Book store originally posted by polifemus

This competition seems to have been a resounding success. I have some great ideas for books that I will be reviewing over the coming weeks and months, and hopefully you all have some new ideas to add to your reading lists. There can only be one winner though and in this competition the prize goes to …

The Honest Dollar

I loved her recommendation of A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel. I’ve already checked it out on Amazon and it looks like it’ll be a great read. Here’s her comment so you can check it out for yourself.

“I would like to see a review of A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. The person that recommended it to me told me that it basically debunks all of the different schools of investing out there. I am a few pages in. So far it seems accessible to beginning investors yet interesting for more advanced investors. (I’m pretty sure this book won’t mention “the magic of compounding” as if money comes out of thin air, readers are too stupid to understand, and the writer has better things to do than explain.) Anyway, I think it would make an interesting review, especially after you do a couple of books about fundamentals analysis or value investing.”

Have a look at the comments over on the original post for some more great ideas and I’ll let you know which book she chooses as her prize … it could be another great personal finance recommendation.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING !!!

My ultimate n3rd New Year resolution - originally posted by jonolist

 

I’m in the process of writing a post about how to set short, medium and long term financial goals which I’ll be posting next week along with my financial goals for 2008. In the meantime I thought I would use New Year’s Resolutions as my inspiration for this week’s round up.

 

Before you even have to worry about trying to stick to you resolutions, you need to consider the best way to decide on them? Trent, over at The Simple Dollar, offers some great advice in his article ‘How to Define and Stick To a Successful New Year’s Resolution, Financial or Otherwise’. Paid twice also had a great article this week on ‘How To Set A Good Financial Goal’.

 

One you have chosen your resolutions they can so easily fall by the wayside. Often, this is not because people don’t have the will power to stick to them, but because they don’t know ho w to go about implementing them. This shouldn’t be as hard as it seems though. There are some great resources on the web which can give you ideas for implementing almost any financial resolution you can think of. I have listed some of the most popular resolutions below along with a selection of articles showing some great ways you can go about implementing those resolutions . These articles are only my selection from this week, which gives you an impression of how many great bloggers and great ideas are out there if you go looking. Hope you enjoy!

 

Resolution #1 - Learn More About Personal Finance

The Simple Dollar - Six Invaluable Online Resources for Personal Finance Education

brip blap - cash rules

Get Rich Slowly - Asking for a Better Financial Future

Lazy Man and Money - Playing For Perfect Personal Finance

Get Rich Slowly - The Architecture of Personal Finance: Choosing the Right Materials

 

Resolution #2 - Pay Off My Debts

I’ve Paid For This Twice Already - The Snowflake Revolution

 

Resolution #3 - Save For Retirement

My Wealth Builder - Dealing with the issues That Can Ruin Retirement

Generation X Finance - Teens Don’t Save For Retirement: Are You Surprised?

 

Resolution #4 - Save Money

Wise Bread - When going green is classy

The Simple Dollar - The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to Riches

Gather Little By Little - Being Frugal Isn’t Being a Miser

 

Resolution #5 - Buy My Own House

The Digerati Life - How Much House Can You Afford? 10 Steps to Determine Your House Buying Budget

 

Resolution #6 - Become a Smarter Shopper

The Digerati Life - 20 Ways to Shop Safely: Watch Out For Those Shopping Scams!

Cash Money Life - Supersize Me: The Art of Upsell

 

If none of these appeal to you, you could always go with some of Wise Bread’s suggestions for 6 New Year’s Resolutions that will help others and not hurt you financially.

 

~

 

On a final note, I has just applied for a barclaycard one pulse when I stumbled upon plonkee’s article, barclaycard one pulse - is this a good idea? It makes for interesting reading, especially if you are based in London like me.

