All the artwork is 100% original and features finance- and frugality-related images and captions that tie in with the theme of our site. These products make good gifts for people working in financial professions – accountants, bankers, teachers, etc. – as well as for individuals who take an interest, or should take an interest, in their personal finances.

The commissions we earn on the merchandise ranges from $1.00 – $5.00 per item depending on the size of the merchandise and image (less for small items such as magnets and stickers, and more for apparel and large posters).

As we continue to develop new content for our blog, we will also develop new artwork for our store. Here are a few examples of the current items in our store. Almost all of our artwork is available on posters and framed panel prints; greeting, note and post cards; mugs and steins; magnets, stickers and buttons; t-shirts, tank tops, caps and sweatshirts; clocks, throw pillows, coasters and framed tiles; journals, mousepads, tote bags and more.

Visit Our Fourpence Worth Store to see more.

Related posts:

• The Life Stages of a Dish Sponge
• Terms of Use
• ‘Tis Not a Crime to Pinch a Penny
• Welcome MSN Money Central Smart Spending Readers!
• Thank you!

It has been a good week for us here at Pecuniarities and I am really excited about some new changes. Here they be (yes, I have been watching Pirates of the Caribbean – the first one – one of Madoline’s and my favorite movies.)

Welcome MSN Smart Spending Readers

While checking my web stats last night and pleasantly surprised to find that Joan Melcher from MSN Money’s Smart Spending Blog did a feature on my post on Free e-Book, Audiobook, Video & Music Download and Online Resources From Your Local Library.

If this is your first time here, we issue you a hearty welcome and invite you to have a look around. Click on the “Popular Posts” tab to the right for a sampling of some of our popular articles from the past year, and please consider subscribing to our RSS feed to have new money-saving tips delivered to your feed reader or inbox.

Subscribe in Reader	Subscribe by Email

Pecuniarities Makes WiseBread Top 100 Finance Blogs

WiseBread recently came out with a Top 100 Finance Blogs list and Pecuniarities was included! On the first day, we were ranked around 50 (I can’t remember the exact figure), but unfortunately other great blogs have since eked their way in and we are now in the 70’s. But we are still very excited to be part of this list and will do our utmost to ensure we stay on it and improve our ranking.

Pecuniarities Joins Frugal Focus

If you’re an avid frugal living blog reader, you may already have heard of FrugalFocus, “a passionate group of people bringing together the very best content on Frugal Living and celebrating living well on a budget.” I am pleased to announce that Pecuniarities has been accepted to join this great group of frugal enthusiasts.

Consumer Safety Resources from the Government to Help Protect You From Scams and Frauds

In case you haven’t yet seen it, be sure to check out my list of consumer safety resources which I spent all last week compiling. It’s not what one would call pleasure reading, but it is important imformation on how to recognize, avoid, report and recover from scams and frauds should you ever need it.

Consumer Safety Resources from the Government on SPAM, Scams, Fraud, Phishing and Identity Theft

Please bookmark it for future reference and share it with your friends and family. After all it is National Consumer Protection Week, which must exist for a reason.

Related posts:

• Welcome MSN Money Central Smart Spending Readers!
• Wall Street Journal Giveaway Winner and Carnivals of the Week
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• March 1st-7th is National Consumer Protection Week!
• Friday Fun: Meme Me! 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me (Penelope Pince)

For those of you who were around you might remember our name being Our Fourpence Worth. We have come a long ways in many ways and have had a great time sharing our thoughts and ideas with you. We’d like to thank you, our readers, both old and new, for being with us, especially those who have been with us since the very beginning. We’ve gone through a name change, domain move, hosting move,  site re-designs (2 of them), some of which went smoothly and some not so smoothly as I am still an amateur at web design.

I’ve learned a lot this past year – about blogging and about frugal living. We participated in many blog carnivals and have hosted 5 blog carnivals here.

The Best of Pecuniarities/Our Fourpence Worth

Here are some of our articles that received some good attention (mentioned by MSN Smart Spending, blog carnival Editor’s Pick, lots of link love, StumbleUpon and search engine traffic) over the past year:

• 101 Ways to Save Money in Your Everyday Life
  
• Monopoly Game Expansion #1: Personal Savings Account
• The Frugal Literate’s Guide to Affordable Reading
• Beautiful Homemade Christmas Ornaments From Eggshells
• Using Nature’s Gift Wrap: The Eggshell
• Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt
• Resisting the Urge to Splurge
• Closing Your Credit Cards Can Hurt Your FICO Score
• Economical Pet and Child Safe Ways to Repel and Kill Ants, Spiders and Other Insects
• Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Free and Frugal Things to Do in Los Angeles
• Our Family Financial History

A Year Ago

At this time, allow me to point out a few of our very earliest articles that, due to the newness of the blog, didn’t get much attention. If you’ve got some time on your hands, have a read-through and feel free comment.

Penelope Pince

• Honestly Frugal: the Ethics of Saving Money
• Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue
• Language Lesson ~ Finance: A Fine Word
• The No-Budget System
• Save by Knowing Your Shipping & Mailing Options
• Credits Cards Really Aren’t So Bad
• Frugality 101

Madoline Hatter

• The Life Stages of a Dish Sponge
• Cabinet Secrets: Uses for Useless Things
• Thinking inside the box: Some Uses for Cardboard Cartons
• Patchwork Berets from Fabric Scraps
• Save Money by Sewing Your Own Clothes

Thanks again to all of you for sticking with us. We look forward to an even better year ahead of us.

Related posts:

• Announcement: Our Fourpence Worth Store
• Thank you!
• The Life Stages of a Dish Sponge
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #7
• ‘Tis Not a Crime to Pinch a Penny

We’re hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights this coming Thursday September 17th, 2009.

Personal finance, frugal and green living bloggers, get your submissions in by Wednesday 6:00 PM Pacific Time to be considered for inclusion in this edition!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this fairly new carnival, please visit this the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights website for more information.

Looking for Blog Carnival Hosts

The carnival schedule is open starting the 22nd of October 2009. Hosting a carnival is a great way to get targeted traffic to your blog, so if you blog about finance, frugal or green living, visit the hosting guidelines page to apply.

Our host blog requirements aren’t as stringent as some of the other carnivals so this is a good opportunity if you are a newer blogger and don’t yet meet the requirements to host other carnivals. We only ask that you maintain the quality of the carnival by only including content of lasting value.

Visit the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights site for more information and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

I’ll be back soon with a new post!

