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A few neat sites…

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Check out these new-to-me sites that I’ve been enjoying recently:
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At the Wall Street Journal, a very active blog run by Mary Pilon, The Wallet, has been chugging along since September. She has a lot of useful and sometimes fun information, and also the occasional thoughtful piece—see, for example, this article on voting and your job.

In the “Now for Something Altogether Different” Department, I have been attracted by this charming online sketch journal, done by an artist and writer in Australia. She and her husband own a horse ranch, and their adventures, revealed in more detail at a second blog, make for stories, photography, and artwork that provide some fascinatingly exotic moments for us Yankee city girls.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned Small Notebook, discovered on a Make It from Scratch carnival. This author, who is on a quest to simplify her family’s life, offers many frugal and clever ideas, also with great charm. I may have highlightedModern Beet somewhere along the line; if so, it’s worth another mention. The thing blows me away every time I visit.

Room Farm is very nice; I like it because the proprietor shares many of my own concerns about the interrelation between money and stress. I also enjoy Simply Forties very much: the story of a youngish (from my point of view, anyway) woman living in a Texas country town.

In Utah, problogger Miranda holds forth on a just-for-her site, This Time It’s Personal, with some interesting reflections on a wide variety of topics. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned Mrs. Accountability’s Out of Debt Again: take a look at the beautiful garden produce she’s brought forth on her rural property.

Not all of these are strictly personal finance sites, although most touch on the subject now and again. Interesting…I seem to be drawn to women writers who live in the boondocks. Does this have meaning? Do I or do I not dream of retiring to Yarnell?

jul8yarnell1

Moments of Fame

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Outstanding! Don’t miss Silicon Valley Blogger’s rendition of the Carnival of Personal Finance at The Digerati Life. It has some of the neatest—and strangest!—illustrations from a nineteenth-century children’s book. How times have changed!

SVB kindly included Funny’s squib about a couple of real estate speculators bidding up the price of a foreclosed house beyond the asking price (more about which in a later post). This carnival includes a lot of cool stuff. One that caught my attention, now that I’m staring the Panther of Penury in the eye, is the list of seven ways to use your computer to get free entertainment at StopBuyingCrap.com. And w00t! Here’s another list of apposite advice: Eleven Things to Do Immediately after you’ve been laid off, from the recently laid-off Kyle at Amateur Asset Allocator. Lazy Man and Money takes stock, intriguingly, of his position on the route to his goal, early retirement, with some details about what he earns online that give me some hope that monetizing Funny might help with the layoff threat. In the investing department, Four Pillars has an entertaining and interesting article reflecting on the advantages of real estate over dividend investments. This carnival has more excellent and informative articles than you can count—be sure to visit ASAP.

The Carnival of Money Stories is up at the Carnival’s site, where another of Funny’s Tales from the Qwest Crypt appears. If you’ve been following the Financial Blogger’s story, you know the Bloggers have been contemplating a plan to start their own day-care center; well, they’ve decided to take the plunge, and the adventure is set to begin January 5. Five-Cent Nickel has an interesting story about having invested an emergency fund in long-term CDs—by choosing a CD with an early withdrawal penalty of only three months, he minimized the risk posed by the chance he and his wife would need the money unexpectedly.

The Festival of Frugality has gone live at Quest to Be Debt-Free, with a patriotic Veteran’s Day theme. Funny’s report on the meaning of the various “use-by” dates on food products appears here. With the nights chilling and not all of my proposed vegetable garden in, my attention was drawn by Geeky Poet’s post on cool-weather gardening at Walk a Greener Path; note several links to ways to create cold frames. Living the Frugal Life thinks about those small luxuries she’s held onto in her quest toward frugality. And if you also retain your million-dollar appetite on a ten-cent pocketbook, check out One Family’s Blog for a strategy to pursue downhill skiing on a budget.

Moments of Fame

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Well, somehow I dorked this post up, so I’m taking the path of least resistance: deleting the original and reposting. If you read the first part of it yesterday, scroll down a ways for updates on Tuesday’s carnivals.

