1. first i will comment on 3 posts from the Debt Bloggers Network, a network i have recently founded and belong to.
2. next, i will point out 4 debt reduction related articles, and
3. 6 savings, frugality, or income posts

these caught my eye because they were interesting, timely, and/or well-written.

debt bloggers network roundup

anna at on a quest to be debt free encourages us to prepare more healthy and wallet-friendly meals at home with a handful of tips.  this article is timely, as the SO and i off and on struggle with the convenience of dining out when exhausted or feeling lazy, versus our desire and commitments to use funds to pay off debts instead.

one thing we do in this direction is to cook a lot of pasta, ground turkey, or chicken (for the SO) in one sitting, and then refrigerate all of this.  these then become the main quick and easy choices to throw together for lunch in tupperware for the subsequent workdays.  the night before or the morning of, i’ll also quickly cook up some rice with our mini rice cooker, which takes 15-20 minutes.

earlier this year, how i save money wrote about her conviction that it benefits married couples to maintain separate bank accounts.  the majority of the article resonated with me greatly.  i too maintain the same belief.

while the SO and i are not yet married, we are in fact in a committed relationship.  at this time we have one joint savings account with hsbc direct for our future trip to japan, or the Japan Fund.  our other accounts are all kept individually.  we do not necessarily hide our details, and discuss our finances openly and often.  growing up my parents constantly fought over money (and still do), and caused many problems in the family.  i vowed that this would not happen to my SO and i.

this time last year, debt reduction formula contemplated whether cars were worth having or no.  i have been biased towards a car-free life for at least 4 years now, surviving just fine on one motorcycle, public transit, and carpooling with friends.  for me and my lifestyle, having a car is utterly unnecessary.  on the other hand, having a truck is extremely convenient for my SO, while also having a motorcycle of his own.  he recently bought a truck for work purposes.

debt reduction and management

i find the message conveyed in a recent tip of writing down expenses at liberta extremely important.  for several months in the past i had kept obsessive records of every cent spent day-to-day in a small budget journal.  the lessons and realizations at the end of the month on where the money was going was not necessarily surprising, but a real eye-opener for sure.  in general also, i have regularly written things down to help me evaluate what’s going on around me.

freemoneyfinance had an amusing article on seven brainless borrowing behaviors.  i was particularly drawn to the criticism on large loans for weddings.  he quotes the original article,

“it makes financial sense to drop about $28,732 on a wedding, which according to TheWeddingReport.com is the average amount spent on the one-day festivities.”

although at the risk of offending some people, i can’t help but to say, that’s crazy! i’d be happy if the SO and i can spend no more than $100 through eloping!  if we had 25k+ to spend on a wedding, i would urge the SO that we spend it on paying off both of our consumer debts as much as we could.

no credit needed has a good article on how he and his family live without borrowing money.  he does this with a budget, having a plan, focusing, and making sacrifices.  i think all 4 of those rules are important, but my favorite is having a plan.  as larry winget has written in his book you’re broke because you want to be,

“broke happens when you don’t have a plan.”

a bit on the lengthy side, money blue book has a comprehensive article on making use of balance transfers with credit cards as a source of income and/or to assist you with your debt-reduction goals.

it’s a timely article, as i had recently been debating whether or not to sign up for a 0% balance transfer for 6 billing cycles with jo-ann fabrics.  i’ve gone ahead and submitted my balance transfer request of $6500 at 3% minimum or $50 max transfer fee.  although i also received a card and had initial grand plans for it for the points/rewards system, i’ve decided to play it safe instead:  i am tucking away the card in the filing cabinet for now, pretending that it is only there to carry the balance, nothing more.

savings, frugality, and income

although this article is over a year and a half old, i found it to be quite timely: jeffrey posted ways one can cut hobby costs at saving advice.  i have been spending quite a bit on crochet supplies the past few months.  renting supplies are interesting, although admittedly i have never heard of or researched crochet supply renters!  i am indeed working on making money from the hobby itself, and making saving a game by maximizing sale prices and coupons at the crafts store.

the digerati life had a post a while ago on super small homes and the benefits to such a lifestyle choice.  incidentally, i had been watching a tv episode with the SO of an interview of jay shafer from tumbleweed tiny house company.  i think those homes are amazing!  i personally wouldn’t mind trying out such an arrangement — it seems cost-effective, fun, and i don’t own many possessions anyway!  but i don’t think the SO would be as keen.

i could have sworn i left a common for that post, but perhaps it’s my imagination..

living almost large has a thought-provoking article on what happens to life after debt? i posted a comment at his post as follows:

“lal, this is a very interesting question.

struggling to pay off my debts for so long, i haven’t thought that i have the luxury of contemplating what i will do afterwards when they do get paid off. but i have been assuming that the money i used to pay for debt will just get rerouted in different ways to my various savings accounts. i guess the challenge i may encounter later then will be, how? and how much where?

reading your post makes me reevaluate my rather nonchalant attitude about how i will manage my finances later. i see no reason why i have to wait till after i’m debt-free to plot out my savings plans.

@until debt
you make an awesome and important point about the attitude of short vs. long term, and ‘vigilance’ lest old habits reappear.”

it was such an intriguing question for me, that i will be posting a deeper analysis hopefully in the near future.

bankaholic shares a quick rundown of low risk investments for the current economic condition.  one of the resources recommended was a high yield savings/money market account.  incidentally, i have recently opened a 4.65% for 3 months money market account with everbank.

lazy man and money reflects on a cnn article’s discussion on working multiple jobs concurrently, and people have been commenting on the ethics of working for one job while at another.  this is an interesting topic.

how do these people perform such a number of jobs?  i can barely handle the one full-time job and a few hobbies, never mind the attempt at p/t freelancing on the side!

finally, i encountered this book review on the middle-class millionaire at living almost large.  as i enjoy personal finance books immensely, i am adding this to my to-read list.

how about you ?

did you find any interesting, timely, and/or well-written posts that you would like to share ?

do any of these articles posted above intrigue you as well ?