Related posts:

• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• New Personal Finance and Frugality Blog Carnival: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights
• Giveaways Ending Soon! And Hosting 2 Blog Carnivals Next Week
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1

I’ve been on a little hiatus from blogging due to a few things going on in my non-cyber-life these days. Madoline and I have been busy working at a business overhaul which has been occupying a lot of my mind so that I haven’t had much time and brain-space for blog post ideas.

We’ve also been trying our hand at air-conditioning-free life in the desert, and this heat wave has been a formidable living companion, but I am happy to report we are are doing quite well despite highs as much as 109 this past week. Perhaps I’ll post a little later on how and why we’re doing this.

Anyways, it is time for another financial link/Pecuniary Associates roundup, which you can come to expect on the 1st and 3rd weekend of each month.

From Pecuniary Associates

• At Financial Nut, Alex wrote a review on a book called The Skinny on Credit Cards, How to Master the Credit Card Game. It looks like an interesting and informative read for anyone who has questions or doubts about credit card usage.
• At Living Well on Less, Karen’s chef husband Tony contributed a 2-part series on 12 essential tools for a frugal kitchen.
• At Counting My Pennies, Megan shares a somewhat frustrating experience in which a co-worker who didn’t know her well criticized her for her frugality. It’s a short and very worthwhile read titled “You don’t seem the type.”

Elsewhere in the Personal Finance Blogosphere

• At Mrs. Micah, the missus shares a cute childhood story, which bears an important message: Keep Your Word to Children About Money.
• At The Paycheck Chronicles, Kate has discovered a way to make sure that she never misses a credit card payment while not having to worrying about overdraft charges on her checking account.

Blog Carnivals

I had posts featured in 2 blog carnivals this past week:

• At Green Panda Treehouse, Carnival of Personal Finance #211: Burn Notice Edition (one of my favorite shows!), which included my post Remembering Why We Do What We Do.
• At Taking Charge, The 14th Carnival of Pecuniary Delights: The ‘I Forgot Day’ edition, which included my post Discerning Luxury from Necessity.

Well, that wraps it up for today’s roundup. Thanks for being a Pecuniarities reader and have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Related posts:

• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1
• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late

If you haven’t done your taxes yet, enter now for a chance to win 1 of 2 FREE prepaid access codes for TurboTax Premier Online which includes:

• Free Federal
• State Preparation
• Free e-File

The Premier package is valued at $85 and includes investment income, 401-K  Maximizer, rental deductions and other features to help you maximize and expedite your refund. Click here for more information on TurboTax Premier.

Enter by 11:59 PM PST tonight March 28, 2009 for a chance to win!

Pecuniarities is Hosting 2 Carnivals Next Week!

Submit your posts for double carnival exposure:

• Carnival of Debt Reduction on Monday March 30th
  Submit your post by 5:00 PM PST Sunday March 29th to be considered for inclusion
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights on Thursday April 2nd
  Submit your best post – remember there is no restriction as to the age of the post – by 5:00 PM PST Wednesday April 1st to be considered for inclusion

Apply to host and submit an article for the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights by April 1st for chances to win these 2 cute piggy bank magnets by Madoline Hatter:

“Money begets Money” magnet for article submissions, “Feast on your savings” magnet for applying to host.

This Week’s Blog Carnivals

We participated in 2 blog carnivals this week:

• Festival of Frugality #170 – Frugal Living is Timeless was hosted by Money Ning and included my post:
  When “Free” Things Aren’t Free: Beware the Hidden and Indirect Costs
• Learn The Basics of Investing – Edition #197 of Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted by Four Pillars and included my post:
  It Saves to Be Nice Part 4: How to Save Money by Helping Businesses Keep Operating Costs Down

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Hosting Festival of Frugality and Money Hacks Carnival Next Week
• Web Hosting
• Wall Street Journal Giveaway Winner and Carnivals of the Week
• New Personal Finance and Frugality Blog Carnival: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

With numerous “How to Save Gas” tips all over the internet, such as this one on WikiHow: How to Save Money on Gas, I figured I wouldn’t do one here because they can be easily found elsewhere. So this post won’t be about the most common suggestion such as: Unload all unnecessary weight, leave early, drive slower, etc., but rather on how you can use tools provided by Google Maps to save you gas and time.

With gas prices constantly rising and the economy as it is, we can’t go wrong saving even tiny bits of money and gas here and there. Even if we shave off only .1 mile on a daily trip, it will add up to something.

Google Maps has been getting fancier and fancier with satellite images, trip planners with multiple destinations, re-route tools to discover shorter routes and more. Many of you probably already know about this, but it is possible that some do not, so I thought I would do an in-depth guide on how to use Google Maps to help you plan and re-route trips, be they long or short distance.

This is a rather long guide (mostly due to the number of images), so here is a table of contents of the sections contained in this post:

• How Google Maps Can Help You Save Gas and Time
• How to Re-Route Trips on Google Maps
• Driving Directions and Route Options
• Traffic Conditions
• Satellite Image Street Views
• Foreign Travel
• Fun Stuff & Research
  • Photos and Wikipedia
  • What does your house look like from the sky?

How Google Maps Can Help You Save Gas and Time

• Re-routing drives for daily errands, trips to the grocery store, to your kids’ schools, church, the bank, post office or homes of friends and family.
• Planning routes with multiple destinations to consolidate your trips.
• Avoiding left turns, which according to UPS (UPS Delivers Gas Saving Tip), saves gas because it prevents waiting in traffic.
• Satellite images of street views can show you what unfamiliar destinations look like so you can know what to expect, which side of the road your destination is on, which lane you should be driving in and prevent you from wasting time by getting lost.
• Traffic conditions look-up for live traffic or a specific day and time can help you plan your departure time and estimate driving time.

How to Re-Route Trips on Google Maps

The re-route tool can help you save gas by planning the most efficient route for your drive.

1. Enter in your starting and ending locations. You can type an address or the name of the location. It helps to include the city and state.
2. The site will generate a map with a route.
3. To the right is a map with the route marked with a blue line.

   Tips: To shift the map, place the cursor on the map and a hand tool will appear. Simply drag the map to center your area of interest on the screen. You can also click on the small arrow on the bottom right-hand corner of the map. A small square box will pop up showing the current are. Click and drag the blue box to shift the map. If you use your scroll button, the map will zoom in (up) and out (down).

   

4. To the left are driving directions, distance and estimated travel time.
5. Don’t take for granted that the default route shown is the shortest option.
6. Place your cursor somewhere on the route.
7. A small circle will appear under your cursor.

   

8. Click on the circle and drag to another street.

   

9. As you drag the route to different streets, a small text box pops up to show you the driving distance and estimated travel time of this new route.

