Uncommon Cents

Not a real post, but I’ll be back posting in the next day or so.

The Century is over and I can walk like a real person again.

Welcome to our September 20, 2009 Link Payday! As the seasons change over, in this episode we will once again look at some of the best personal finance blog posts from all over the Internet in the past few weeks:

One of my favorite bloggers and Twitterers, Mrs. Micah discovers there are No More Paper Paychecks at Walmart. As the nation’s largest employer this is a huge step–there are lots of positives and some negatives, and her opinion seems to be this is a move for the best.

A post on Get Rich Slowly asks Should You Buy it? It also gives a flowchart to help people evaluate potential purchases. If you’re someone who likes flowcharts (some days I do, but not all that often), this might help you.

The Online Savings Blog asks Should You Keep Multiple Investment Accounts? It’s an interesting question. I have several, but they’re that way because they have to be–my 403(b) is separate from my Roth IRA is separate from my traditional IRA is separate from my taxable brokerage account–although I guess I could combine that and my Sharebuilder account. But one of their points is that there are some advantages to having multiple accounts. Definitely worth a read.

Beks at Blogging Away Debt discusses Stretching to New Goals. As a guy who is constantly finding new challenges, I’m interested in learning about the goals others are interested in. One of hers right now: learning to swim.

Finally, Lynnae over at Being Frugal shares Lessons From a Little Forced Frugality where she (re)learns what’s really important in light of a check that was bounced to her.

And that’s your September 20, 2009 Link Payday!

As usual, it’s been some time between state of the blog addresses. Uncommon-Cents.net continues to have a strong presence here on the Internet and in the personal finance community. The blog continues to be profitable and has helped me launch its sister site, Athletic-Diabetic.com.

On the other hand, all this blogging plus my work commitments and workout commitments has been killing my free time.

I’ve decided to scale back a bit; instead of seven weekly posts I’m thinking we’ll do five here; in addition, however, I’m working out a deal to do blogging on another site as well. The details are still being worked out, so I am not quite sure when this will happen.

I also have plans to get my podcast going again as well as opening another site. Time is always an issue, yes, and it may be more of one, but I’m hoping that this little blogging empire I’ve started continues to grow. Let’s see how far we can go with it!

Welcome to our September 6, 2009 Link Payday! Once again, we take a few minutes to look at some of the best posts in the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks:

Spilling Buckets covers something that’s not just about personal finance when they remind us to Don’t Become a Victim of Yourself. It goes in line with some of the things that have been going on in my life recently.

The Frugal Duchess tries to get us to do the impossible (I was just traveling in late July!) when she tells us How to Find Cheap Food at Airports. I particularly use her final hint: pack food! This is what cargo pants are for.

Trent from The Simple Dollar gives us some great advice and practical tips when he covers 21 Ways to Reduce Your Spending Without Making Your Life Miserable. Way one is the best: “Get rid of stuff you don’t use.”

Mrs. Micah does the math for us when she asks Wanna Pay $228.79 for a $200 TV? This just shows what a horrible idea charging something without paying it off in full at month’s end really is.

Finally, David at My Two Dollars covers a topic that is becoming more and more important as the unemployment levels continue at high levels when he asks What is COBRA Health Insurance?

And that’s our Link Payday for September 6, 2009!

Welcome to your it’s even busier than ever Link Payday for August 23, 2009. I keep hoping for a break but it’s busier than ever! Not our latest version ever, but we’re a few days behind here in looking at the best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last few weeks:

Ron over at The Wisdom Journal tells us what are The REAL Top Money Drains. Interestingly, lots of these are surprising to many (but not so much to me) such as houses and cars.

My Canadian buddy Squawkfox, always practical, gives us a lesson in dusting with 4 Swiffer Cleaning Hacks for Cheaper Dust-Free Living. My mother is a Swiffer fan, so I’ll be bringing this one to her attention.

Mrs. Micah looks at the ages old statement–100% true–that time is money but takes a bit of a twist on it when she tells us how to Spend Time to Save Money. This is something the frugal among us often have issues with–and it’s something I need to learn about, for sure.

Spilling Buckets says something those of us in health care know, but don’t really say, which is that The Health Debate Isn’t About Health At All. Yes, it’s about dollars. Just like almost everything else.

And finally, The Frugal Duchess gives us a little look into retail as a Sales Clerk Offers Inside View: ‘We’re Supposed to Befriend Kids’. When I worked retail I wasn’t told this, but it doesn’t surprise me at all.

And that’s our Link Payday for August 23, 2009!

Welcome to your late but ready now Link Payday for August 9, 2009. Let’s not take up any more time before checking out the best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks:

For something fun, Frugal Dad put together his Top Ten Songs About Money–The Frugal Dad Soundtrack. Funny, funny, funny.

JLP over at All Financial Matters asks Are Your Credit Cards’ Minimum Payments Going Up? It appears that some folks are having the minimum on their credit card payments going from two to five percent. While I don’t advocate keeping a balance on your cards, if you do, this could more than double what you’re required to pay and put a serious dent in your budget!

Beks over at Blogging Away Debt writes a letter about her School Tuition Nightmares. As a former undergraduate and graduate student, I can remember the financial struggles to get through those times–but I’m glad I did it.

