linklings, internetless edition

“Chaos is the score upon which reality is written.” – Henry Miller

photo credit: Atilla1000 (@Holiday)

Last week I taped an interview with Tess Vigeland of American Public Media’s Marketplace Money show. I was interviewed along with Jim of Blueprint for Financial Prosperity (he’s already mentioned the interview) and Lynnae of BeingFrugal.net. I’m not sure when that’s going to air but I’ll certainly announce it once I find out. It was a very interesting experience, and we had a lot of fun doing it, which will hopefully come through when the interview airs.

Other than that, my internet connection has completely died and I’ve had to order a whole new connection through a different company. It’s a long story, but it’s completely gone and right now, in fact, I’m posting this post using a neighbor’s (unsecured) wireless account. So forgive any spotty posting or replies to email for the next few days while I get my new high-speed system set up. You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, as Cinderella (warning, opens a video) can tell you. That’s why I’m posting a link roundup on Monday – that and the fact that I was up to my ears in poopy diapers all weekend. I meant to have this post up this weekend but couldn’t get to it until today.

On to the links, from The Money Writers and others:

Even the Rich Can Buy Too Much House: The richest person on the planet can live beyond their means, and the poorest can save millions. There’s no particular connection between income and wealth-building ability, if you ask me.

From the Front Lines: Changing Your Risk Tolerance Based on a Bear Market: I think one other way that people go a little bit goofy in a bear market is that instead of curling up in a fetal position (so to speak) they become unreasonably aggressive in the riskiness of their investments. If you are an investor and not a gambler, you’ll have a strategy and stick to it no matter what “ze markets” are doing.

Free Credit Scores from Credit Karma: One of the little things that you can’t get from the once-a-year free credit reports from the Big 3 credit firms is your actual credit score. Here’s a company that’s going to give you your credit score for free. I wonder if in the future you’re ever going to have to pay for any information ever…

Who’s Your Favorite – Meet the Money Smart Life Writers: If you ever wanted to witness the slow transformation of a blog from a one-person shop to a multi-person media outlet – which seems suspiciously close to a “magazine” in “Old Media” terms – here’s your chance.

Oprah, Suze Orman, and Debt!: And yes, once again I’m flabbergasted at how people are so terrible at managing their money. I understand not optimizing your money, and I understand struggling a bit – but to dig a hole this deep mystifies me.

15 Fire Safety Tips To Protect Your Home: One of the things that I probably don’t consider too often is the possibility of a “natural” disaster impacting my family. We’re not in a hurricane, earthquake, tornado or (although we’re close to the water, but it’s a big water called the Atlantic Ocean) flood zone. We are, however, susceptible to fire like everyone else.

Add Wind to Your Portfolio with PowerShares Global Wind Energy ETF: Green is in, daddy-o. I actually love the idea of wind energy (see the Pickens Plan) as long as they don’t put one of those giant windmills in my backyard. Just kidding. If it would give me nearly-free energy I’d deal. Here’s a way to invest in wind that appeals to me despite my general suspicions of industry-specific ETFs and funds, since I don’t know much about any of the individual companies.

12 Tips to Prepare Your Finances for Vacation: If I ever felt like I was going to take a vacation again, I would print this list out and use it as a checklist…

Is The U.S. Financial System 50 Feet Beyond The Edge Of The Cliff?: Yes. I have great hopes that President Obama or President McCain are going to sweep in and enact the kind of bold, comprehensive reforms we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, fix the corporatist-dominated economy, balance the budget, give everyone access to affordable health care and … and… eh, heck, I’d be happy if whoever gets elected doesn’t screw anything up any worse than it already is. How’s that for a rousing slogan?

As you may have noticed, I have a link to the Wesabe forums on my site now. Over at The Digerati Life SVB talks a little bit about what’s involved and what Wesabe actually is. Check out her post on Mint and Wesabe.

Why Making More Money Trumps Spending Less in the End: A post after my own thinking – you have to make more. Save what you can quickly and easily but don’t try to wring pennies from stones – spend that time figuring out ways to increase your earning power.

Want a Better Financial Future? Consider Moving: Bubelah and I are considering exactly this scenario. We have picked out a location and started looking at homes and jobs over the internet – and we’ve visited once – but we still don’t have a timeframe. I feel like it’s definitely going to happen, though.

Moolanomy’s First Birthday: Moolanomy’s one! Pinyo’s been very helpful and has sent a lot of traffic my way, so I owe him a lot. Happy blogbirthday or whatever we’re calling it these days!

This has nothing to do with much of anything I write about, but any post titled “Escaping The Amish” is going to pique one’s curiosity, isn’t it?

photo credit: ReefRaff

As a final note, I’ve been over and back under and back over the 1000 subscriber mark over the past few days. I know it’s just a number, but it’s a nice round one, and I deeply appreciate everyone who subscribes.  I know how precious every minute of the day can be with our busy lives, so the fact that you’re interested in spending some of that precious time reading these articles that I spend so much of MY time on means a lot to me.  A lot.  Thanks.

Tags: economy, family, health, income, jobs, life, linklings, money, wealth