The Personal Finance Playbook

It’s been another crazy week.  I got an extension on my appellate brief to consider some new case law that came out on Wednesday.  At least, I hope they’re giving me the extension.  I filed something requesting it on Wednesday and haven’t heard back yet.  Baseball is in full swing.  The Cardinals took the first game from the Cubs.  I love those games – it’s a big, old rivalry and I love when St. Louis comes out on top.  I love that it’s spring, and that I’m starting to see people outside doing things again.  We’re headed out of town this weekend to look at places to potentially buy.  We won’t be buying anything until our place sells – but hopefully that happens relatively soon.  We’ve had some early interest and someone is coming to see it tomorrow.  It’s doing okay considering it’s the first couple weeks.  Anyway, here’s a bit of what caught my eye during the past week:

Frugality, Thrift and Saving @ Saving to Invest – This article is about the movement toward frugality that is sweeping America right now.  People that grew up during the Great Depression lived that frugal lifestyle for the rest of their lives.  I don’t know if the current recession is enough to create a sustainable change in the way Americans live.  I know businesses may change going forward in that they may try to lessen their reliance on credit.  Technology companies seem to carry less debt (or no debt) since the dot com crash.  I don’t know if we’ve changed yet or not.  It’s cool to be frugal now, though.

How to Dress Well for Less @ The Strump – This is a good article on how to look nice on a budget.  I actually disagree to some extent with some of the things in the article.  I think you can get exceptional deals on clothing at deal sites or eBay.  I think expense should be commiserate with utility.  I have some relatively expensive clothing (to me), but I try to shoot for things that are affordable.  I have to wear suits to work, but I avoid specialty stores and try to hit the sales at Men’s Wearhouse.  I buy my dress shirts at Kohl’s.  Clearance ties.  You get the point.  I will spend more on something like a jacket, if it’s the kind of thing you can wear a lot.  In any case, it’s a good article.  Check it out.

Save $100 a Year With CFL Bulbs @ Another Money Blogger – We’ve talked about switching to CFLs here before.  It’s a common sense way to make the world better and save a few dollars in the process.  This post runs the numbers for us. 

Pay it Forward and Treat Everyone Like a Good Friend @ Bargaineering – I’ve always loved the idea of paying it forward.  I actually really love those commercials where they show all the people helping each other and it goes from one to one.  I can’t even think of what it’s a commercial for.  Insurance maybe.  Jim posts a commercial, too.  Anyway, do something nice for someone today. 

84 year old Social Worker Saves $1.4 Million @ Get Rich Slowly – Here’s the perfect example of the millionaire next door…and she’s from St. Louis!  Great story.  She indulged herself when she really wanted something, but she basically made her money by living frugally. 

Anyway, that’s all you get for now.  I hope you have a great weekend.  Thanks for reading.

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CFL bulbs, dress well, frugality, millionaire next door, pay it forward, saving, thrift

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