 

Though the hustle and bustle of the crowds last week, as I was finishing my Christmas shopping last week, it suddenly struck me how many of the people around me were using credit card after credit card to pay for their Christmas shopping. Now I am sure some of these people are in a financially sound position and will have the money set aside to pay their bills in January. However, I am also sure that there are large portion that will be facing a credit card crisis come the new year.

Trent, over at the Simple Dollar, recently wrote that his father “likes to joke that the happiest day of the year is December 25th and the saddest is December 26th.” I think that the saddest thing for me is that this isn’t even a joke anymore. Thousands of people are maxed to their limit on their credit cards and facing a debt crisis. The ever increasing pressure from society to spend, spend and spend some more, especially around the festive season, can only exacerbate the situation.  CNN Money recently published an article highlighting the problem, stating that “Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments at an alarming rate, sending defaults and delinquencies surging by double-digit percentages in the last year.”

So many people seem to be lost in a whirl of consumerism and unable to grasp what Christmas is really about. While it depends of your own personal beliefs, for me, as I am not religious, it is about enjoying spending quality time with my family and being thankful for all the things we have.

I am not attacking buying Christmas presents or spending money on your loved ones - I have been know to splurge on the perfect gift for my mother. I do however feel that too many people are not only risk their own futures, but also those of their children because they are unable to see the bigger financial picture, unable to live within their means, and are unable to break away from the materialism that pervades society. Children so often copy the behaviour of their parents, and if they grow up seeing that Christmas as a materialistic competition to see who can get the most presents or spend the most money they are likely to carry this on into adulthood.

With our countries facing such a debt crisis, I think it is time for people to take stock of what really matters. Paying off your debts matters more than an buying expensive Christmas present. Starting an emergency fund matters more than buying an expensive Christmas present. Saving for retirement matters more than buying an expensive Christmas present.

Best of the Rest;

One thing I am particularly keen on is highlighting posts from other bloggers that relate to my posts and that I think make worthwhile and interesting reading.

• The Simple Dollar - The Day After: Six Ways to Deal with the Post-Christmas Money Blues - And Plan Ahead for Next Year

• Gather Little By Little - Our Best Christmas Ever

• The Simple Dollar - The Best Christmas Gift of All

book originally posted by flyzipper

I’ve decided to start a book club in the New Year. I am going to kick off by reviewing some the personal finance books I received for Christmas including:

The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason

Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them by Gary Belsky

What I need from you though is some suggestions. I am open to reviewing any personal finance book you think worthy. The more suggestions the merrier.

To try and get as many great suggestions as possible I have decided to run a small competition.

The competition is simple:

• Leave a comment on this post giving the title of the book you think I should review and the reason you think it is worthwhile reviewing.

• Only one entry per person.

I will be choosing a winner on New Years Day (1st January). The winner will be chosen by me and my decision will be based on the value of the comment to myself and to other readers.

Once I have chosen a winner, I will be writing a review of their suggested book just as soon as I can get a copy.

The winner will receive:

• One personal finance book of their choice up to the value of $30

• I will also link back to the winner’s blog and to a post of their choice when I write the book review

Good Luck to Everyone!!

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The winner must choose a book that is available on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Christmas Present for my mum originally posted by lemonad

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m always really interested in knowing what everyone else received for Christmas, if nothing else, it always gives me some ideas for next year.

Yesterday was spent in a mad flurry of wrapping paper and presents, but in an effort to get organised I’ve been keeping a list of all the presents I received and I thought I’d share it with all of you. I’d love it if you mentioned what your favourite gift was this year.

Books

Midnight’s Children by Salmon Rushdie - Not something I would normally read, but it looks interesting all the same. This one was from my Mum who always includes an interesting book in the piles of presents she gets me.

The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason - Another great gift from my parents. They don’t know about my blog yet, but have cottoned on to my interest in personal finance. This present wasn’t entirely original - I have been know to hint at times - but definitely welcome.

Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them by Gary Belsky - Another personal finance book I can’t wait to get my teeth into. 

