Finances & Money

Weekly Roundup: Secret 5 Year Wedding Anniversary Weekend

Yep, this weekend the Dudette and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary! While we have a big trip planned in just 3 weeks (to Israel), I didn’t want to use that as an excuse not to celebrate the actual day. I can’t divulge what we’re doing because it’s a surprise for Stacie, but I can say we’re staying overnight somewhere out-of-town and doing something Stacie has never done before, and it might involve getting sweaty (get your mind out of the gutter). I’ll reveal what we did after the weekend.

Oh, and here’s a sneak peak into what you can expect next week from Clever Dude:

– Review of “50 Prosperity Classics: Attract It, Create It, Manage It, Share It (50 Classics)“. I see a few of you ordered it using my affliate link earlier this week, and I’m sure you’ll be very happy with your purchase. Basically, it’s a Cliffs Notes edition of the Who’s Who of top finance/prosperity-related books, but the author’s commentary is valuable in its own right as you begin to get a sense of what it takes to be prosperous just from the reviews. At under $15 (sales price), it’s worth it, but then again, you can probably read many similar reviews from The Simple Dollar for free. Personally, I like having the paper copy to read on the train each day.

– Preview of “Bible Illuminated The Book: New Testament“. I agreed to be a pre-release reviewer of this book because I’m always interested in getting free books, I feel special getting something before it’s released to the public, and anything that makes it easier and more enjoyable to read the Bible is good for me. While I’ve never heard of the translation he used, the bit that I’ve read so far (from Matthew) is much easier to read than my traditional Catholic-approved New American Bible (NAB), mainly because it’s in more contemporary style and without all the verse breaks. It’s more like reading a magazine (which was the intent).

– Potentially a launch of a fourth Clever Dude web site (if I can get some content out there). Oh, you didn’t know I had more than this one? Oh, well then go check out Building Nutrition (mostly Stacie’s content) and Help Find a Car. CleverDude.com certainly gets the most of my attention, but the others get good articles once or twice per week. I’m currently working on a review of the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, which I test drove the same weekend as the 2009 Acura TL. Ooh, it’s dangerous to get me near a car dealer, but having a car site gives me an excuse!

Now onto the roundup!

Best Articles from the Personal Finance Network:

– Squawkfox gives a recipe for butternut squash cookies. While they look, um, interesting, you’d be surprised at how well squash (and zucchini) can be in a dessert dish.

– MoneyNing questions whether layoffs are best for business and is dead-on that thinking only about affordability makes you poor.

– Canadian Capitalist throws some blame around for the credit crisis.

– Blunt Money advises against the “skip-a-payment” options.

Best Articles from my PF Reader List:

– Budgets Are Sexy comes in with two good reads: Tracking Your Money = Financial Confidence and 10 Cheap Ways to Woo Your Other Half. Excellent stuff.

– Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has 50+ fun facts about the stock market. Such a geek.

– Wisebread has a great history on financial panics (think “gold”).

– Ask Mr. Credit Card has part 2 of their bankruptcy story. You don’t get to read much about this side of bankruptcy, just the “I lost everything” drama. Thanks for letting us know it’s not all doom and gloom, but also that bankruptcy leaves a lasting emotional imprint.

– Brip Blap has some insights (or not) into how to enjoy life.

– Fabulous Financials (aka Single Ma) walks us through the 10 phases of the financial freedom journey. Single Ma’s reader comments are often just as good reading as the article itself, so read everything!

– All Financial Matters is just as overloaded as I am with crisis.  He gives an informal batch of financial lessons-learned.

– Money Under 30 has excellent advice that in a bad economy (or any economy), you should only worry about what you can control.

– Paid Twice advises that you just need to let stuff go sometimes (think “sunk cost”).

– Frugal Dad reminds us that you need to pay yourself first, and last.

Have a great weekend! I know we will!