I’m still away on my vacation. We’ve had a little lot of trouble trying to get on the free military cargo flights that we were told were “typically very, very easy, but nothing is guaranteed.” It seems like there’s some value to a guarantee.
While we were on vacation, we got a little sucked into the National Spelling Bee on ESPN. I’m sure a number of people (including one of my favorite writers Bill Simmons) has wondered how spelling qualifies as a sport. I guess this made me a two sport player in the fifth grade (soccer being the other). Maybe kids are getting out of phys. ed. now because they’ve passed that requirement with their spelling prowess. It’s a sad day in the world of fitness.
I didn’t really want to off on the spelling bee like that. I like spelling bees, I was in one and did quite well (until I misheard except as accept). What I wanted to point out was a particular contestant – Sidharth Chand. I’ve included a picture of the 12 year old speller who finished in second place:
Now with that in mind, take a look at the 16 year old gymnast from China. Many claim to have evidence that she’s not 16, but for official Olympic purposes she’s 16 (unless something changed while I was on vacation).
I want to congratulate these children for their great achievements – they’ve done more than I have at their age than I have. The only issue I have is how is anyone to know how old a child is these days. A 16 year-old looks like she’s 10 and a 12 year-old looks like he’s 28. If you told me that the spelling bee child was the father of the gymnast, I wouldn’t have called you on it. I think a direct result of this was the English-Thai translation book my wife found last week that translated the phrase, “Can I see your ID for proof of age?” Just think about that in the world makes me feel all dirty. While I take about 15 showers, here are some personal finance links for the week:
- Frugal Dad writes how to live on only one income, with the key advice of getting yourself prepared.
- Money-market funds may not be as safe as you think says the Sun’s Financial Times. What do you think?
- Check this post by Digerati Life to learn how to sell on Craigslist.
- Generation X Finance asks did you get suckered into the fake gas price hike from Hurricane Ike?
- Brip Blap talks about building wealth in the age of thieves. Were you happy or unhappy about the AIG news?
- Tired or upset about your job? Money Smart Life writes how to make your job better or find a better job.
- 29 steps I took to leave the workforce at age 29 is My Dollar Plan’s testimonial and stratagems to get out of corporate America early.
- The choice between daycare and staying at home over at Million Dollar Journey explains the difficult decision of childcare in one of many possible situations. What choices have you made for you and your kids?
- NCN looks at debt reduction gurus: Clark Howard.
- From the readers of Free Money Finance learn how to get a credit card replaced Quickly.
- Have you tried MSN’s $100 / week food bill challenge? Blueprint for Financial Prosperity takes a look.