Random Thoughts & Links: Winter is a Myth Edition

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a little freaked out by the lack of winter going on! It’s in the high 40s here right now, with three days in the 60s (WTF?!?!) coming up Sunday through Tuesday. It’s only snowed once here so far, and what little bit we got melted the next day. I’m pretty sure we are going to get a snowpocalypse if this keeps up. Who knows? Maybe it really is the end of the world.

A few of you have asked how self-employment is going, and I would just like to say that it is AWESOME! I work about a million hours a week, but I do it in my pajamas. I get to pick Jay up from school every day and actually hang out with him (when he lets me). I’ve passed my income goal for the month - check out that action in the sidebar! I don’t ever remember being this happy and (relatively) stress-free. My income and spending roundups will return at the end of the month for those who are freaking out because you don’t know what I’m buying lately. Here’s a hint: very little!

Some of you know this already, but I’ll confess for everyone else - I got another dog for Christmas. Ever since my little tiny 4-pound Pekeapoo got hit by a car in 2010, I’ve missed having a micro dog around the house. A friend of my mom’s breeds Yorkies and offered me an awesome deal on a 4 month-old puppy. So meet Moxie, AKA 1.5 pounds of awesome:

Onto the links!

A ton of bloggers have been nice enough to link to my posts lately, and I am very appreciative. So much that I want to return the favor by linking to some of their fantastic content! I’ll be doing this in two posts so it’s not completely overwhelming. If you linked to me and I didn’t include you, I promise it’s because I didn’t know you linked. (Blogger sites don’t give trackbacks like WordPress does, so I don’t really know when Blogger sites link to me and I’m sorry!)

Jeffrey at Saving Advice gives us 20 (yes, 20!) ways to break the TV habit. I’ve never been a big TV watcher - I could go without one entirely if Jayden would allow it. But I know most people love TV. This post will show you some unique ways to save money without suffering.

LaTisha at Young Adult Finances shares tips for a job-getting resume. I actually need to update mine, though I haven’t quite figured out how to account for my self-employed status just yet. Good thing I (hopefully) won’t need one anytime soon, though you never know! You should always be prepared even if you aren’t actively looking.

S at American Debt Project lists the things she’d like to accomplish once she becomes debt-free. I think this is an amazingly useful exercise. Think about all the things you can do without debt holding you back, and you’ll be motivated to keep the payoff going! Go check out her post and share some ideas of your own.

Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff went on an adventure this week - she visited a psychic monk! Personally, I’ve never had the opportunity for a psychic reading, but after hearing this story, I’m determined to do it! I think most true psychics aren’t reading palms for $10 a pop, but it would still be interesting to see what s/he had to say.

Jeff at My Multiple Streams shares some Adsense tips and tricks for bloggers. If you’ve considered monetizing your blog, this post is an excellent place to start. Jeff has written posts about all kinds of blogging concepts lately, so there is lots of content to check out.

Erin at Dog Ate My Wallet discusses her modified clothing diet. She answers every woman’s burning question: How often can I repeat an outfit without anyone noticing? I won’t spoil it for you, but the answer might surprise you! I’m contemplating some wardrobe purging in light of this discovery.

Fig at Figuring Money Out wants to attend FINCON12 in Denver this year, but she needs some convincing. For the uninitiated, that’s the Financial Blogger Conference, and it’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time! Head over and read the reasons for her hesitation, and threaten encourage her until she decides to come!

Average Joe at The Free Financial Advisor teaches us how to set goals that we’ll actually follow. You guys know I’m not a huge fan of goals (or posts about goals in January), but this is a good one. His method is actually very similar to the way I used to help my therapy clients set treatment goals.

Janet at Credit Cards Canada invites us to test our knowledge of credit cards. Given my extensive history of owning and maxing out credit cards, I thought I had the first quiz licked. Turns out I knew quite a bit - until there was math involved! Go over and take the quizzes for yourself to see if you’re as smart about credit cards as you think!

