photo credit: Rob Lee

This week I’ve found some great personal finance blogs and one in particular made me laugh out loud. You’ll find it among the wonderful articles found in my Google reader this week. If you are new to The Passive Dad or a regular visitor, I hope you consider subscribing to my blog and receive free updates via email or RSS reader.

Living Almost Large wrote Hip to Clip? about the trend she’s noticed of shoppers using coupons. I’ve been clipping now for about 2 months and enjoy interacting with other shoppers. I’ve managed to help out some shoppers when I had an extra 20% off coupon that I didn’t need.

If you are looking for a great source for coupons, be sure to checkout Coupon Dad before your next grocery trip.

The Family Wallet wrote Freezing Meat to Save Money and I’ve actually done this recently. We had a local store advertising tri-tip for $2.77 a pound and I bought several packages for our freezer. We bbq almost every weekend and we’ll use it up this spring and summer. Do you freeze meat or veggies if you find a good deal?

Money Ning wrote The Secret to Having More Time and Being More Organized and asks how you spend your time each day. Do you accomplish more if you stay busy throughout the day or if you have more down time?

One Frugal Girl wrote Real Numbers: Eating at Home Saved us over $130 this Month and shows how eating at home can really add up.

Not Made Of Money wrote The Tightwad Gazette – 4 Things I Learned from the Queen of Thrift and mentions how precious space can be in your home. It feels like I’m always having to find another way to store kids clothes in the garage. Currently we have the plastic stacking bins with different ages and clothes marked on the outside.

No Debt Plan wrote How to Start the Drug Store Game and walks through the process of saving money utilizing coupons and money saving programs. I’m looking forward to following Kevin’s progress.

Nancy Zimmerman wrote the funniest post I’ve read all week called Friday Fun: the Taco Bell mgr who wouldn’t accept the $2 bill as payment. You’ve got to read this perfect narration of what happened when she tried to buy a burrito. It seemed that Taco Bell thought she had “funny money”. Have you ever had someone reject a $2 bill before?

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photo credit: Graham and Sheila

This past week was full of economic news, from the passing of the stimulus package to my home state of California finally passing a budget. How it took over 16 weeks to pass a budget is unbelievable. Unfortunately, myself and millions of Californians will be receiving an IOU from the state for our 2008 tax refund. My family took steps to alter our withholding so that we will not receive as much of a refund next year. Have you completed your 2008 tax return yet? Below are a few articles I’ve read this past week and wanted to share. Enjoy.

Becoming Debt Free wrote Bonus or Compensation – When Did The Line Get Blurred? Do you expect to earn a bonus this year or do you consider it extra money? When I worked for an investment firm most employees expected to receive a bonus. We would set our family budget for our salary only and the bonus went directly to our savings account. Now that times are tough for Wall Street I wonder how many workers are going to adapt. Hopefully they have set aside money in an emergency account.

Gather Little By Little wrote In the event I die – Information for my family and took the time to document important passwords and papers for his family. I wonder how many guys have documented user names and passwords for paypal, ING Orange, and even email in case of an emergency?

Money Ning wrote Counter Intuitive Way of Lowering Your Spending. If you are a saver, do you ever feel the urge to spend?

A Good Husband wrote How To Fight Over Money and really nailed most of the ways we can fight with our spouse about money. Although, I’m sure if a couple hit the lottery they could still find something to debate over money expenditures.

All Financial Matters wrote JLP’s Kids and Household Chores Experiment and put together a daily checklist for his family chores while his wife worked extra hours. Do you utilize a checklist for your families household chores? Has it been successful?

My Super-Charged Life wrote How To Be An Awesome Control Freak – Results May Vary . Do you know anyone that is a control freak at work? Makes for an interesting week and you can’t wait for Saturday.

Almost Frugal wrote Is a Broken Dishwasher an Emergency? She has a couple options including washing dishes by hand. My vote was to look on Craigslist or a newspaper for a good inexpensive used dishwasher. What would you do?

Mighty Bargain Hunter wrote Real estate: Asset or liability? Is your castle merely a tax write off or do you consider it a form of real estate investment? With housing prices falling more than 40% in our community, is now the time to think about a condo or town home for positive cash flow?

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Thanks to The Personal Financier for hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance #170-Famous Last Sentences Edition for including my post Alternative Income Idea: Stringing Tennis Rackets.

