Uncommon Cents

Another week gone by; a bit of a short one given Thanksgiving. Still, since I post daily on Uncommon Cents, we still had a lot going on. Looking back at the carnivals and festivals we participated in:

The Money Hacks Carnival, brought to you this week by Steadfast Finances;

The Carnival of Money Stories, with this week’s edition hosted by Funny About Money;

and finally, the Carnival of Personal Finance, brought to us this week by Living Almost Large.

If you’re visiting us from one of these, welcome!

This week Uncommon Cents was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted this week by Money Ning; the Festival of Frugality, brought to you this week by the Financial Wellness Project; the Carnival of Money Stories, this week over at Ask Mr. Credit Card; and the Money Hacks Carnival, brought to you this week by Moolanomy. If you’re coming to us from one of these great showcases, welcome!

Welcome to the pre-Thanksgiving version of our Link Payday for November 21, 2008! We are very close to being back on schedule (and would have been totally back on schedule had I not felt the need to document the incident with my truck), so here are some of the best posts I’ve read over the last couple of weeks:

Trent over at The Simple Dollar has yet another pick here, this time on Accountability. This begs the question: who are you accountable to? For me, I’m accountable to my self, my coworkers, my family, my friends, and many others.

JLP from All Financial Matters discusses “structured products”–think annuities, folks–and the possible illusion of safety in investing with the article Sometimes “Safe” Doesn’t Mean Squat! The point of this is that if an investment product is backed by insurance (or really, any product is backed by insurance), the insurance doesn’t work if the insurance company goes under.

Pinyo at Moolanomy echoes my opinion when he answers a reader’s question asking Is Now the Right Time to Invest? I fully agree that anytime is the right time if it fits in with your plan (it does with mine!).

Spilling Buckets has a Weekend Debate: Should Taxpayer Dollars be Used to Bailout the Big Three Auto Companies?. I call them the Detroit Three at this point since they’re no longer all that (Toyota is definitely number two with a bullet as far as auto sales go, and Honda is right there as well), but they weigh in with pretty well thought out arguments about what to do. Frankly, while I greatly dislike the idea of using taxpayer dollars for this, if the companies can come up with improved products and a reasonable business plan, I would at least be wiling to entertain the idea.

Finally, my buddy Ron over at The Wisdom Journal discuses The Silver Lining on this Dark Economic Cloud. I agree with him; there’s actually lots of silver linings, including declining energy prices. Even though my investments have done very poorly this year and I have a current crisis with my truck, things are not awful. I have a couple of pretty secure jobs, a growing blog, and appear headed for more income in 2008 than any previous year. Things are not perfect, but they’re not horrible either, and every day we get closer to a turnaround.

And that’s your Link Payday for November 21, 2008!

This post was delayed approximately 22 hours due to a technical glitch–namely, the site administrator not being oriented to time. D’oh!

We’ve discussed Internet coupon sites here in the past (and of course, we’ve had the fabulous Kyle of Rather-Be-Shopping.com do a bunch of guest posts!), so they’re not new to us. But there are other sites out there and other ways to spend less or get rebates, and I’m wondering which do you like?

For instance, DealMac.com and its affiliates like DealRam.com and DealCam.com are ones I use to either hear about new discounts or compare prices. But there’s also Shopper.com and Google Products for price comparison as well. A lot of times I’ll see if a retailer (usually a large one like Best Buy or Circuit City) offers a ShopDiscover increased rebate (like 5%). Or I may see if I can find a product I want on eBay or Amazon for less than it sells locally.

Recently I’ve been investing gift card swap sites to see if some of those cards I never use (Barnes & Noble, anyone?) could be used by someone else and I could get one I need for a holiday gift (anyone out there have a Guess gift card they want to sell or swap?). And of course, there’s blogs (including Kyle’s) like Frugal Shopping With Julie that point you to ways to spend less or get money back.

What are your favorite Internet sites for spending less? I’m sure my list is far from comprehensive, so I’d love to hear more!

