PF Roll

(If you write or know of an interesting PF blog please post a link to that blog in my comments. This way I’ll make sure to add that blog to list of feeds I read to compile my daily PF NewsBlog Roll list)

Here’s what going on in the PF blogosphere today…

The Basics: Jim, over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, gives a quick lesson for the Personal Finance Novice on how to save money. The advice is rather rudimentary, but for folks like me who understand the concept of saving, but never actually do it, it’s nice to have a reminder on the simple fact that in order to save one must spend less than they earn each month.

Home Shopping: GiveMeBackMyFiveBucks is on the market for some property. She’s decided on a mortgage broker and seems to be well underway in her permanent housing search. I can’t even imagine being able to afford buying property anytime soon, but it’s nice to read about what other folks go through to purchase their own place… as one day down the road I’d like to be able to afford a condo or a house.

Speak Up and Save: Mint’s always-informative PF blog has a great post on “Three Ways to Ask for More Money,” which should really be called “Speak Up and Save.” The Mint team recommends that asking for things like a lower credit card interest rate can end up saving you a lot of money in the long term. They also recommend calling up your cable company and asking for a discount. I just wonder if all the effort is really worth it. Calling up these companies is often so stressful that I need to spend a gazillion dollars on a therapist, or at least a whole lotta chocolate, to deal. I like Mint’s little self-promotion at the end of the post, which says that when the site goes live, it will be able to find money-saving things for its users, like the best local cable rate. Cool!

The Weekend Entreprenuer: Over on Queercents, Adam writes about his recent conversation with Michelle Anton, co-author of the book Weekend Entrepreneur: 101 Great ways to Earn Extra Cash. Sounds like a good read. I’ve figured out maybe 2 ways to earn some extra cash, so the book must have 99 more. Michelle and Adam talked about figuring out a way to balance extra work and play on the weekends in order to have a financially productive and quality lifestyle.

EBay Shopping Deals: Get Rich Slowly recently posted about a friend who is a obsessed with finding deals on eBay. She’s an eBay feen, tracking her searches for cute cocktail dresses and craft ideas in an excel sheet and using various online tools to make it easier to win auctions. The way I see it, eBay is just as bad as taking a trip to Marshalls, Ross, Filenes Basement or any other discount store. I was obsessed with eBay for a short time in my life. I’d buy things for “cheap” and spend a shitload in shipping. Or I’d just buy a lot of cheap things that I didn’t need and spend a lot. Perhaps some people are better at controlling themselves when it comes to shopping.