Shaun at Smart Family Finance explains what to do with a windfall of cash to avoid wasting it all. Believe it or not, many lottery winners end up broke in a matter of a few years! While most of us probably won’t win millions of dollars anytime soon, we can still behave responsibly with smaller windfalls to avoid regret later.


Comments

Random Thoughts & Links: Winter is a Myth Edition33 Comments

  1. Moxie is adorable! My mom has a Yorkie, and they are just da bomb. Hilarious little dogs, they're so tenacious! 

    I'm glad self employment is working out for you!

    • My fiancee and I are thinking about adding to our little family once we're married.  We'll have had a mini toy shnauzer and want a yorkie!  I hear they smell really bad though.  Is that true? My fiancee's shnauzer, Bella, barely ever smells unless she has been bathed in awhile-which is normal.  And also, how are they on allergies?

  2. We are supposed to get our first signifcant snowfall this afternoon.  So far I haven't had to shovel or use the snowblower.

  3. I like your puppy's name! And I love Yorkies!

    I'm really happy that you've exceeded the needs for the month! Does that mean whatever you exceed goes into next month's income/budget? I am fascinated by how this is all working for you. Can't wait for a round up of all the details. And YAY puppy!

  4. We got a yorkie mix (the other half is Bichon Frise) a couple years ago thinking that it would stay small.  I think that dog weighs 18 pounds now, which is much bigger than we expected.  Still, we love our little Scrabble; we just marvel at how big he got.

  5. PUPPIES!!! Congrats on the new pup. She's so cute and I just want to squeeze her right out of that picture! I'm glad you liked my "I want to…" list. I realized that my goals aren't insurmountable, and I'm even going to check out self-publishing some old stories to start getting my fiction in print. Blogging is my miracle worker! I'm excited self-employment is going well! I don't think I have the self-discipline yet but I hope to join and the lucky ones one day!

  6. I think this "winter" idea just just a rumor. It's nearly 70 here today (usually in the high 30's/low 40's). Congrats on the income goal…it's only the 20th! Cha ching!

  7. Moxie is simply gorgeous! Congrats on a new family member. Keep us updated on how she is getting along with everyone.

    • The first week was kind of iffy - Bentley thought he was her bodyguard and followed her around everywhere, and Apollo and Bella ignored her. Now Bentley is kind of over it, Bella and Moxie are BFFs, and Apollo hates her because she steals his toys. She loves all of them so I'm hoping Apollo gets over himself soon.

  8. Congrats on surpassing your earnings goal for January! That is so great that self-employment is working out — such a big change from your entries when you were at your shitty old job.

    The dog is cute too lol

  9. Yorkie's rule!!! Your new addition is so cute and am sure she is a great coworker. :) I love your blog…and I'm so happy for you with the SE. It takes a lot of courage to be self employed and adding in a single income household its very inspiring.

  10. Winter was on hiatus here for a while too, but arrived with a vengence this week (lows near -40 F).  Glad to hear you are helping to support a new fuzzy friend.

  11. Congrats on surpassing your income goal! Working from home can keep bills low (ex. gas and food) and saves on the commute and preparation time.  BTW, Moxie is adorable

  12. Winter finally hit here. I got to spend almost 36 hours without power due to an ice storm. Which means I missed this when you first posted it. 
    Congrats on the new puppy. You already know that I think there's always room for another puppy. (Hey, its part of how I stayed warm for a day and a half without power.)
    And thank you for the link. I got more traffic from you yesterday than I have from anyplace other than The Consumerist! (No wonder you've met your income goals for the month)

    • Everyone wanted to know how often they could repeat an outfit! I noticed all the outgoing clicks. Think I may have to write a similar post sometime. Glad your power is back - we lost power and water for 9 days in 2009 during an ice storm. I wouldn't wish that on anyone!

  13. Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact

    was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you!

    By the way, how can we communicate?

  14. Pingback: Para Ma

  15. Pingback: motor accidents compensation

  16. Pingback: Laser Traffic Pro Scam

  17. Pingback: time and gems

  18. Pingback: Fleshlight

  19. Pingback: Mauritius Accommodation

  20. Pingback: Mauritius Holiday Villas

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title="" rel=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>