Moments of Fame

At Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, Ginger has posted the 173rd edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. She has kindly included one of Funny’s chapters on the job saga, among many possibly more distinguished entries. For example, Silicon Valley Blogger, proprietor of The Digerati Life, offers some wise advice on how to cope with the current market unrest. Over at Living Almost Large, a lively tho’ mostly one-sided conversation is going on about some people’s kids who walk away from mortgages they actually can afford. If you’re feeling a little nervous, you can bring on an attack of hyperventilation by perusing Terence Gillespie’s piece, at YourOptimal.com, titled “Your Optimal Bailout Plan.”On the other hand, if you intend to stay the course, My Dollar Plan has a very interesting piece on strategies you probably haven’t used in your 401(k). Need a break from hyperventilating? Try a little Canadian humor with Big Cajun Man’s Stupidest Bill Ever.

The 146th Festival of Frugality is up at Dollar Frugal, who provides an entertaining Ben Franklin theme. Funny’s story of the pursuit of the new barbecue shows up here, along with a very nice compliment. 🙂 Lots of good stuff in this festival. Free Money Finance reminds us to ask for discounts–and don’t be shy about it. At Saving to Invest, Andy has an interesting tip about a tax-free money market fund. Think Your Way to Wealth sorts all those gas-saving tips we’ve heard into fact vs. fiction. And Cheap Healthy Good reports on the new country of origin labeling that we soon will see in the grocery store.

Living Almost Large hosts the 79th Carnival of Money Stories with a fun (and funny!) cartoon theme. The “beat the stress” chapter of Funny’s layoff saga appears in this carnival. And oboy! Here’s another update in the Blueprint for Financial Prosperity story of Jim’s garden project! Since I just filled up the backyard flowerbed and a gigantic pot with vegetable seeds in preparation for coming unemployment, this tale has taken on special significance. SVB posts a thoughtful rumination on bailout pro’s and cons that has spawned a long series of interesting reader responses. And at Simply Forties, Mary tells the story of a very fine money day.

The Make It from Scratch Carnivalappeared at Make It from Scratch. Funny’s discovery that you can clean your kitchen cabinetry with baby oil was among the many entries. Check out Almost Frugal’s incredible endive-gorgonzola soup, which she reports is offered in France as a recipe for small children. I actually looked for gorgonzola when I was at Costco yesterday (they often have a very nice version, but not at the ghetto store near my house, alas)…next time I find it, yum! More my speed in the upcoming days of unemployment is Cheap Healthy Good’s low-down curried root soup, which sounds like delicious comfort food and may be affordable on the dole. At Little House in the Suburbs, the Tomato Lady explains how to make home-made whole wheat pita bread, mighty tasty-looking. At Stop the Ride, Stephanie shows how to help the kids make personalized drinking glasses—lots easier than kid-painted ceramics, and just as fun.