The 177th Carnival of Personal Financehas gone live at The Sun’s Financial Diary. Funny’s list of 15 sources of aid to stressed consumers appears in this week’s compendium, as does Tina’s rumination onfreelance editing in a wild economy, posted at The Copyeditor’s Desk. With the threat of layoffs at GDU still hanging over us like Damocles’ Sword (we’re now told we will hear how thenext$30 million budget cut will affect employees after the early December board of regents’ meeting), several articles are especially apposite. Money and Such proprietor Shadox explains whyit’s not such a bad idea to leave a jobthat doesn’t fit—economy or no economy. Kyle at Amateur Asset Allocator hasalready gotten the ax, but he doesn’t seem too worried thanks to some other income streams he’s developed; meanwhile, Randall at Credit Withdrawal is so nervoushe worries that his employer will can him for taking a sick day. FIB equates financial independence with frugal living and offersten ways to attain financial independence…other than winning the lottery, and Passive Family Income lists15 ways to save on utility bills.That One Caveman decides thatnet worth doesn’t matterso much as he previously thought. The Dividend Guy talks about hisstrategy for investing,to generally upbeat and encouraging effect. Those of us anticipating unemployment can take comfort from Cap’sten simple (and inexpensive) waysto feel rich at StopBuyingCrap.com.

At A Bit of Flour, the newMake It from Scratch Carnivalis up. Funny’s recipe for albondigas soup appears among half-a-dozen peers. Wow! Check out Mama Bear’s beautifulMy Mom’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake, posted at I’ve Got a Little Space to Fill…scrumptious! I’m absolutely going to try making that. Mary’s post of creatinggifts of foodappears at Simply Forties, reminding me of the days when I did that every Christmas—several good ideas here. Among the craftsy story, check out Stephanie’ssimple fleece scarfat Make It from Scratch. And here’s my kinda craft: Money Blue Book explainshow to build a CD ladder. And Kelly’stop 100 foodie blogsat Culinary School Guide is a cool resource.

Speaking of Mary, she hosts this week’sCarnival of Money Storiesat Simply Forties, regaling us with a great Election Day theme. Silicon Valley Blogger’s interesting rumination, at The Digerati Life, aboutForeclosure Alleyappears in this round-up. Here’s a great story aboutlearning entrepreneurship skills from the kidsat My Family’s Money. As you’re headed for the voting booth, consider Jim’s assertion in OPECDespises You, So Stop Using So Much Oil. I grew up in the Middle East, and I can assure you: the man is dead right.

The 114th Festival of Frugality has arrived at Bargain Briana. Check out J. Money’s rant-&-advice on mail-in rebates at Budgets Are Sexy. I no longer buy items that are marketed with a “rebate” come-on — half the time, the refund never comes, and besides, if the company can afford to sell an item for a few bucks off, they can afford to sell it to you off the shelf at a better price, rather than racking UP the price by hiring a bunch of call center reps and incurring printing and mailing costs. My own time and annoyance factor are generally worth more than the so-called “rebate.” At Prime Time Money, PT has a lead to a site that lists Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving shopping frenzy) sales. And in the list department, here’s a very nice and thoughtful list from Domestic Cents on ways to spend less and have more fun.

Ah, yes. Today’s the day. Soon we will know the next President of the United States. Whatever your sentiments, pray for the best and

Vote!

Off to the computer vet…

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Funny will be incommunicado for today and possibly for several days, as my computer visits the Apple Geniuses. GDU’s borrowed laptop doesn’t communicate with Cox’s modem, and so unless Apple can get finished with my computer quickly, it will be a while before I will be back at this site.

Welcome, MSN Smart Spending Readers!

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I’m very flattered to have a post featured on MSN’s money blog, Smart Spending. Welcome to all you readers who have come here from that site. Please make yourself at home. The pages listed on the left describe how and why Funny about Money came to be.

The blog originated on iWeb last December, but as it got larger I decided to migrate to WordPress. That move is still a work in progress: every archived post has to be individually copied & pasted, a time-consuming project. So check back occasionally to see if any “new old” material has come up.

I hope you enjoy Funny and will subscribe on your RSS feeder. —vh