   

10. Release the cursor and the directions to the left will update with a new route, distance and travel time.

    

11. One-way streets
    When you try to re-route a trip where there are one-way streets, Google Maps will take them into consideration and show the closet alternative. If you insist on driving on a certain one-way street (keep dragging to the same street), it will map out a route for you.
    

Driving Directions and Route Options

1. Method of travel: Driving, public transportation, or walking (Walk when at all possible. This is good for your health and wallet!) For public transit, the directions show the fare compared to the driving cost for the trip. How cool is that?!

   

2. Check the box if you wish to avoid driving on highways.
3. Click on this link if you need reverse directions to get back from Point B to Point A.
4. Click on the camera icon to see a satellite image of that location. Also works if you click the numbered link before each direction.

   

5. Click the plus “+” or minus “-” to show or hide the driving directions.
6. Click on the small blue arrow to expand the map (make it full-screen width) and hide the directions panel on the left. Click again to bring back the directions.
7. Click the “X” to delete the location. Will let you enter a new one.
8. Click the “Edit” link to edit your location.
9. Click to add a destination to your trip.

   Click and drag the new destination to re-order your route.

   

10. Click on the “km” or “miles” links to change to change distance calculations to kilometers or miles.

Traffic Conditions

The Traffic tool can show you live traffic conditions on freeways as well as estimated traffic conditions for specific times on any day of the week (estimated based on past conditions). Simply click on the “Traffic” button and a window will pop up. If the bold text reads “Live traffic” and you wish to see a specified time and day, click on the change link to enter your choice.

Tip: You may need to shift the map to see the highways.

The colored lines on the freeways correspond to the color guide in the Traffic box. A red line means the traffic is between 10 and 25 MPH, a red line means 25 to 45, etc.

Satellite Image Street Views

Click on “Street View” and a little yellow man will appear on the map. Click and drag the little yellow man to a location you would like to view.

Click on the arrows to advance in the specified direction. You can go straight to following the road or make turns to see the surrounding street view.

Tip: If your map does not show the “Street View” button, use this link: Google Maps Street View

Foreign Travel

Google Maps is available for many foreign countries. Below is an example for a trip from Tokyo, Japan to Kochi, Japan. Because Japan is primarily a public transportation/walking country – very few people drive there, but rather take taxis and trains, and Kochi is an island separate from mainland Japan, the trip directions includes directions for walking, bus, train and plane as well as the cost of transportation fares for the trip in the local currency.

Fun Stuff and Research

Photos and Wikipedia

Click on the “More” button for an options to show photos and Wikipedia entries on landmarks and places.

Click on a photo thumbnail for a larger view.

Click on the Wikipedia icon for an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry on the landmark. Includes a link to the full article.

What does your house look like from the sky?

For me, this is mostly a fun thing to find and look at my house and seek how it looks from above, but it could conceivably come in handy too. Wondering if your roof is missing any tiles? Take a look on Google Maps!

Related posts:

• July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Google Search
• Our Fourpence Worth has moved. Please update your feed readers.
• Privacy Policy
• Welcome MSN Money Central Smart Spending Readers!

Originally posted 2008-07-24 12:25:05.

From Our Fourpence Worth

• Father’s Day
  If you’re still looking for a Father’s Day present, many of our ideas from Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions could also apply to fathers and father-figures in your life.
• Tax Rebate
  If you are truly interested in helping the US economy, check out Don’t Spend that Tax Rebate Just Yet for a few suggestions on how to and how not to spend your tax rebate based on an article by Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money.
• Motivating Children to Practice Music
  Take advantage of summer vacation to help your kids get ahead on their music practice and get the most out of your music lesson fees with some advice by Madoline, who majored in music and has had experience in teaching children’s piano lessons.
  • Motivating Children to Practice Music: Introduction
  • Part 2: Playing the Piano is a Privilege (Not a Chore)
  • Part 3: Playing Slower for Faster Results
  • Part 4: Divide and Conquer

  (If you like the image to the right, which is an original illustration by my sister Madoline, check out our CafePress store Mozartini for gifts and collectibles featuring this image and other artwork by the same hand.)

• Editor’s Picks
  We’re starting to get the hang of blogging (which was completely new to us when we started this blog in February), and have produced a few Editor’s Picks in recent blog carnivals:
  • The Frugal Literate’s Guide to Affordable Reading
  • Frugal but Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions
  • My Favorite Money and Time Saving Websites
  • Guide to Safe and Smart Traveling with Pets
  • Lottery Tickets: Worthy Investment or Waste of Money?
  • Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt

News from the Personal Finance Blogosphere

• Personal Finance Buzz
  Check out PF Buzz for lots of great personal finance articles and vote for your favorite ones — hint hint — my profile.
• Finance Fiesta
  Last Thursday (June 5th) saw the first edition of the Finance Fiesta blog carnival hosted at Master Your Card. This week (today), the Fiesta is being hosted at Wide Open Wallet and will be hosted by yours truly next Thursday. If you have a finance or frugality related article, be sure to submit it by Wednesday June 18th 5:00PM EDT to be considered for inclusion in the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta!
• Summer Savings Series
  Money Life Network is running a Summer Savings Series over the course of 3 weeks with tips including but not limited to:
  • Ways to save on travel
  • Frugal activities for the kids
  • Ways to save on your auto expenses
  • Ways to save on groceries
  • How to get motivated to save

  Be sure to also check out my last article Frugal, Fun and Productive Summer Activities for some ideas for keeping cool, busy and fit this summer.

I promise to return soon with more scintillating material. Thanks for reading!

Please consider subscribing to our RSS Feed to keep up with new posts. If you prefer, you can also have new posts delivered directly to your inbox by Subscribing by Email.

Related posts:

• Tips for Staying Healthy This Winter
• Hosting the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival
• Hosting the 16th Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival
• Does Thinking About Money Make You a Bad Person?
• Closing Your Credit Cards Can Hurt Your FICO Score

Originally posted 2008-06-12 05:48:09.

We have always loved noodles: Asian noodles, pasta noodles, rice noodles, egg noodles, noodles in soup, fried noodles, noodles in sauces, and so forth. Growing up, rice was a staple, but noodles were always a treat. And they are usually inexpensive at about a dollar a pack and cook in a few minutes.

But even if something is already affordable, it never hurts to make it cost less. With wheat flour priced at $0.25 per pound at our local grocery store, the cost of making a serving of noodles is incalculably small. Not only is it easy and inexpensive to make our own noodles, but they are so good that we can eat them every day for weeks at a time.