Lend Me Your Ears: All You Need To Know About Making Speeches and Presentations by Max Atkinson - I want to focus on improving my public speaking skills in the New Year and this was one of the books from my wish list.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey - My wish list for this year also included a number of personal productivity books and this was at the top of my list. Thanks to my aunt and uncle for that one.

DVDs

Bad Education with Gael Garcia Bernal - A great present from my cousin. My family I love art house movies, Spanish & Latin American movies, and anything by Pedro Almodovar so this movie was always going to go down

The Motorcycle Diaries with Gael Garcia Bernal - I’ve seen this film before but it’s still great to find it under the tree. Gael Garcia Bernal is one of my favourite actors and this movie is always worth watching again.

Other Presents

Apart from the books and DVDs I was also luck enough to receive:

Money - One of my financial goals for the year is to max out my ISA Account before the end of the tax year, so I will be putting this straight towards that goal.

A Teapot - I am planning on moving into my own house in the New Year, and  my aunt gave me a lovely tea set ready for the new house.

Pestle and Mortar - One of my great passions in life is cooking and my cousin, who is a chef, gave me a lovely stone pestle and mortar for Christmas.

Socks - I think it is a family tradition that at least one person always has to receive novelty socks and it was my turn this year. They are bright red with Christmas trees on so I think I’ll be saving them for next year.

~

I hope you have enjoyed this list and maybe it’s given you some ideas for next year.

 Ornaments - originally posted by SpacePotato

Here’s to hoping that everyone has had a very Merry Christmas and A Happy Holiday!!

Best Wishes for the New Year!!

Merry Christmas … - originally posted by Tio

Yet another crazy week. I know posts have been a little thin on the ground this week but I’ve got 5 days off starting tomorrow, so we should be getting back on track. Even though this week has been a bit thin on the ground for me, it’s been another great week for everyone else. Every week I’m finding more and more great blogs, and my list seems to get longer and longer. Hopefully everyone’s enjoying it. If you think there are any great blogs or posts I’m missing out on, please let me know …

Festive Fun

• Wise Bread - I’m Dreaming of A Green Christmas

• Dual Income No Kids - Giving at the Holidays

Money Saving

• brip blap - How paying attention to your wallet can improve your financial outlook

• Gather Little By Little - Money Saving Tip #20 - Keep the Change

Managing Your Money

• plonkee money - it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep

• brip blap - spend less than you earn - the wrong way to think

• Get Rich Slowly - Advice and Tips for First-Time Homebuyers

• The Digerati Life - Profiling Debt: Some Thoughts on Handling A Heavy Debt Load

• Moolanomy - A Deeper Look at the 80% Retirement Rule

• Get Rich Slowly - The Random Walk Guide to Investing: Ten Rules for Financial Success

News

• Generation X Finance - The Fed Endorses Plan to Curb Shady Mortgages

• Five Cent Nickel - Thoughts on the New Energy Bill

Musings

• The Simple Dollar - Heroes, Role Models and Mentors: Finding People to Believe In

• Get Rich Slowly - It’s A Wonderful Life and the Value of Social Capital

• Wise Bread - The New Face of Poverty is Fat

5 - originally posted by Leo Reynolds

After getting off to a slow start we seem to be rattling through my countdown quite quickly. It’s time for Number 5 already, and this time it goes to someone who probably has the most in common with me …

plonkee money

You might be wondering how we have anything in common … we’re both English personal finance bloggers, something which makes us a little like an endangered species.

And now for a selection of my favourite posts:

• additional income possibilities: side jobs
• pension allsorts
• british money slang
• what is the Bank of England base rate and why is it important?

Nature’s Number 6 - originally posted by CarbonNYC

My Two Dollars

David, from My Two Dollars, writes about all things related to personal finance with an emphasis on frugality, money saving and lifestyle articles. Like so many of us, David has been overload with debt. This blog offers us all some great advice on personal finance whilst also telling his story of his fight to get out of debt.

