My Family’s Money

Things appear to be winding down after my run on the Consumerist that began sometime Tuesday evening. I am pretty sure my time in the sun is over and things should be getting back to normal over the next day or two. It was really fun while it lasted. I got such a kick out of reading things that people wrote in response to my article – it really makes the effort it takes to blog worthwhile. There is just something special in knowing that other people read and like stuff that you write. Here is some of the stuff that I liked reading on the web this week:

Incidentally, The Baglady wrote an article about what makes a blog article popular a few weeks ago that pretty much sums up everything about how my post became popular. 1) It was controversial. Apparently, some people don’t like the idea of people owning a monkey as a pet. That was certainly news to me. 2) My article got linked by a big site. I’m not sure who to thank for that, but thank you Baglady! 3) It spoke to people’s desperate survival need to know just how much it might cost to own a monkey. I mean, how could you go on living without know what a monkey might do to your bottom line. Once you saw that link and passed it by there is absolutely no telling how many nights you might cry yourself to sleep wishing you had clicked on that link. 4) I didn’t really fulfill the requirement of the fourth item – a well written and original article – but I think the first three made up for it.

The Frugal Panda gave some stellar advice on how to throw a sweet bar mitzvah on the cheap, but more importantly in my book, a sweet bar mitzvah that keeps first things first and doesn’t turn the party into a status symbol. The principles behind the suggestions fit in any context from your child’s first birthday party to a bridal shower to a 50th wedding anniversary so it is applicable even if you aren’t Jewish. To boil it all into one terse statement: if the glove doesn’t fit you must acquit. No that isn’t it … um … keep the party about who the party is for already, not for you, the party thrower, but for the person who the party is for. I have been watching way too much of the my old E! News Michael Jackson Trial Reenactment tapes.

Mr. Cheap over at Quest for Four Pillars reminded my just how good of an investment it is for me to be taking public transportation these days in his “Life Without Wheels” article. You really do pay more for your car than you think once you add up gas, maintenance, registration, insurance, and all the miscellaneous costs that are associated with automobile ownership. Buck the automobile industry – make a time machine and go back to the 1950s and stop the automakers from buying all the trains and running them out of business. That’ll show ‘em.

I also like an article that Madison wrote over at My Dollar Plan about what I think she would call a “decreasing contribution strategy” for retirement savings. The plan essentially has an individual front loading for retirement and then reducing their retirement contributions as life requires. This plan is useful because it takes advantage of the principle of compounding interest in way that offers a lot of flexibility and disposable income when it is needed most. If you can put 50% of your earned income into retirement savings and be like Madison you should.

And finally, I liked Amanda’s post from Me vs. Debt about food liberation and waste prevention – now doesn’t that sound much more romantic than dumpster diving? I think it is totally a valid enterprise and it pains me to think of all those cheesy crunch chalupas being tossed out for no other reason than no home could be found for them. Shame on you, Mr. Taco Bell, shame on you.