To make your your own noodles, you don’t even need to have a pasta maker or other machine (unless you are feeding an unusually large group of people). You can simply roll out dough with a rolling pin and chop it into strips with a knife (we prefer a cleaver for this job). Not only is it cheaper to make your own noodles, but fresh noodles take less time to cook than dried noodles and so cuts utility costs. Homemade noodles are also less fattening than ramen and many store-bought kinds of noodles.

How to Make Homemade Noodles

Here’s how to make homemade noodles. It is not an exact science, you sort of get a feel for what you like after you make it once or twice.

1. Warm some water in the microwave until almost hot (about 1/2 cup to 1 cup for a medium to large batch)

2. In a bowl, mix a few cups of flour with a dash of salt

3. Stir in the warm water

4. Stir in additional flour one cup at a time until dough no longer sticks to side of bowl

5. Divide dough into manageable sections, place one ball on a well-floured cutting board, sprinkle flour on top, and roll it to the thickness of a pie crust.

6. Using a knife, slice dough into strips

7. Cook in boiling water. These noodles cook really fast (about a minute or less), so don’t wander away.

8. Drain, rinse, and serve.

More Ways to Make Noodles

• You can make them thick or flat, wide or narrow, like udon, or soba, or linguine
• Beat in an egg or two for egg noodles
• Add sugar or other spices and herbs
• Experiment with different kinds of flour such as whole wheat, rice flour or other.
• A dough with more water and less flour will make softer noodles with fewer calories
• Cook several meals worth of noodles and refrigerate
• Uncooked noodles can be tossed in flour and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. If your uncooked noodles stick together in the refrigerator, you need to make a dryer dough or cook them before storing.
• You can also store lumps of dough in the refrigerator and cut out noodles as you need them.

Don’t be discouraged if your noodles are crooked or weird in the beginning. Our first homemade noodles looked so bad that we referred to them as tapeworms. But we love to eat these noodles so much that we are now expert noodle wranglers.

We plan to share the many ways in which we eat noodles at Frugaltroph, including cold noodle recipes for summertime, so check back soon.

Happy noodle making!

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Chilled Noodles With Peanut Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #13

For our very first Frugaltroph article, we decided to feature our new favorite frugal dessert. Whenever we bake a whole cake, it often begins to go stale before we’re halfway through it. Therefore we came up with the idea of Cup-o-Cakes, an easy, time- and money-saving way to prepare personal-sized cakes as a snack for yourself, to enjoy with a friend or everyone at your dinner table.

How to Make Cup-o-Cake

1. Prepare cake mix as directed in an airtight container. If you do not consume a lot of cake, just mix 1/3 of a pack of cake mix with 1 egg and cut the other ingredients (oil and water) to 1/3.
2. Store unused batter in the refrigerator.
3. When you feel like having cake, put a few spoonfuls of batter in a microwaveable cup or mug. Do not fill cups more than 1/2 full because the cake will rise quite a bit.
4. Microwave for about 1 – 1½ minutes or until cake is fully cooked.
5. Top with frosting and sprinkles if desired.
6. Eat or wrap as gift.

Sack/School Lunch: Tup-o-Cake

If you have children or bring your own lunch to work, imagine how nice it would be to have a beautiful, personal sized cake for a snack or dessert. To do this, follow the same directions for Cup-o-Cake, but make it in a small microwave-safe Tupperware or food storage container. Top it with frosting and/or sprinkles to make your children feel special.

For convenience, you can prepare a week’s worth of Tup-o-Cakes on Sunday evening.

Varying Cake Flavors

• Swirl different cake mixes together
• Change frosting colors and flavors
• Mix in chocolate chips
• Top with jam
• Mix in blueberries, mashed bananas and other fruits
• Top with maraschino cherry
• Use brownie instead of cake mix
• Top with instant pudding instead of frosting
• For the health & weight conscious, mix some oats or bran into your batter before cooking
• Layer different colors of cake mixes in your cup or container
• Add vanilla, lemon, almond or other extract in your cake mix

Benefits of Cup-o-Cakes and Tup-o-Cakes

• Saves utilities: eliminates oven preheating and baking
• Saves time: only requires 1 or 2 minutes to cook a cake
• Saves money by buying in “bulk” and using as needed
• Prevents waste from making more than you can consume
• Reduces risk of forgetting and burning a whole cake
• Portion control

Cost of a Cup-o-Cake

We tend to eat small servings and usually use about 2 tablespoons of batter in an 8 oz. cup. With cake mix at $1.00 or $1.50, we estimate the cost of each serving to be around $0.20 including the egg, oil and frosting.

Gift Ideas

A Cup-o-Cake makes a great gift for any occasion.

• Present it to a friend or co-worker on his/her birthday.
• If giving a mug as a gift, you could prepare a Cup-o-Cake in the new mug as part of the gift.
• Add candles for a birthday.
• For coffee lovers, make a coffee flavored cake.
• Wrap the Cup-o-Cake in cellophane and tie with a ribbon.

Family Member’s Birthday

On your child or spouse’s birthday, prepare a Tup-0-Cake with his/her lunch. Put pretty frosting on it, or write Happy Birthday in frosting or candy letters, include a candle or put a bow on the Tupperware.

Be creative and have fun.

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Basics for the Young, Single and Frugal
• Introducing Frugaltroph
• Make It Do: Frugal Forever
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs

• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 1: The Madoline Hatter Pecuniary Art Edition
• Carnival of Debt Reduction No. 185: The Charles Dickens Debtor’s Prison Edition

Now, onto my roundup for today.

From Pecuniary Associates

• At Living Well On Less, Karen had to go away for a week and her husband Tony had to “live the bachelor life,” a point of worry for both of them. See how he planned/dealt with the situation and avoided falling into bachelor spending habits in his guest post How my husband plans to save while I’m away.
• At Financial Nut, Trevor walks us through the process of freezing our credit reports in Freezing Credit Reports Online. Why would you want to do this? To keep potential creditors, companies and thieves from getting access to your report.
• At Greener Pastures, Lisa offers an interesting read for those wondering which stocks to invest in during this recession, and a few tips for keeping the comfort food weight at bay in Is it Weight Gain or Weight Loss This Recession? Plus 7 Tips to Avoid Weight Gain.
• At Counting My Pennies, Megan talks about some of the issues Generation X faces in this economic climate in The “Plight” of the Twenty-Somethings.
• At The Passive Dad, Scott urges us to get a second opinion in Can’t Make Up Your Mind? Call A Frugal Friend.