Some Posts from the Carnival of Personal Finance that I found interesting:

1. Amateur Asset Allocator wrote Get Rich By Writing About How To Write About Getting Rich and provides an interesting take on Rich Dad Poor Dad Robert Kiyosaki.

2. Value For Your Life posted My 3 Biggest Personal Finance Mistakes. I don’t know if it was my biggest, but when I was 20 I sold a mutual fund to buy a new mountain bike.

3. Penny Jobs wrote Businesses I’ve Tried and What I’ve Learned: Series Introduction. Curtis describes in detail each business he has attempted and what he learned from those companies.

4. Uncommon Cents wrote Sometimes Complaints Go Your Way. You’ve got to stand up and say something when you get overcharged.

5. Budgets Are Sexy wrote Today is going to be different, I just don’t know how yet Thoughts on family, friends and blessings as well as a fun dream. A dream, many of us have probably had.

6. The Wisdom Journal wrote Your Low Salary Isn’t Really Your Fault . An interesting article with several interesting studies found for single, drinking lefties. A really good read.

More links to some great personal finance blogs:

Squawk Fox wrote 50 Ways to Save $1,000 a Year.

My Investing Blog wrote Are Stay-At-Home Parents Setting Themselves Up For A Big Fall These Days? If you’re a SAHM or SAHD you’ll find it very interesting. A good debate exchange can be found in the comments.

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Over the last week I’ve enjoyed finding and subscribing to new personal finance blogs. If you are new to The Passive Dad and enjoy reading my articles, you might want to subscribe to my posts through the RSS reader found on the top right. The RSS reader delivers posts to you either through email or a reader like Yahoo or Google. When I come across a blog of interest, the first thing I do is click on the RSS reader and subscribe. It take all of 10 seconds.

Here are some wonderful blog posts I enjoyed reading this last week:

Frugal Dad has some wonderful post for new bloggers and even those that need some inspiration. So You Want to Be a Blogger Series Roundup? Read his post called
Be a Blogger: Lessons Learned From a Traffic Surge and you will be blown away.

Living Almost Large wrote Is $250k/year Rich? What is your definition of wealthy?

The Debt Defier @The Happy Rock wrote Just canceled Netflix…trimming the budget fat My family doesn’t have Netflix, but we have plenty of friends who use them. I get inspired trying to find ways to trim the family budget.

Lisa @ Greener Pastures: Personal Finance wrote 10 Ways to Bury Yourself In Debt and I have to admit that collecting or spending on hobbies is a tough one for me.

Single Guy Money wrote Instant Credit – No Thanks Do you ever struggle with credit card sales tactics? Can you just say no?

Megan @ Counting My Pennies wrote Workout Rewards and will make you rethink your next exercise routine. It definitely changed the way I thought about exercise and I wonder if it would motivate you as well.

Quest For Four Pillars wrote Wacky Business Idea #9: Stockpiling Garbage posts an interesting business idea. I’ve also read about the profitable business model behind 1-800-Got-Junk and how they filled a new niche in the garbage industry.

The Sun’s Financial Diary wrote FDIC Problem Banks List Grew to 117 Last Quarter You might want to review the list and bookmark it.

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This week I’ve found several wonderful blogs that allowed me to reflect back on my personal finance journey and even offer a chance to question my current strategies. I hope you enjoy reading some of these posts that I found motivating and inspiring.

Harvesting Dollars wrote The Debt “Snowball” Or Debt “Avalanche” May Not Be Best For You that discuses whether you should pay off larger creditors first. Dave Ramsey talks about the “Debt Snowball Affect” and the strategy to organize your debts from smallest to biggest. Make minimum payments on all but the smallest debt. On the smallest debt, you will allocate all your other resources. Once you pay off that smaller debt, you move on to the second smallest debt. Repeat process, until you reach the big loan. What has been your debt repayment strategy?

Frugal Dad wrote Why You Should Never Put Credit Cards Before the Mortgage Payment and reminds us of the importance of keeping a roof over your head. If you had a major setback and could only pay one bill a month, what would it be?

I won an award this week from The Freebie Blogger. Thank you Wendi! If you are looking for coupon codes or great deals, stop by her site.

No Debt Plan wrote My Wife is Spending Too Much Money and She Knows It. At first when I saw the headline, I thought “Wow”! and then Kevin explains the conversation he had with his wife and the outcome. It’s a hot topic and I wonder how you communicate with your spouse about finances and your household budget? Do you have a family meeting if someone doesn’t stick to the budget?