My favorite personal finance librarian blogger, Mrs. Micah, tells us Where Your Library Fines Go as well as how to support your public library. I am a big fan of the public library, so I love to do things to support them when I can (but as she says, fines are not helping).

Finally, my buddy Ron over at The Wisdom Journal asks Who is the Fool in Your Life? Interestingly, it’s not about someone who is the opposite of smart.

And that’s our Link Payday for August 9, 2009!

Welcome to your Link Payday for July 20, 2009–vacation edition! Yes, I am traveling over the next week, but you won’t miss me since I’ll still have posts showing up daily. In the meantime, please check out some of my picks for best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last few weeks:

The Frugal Duchess celebrates her 51st by coming up with 51 Frugal Goals for a Birthday Weekend. Hauoli Lahanau to you!

Trent at The Simple Dollar discusses what to do after reaching a huge goal when he considers To Close or Not to Close a Paid-Off Credit Card? In my case, I wouldn’t close it, but many people lack the self control to do that successfully.

My buddy Ron over at The Wisdom Journal goes old school on us–correctly–when he contemplates Could There Actually be a Shortcut to the Top? The answer, of course, is no–there are no overnight successes.

The Online Savings Blog preaches one of the most important parts of investing by Keeping the Market in Perspective. Yes, we’ve had a great few months, but we’ve not had the best ten years before that; then again, we’ve had much success when you go back even farther!

Finally, David over at My Two Dollars gives us a new way to cut spending by having us ask ourselves How Many Hours Do You Work to Pay For Your Stuff? Interestingly, I’ve been doing this for awhile and I do find that it helps me keep things in perspective.

And that’s your July 20, 2009 Link Payday!

It’s been awhile since the last time I updated the readers on the state of the blog.

Uncommon Cents continues trudging along; we have not missed a daily post in many, many months. The blog also continues to be profitable (and we also are getting new advertising inquiries pretty regularly).

I really wish we had more subscribers, though. That in and of itself would be great.

In the meantime, I’m still working on getting Athletic Diabetic more established. We have a handful of subscribers there, but it’s only about 5% of the readership here.

I also have to let people know that I’m headed out on vacation! I’ll be traveling from the 20th through the 26th, but I plan on making updates; can’t promise they’ll be daily but that is indeed the plan.

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Welcome to our on-time-for-once edition of the Link Payday. This day after United States Independence Day, we take a look at some of the best posts on personal finance blogs of the last few weeks:

This is a conversation that comes up fairly often: how much or what to give for a wedding gift? Lynnae over at Being Frugal asks the readers the question in You Tell Me: Favorite Frugal Wedding Gift. This is a tough one to tackle and opinions seem to vary wildly, so thanks for taking it on!

Blogging Away Debt tackles a close to home subject (everyone in this state is affected, either directly or through a friend or family, by the crunch here which is possibly leading to furloughs or layoffs) when she talks about Understanding Government Spending… Since she’s a government employee herself, she has a view that’s right in the midst of this controversy.

Ron at The Wisdom Journal might be talking to me when he says Having Too Many Goals is Like Having None. Yes, I have a lot of goals, but I’m hoping they’re not too many; I do, however, run out of energy and not get everything done the way I want them too. I’ll have to consider that a bit.

Spilling Buckets tells us 10 Things I Wish I Knew as a First Time Homebuyer. Considering that they just purchased their home, I think they’re far ahead of the game; after all, I wish I knew a lot of things as a first time fill-in-the-blank only months or years later!

And finally, David over at My Two Dollars tells us How to Fix a Mistake On Your Credit Report. I‘m hoping I can finally get one of the bureaus (after years of trying) to fix a mistake on mine (they think I lived somewhere in California–I’ve never lived off this island!).

And that’s your Link Payday for July 5, 2009!

We’re back again. It’s been a real struggle to get everything done as of late, and while we haven’t missed a day of blogging here at Uncommon Cents, we’re having a lot of difficulty keeping up with Link Paydays. So with a sigh, here we go with a new edition highlighting the best of the last few weeks around the personal finance blogosphere:

JLP at All Financial Matters has a question I consider totally sensible: Can We Have a Recovery When People Have So Much Debt? I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to encourage folks to spend even more money we don’t have–that’s how we got into this mess in the first place!

Lynnae at BeingFrugal.net writes about homeschooling and personal finance intersecting when she says that Character Matters. It’s a great question–do you pay back what you owe? Do you do do what you say you will? These are great questions to ask yourself when you work on not just your finances, but just about anything.

Frugal Dad takes yet another tack on how to work on an impossible situation–When Stranded in a Forest of Debt, Just Keep Chopping. I agree one hundred percent. Sometimes anything is better than nothing, and when you’re too overwhelmed to come up with a plan, at least you can attack something–anything–until you can recover enough to come up with one.

I’ve Paid for This Twice Already brings up a sad tale of trying to cancel a family phone plan for a deceased family member, and she warns (and after reading the post I think it would be appropriate to scream it from the rafters) Verizon Family Plan Members–Be Aware.

Finally, Mrs. Micah looks at May’s Budget Successes and Failures. While she was certainly worried about what it might look like, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it was and she and her husband were able to put a hefty amount of money toward her husband’s college loans. That’s a big win for them!

And that’s your Link Payday for June 21, 2009!