Elsewhere in the Personal Finance Blog Community

• At The Simple Dollar, Trent gives some great advice How You Can Become a Jack of All Trades and why this can be valuable. Being a mini Jacqueline of many trades, though not as advanced as Trent’s friend Darwin, I have to concur that having a wide range of skills, even if limited, can be very convenient in your daily life as well as making you a valuable asset to your employers.
• At Bargaineering, Jim reminds us about the point of it all in The Secret About Money… (A must see)
• At My Money Blog, Jonathan discusses changing your consumption habits in Internal vs. External Frugality: Different Ways of Saving.

Pecuniarities in the Personal Finance Blog Community

I am excited to announce that Pecuniarities has been included in FIRE Finance’s Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs, ranking at #76. You can expect me to do all I can to make that number smaller!

We have also had the privilege of being included in the Personal Finance Category of a new site called Greatnexus, a  site not unlike Alltop, of which we are also a member.

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

I have some news today. Since the demise of the PF Bloggers group to which I use to belong, I had been thinking about starting a new group, which I did a couple of weeks ago. It’s called Pecuniary Associates, and consists of 6 blogs:

1. Pecuniarities
2. Living Well On Less
3. Financial Nut
4. Counting My Pennies
5. Greener Pastures
6. The Passive Dad

(I have decided to cap recruitment for now in order for us to start getting to know one another and see how we work together, and therefore am no longer looking for additional members at this time.)

A few things we will be doing which you will see here at Pecuniarities:

• Recommending posts from each others’ blogs that we think will be interesting or useful to our readers
• Participating in group and community writing projects in which we will each share our viewpoints and experiences on certain topics
• Community writing projects in which we will invite all personal finance bloggers to participate

So keep an eye out for our first group writing project!

Now on to this week’s roundup.

From Pecuniary Associates

• Counting My Pennies tells a tale of frustration in Friends and money don’t mix.
• Financial Nut reports his experience with fraudulent activity on his credit card this week. This is a good reminder that we can never be too careful and must remain vigilant in regularly checking our statements.
• Living Well On Less offers a suggestion I’d be more than eager to follow if I was ever faced with renting and moving again (but never will because I am determined to never move again unless I want to.) Moving on a budget? Consider staying where you are
• The Passive Dad offers 10 ways to deal with financial stress, something we can all use.
• Greener Pastures advises to just use a little less.

Elsewhere in the PF Blogosphere

• The Paycheck Chronicles offers some tips for Laundry on the Cheap.
• Free From Broke asks: Is Saving 8 to 12 Months Expenses Even Possible Or Practical? I say, definitely.
• Wise Bread advocates Borrowing, renting, substituting, and doing without

Blog Carnivals

We’d like to thank the following hosts for including us in their recent blog carnivals:

• Money Ning hosted Money Hacks Carnival #55 – Thank You Edition which included my post:
  Who’s to Blame for Your Spending? You or You?

• Green Panda Treehouse hosted Carnival of Personal Finance #196: Music Edition which included my post:
  Financial Lent: A Frugal Fast to See What You Can Live Without

Another Reminder

Personal finance, frugal and green living bloggers:

If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to submit your best post and apply to host an edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights and enter the giveaways for some really cute Piggy Bank Magnets which we just received in the mail and look even better in real life than onscreen!

That wraps it up for today, which incidentally is my birthday, so off to party I go! (Before your imagination runs away with you, by “party” I mean watching Sense and Sensibility (and/or another Jane Austen film) on DVD and consuming copious amounts of fish n’ chips.)

Related posts:

• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #19
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #18

OK, I know the word “meme” is supposed to be a noun, but I couldn’t help myself. If you know my blog’s name, you know that I love to play with words. I coined – pun intended – the word “pecuniarities” one night and just had to change my blog’s name. Besides, if “friend” can be used as a verb these days (“friend me on facebook!”), then it can’t be too long before “meme” becomes a verb.

But anyways, my new blogging associate, Trevor the Financial Nut, has tagged me for “7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me” and I figure it can’t hurt for fellow bloggers and readers to know 7 more things about me that aren’t already on our About pages.

First here’s how it works:

“7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me” Meme Rules

1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Penelope Pince

1) I once wanted to be a jockey.
When I was young, I was “horse crazy.” I read every horse book I could get my hands on, both fiction and non-fiction, and the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley was my favorite. When it became evident that I wouldn’t be suited for a career as a jockey (I’m big boned), I decided I’d be a racehorse trainer. Now I own a dog and horse costuming business.

2) I used to be a surfaholic.
Checking the surf report before bed, getting up at 4:00AM, donning bathing suit and surf shorts despite the cold, jumping into freezing water (OK, freezing by my definition is probably “temperate” to anyone who didn’t grow up in Hawaii) and catching waves at sunrise = Heaven on Earth.

3) I love Caesar salad.
Especially with lots of creamy garlicky dressing, crunchy croutons, grilled chicken, avocado, freshly grated parmesan and ground black pepper. Whenever we used to eat out, I always odered Caesar salad if it was on the menu, regardless of the restaurant’s specialty. My very favorite Caesar Salad was at a place called Pizza Bob’s in Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu.

4) I have perfect pitch.
This means that if you were to play a note on an [in-tune] instrument, I could tell you what note it was without looking at the instrument or having previously been given a point of reference. Some say this is a curse that ruins your ability to appreciate music, but I don’t know any other way of hearing or playing music and can’t imagine what it would be like without it.

5) I like to whistle.
I whistle along to movie soundtracks (sometimes while watching a movie), concertos,  sonatas, instrumental segments of songs and pretty much any music that I can’t sing to. This drives Madoline batty, becuase it also includes while she’s playing the piano or singing, but I often don’t know I’m doing it. And I don’t always whistle the main melody; being a mezzo-soprano (vocal), I sometimes whistle harmony.

6) I was named after a song.
Not Penelope Pince (pen name), but my real-world name. I’m not telling what song or what name, but I will tell you the song was by Bread. I must say my mother had pretty good taste – in music and in names. I didn’t like it when I was young because it used to be a boy’s name and people always got it wrong, but now I’ve learned that it’s not so bad to have a unique name.

7) I am an obsessive compulsive-Type A-perfectionist.
It takes me about 2-4 hours to write and polish up a blog post  (large posts like my Frugal Valentine’s Gifts/Dates, Free Online Video Websites and Consumer Safety posts took days). I can’t rest until I am sure that I haven’t left out anything relevant, that there are no typos, grammatical errors, extra spaces, etc., and I still always manage to find something to fix after the post is published. This is not a trait I would recommend to anyone who desires a carefree existence with lots of sleep.