The Happy Rock wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad…Owning Your Family History and asks the question of who shaped your spending and savings outlook? Was it your parents, a grandparent, or maybe a neighbor? I remember having some great conversations with my grandmother about spending and investing at an early age. She would make sure to call several stores to find the best price, before making a purchase. This of course was all done before the internet was available. If you’re a spender, who do you take after?

If you are new to The Passive Dad and want some fun passive income ideas you can start here.

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This week I’ve read some fantastic blogs that continue to motivate and inspire me. Everything from tennis at Wimbledon to mowing your own lawn. Stop by and visit these authors, as they just might motivate you as well. If you have a blog or article that motivated you this week, let me know.

I love reading about families that have slashed expenses and established a solid budget. Frugal Dad shared a post Slashing Monthly Expenses – A Real Family’s Example, that did just that. The Roberts cut back on Starbucks and did away with a lawn service. These stories really motivate me and make me want to trim more fat off my monthly expenses. I could read these stories all day long!

The Simple Dollar wrote a post, The First Steps Away from Paycheck to Paycheck Living and got me fired up this week. I really enjoyed #4, cutback on non-essential spending and #6 paying bills on time. These practices helped my family move away from living month to month. Sometimes we fall back and need to adjust our monthly non-essential spending habits. Once we built up our emergency account, we then focused on paying bills on time.

My Open Wallet wrote an article about one of my favorite sports, Tennis. In case you don’t follow tennis, Nadal and Federer were in the final at Wimbledon and competing for a cash prize that was 7.1% higher than 2007. A great way to beat inflation is to become a professional tennis player. Find out more at Wimbledon Prize Money

Harvesting Dollars wrote Benefits of Working At A Fast Food Restaurant and reminded me of my first job working as a busboy in high school. Many of my education and career goals were established at the restaurant. Do you ever reflect back on your first job? Did you work in high school or in the food industry?

In Adding a Discover Credit Card Income Stream, Passive Family Income discuses the rewards for utilizing a cash back credit card for gas purchases. If gas is in your budget and needed for commuting, you might as well save as much as you can. I’m going to be comparing two of my reward cards this next month to see which one saves more money at Costco gas.

Cash back Ideas writes I have a $24,000 debt that I refuse to pay off. Find out why he doesn’t want to pay off this debt. Have you used your credit cards to save money on essential purchases? Can you defer payments and increase your family income?

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I have many blogs and websites that I visit throughout the week that inspire and help me think outside the box. These writers have given me new ways to think about my finances, family, and even my body. Stop by and visit these authors, as they just might motivate you as well. If you have a blog or article that motivated you this week, let me know.

In Less than 200 Saving Days Until Christmas FrugalDad wrote about how his family opened a Christmas savings account last year to help budget for 2008. Frugaldad was also motivated by Larry Stewart, the author of Santa’s Secret, and plans to give away $100 to a deserving family this year. Reminds me of the movie Pay it Forward, and how you can bless families through random acts of kindness.

Heidi at Health Nut Wannabe Mom wrote an article Bye, Bye Big Belly And Hello Trim Tummy With These 6 Healthy Food Choices and inspired me this week to drink more water. I need to spend more time investing in my health and personal fitness goals. I typically drink 2-3 cups of coffee, 1-2 diet Pepsi’s, and an occasional glass or two of water a day. My other water source comes from fruit, but I have a hard time drinking the h2o. How much water do you drink each day? I need to drink about 20 ounces more a day to stay hydrated. Yes, sounds easy, but I have been eating a lot of junk lately and not getting enough exercise. Wonder why? Oh, yeah, I’m staying up late writing articles. Heidi has some fantastic ideas for eating healthy and staying fit.

LuLuGal at How I Save Money, posted Tracking My Finances In June: Day 23 and is opening up about her personal income and expenses this month. I really enjoy reading posts about personal finance and budgets, as they inspire my family to save even harder. This is a great opportunity to learn about LuLuGal and her challenge to pay off debt. Also, stop by and wish her mom well, as she is battling an illness.

At Debt Diet, Show Me The Money! is a wonderful post about how to handle a pay raise. The Debt Dieter received a 21% raise in 12 months and writes about how to handle to new money. Would you be tempted to splurge or would you pay off existing debt?

Thank you Frugal Dad, Heidi, at Health Nut Wannabe Mom, Debt Dieter, and LuLuGal, at How I Save Money, for motivating me this week.

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