Weekend Links – Announcing The Money Writers Edition

For about a year now, I’ve been part of a loose network of bloggers. These bloggers included The Sun’s Financial Diary, Money Smart Life, The Digerati Life, and Generation X Finance have consulted with each other to improve our blogs and our writing. We’ve recently decided to formalize the relationship and bring a few new members on board. These new members include Brip Blap, Million Dollar Journey, and My Dollar Plan. We’ll strive to bring you a variety of thoughtful personal finance articles. If you want read all of our articles on one site, you can catch us at The Money Writers.

Here are some articles from The Money Writers that I liked this week:

Money Smart Life writes about money and perspective. I have found that my views on money have changed as my income has changed as well. The interesting thing is that many things, like trying to live frugal seem to be universally true.

Generation X Finance writes about foreclosures and lenders. I still think the housing bubble is everyone’s fault.

My Dollar Plan writes about her dumbest purchase, a sauna. I got a good laugh out of this one as someone very close to me made the exact same purchase – despite a mountain of debt.

The Digerati Life reviews TurboTax. I used the online version of the software for years, until our taxes got too complicated.

Million Dollar Journey reviews Rich Dad’s Increase Your Financial IQ. I’m a little jealous that Robert Kiyosaki’s book publisher didn’t contact me. Perhaps publishers have realized that they send me book after book and I almost never get a chance to read them.

The Sun’s Financial Diary writes that you can get $50 back from Best Buy if you bought a HD-DVD drive. I saw a $3000 laptop this past weekend with a HD-DVD drive in it. While the rest of the computer was impressive, I couldn’t imagine spending that much on something that’s already obsolete.

Brip Blap writes about fidelity and contracts. I like how this post extended the bounds of personal finance. Steve has some very solid points here.

While on the topic of fidelity, Mighty Bargain Hunter wants Sandy. I’m joking, Sandy is just a way to remind you of your bills.

No Credit Needed writes a pile of words about a laundry detergent cap. It’s a very good post which is why I included it here. At the end of the article he even admits that he might be a little crazy. NCN, it’s okay, I am too.

From outside The Money Writers:

Boston Gal’s Open Wallet highlights an article on the power of expectations. It’s the theory that when you spend more, you expect to get more. It’s an assumption that most people make, that’s not necessarily true.

Jonathan at My Money Blog wrote about the trade off of housing prices vs. commuting. This was a key factor in buying my first home in Boston. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to say what your commute might be over the 30 years that you pay off your mortgage.

I was included in a couple of carnivals this week:
Carnival of Personal Finance
Festival of Frugality

Serial entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki, has started a new venture. You can read many personal finance sites’ headlines side by side at Alltop Personal Finance. I’m waiting to see where it goes because “aggregation without the aggravation” is a little bit a like a show about nothing.