This was a pretty bad week for on several fronts. My treasured Red Sox played horribly in just about all areas of the game, earning themselves some extra vacation time (and I thought I was Lazy). The Major League Baseball umpires missed numerous calls including three tags in the first Red Sox game (the Red Sox can’t even blame the loss on this as it didn’t matter too much). If were a Twins fan now, I’d still be upset at Joe Mauer’s clear double that was called foul, which had a huge impact in the game.

Lastly, I bought my wife a new refurbished 16GB iPod Touch as a surprise for her recent promotion to Commander. (I couldn’t be more proud.) For our trip to Aruba, I loaded it up with her music and pitchers. She didn’t end up using it too much since we always had other things to do. On the way home she showed the person next to her on the plane some of the pictures and turned it off as we took off to return home. It hasn’t turned back on since. I’ve hard reset it and reinstalled iTunes numerous times as the support pages suggest. Finally, I took it to the Apple Store. The person there said they never saw anything like it and booked me to see a “genius.” We’ll see how that goes in a couple of hours…

Finally there’s Pottery Barn… well they deserve their own article. For now here are some links.

Money Writers:

• Brip Blap blogs how to avoid work while on vacation.
• Digerati Life says no Penny Stock Trading for me.
• Frugal Dad warns don’t let the children dictate your finances!
• Million Dollar Journey talks trick or treat: creating a frugal Halloween.
• Money Smart Life posts Ally Bank Review.
• Here’s a SIMPLE IRA retirement plan for the self-employed by My Dollar Plan.
• The Sun’s Financial Diary writes learn more about Lending Club credit rating and collection process.
• Generation X Finance offers these fall maintenance tips for your home that can save you money and protect your family.

More Financial Posts:

• All Financial Matters shares a story from “the rude new tip-jar economy.”
• Wise Bread presents 9 things that are worth buying at Costco.
• Trovena Weblog discusses profits and morality.
• Moolanomy gives 11 tips on how to get the right life insurance policy.
• My Wealth Builder shares reflections on two years of early retirement.
• Rich Credit Debt Loan gives tips and tricks for budgeting.
• Penny For My Thoughts says you can’t take it with you –
• Pay Less For Food tells readers about supermarket tricks that make us spend.
• Not Made Of Money posts tailgate parties on a budget.
• Budgets are Sexy writes personal finance is sexy, but I still mess up.
• Redeeming Riches shares 7 ways to make your money go further.
• Bank Saver offers money saving strategies during hard times.