Weekend Reading: September 21, 2008

Last week was incredible in many ways.  Most notable were Lehman Brothers failure, Merrill Lynch sale, and AIG bailout.  The wild swings over the last five trading days definitely woke up a few people.  It’s times like these that we learn more about ourselves and help us understand if we really have our ducks in a row.  If anything, I hope it helps you see the wisdom of not having all of your eggs in one basket and the value of fixed income investment as part of any portfolio.

Great Articles

Before I go into the round up, I’d like to say special thank to Karen Datko for linking to my blog from Need extra income? Here are some ideas.  I had my best day ever with 25,823 page views, when that article went to the front page of MSN Money.  Thank you!

1. Weathering the current financial storms at Plonkee Money – Looks like our friends in UK are starting to see some declines in the housing market.  Plonkee offers some ideas on how to deal with it.
2. Another Reason for an Emergency Fund at Single Guy Money — A real world example that highlight the importance of having an emergency fund…especially in this economic condition.
3. The Easy Guide to Money Management at The Dough Roller — If you are looking for a truly awesome guide to help you improve your money management skills…this is it.
4. Thinking Big While Starting Small at I’ve Paid Twice Already… – Don’t get paralyzed by what you have to accomplish, instead recognize that it’s a long journey that can be reached by taking it one step at a time.
5. Desperate to be debt free from The Bargain Hunter – A college graduate trying to sell her virginity to pay off student loans. That’s crazy.  I think she needs a job and a psychiatrist.
6. The Freshman Fund - Give the Gift of College at Geezeo — Looks like everyone is talking about this new 529 Social Gifting site.
7. Lehman Brothers, AIG and Now Maybe WaMu: What Do You Do? at Money Energy — Looking for some ideas on what to do about this economic crisis?  Here are seven ideas to add to your list.
8. 50 Frugal Things You Aren’t Doing at The Wisdom Journal — Here’s the ultimate frugal test.  If you are already doing all 50 of these, consider yourself a frugal geek — congratulation!
9. House Prices decline around the world at Saving To Invest — Commentary on the current housing market and a prediction that we will continue to see more house prices decline ahead.
10. The Alternatives Of 9 To 5 at The Shark Investor — Some ideas to help you get out of the 9 to 5 mode and toward financial independence.
11. Sound Money Management Practices May No Longer Be Practical at PennyJobs — Sound money management practices are based on sound government monetary policies. What do you do when you don’t have a sound money policy and the government is stealing through inflation?

Carnivals

Here are a couple blog carnivals I participated in this week:

• The Carnival of Personal Finance #170 - The Famous Last Sentences Edition at The Personal Financier
• Rich Life Carnival - Perfect Ten Edition at Your Finish Rich Plan
• Carnival of Financial Learning #16 - Ike Addition at Financial Learn
• Festival of Stocks #106 at Qovax