Carnival Of Personal Finance

The above-mentioned article was actually picked up by Lifehacker via last week’s Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Get Rich Slowly.  JD if you read this, I owe you a beer.

Two Views Of The Economics Of Dating by Mr Cheap at Four Pillars.  I really like the idea of setting a weekly limit on spending on my girlfriend.  In other news, I will soon be single.

Naturally, posts on saving money on Valentine’s Day were popular this week.  Here’s one on saving Frugal Gift Ideas by Financial Highway and another on Inexpensive Valentine’s Day Ideas by One Money Design.  There’s still a bit over an hour left to get yourself out of the doghouse on the east coast.  Get to it!

How Much Could You Reduce Your Budget If You Were Laid Off? by Darwin’s Finance.  When I was laid off, I didn’t actually cut back all that much.  But I like this question from a philosophical stand-point.  Anytime you think something is impossible, just ask yourself “if somebody had a gun to my head and told me I had to solve this problem or he would pull the trigger, what would I do to make it happen?”  Once you’ve done that, you’ll see most impossible tasks are merely a question of motivation, not possibility.  With the proper motivation (a gun to your head), you’d be surprised what you can accomplish.

The Secret To Success Is Hustle by Fiscal Geek.  Hard work can certainly lead to success.  Or you could just cheat if hard work isn’t your thing.

Avatar Isn’t The Biggest Movie Of All Time by Len Penzo.  Nor was it anywhere close to being Best Picture.  I mean yeah, the effects were impressive.  But the dialogue was retarded and I knew how it was going to end within the first 10 minutes.

Why I Ditched My Vanguard Money Market Fund by Amateur Asset Allocator.  Probably the best post written anywhere last week.  Also check out The Risks Of High Yield Municipal Bonds and Payday Loans Are Detrimental To Your Financial Health.

Carnival of Personal Finance #239

Carnival of Personal Finance #239 was hosted by Darwin’s Finance and included my article Why Your Taxes Might Go Up In Retirement.  Some other good posts include…

Baker from Man Vs Debt plans to kick ass in 2010.  His goals are even more ambitions than mine are, and I thought my goals were pretty far-fetched!  And no, my goal isn’t to retire this year.  Maybe next year.

Bible Money Matters presents How To Make Money From A Blog.  I can personally vouch for everything in this multi-part series.  It works if you work it.

Well Heeled Blog presents Buying A Home Together Before Marriage?   This is something I wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole;  however, everybody I know who’s ever done it has been fine.  Against all odds, in my opinion.

Carnival of Personal Finance #241

Carnival of Personal Finance #241 was hosted by My Journey To Millions and included my post How Much To Keep In Cash?  I’ve been accused of being conservative, but it is what it is.  Other super awesome amazing posts from that week’s edition…

Cash Money Life presents What The Human Bond Can Teach About Personal Finance.  I would have gone dirty with a title like that.  Fortunately, Craig is more mature than I am.  Also, he writes Money Help For Christians, so that rules that out anyway.

I wrote Easy Strategies To Save On Auto Insurance.  Obviously, it’s the best advice you will ever get.  Anywhere.  Saving on car insurance can help save the whales.

SVB writes How To Book Cheap Flights.  I could use a trip to Antigua to practice my Spanish.  Hmmmm….

Early Retirement Extreme – Here’s a guy who actually did it, who retired at a young age after only a few years of work.  While the title says it all (his methods are far too extreme for me), his ramblings are often insightful, or at least entertaining.  Other than that, we seem to have very little in common.

Being Frugal – Lyanne has built up quite a following on the interwebs.  If you want to retire early, you’re going to have to learn to save some serious dough.

Under $1000 Per Month – How a family of five lives for under $1,000 per month.  It goes back to my point that you can retire on far less than you think.

The Simple Life In France – Ideally this is something I’d like to do:  start over and move overseas (anywhere but France).  I wouldn’t need a ton of money and I expect to generate more than a living raise from my online businesses, so it’s not quite the same, but you get the idea.

Speaking of goals, how are you doing on your 2010 New Years Resolutions?

Even Very Young Investors Should Own Bonds by Amateur Asset Allocator (my other blog).  I dispel the somewhat common myth that young investors don’t necessarily need to own any bonds.  In my opinion, every investor should own bonds, even if it’s just a token 10% allocation.  Similarly, I believe everybody should own stocks, even if just a token amount.

Technological Trends That Might Affect Your Investments In 2010 by Money Energy.  While I don’t advocate making investment decisions based on short-term trends, it’s always interesting to see what people think will happen over the next year.

5 Financial Milestones To Aim For By Age 30 on Digerati Life, but actually a guest post by G.E. Miller at 20-Something Finance.  You’ll never achieve a goal if you don’t set one first!

The Most Important Financial Goals For 2010 by Cash Money Life.  Perhaps your New Year’s Resolutions have nothing to do with money, but here are a few things you should be working towards (unless you’re already filthy rich, in which case, can I borrow some money?)

Finally, happy 2 Year Blogiversary to Squawkfox!  Check out her resume series if you’re looking for a job, or her delicious, nutritious, and frugal dried bean recipes if you’re hungry.

Thus, Early Retirement Blog is born. I hope to document my own path towards early retirement (again, by age 40) and cover topics a young retiree (or aspiring young retiree) might find of interest. Eventually, I envision growing this site into a full-blown community for young retirees including a forum, guest authors, etc. But that”s still a long way down the road.

I hope you will join me on my journey towards early retirement.