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Yeah, I’m bringing it! Back again! Woo! Yeah! I missed the linklings last weekend but I’m back at this weekend. Things are slowly settling into place at Casa del Blap. Due to Bubelah’s iron will soldiering forward despite two whiny babies - and a newborn - things are still going well. I’m almost back to 100%. I will make two brief observations about having eerie flu-like illnesses: (1) you lose a lot of weight in a hurry. I lost three notches on my belt by basically failing to eat for five days. Not a nice feeling, and I’m not sure my appetite is completely back yet. (2) When you are ill, you realize that nothing matters more than your health. Nothing. You can say you need financial freedom, an end to the war in Iraq, a fulfilling career, whatever - but the absence of your full physical capacity can consume your entire life in a hurry. And trust me, I understand that sounds melodramatic. I had a weenie illness - I was probably at 1.1 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being all-out dreadful illness. But you do realize that you must maintain your health in order to pursue ANY other goals in life - being a good parent, spouse, a productive person in your avocation, etc. So if you’re eating fast food to save a few minutes because you’re in a rush, or failing to stay fit because you’re just too busy …

Money Writers! Bring it!

Personal Finance Across Borders I - Retirement Accounts

I read a lot of Canadian personal finance blogs. The Canadian language has some broad similiarities to American so they aren’t too hard to read. They also have some cultural similarities to America - they play football (albeit with 3 downs and 110 yard fields, I think). Their retirement systems are similar but not exactly the same as ours - and if you’ve ever wondered about the diifferences, this is a VERY good gap analysis (that’s consultantese for “stuff that’s different”). Only one question remains - what do they call Canadian bacon in Canada? Bacon?

Plan Ahead: 6 Steps to Secure Your Financial Future

I completely agree with five of these steps. Saving for college for the kids? Oh boy. I’ve staked out my contrarian position on that one before. I’ve told Little Buddy that playtime’s almost over, anyway - this summer he’s manning the lemonade stand and I’m looking for an ROIC of 10%, at least.

Get a Jump on Summer With These Warm Weather Money Saving Tips

I highlighted these tips on warm weather money saving tips earlier in the week when we were having amazing, summer-like days in the Northeast. Today, it’s 50-something, rainy and gusting wind like it’s November. Whee. Well, here are the tips for those of you who don’t live in New Drearia like I do.

The Power of The Dream

Lazy Man has a dream - he has a business idea that can’t fail. Want to know what it is? Well, read the article and you still won’t know, because he’s not sharing yet, but it’s a great example of someone just getting thwapped (yes, I said “thwapped”) with that ‘big idea’ out of nowhere.

Plan Ahead to Maintain Your Health and Avoid Medical Debt

I’m sure everyone has their own morbid terrors. You have a lot of these as a parent, for example. I am a shivering wreck when it comes to choking, for example - I dread it in myself and others. Nothing freezes me up like choking. Little Buddy is nervous around ladybugs, because he saw one once as he was bitten by another bug, so he thinks they bite. My brother was wearing a Superman cape as a kid that was grabbed and shaken by a dog so he’s nervous around even the littlest dogs. All of these fears pale in comparison to what is - in my opinion - the great American nightmare - a medical debt catastrophe. It’s the only Western country - the only one - where you can lose your home for the crime of getting cancer. Yay capitalism.

Don’t Want To Work Forever? Retire On Time With These 10 Tips!

Who does want to work forever? Do we WANT people to work forever? Has the federal government been improved by having a bunch of 75 year olds represent us in the legislative and judicial branches? Isn’t it time for Larry King to settle down and enjoy his 80s and his toddlers? Seriously - these are all simple tips, but many of them, like not letting life ‘take over’ (a big one for me) - are critical.

Time to Stock up on Rice?

I hate these articles. Not because you shouldn’t pay attention, but just because once in a while I have to shake my head and say “is this surprising to anyone?” My brother’s stockpiling rice already. Rice. Think about it. After wheat/bread and water, that’s about as much of a staple food as there is. The US is the heart of overconsumptionworld, too, so imagine what kind of shortages are occuring out there. This is just a cyclical drought-induced shortage, I think, but get ready for climate change, people. Food is not limitless. This little blob of water and rock hurtling through the void is a closed system - at some point we won’t be able to find new arable soil. Just saying…

Other good articles around the Internet! You bring it, too!

Why You Should Stay Invested in the Market

I agree that you should stay invested in the market, with a caveat.  If you’re an index fund investor, you have to consider this:  if you look at the market from 2000 to 2005, you’d see that it’s gone from 10,650.92 to 10,717.50.  Even today it’s just over 12,000; that’s a 20% return in 8 years.   Not per year - total.  If you’re going to stay in, and you are a mutual fund index investor, you’d better have nerves of steel and be ready to have year after year of 0% returns.  That means returns worse than your 0.5% interest checking account.  So if you’re comfortable that your investment horizon is distant enough to weather those kind of returns (and they very well may be) stay in!

Work? I Don’t Need No Stinking Work!

As a fellow new-parent-non-worker, I found this amusing. I could have written this post - it mirrors my past week (except that I had the flu, too). It is a weird feeling to have no work - you find that your days stay full, full, full. Your personal chores expand to fill the gap. I agree that I don’t need no stinkin’ work. If someone will pay me a mere six figures per year to play dinosaurs, go grocery shopping and wash bottles I’ll stay home for good, too. Anyone? Anyone?

The Financial Realities Of Having A New Baby

…and more on new babydom. Sorry, people, I’m in new baby brain mode. A good point is that you tend to spend more in some areas and less than in others, but in our case the kicker - so far - is the difference between foods. Little Buddy had to go on a hypoallergenic diet (Alimentum) and that stuff is expensive and then some. Pumpkin (yes, I think I’m going with that nickname) is still breastfeeding and shows no signs of the allergies Little Buddy had - meaning her total food cost so far is practically $0. We have also benefited hugely from my two nieces, who have provided a gargantuan amount of hand-me-down clothes and a crib.

You Made Yourself Into Who You Are

Yes. You did. It’s not your teachers’ fault, or your parents, or the US governments’ fault. Only you can change you. Too many people are looking for something to help them change. It took a lot of fat years for me to suddenly start losing weight, and trust me, people tried to help - but I decided to do it, I did it, and nobody else did it for me. If you have bad habits, only YOU can change them. Great, straightforward post. Didn’t hurt to have a link to The Bourne Ultimatum movie, either (spoiler, though)!

Why I No Longer Support The Sierra Club

Once in a while you read an article and think “awww, dammit, wish I didn’t know that, I was happier ignorant.” This was one such article. Scratch another group that I formerly held in high regards - and it just goes to show that the only person you can count on to fight climate change is YOU.

43 Amazing Resources For Writers

This is a cool list if you’re a writer. And you probably are, you just haven’t tried to be one yet.

Retirement sucks!

And after I mentioned not wanting to work forever above, here’s an article about why retirement isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Looking for perfection is foolish, but settling for mediocrity is even more foolish…

photo credit: littlerottenrobin

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