I’ve had a hard time picking my favourites, so apologies if I’ve missed some out, but here is my final selection …

• Getting Organised Does Not Have to Cost A Lot of Money
• Places You Can Still Stretch Your Dollar While Traveling Internationally
• Making the Financial Sacrifice To Get What You Want
• Should They Teach Personal Finance In High School?
• Getting a Green Mortgage Using an Eco-Broker
• Which Jones Family Are You Trying to Keep Up With?

snowball fight

Not only can keeping the kids entertained over the holidays can be an expensive proposition, many of us also have to worry about keeping the rest of the extended family entertained as well. Something, which can quickly turn into an expensive proposition. I have come up with my top tips for having a fun, frugal Christmas.

The Free

• Make a snowman - This a little reliant on where you live but if you are lucky enough to have snow making a snowman, playing in the snow or having a snowball fight can be great fun however old you are. It’s also a great way to burn off some of those extra Christmas calories.

• Go carolling - This is guaranteed to put you in the Christmas mood. Even if you don’t attend church regularly, get in touch with your nearest church any they are likely to be having a carol service. Even if they aren’t they will be able to point you in the right direction.

• Light the fire, toast some marshmallows, drink some cocoa & make some Christmas memories - cheap, cheerful and guaranteed to warm you up on a cold winters eve. This can be a great time to reminisce about Christmas past & tell old family stories.

• Play board games or play cards - If everyone can resist the temptation to cheat at Monopoly and not take the game of poker to seriously, then playing board games or cards can be a fun, frugal way to pass the evening. You can always try to plan ahead as well and get friends and family to bring new games with them when they come to visit.

The Nearly Free

• Drive or walk around your town or a town nearby to see all of the Christmas lights - this can vary so much from town to town, but if you town or one close to you has spectacular lights, then this can be a great way to spend an evening. If you decide to walk around town, then you can always stop for a hot chocolate on the way to really top your evening off.

• Visit Santa - This is possibly one of the best ways to keep children entertained at Christmas. The most frugal way to do it is to check your local paper for fetes or Christmas markets. Santa is always out in force at these events, and anything that help you avoid the mall is going to be good for your wallet.

• Go to the theatre - There are loads of options at this time of year, there are some wonderful plays, but the ballet or the panto can also be a great choice. It always pays to look out for special deals before you buy theatre tickets, otherwise it can become expensive. It is also worth looking at matinee performances as these are generally cheaper, and can be more fun for children.

• Go to a professional concert - This can be a great option, especially if carol singing isn’t for you but you still want to enjoy the Christmas music. It is always worth looking in the local papers, are there are often some great concerts on at local churches or universities.

• Rent some movies and have a family night in - Rather than braving the cold to go the cinema, you can always stay at home with a movie. To save even more money, you can always sign up for a free trial of a movie rental service. These always offer at least one months free rental, sometimes up to three if you are really lucky or manage to nab a special offer. 

And the Downright Productive - Get Christmas done while you’re having fun.

• One option is to get together with some friends or family and have a party whilst still getting ready for Christmas. You can use the opportunity to make homemade decorations, presents or cards, or you could even get all your Christmas wrapping done. It’s so much easier when you have another paid or hands. Just make sure that you don’t wrap someones present in front of them … it kind of ruins the surprise. All you need to do is provide some drinks and nibbles. Another great option is to have a party to decorate the house - get friends or family round, provide some nibbles and mulled wine, and get everyone to pitch in with the decorations.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips … please let me know if you have any top tips that I’ve missed.

Best of the Rest;

One thing I am particularly keen on is highlighting posts from other bloggers that relate to my posts and that I believe are worthwhile additional reading. I plan on including these ‘Best of the Rest’ links is as many of my posts as a I can.

• This Wasn’t In The Plan - You Can’t Buy Christmas

• The Simple Dollar - Kids, Christmas & Frugality; 8 Simple Tips