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After what could be called - with a fair amount of exaggeration - a “difficult week” I’ve found that I’m surprisingly relaxed about the state of the Union - at least as far as its stock market goes. I am in what I like to call a Marley mindset…I’ve made reference to Marley a number of times.  Every little thing is going to be alright.  I know it looks bad now, but I believe - in a sense, because I have to - that it’s all going to be alright.  If it’s not, well, I’ll deal with it at that point, but for now I’ll take the approach that it’s a downturn just like so many before it.

So we spent the day carving pumpkins, talking to the neighbors and buying stuff at Lowe’s.  American middle class life went on.

The links, from the Money Writers and others:

11 Ways to Save on Car Insurance: Having just shelled out my massive dosh on two cars - one of which I drive less than 3 miles per day, 5 days per week - I thought this was worth reading.

Will Green Food Saver Bags Make Food Last Longer?: If you’re like me, you buy a lot of veggies and fruits and eventually at least some of them go bad. Do the green bags work? Apparently not - here are the alternatives.

Being A Full-Time Parent Has More To Do With Sacrifice Than Luck: I would argue being a full-time parent has more to do with willpower than anything. We focused on doing it. I’m not sure after a few years that it’s for everyone, but anyone who says “they can’t”… well, they just aren’t trying hard enough. We gave up a lot and made it work.

Divorce - A Wealth Killer: I can’t see any way that divorce would ever be a wealth-builder.

Career Advice to Help You Get Ahead & Feel Good About It: Some good tips on your career that you don’t have to feel bad about implementing.

Getting Ready to Buy Some Stock: I am not a financial adviser, so take my opinion with a grain of salt - but I started buying again on Friday and will keep on buying next week…

“Stay the Course” is Becoming a Hard Pill to Swallow in This Market: It is, but I am. I’m hitching my star to staying the course, and even getting a bit more aggressive. Again, I’m no financial adviser, but in my opinion now is the time when fortunes will be made…

An Open Letter To The Readers Of My Two Dollars.: I really enjoy David’s blog, it’s one of my must-reads, and I was really saddened to read this. I have strong political opinions too, but I steer clear for just this reason. Things are at an ugly stage when someone gets harassed like this just for expressing his opinion.

I Am Problogger, Hear Me Roar: I’m late to pick up on this, but another one of my favorite bloggers took the leap. If you haven’t read Hunter’s blog, give it a shot. I actually think he will be one of the “probloggers” I read in the future.

Looking for a reason to hide: Seth is always a good read, but I really liked this one. “Growth is frightening for a lot of people.” Think about that statement. I am frightened of growth. Sometimes I don’t want to succeed. It’s a ridiculous and frightening way to think…

Presentation Zen: Financial crisis simplified (a whiteboard presentation): Watch this if you have ANY question about what a CDO is. I guarantee you will understand after this presentation.

DebtGoal: Finally, Debt Goal is looking for a few beta testers for their service - anyone interested? Shoot me an email at bripblap at the gmail and a dot com (I had to do that horrible phrase to avoid the automated spammers).

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