Friday Links – Back In The Country Edition + MORE

There is nothing quite as bonding in my mind than a camping trip, especially when you are not a camping family. Those of you that were raised to camp, those that know all the right ways to do things and all the right things to pack may not know what I am talking about. But I am sure that there are those of you that were not raised up camping that have tried your hand at it like we have that know firsthand what I mean…

Money Magazine recently asked its readers how many credit cards they carry. The responses:

3% carried none at all.
44% carried one or two.
37% carried three to five.
16% carried more than five.

Here’s where I stand on this question:

I carry four credit cards with me in my money clip/card holder…

Happy Friday y’all! I came across this poem/essay in my email from over a year ago, and thought it made for a great way to end the week 🙂 If you haven’t stopped in a while to consider the path you’re on, now’s a great chance to do so!
Thanks to my boy Andy for sending this over:
THE PARADOX OF OUR TIME
We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers
Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints
We spend more, but we have less…

Looking for a job? Any job?
In today’s edition, we take a look at finding jobs in a tough economy. There seems to be a certain expectation in our society to have a fulfilling job, a job that means more than just a paycheck. But when you need to pay the bills it really can be just about the paycheck…

Our monthly challenges to the GRS community are meant to push you to flex those frugality muscles and think creatively about money. For those who are just starting their financial journeys, learning and practicing new ways to increase your income and hacks to save some cash each month are vital. However, for those of you who find that old hat, we want you to take creative action to break out of the burnout that can occur when you’ve cut all you can cut…

The cost of car maintenance jumped 11.26 percent this year for sedans, AAA says.Its annual study of driving costs shows that was a factor in a nearly 2 percent increase in the overall cost of car ownership.AAA’s experts determine maintenance costs by looking at five-year expenses for labor, replacement parts and an extended warranty policy…

It’s Friday! Let’s do a dance and celebrate.
On second thought, we’re probably all at work by the time this post publishes, so just make it a point to dance when you get home, ’cause it’s the weekend, baby!
And what a week it was!
Big News
BudgetBlonde made its little way onto the Huffington Post on Wednesday…

Hello everyone and happy Friday! I am back in the country now and finally over my jet lag (that was rough – 13 hour flip). I know you missed me…lol. We had an excellent vacation in South East Asia. I got a great mental break and feel really refreshed. I just love it there. I really feel home there…

I’ve got a confession to make. When I log into my Prosper account to figure out where to dole out my next $1,000 tranche to borrowers, I feel a little bit like President Obama handing out money to his supporters. The only difference is I’m figuring out how to allocate my own money, not my neighbor’s money to build wealth…

 
 
Food is expensive and it’s going up in price with each passing day. This leave many of us questioning how to save money on food each month.  A number of factors contribute to the higher food prices and it often feels as if you have no say on what you spend at the supermarket.  That’s not necessarily the case…

Income taxes are rising on those in or planning for retirement. Remember, the true value of your nest egg is its after-tax value. Politicians at all levels know that income and wealth are concentrated among those age 55 and older, so those people are the focus of tax increases.
The retiree tax attack tends to be delivered in hidden, stealthy or complicated taxes instead of straightforward tax increases…

First of all, I am not a financial advisor and I have no idea what the stock market is going to do next. I’m just trying to play defense on my IRA and you need to do your own research before making big changes to your investment. The reason why I’m writing this article is because I need to research and figure out what to do…

Naked With Cash is the year-long series on Consumerism Commentary where seven readers’ households share their financial progress on a monthly basis. I’ve partnered with financial planners who will offer some guidance along the way. Read this introduction to learn more about the series. This month, the participants and experts will be discussing tax planning as part of their analyses…

Yesterday, I went all “Who wants to be a millionaire” on you guys and asked the audience a question. It was a simple question:
How has your financial situation changed over the last 12 months?
Of the 333 of you that responded, 240 said things have gotten better. Only 44 readers said things have gotten worse…

This week Rob Carrick shared his advice on the Globe and Mail for Potential First-Time Home Buyers: Bide Your Time.
The stock market has been all over the place lately, which is why Million Dollar Journey discussed Timing the Market vs. Buy and Hold strategies for investors.
Ready to sell your car?  You may want to read this week’s post by My University Money where they give you tips on How to Sell Your Car Yourself…

If you run a small business, you know the importance of having your employees check bills — especially in denominations of $20 or more — to ensure that you’re being paid with the real deal. This week, the Federal Reserve Board announced that a redesigned $100 bill will begin circulating in October; here’s what you need to know about the new bill…

Welcome to the weekly Friday giveaway roundup! Every single Friday we post giveaways ending within the next week. If you want to make sure you never miss one of these posts be sure to subscribe via RSS or Email.
Happy Friday everyone! We got some great news related to our sewer problem that we discovered back in February…

One of the final scenes of my favorite movie The Big Lebowski features John Goodman’s and Jeff Bridges’ characters arguing with a funeral director over the cost of their friend Donny’s funeral. At one point, John Goodman (who plays a constantly angry character) shouts, “Look, just because we’re bereaved doesn’t make us SAPS!”
After having recently gone through a family funeral of my own, I find myself more sympathetic toward the character’s outrage…

We all have a healthcare cost “war story” to tell – usually several – but one area of rising concern is prescription drugs. We seem to be more dependent upon prescription drug therapies than ever before, and many people are on more than one. But like all things related to health care, prescription drug prices are rising rapidly…

Every so often, I’ll get a question like this one, from Gina:
I am a federal employee and I get my paycheck every two weeks but all of my bills are monthly. What’s an easy budgeting system?
This is a pretty consistent problem, actually. Many employees receive their pay on a weekly or biweekly schedule…

Welcome to Wise Bread’s Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some fantastic articles on maximizing your savings when buying in bulk, ways to spend less on your dog, and hidden costs of college.
Top 5 Articles
Tips To Maximize Your Savings When Buying in Bulk — When buying in bulk, maximize your savings by only buying products you will actually use…

The last time you could get a 7 percent yield from a certificate of deposit was in the 1980s. Today, you’d be lucky to find a CD that pays more than 1.5 percent.
Stocks yield a bit more; the typical dividend payer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index pays a 2 percent dividend yield. But then there’s market risk involved…