My 7 Tags

If I’m tagging you, it’s because I’ve gotten to know you a little through blogging or social networking (i.e. we’ve commented on each other’s blogs a few times lately, we’ve emailed, chatted on forums or twitter, etc.) and I would like to get to know you a little better. If I didn’t tag you, please don’t be offended as the limit is 7, and I’ll catch you some other time around!

1. Mrs. Micah
2. Living Well On Less
3. The Paycheck Chronicles
4. Single Guy Money
5. Bible Money Matters
6. Free From Broke
7. Budgets Are Sexy

That’s it. This was the first meme I’ve done and it was quite fun. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Related posts:

• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• March 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 12: Catch a Wave Edition
• Car Trouble: Watch Out for Those Pesky Wabbits
• Thank you!

Our products include .t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, journals, greeting & note cards, post cards, posters, coasts, memory boxes, throw pillows, clocks, magnets, mousepads, stickers, pet dishes and more

These illustrations make great gifts for frugalites, penny pinchers, bankers, accountants and anyone with an interest in personal finance and frugality.

To browse our whole store, which includes classical music-, animal & nature-, language-themed as well as more financial related artwork, visit Mozartini to see all.

Here is a sampling of our ever growing collection.

All the images are available with and without captions

Click on the images to view them on products in our shop. Images below are low resolution; images on products are high res.

Financial Artwork
Classical Music Artwork Divas, Prima Donnas & Primo Uomos come in many combinations of hair and clothing colors.
Whimsical Works Horses are available in an assortment of colors and breeds & anatomical charts.
Unique Clocks Language clocks are available in 20 different languages and we take requests for additional languages.

Related posts:

• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2

Gold Coin Sprout Magnet $4.49 Don't Forget to Water Your Money Tree Framed Tile $11.49 Incontinent Spending? Journal $10.49 "Frugal" Definition Magnet $4.49 One is the First Step to a Million Postcards (Package of 8) $13.99 Time is Money: Spend it Wisely (in French) Wall Clock $13.99 Prune Your Spending and Watch Your Savings Grow 3.5" Button $3.99 Penny Poem Rectangle Magnet $4.99 Bankrupt Baby Blocks Small Framed Print $37.49 A Penny is the First Part of a Million Note Cards (Pk of 10) $19.99 Interest Bears Fruit Ornament (Oval) $7.99 Reap What You Save Hooded Sweatshirt $28.99 Don't Forget to Water Your money Tree Cap $17.99 Our Fourpence Worth Crest ~ Liquidité, Equité, Frugalité $4.49 Reap What You Save ~ Money Tree Growth Stages Large Mug $12.99

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Posts That Caught My Eye This Week

From Get Rich Slowly — 25 Useful Financial Rules of Thumb
Lots of goodies here for all aspects of personal finance

From Mrs. Micah — How Has the Recession Changed Your Saving Habits
A Twitter poll with answers from 12 different people in 140 characters or fewer. It includes one from yours truly! There are lots of comments from readers, too (most over 140 characters.)

From My Money Blog — Summary of California’s Upcoming New Tax Hikes
Increasing sales tax by a whole percent, income tax, vehicle licensing fees, and decreasing dependent credit. Needless to say, being a California resident, this makes me very, very unhappy. So much for economic stimulus blah blah blah.

From The Passive Dad — Money Saving Tip: Have Kids Help With Grocery Coupons
Even though I don’t have kids with opposable thumbs with which to clip coupons, I really like the idea of “no coupon, no purchase,” which can apply to everyone.

Recent Blog Carnivals

Broke Grad Student hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance #193: YouTube Edition
Included my post: Free e-Book, Audiobook, Video & Music Download and Online Resources From Your Local Library

Free Money Finance hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance #194
Included my post: Consumer Safety Resources from the Government on SPAM, Scams, Fraud, Phishing and Identity Theft

Green Panda Treehouse hosted Festival of Frugality #167: Dr. House Edition
Included my post: Beware of Fake IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Phishing Email Scams

Have a nice week!

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

As coincidence, or fate, or luck—depending on which one you believe in—would have it, I had decided to designate this week as Identity Protection and Fraud Prevention Week here at Pecuniarities when I thought to publish my 2 previous posts on IRS Phishing E-mail Scams and How to Protect Your Identity If You Lose Your Wallet.

For the past week, I have been compiling a collection of links to government provided resources on consumer safety and fraud prevention, which I have planning to publish on the 28th. Then just a few minutes ago, I happened a site announcing the week of March 1-7 as National Consumer Protection Week 2009, which is just perfect timing!

What is National Consumer Protection Week?

Whether consumers are trying to stretch their paychecks, improve their credit history, or tell the difference between a real deal and a potentially fraudulent product or service, information is one tool that can always help them get the most for their money.

The NCPW website has the nuts and bolts consumers need to make informed decisions in today’s marketplace. Partner organizations have tips on a wide range of topics, from getting a free credit report to spotting a telemarketing scam, from dealing with debt to deterring and detecting identity theft, from avoiding home and auto repair scams to reporting credit repair scams.

Visit the National Consumer Protection Week website for more information and to order your free copy of the Consumer Action Handbook a government resource provided free of charge to individuals.

As for my own Pecuniarities Identity Protection and Fraud Prevention Week, check back soon for my compilation of government resources on fighting fraud.

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” – Albert Einstein

P.S. NCPW web buttons and banners you can put on your own blog/website or in your email signatures

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities News: Top 100 Finance Blogs, MSN Smart Spending, FrugalFocus and Consumer Safety
• It Never Hurts to Ask: Getting Late Fees Removed
• March 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Giveaways Ending Soon! And Hosting 2 Blog Carnivals Next Week
• Blog Carnivals

Welcome to the 188th Carnival of Personal Finance! Our theme for this week’s edition is Jane Austen, as I am a admirer of both her novels and the films based on her novels, which are graced throughout with witty commentary on society — and in particular, money and marriage.

If this is your first time here, please take a look around and consider subscribing to our feed to have new money saving tips delivered to your feed reader of choice or your email inbox. We are also currently holding our first ever giveaway for a free 6-month print subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Please be sure to stop by the contest page and see how you can enter to win.

Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor – which is one very strong argument in favour of matrimony.

Jane Austen, Letter to Fanny Knight, 13 March 1817 Photo: Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, Becoming Jane (2007), Miramax

~ Editor’s Picks ~

• Coffee For One presents Paying the Bills
• FruGal presents Joining the gym? Read this first
• Sound Money Matters presents That Makes Me Stabby: Do We Have an Obligation to Spend?
• Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck presents Lessons from Flight 1549
• Free From Broke presents Just Enough Is Not Good Enough
• Pimp Your Finances presents 10 Financial Commandments for Your 20s
• Money Ning presents 50 Ways to Budget Travel and Save Money on Vacations

If the loss of what is most valued is so easily to be made up by something else, your resolution, your self-command, are, perhaps, a little less to be wondered at.

Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility Photo: Kate Winslet & Emma Thompson, Sense & Sensibility, Sony Pictures

~ New Year’s Resolutions ~

• The Passive Dad presents My Latte Factor In 2008. Automatic Millionaire Goals for 2009
• Destroy Debt presents Did You Give Up On Your New Year’s Resolution Already?
• My Money and My Life presents New year, new goals
• Think Your Way To Wealth presents Tips for Making Your Personal Finance Resolutions Stick- Turn Your Resolutions into Habits

Imprudence or thoughtlessness in money matters would be unpardonable in me.

Jane Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Rosamund Pike as Jane, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

~ Frugality ~

• Passive Family Income presents Live Frugal – But in moderation
• Living The Frugal Life presents What Would You Do If You Lost Your Job Today?
• The Paycheck Chronicles presents Space Heaters or Turn Up the Thermostat?
• Getting Rich in Grad School presents 5 reasons why the best financial advice is always free
• The Smarter Wallet presents Buying A Computer? Check Our Computer Shopping Tips First

People always live for ever when there is an annuity to be paid them…. An annuity is a very serious business; it comes over and over every year, and there is no getting rid of it.

Fanny Dashwood (in regards to Mrs Dashwood), Sense and Sensibility Photo: Janet McTeer as Mrs. Dashwood, Sense & Sensibility (2008), BBC Warner

~ Budgeting ~

• Monogamoney presents What’s in my pantry
• Yielding Wealth presents Do You Need a Gatekeeper for Your Personal Finances?
• InsureBlog presents Wallet Biopsy
• About Financial Software Blog presents 8 Tips for Choosing Budgeting Software

And we mean to treat you all, but you must lend us the money, for we have just spent ours at the shop out there.

Lydia Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Brenda Blethyn, Jena Malone & Carey Mulligan, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

~ Consumerism & Spending ~

• Not Made of Money presents How Has the Current Economy Changed Your Wants and Needs?
• Budgets are Sexy presents My tipping rule: Everyone gets 20%! Nice and easy…
• Second Child, Last Born presents What Type of Saver/Spender Am I?
• Making My Own Payday presents The Not So Perfect Gift (Card)

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

Pride and Prejudice Photo: Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice (1996), BBC/A&E

~ Money Management ~

• FIRE Finance presents Advantages of Online Banking
• Dawn’s Evolution presents 6 lessons in personal finance from my mother
• Prime Time Money presents How to Care {Not Worry} About Your Finances
• The Strump – Financial Blog presents How Detailed Should Your Financial Plan Be
• The Sun’s Financial Diary presents Where Did Our Money Go?
• Your Money Relationship presents Do You Still Balance Your Checkbook? I Sure Don’t!

A single woman, with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous, disagreeable, old maid! the proper sport of boys and girls; but a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable, and may be as sensbile and pleasant as anybody else….for a very narrow income has a tendency to contract the mind, and sour the temper.

Emma, Emma Photo: Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma, Emma (1996), Miramax

~ Debt ~

• Managing Money God’s Way presents Debt? What debt?
• Shrinkage is Good presents 5 Steps to Combat Holiday Debts and Ward Off Future Relapses
• Personal Finance Ology presents Understanding Good Debt Vs. Bad Debt
• American Consumer News presents Playing the Credit Card Balance Transfer Game
• Done To Zen presents Credit Cards Suck
• Secrets For Money presents How To Shop For A Legitimate Non Profit Credit Counseling Service

A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. It certainly may secure all the myrtle and turkey part of it.

Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park Photo: Alessandro Nivola & Embeth Davidtz, Mansfield Park (1999), Miramax

~ Career ~

• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents Success Finds Hard Work, Talent & Passion
• Greener Pastures presents The Power of Positive Psychology
• Happiness Is Better presents 6 Reasons Why I Joined Toastmasters
• PennyJobs.com presents 6 Options for Students To Consider with Respect to the Economy

Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does.

John Knightley, Emma Photo: Jeremy Northem as George Knightley, Emma (1996), Miramax

~ Saving & Investing ~

• My Wealth Builder presents Get Higher Interest for Saving – Up to 6%
• Generation X Finance presents How to Roll Over Your 401(k) When You Leave or Lose Your Job
• Four Pillars presents Can You Invest Your House Down Payment In The Stock Market?
• Lazy Man and Money presents Greed or No Greed
• Cash Money Life presents Increased 401k Contribution Limits in 2009
• Dividends4Life presents Dividend Stocks Role In The Future Recovery
• Military Finance Network presents 2009 Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
• The Personal Financier presents Is the Stock Market a Big Ponzi (Madoff) Scheme?
• Stock Trading To Go presents Beginner’s Guide to Currency ETFs

But there are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.

Mansfield Park Photo: Bennet family, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

~ Economy ~

• The Digerati Life presents Studying Business Cycles: Economic Graphs of The Current Economic Cycle
• Amateur Asset Allocator presents Unemployment At Highest Level In 15 years: Or Is It Even Worse?
• The Happy Rock presents [Video]The Government’s Money Hole – Recession, Taxes, and Bailout Commentary
• Personal Finance Analyst presents Can You Really Opt Out of a Recession?
• BankAround presents List of Banks that Took TARP Money

Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial affairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does discretion end, and avarice begin?

Eizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Jennifer Ehle as Lizzy, Pride and Prejudice (1996), BBC/A&E

~ Taxes ~

• The Financial Blogger presents How To Withdraw Money From Your Holding Without Paying Taxes – The Split Dollar Strategy
• Personal Finance Reviews presents 2009 Income Tax Brackets
• My Journey to Millions presents Did you Forget your RMD this Year? All may not be lost

After all that romancers may say, there is no doing without money.

Isabella Thorpe, Northanger Abbey Photo: Carey Mulligan as Isabella, Northanger Abbey (2007), WGBH Boston

~ Real Estate & Mortgages ~

• Mighty Bargain Hunter presents Running through payback time on a mortgage refinance
• Stumble Forward presents Mortgage Refinance Tips That Could Save You Thousands
• The Credit Toolbox presents Why Would You Choose A Variable Mortgage Rate?
• Funny About Money presents Can’t Sell the House? Try Swapping
• Debt Free Destiny presents How to Get Ready for Your First Home
• Growing Money presents Rental Property Update December 2008

Money can only give happiness where there is nothing else to give it.

Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility Photo: Kate Winslet as Marianne, Sense & Sensibility (1995), Sony Pictures

~ Reviews ~

• My Dollar Plan presents Have You Checked out Lending Club?
• The Dough Roller presents How to Buy and Sell Loans on Lending Club’s New Trading Platform
• Christian Debt Help presents Sharebuilder promotion and review

And to marry for money I think the wickedest thing in existence.

Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey Photo: Felicty Jones as Catherine, Northanger Abbey (2007), WGBH Boston

~ Other ~

• Money Beagle presents Wasting Money on Poorly Timed Traffic Lights
• LivingAlmostLarge presents A difference between rich and poor
• Centsability to Wealth presents Insurance- The Fortress the Protects Your Financial Army
• Steadfast Finances presents When the Expense of Plastic Surgery is Justifiable
• Free Money Finance presents Four More Uses for Gold Dollar Coins

He is rich, to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes and fine carriages than Jane. But will they make you happy?

Mr. Bennet to Lizzy, Pride and Prejudice Photo: Keira Knightley as Lizzy, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Working Title

* * *

This wraps up the Jane Austen Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and quotes as much as I did putting them together. Again, be sure to enter our giveaway for a free 6-month print subscription to the Wall Street Journal which ends this Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 11:59PM EST! Thanks for stopping by!

A Parting Shot

Photo: Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma, Emma (1996), Miramax

Related posts:

• Friday Fun: Calvin and Hobbes Lemonade Stand Economics Lesson & WSJ Giveaway Reminder
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #15
• Hosting the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival
• Recent Blog Carnivals (February 2009)
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late

Now the holidays are over, the days are getting longer, and we must go back to the hustle and bustle of daily life, which I’m not quite ready to do just yet. But I’ll start with a couple of news items for Pecunarities.

Pecuniary News

• Our First Blog Contest

  I just announced our first ever blog contest here at Pecuniarities, in which we are giving away a free 6-month print subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Those residing within the contiguous U.S. (48 states) and who have not subscribed to the Wall Street Journal are eligible to enter. So pop over and see how you can win!
  2009 Financial Resolutions Blog Contest: Win a Free 6-Month Subscription to the Wall Street Journal

• Hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance

  We have the privilege of hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance next week, January 19th, 2009. This is our first time hosting the CoPF about which I am very excited. If you are a blogger, make sure to get your submission in before 6pm EST Sunday, January 18th.

Giveaways

• Single Guy Money is also a giveaway for a $100 Target or Walmart Gift Card (winner’s choice). Head on over and see how you can win!
• Your Money Relationship is also holding a giveaway for a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate.

Roundup

• Living Well on Less risked injury by making the mistake of being too frugal with her exercise budget.
• Wide Open Wallet breaks down her budget to see where all the money is going.
• Master Your Card gives us Top 10 Resolution Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.
• Moolanomy  gives 7 Tips to Stick to New Year’s Resolutions.
• Almost Frugal shares Turning Resolutions into Reality in 5 Steps.
• I’ve Paid For This Twice Already says Resolutions Are Just Goals With A Fancy Name.

Blog Carnival Partipation

• This past week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, Fairy Tale Edition, was hosted at Clever Dude, who demonstrated his cleverness by formatting the carnival in prose. This is no ordinary litany of links to articles around the financial blogoshere, but rather each entry has a part in the story.

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

Pecuniarities participated in 3 blog carnivals last week.

• The Carnival of Personal Finance #184: From the Land Down Under was hosted by Saving to Invest who spent his Christmas holidays in summery Australia. This edition included my post on our plans for a frugal Christmas: Frugal Christmas: Skipping the Tree and Presents This Year.
• The 157th Festival of Frugality: The Queen’s Speech Edition was hosted by Miss Thrifty all the way from the Mother Country and included the Queen’s annual Christmas message which has been a tradition since 1932, as well as an alternative for those who can’t be bothered to watch the Queen. Madoline’s post, Using Nature’s Gift Wrap: The Eggshell was selected as an Editor’s Pick in this royal edition. Double thanks for the honors!
• The 44th Money Hacks Carnival – The Merry Christmas Edition was hosted by Where You Are Now and included my post on how Gifts Cards Could Be a Blessing This Christmas.

Well, that’s all for this week. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your New Year’s festivities.

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #13
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #10
• Recent Blog Carnivals (February 2009)
• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2

Dear Readers,

First of all, we would like to thank you for reading our blog and our feed and email readers for subscribing. We have come a long ways since we started this blog in February, and look forward to bringing you more ideas to help you live frugally, while living healthily and happily too.

A New Name and a New Home

If you have visited our site lately, you may have noticed a re-design and name change. Our Fourpence Worth is now called “Pecuniarities,” a name we had been thinking of changing to for a while. (If you are a blogger and have linked to us from your site (thank you!), we would appreciate it if you would update our name and link when you have a moment.)

Last week, we received a notice from our old hosting company that our blog had been blocked due to server overload (probably thanks to MSN Smart Spending’s blog’s link to our 101 Ways to Save Money in Your Everyday Life, for which we are grateful.) We have now moved and settled nicely into a new server at Media Temple (mt), and hopefully you will see the improved performance as we have.

Feed Subscription Update

We would like to ask our subscribers at this time to please update your feed readers with our new feed address: http://feedproxy.google.com/Pecuniarities. Email subscribers, we need to contact FeedBurner to request that your email subscription be moved to our new feed account. We are not 100% sure if or when they will help us with this, so if you have a moment, we would appreciate it if you would kindly resubscribe using the link or form below.

If you are not currently subscribed to our feed, we would like to invite you to do so as you can automatically receive new posts in your feed reader or inbox without having to check back on our site.

Subscribe to Pecuniarities (formerly Our Fourpence Worth) by Email

October 2008 Posting Status

We know our posting these last few weeks have been very infrequent. We own a custom pet and horse costuming business and have been swamped with orders for Halloween events. The move to our new server has seen many issues, mostly because I am an amateur web designer and make a lot of mistakes and have to find all the answers to my problems by searching and scouring the internet, so what time I have had to work on the blog has mostly been troubleshooting and setting up.

Upcoming Contest

We are planning a contest in the near future with a free 26-week (1/2 year) subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Be sure to check back or subscribe to our feed to receive updates on this upcoming and future contests!

Thank you again for reading our blog and please feel free to contact us at any time with topic requests, suggestions and feedback.

Sincerely,
Penelope Pince and Madoline Hatter

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