time has been passing by so quickly, i can not believe it’s already november!  my apologies for this late issue of the FWP weekly roundups.

first, a reminder about FWP’s (first and) current book giveaway!  featuring an advance reader’s paperback copy of the homeowner’s handbook: energy efficiency, this opportunity ends 11/15 midnight PST!

carnival hosting

last week, i had the pleasure of hosting a few carnivals here at FWP.  check them out to find a handful of interesting and/or useful reads:

• carnival of money stories #82: questions for you edition
• carnival of financial resources #2: late halloween edition

carnival submissions

i also participated in the following carnivals:

• rich life carnival #16 — sleep is good for your wealth
• carnival of personal finance: financial armageddon edition — 5 questions for your post-debt savings plan
• carnival of money stories #82 — a freelance switch ?
• festival of frugality #149 — 6 lessons from a frugal past
• money hacks carnival #36 — put aside $1000 now (e-fund) @ gen x finance
• finance fiesta: financial secrets revealed — take advantage of your work perks!
• carnival of financial resources #2 — quick resolution with ing direct
• rich life carnival #17 — procrastination is not good for your wealth
• carnival of living cheaply: november edition — 6 lessons from a frugal past

the living cheaply and rich life carnivals are new resources for me.  in particular, i must say that i very much find the premise of the rich life carnival resonates with me greatly.

guest posts

i was honored to be able to submit guest posts for the following sites:

• generation x finance — set aside $1000 for you.  now!
• women’s personal finance network — donating eggs as a source of income?

these were my first guest posts during my time as a personal finance blogger.  i enjoyed the experience immensely, and intend to participate in future similar opportunities!

debt bloggers network roundup

reflections on fellow DBN members’ articles:

debt reduction formula addressed the question of whether credit cards are good or bad last spring.  i must admit i am not satisfied with the point he makes in favor of credit cards:

“2. Credit cards automatically track spending, which eliminates the need to save and file receipts. This is extremely important to me since I am self-employed and have to track every expense in my business. I never pay for business expenses with cash”.

paypal use aside, one can do that as well with a debit/atm card, as monthly statements are generally available.  that is what i have been doing for the past several months now.  and if security of debit cards is an issue, i must point out dave ramsey’s point on this:

“If you hold a debit card from a well-known name like Visa or MasterCard, it will have the same policy about unauthorized charges that credit cards have.”

over the summer, on a quest to be debt free wrote a piece about ways to handle money in a marriage.  on one hand, i disagree with the statement,

“Keeping all your money separate is not going to solve your money differences. All that implies is, ‘I don’t trust you.’ ”

quite the contrary — i would (and currently do) keep the finances separate because i don’t trust myself, not the SO!  i know about my poor money management ’skills’ thus far, and i don’t want the SO to have to suffer any problems from my doing, until i believe that i have strong personal finance habits.

on the other hand, i agree with,

“It’s also a good idea to have a separate checking account so you can each pay for your personal indulgences.  The concept here is that once you fully fund all your joint commitments, it’s healthy to divide what’s left over and give your partner the freedom to spend or save that money as he or she wishes.”

after the main ‘together’ expenses such as house related bills, emergency funds, etc. have been taken care of, i do not see anything wrong with having a separate account of funds for each of us to do as we see fit.
also last spring, how i save money covers the whys and hows of an emergency fund.  i agree with her on this one, as notable by a recent similar guest post i wrote at generation x finance just last week.  i believe that a $1000 base is a fairly sound start.