I had to mention Michael Jackson.  Flexo will explain why. It is one of those watershed pop-culture moments, whether you like him or not.  I am a fan of Elvis, and 32 years after his death people are still mooney about him.  I liked Thriller – who didn’t.  He was around even before that, with albums like Off The Wall.  I remember vividly skating around the rollerskating rink in my hometown while Rock With You droned on.  It was one of those not-quite-fast, not-quite-slow songs where you wondered whether you should do singles skating or try and get a girl to hold hands while you stumbled around the rink.  Good times, whatever else you can say about the guy, I guess.  A few links for the weekend:

Poor Money Choices Ruined My Parents’ Life:  Yikes.  Not much positive here, except that she overcame her parents’ poor choices.

Start A Side Business in the Lazy Days of Summer:  Some excellent advice on starting a side hustle…and Why Everybody Needs A Side Hustle

• Worst Case Scenario – How Long Will Your Savings Last?
• Student Loan Rates Will Drop to All Time Low
• Interview With Mr. Credit Card On Personal Finance and Silicon Valley
• What Can You Expect to See on Your Credit Reports?
• This Seems Like a Bad Idea to Me
• Reader Question: I Don’t Have Much Savings So Can I Use Unused Credit as an Emergency Fund?

And a few interesting links from some blogs I haven’t linked to as often…

• What’s Wrong with The Millionaire Next Door:  Interesting take on a book I like, a lot.  I agree that it’s dry and drifts off into uninteresting areas – too much time wasted on the question of cars, for example.  Yet I find it’s a good book in terms of thinking about what a millionaire looks like, rather than what we might THINK a millionaire looks like.
• Emergency: This Book Could Save Your Life (Neil Strauss) – Review
• Two More Virtues of Owning a DogI’m not a dog person, but I’m always willing to listen to someone else’s opinion… I wouldn’t own a dog since that, on top of two toddlers, would seem like a terrible burden, but I understand why other people might enjoy having a dog.
• 3 Things that Could Cost You Your Dream House: It never hurts to be vigilant. Pay attention to the details.
• DIY: Getting Dirty with Square Foot Gardening: I aspire to gardening but we got to Florida a bit too late for planting anything this year, unfortunately.

Photo by Alan Light