It feels good to get back in the groove of posting regularly again. My cousin lent me an older laptop of his last week so that I can work (on the blog and our other business sites) while Madoline works on her paintings on our PC, and it has made all the difference.

As for life in general, things have quieted down since Halloween. Madoline had a birthday last week, and we celebrated by watching a couple of new movies – Cranford (starring Judi Dench) and Wives and Daughters, both wonderfully filmed and which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys classic British literature and period films.

OK, on to our roundup for today.

From the PF Bloggers Network

• Girls Just Wanna Have Funds shares 4 ways she hacked $1,300 from her budget.
• Master Your Card compiled a list of 101 Ways to Go Green and Save Money. Add that to our 101 Ways to Save Money in Everyday Life – there are a few similarities – and that’s almost 200 different ways to save!
• Living Almost Large weighs in on how it can be frugal to live alone.
• Wide Open Wallet shares a great story on how not being true to yourself can lead to financial disaster.

Elsewhere in the Frugal and Finance Blogosphere

• Mrs. Micah at Finance for a Freelance Life warns how minimum payments slow down debt repayment. I fully agree; when I got my first credit card, I was surprised at how low the minimum payment was and realized just how tricky these banks and credit card companies can be.
• Almost Frugal presents How to Look Fabulous, Frugally. This is the first of a 3-part series, all of which have been published on her beautiful blog.
• The Taxguy informs us of our rights as taxpayers which include challenging penalties, saying “no” to auditors, the right to a correspondence audit and more.
• Living Well on Less asks “Would you buy it if it wasn’t on sale?” Note and beware the difference between shopping for a bargain and shopping for something you need!
• Frugal Dad asks “Is Frugal Movement Just a Fad?” I think it’s a temporary fad borne out of fear and necessity. Some may learn from this current economic situation and permanently alter their spending habits, but I think many will return to their usual spending as soon as the coast is clear.
• Moolanomy offers a Frugalist Expense Reduction Guide, which is very worth the read. He makes a good point that our ultimate goal should be to build financial health by developing extra income rather than deprivation.

Blog Contest

• Bargain Briana is holding a $25 Amazon gift certificate giveaway, which ends 11PM tonight (11/17/08), so get over there now for a chance to win!

Blog Carnivals

• Last week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, Fierce Financial Tips: The Carnival of Personal Finance #178, Struwwelpeter Edition, was Hosted by The Digirati Life and included my post, Feeling Sorry for the Little Guy in the Losing Battle Between Brick-and-Mortar and Online Shopping.
• This week’s edition is Carnival of Personal Finance #179 – Smile Edition, a reminder to us all to smile because there is no such thing as too much happiness. This edition included my post Life Is Too Short To Sleep On Low Thread-Count Sheets.

Well, this wraps up our roundup for today. I hope you enjoy my recommendations.

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