Saturday Link Love: New Computer Edition

Well, I did it: I bit the bullet and got a new computer after accidentally destroying my other one last week. The first thing I did (after the first two hours of requesting forgotten passwords and setting up my email) was to surf around and check out all the articles I missed this week while I was wire-less.

Here are some of the very best ones I found, I hope you enjoy them!

First, congratulations are in order for Prime Time Money – he was selected as a top five contestant in the FNBO Direct Pay Yourself First Challenge. Way to go! Paying yourself first is a really important thing.

The more I learn about money, the more I realize that you really do have to pay yourself first and not blow the money. It should probably be called “Invest in yourself first!” This is something I am going to talk about a little more tomorrow when we do a review of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.”

The money comes in…and it rolls right back out!

Choosing not to invest in your retirement accounts may not be something you regret right now, but it’s one of those things like getting a tattoo – it will stay with you forever and you’re really going to regret it later! Here are a couple of articles that I thought summed things up nicely:

• ROTH IRA and 401k Contribution Limits at BudgetCents.net – Clearly explained, and simplified, it’s what you need to know about how much you can contribute to your retirement accounts.
• How to Withdraw from Your Roth IRA Tax Free at Sound Money Matters – Now, obviously, it’s not a good idea to start withdrawing from your retirement accounts. However, I really do believe that part of having those types of accounts includes knowing what your legal “outs” are. Definitely worth a read.

Credit where credit is due:

The more I learn about managing my credit, the more interesting it becomes! There were some worthy articles to mention this week:

• Financial Ramblings takes a close look at the impact of our credit scores on our car insurance in Credit-Based Car Insurance Rates… A Bad Idea? – You know, for whatever reason there really is a connection between low FICO scores and accidents. Course, there’s also a “connection” between my astrological sign and my personality, so…it may just be another way to charge people more money each month.
• Investor Blogger over at Dollar Travels has a bit of an after-vacation hangover from his credit cards. He gives us the breakdown and the dirty details! Some good links on how to manage this type of thing too.

Make the best of it:

Times are tough. I’ve recently come to the understanding that if we never learn to manage our money, times will always be tough. Here are a few articles that might make money (or the lack of it) easier to manage:

• Recession is a Great Economic Opportunity at Money and Such – I loved this article. I wish there were many,many more like it out there. The time to invest is not always when the market is “good”. To mis-quote Ben Stein on this “You make money during a recession, you just don’t know it until later!”
• Serena at Queercents has done an entire series on Stretching Your Food Dollars. She even takes a look at why the cost of food is going up. Some really excellent and easy-to-do ideas here.
• The Digerati Life wants to Work Harder, not Smarter. Wait, strike that, reverse it! Some definite food for thought.
• Wealth and Wisdom spills the beans in “10 Things Millionaires Won’t Tell You” I think this list is pretty true-to-life. ‘Course, I don’t know any millionaires, so I can’t ask them just to see if they plead the fifth. Good information for would-be millionaires though.
• Joseph Sangl did an article on accountability and Making the Budget Work at Month’s End. My budget is finally starting to do this. Being accountable for every time I messed up is enlightening. I regret to say though, it does not always prevent me from doing it again. Still working on that part.
• The Simple Dollar schools us on How to Avoid the Trap of Splurging as a Reward for “Being Good”. For me, it’s usually either eating a half pint of ice cream, or spending money. Good thing I’m not “good” too often, I would seriously have to develop better habits.

Festivals, Carnivals and Celebrations:

Thanks to the Carnival of 20 Something Finances for featuring our article this week at Living Almost Large!

That’s it for this week’s link love edition. Wishing you a hard drive with a limitless amount of space, a long weekend that never ends, and 0% interest for life! Have a nice holiday. 🙂

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