As we approach the holiday season, I’d like to thank and recognize the Carnivals and Festivals we’ve been involved with, this week namely the Money Hacks Carnival (brought to you this week by Taking Charge) and the Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted this time around by The Digerati Life. Welcome and thanks for visiting!

This past week, Uncommon Cents participated in the Festival of Frugality (hosted this week by Bargain Briana), the Carnival of Debt Reduction (hosted this week by the Financial Wellness Project), the Carnival of Personal Finance (brought to you this week by The Sun’s Financial Diary), and 123s of Investing and Financial Planning (brought to you this week by Million Dollar Investing Tips). Welcome, one and all!

We’re almost back on schedule! I actually considered doing this on the fifth to really get us back on track, but I wanted to complete my three post series on September, October, and the market bottom question. Anyway, let’s take a look at some of the best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks:

Trent at The Simple Dollar discusses Earning Regular Income from Stock Investing via Dividends. I’m very high on dividends myself (although I am concerned that the tax advantages that currently exist for dividends are going away as the government looks for more tax revenue), so I love to read about them.

Moolanomy discusses how to Teach Your Children the Four Pillars of Money Management. As a parent educator in my spare time, we have a whole two hour session dedicated to budgeting and finance and I often discuss the importance of talking to children about money and using an allowance to teach them about money. Anything we can do to increase the financial literacy of children is something I’m all for!

My buddy Ron over at The Wisdom Journal talks about The Myth of Self Discipline. As a guy who tries whatever he can to be consistent and disciplined, knowing I already have it helps me to exercise it. I’m not as far along as I’d like to be, but I don’t think anyone is ever as far along as they’d like to be.

Spilling Buckets comments on John Bogle’s Morningstar video interview when Bogle Says Enough. John Bogle is one of my favorite figures in the personal finance world, and his groundbreaking work at Vanguard has offered ordinary people–like me–the chance to invest in ways unheard of before. His views and his words are very much in line with my own.

Finally, JD over at Get Rich Slowly asks his readers What’s in the Ideal Personal Finance Book? I don’t think I’ve found an ideal one yet, but I have a lot of favorites. However, I bet if JD puts one out, that would be among them!

And that’s your Link Payday for November 8, 2008!

We’re not quite on time yet, but we’re getting there. Welcome to your Link Payday for October 26, 2008, bringing you the best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks…

While I am a Geek, I don’t really want an Amazon Kindle (but many out there do!) check out this post by Julie at Frugal Shopping with Julie, who asks if you Need a Price Break on the Amazon Kindle?

One of my blogging buddies Ron over at The Wisdom Journal gives us some unpleasant news when he tells us SURPRISE! Your Identity May Have Already Been Stolen. While I’ve had some credit card fraud in the past, the cops and the credit bureau both didn’t believe it was identity theft. I certainly hope so!

Our old friend Kyle over at Rather-Be-Shopping takes the spirit by the horns and tells us how to Trick or Treat, Just Not at Full Price. I haven’t dressed up in years; not sure when I will again, but there will be a time, I’m sure!

My fellow cyclist Squawkfox brings us 15 Free Printable Home Inventory Worksheets from the Great White North. These are all Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files which makes them usable on almost all modern computers and can help you keep track of all kinds of household items. She also includes some tips, like making a video (that camcorder or digital camera can be of major use for this!).

Finally, My Two Dollars writes a post that’s really for me: It’s Health Insurance Open Enrollment Time–Choose Wisely. While I’m sure which health plan I’m choosing, I have to remember to add a bit of life insurance through the job too.

And that’s your Link Payday for October 26, 2008!

Late, but needed: this week Uncommon Cents participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance (hosted by Budgets are Sexy), the Festival of Frugality (hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunter), the Carnival of Money Stories (hosted by So Cal Savvy), and the Carnival of Money Hacks (hosted by My Two Dollars). Thanks so much for visiting from there and check out the other great personal finance blogs using these valuable resources.

A bit late this week, but welcome to this week’s folks from the Investing Carnival, the Festival of Frugality, and the Carnival of Money Hacks. Welcome!