Weekend Reading: Snow & Ice Edition

Apparently it’s one of the coldest winters on record for some areas of Europe and the U.S., but it actually feels pretty normal to me up here in Canada. Most days have been warmer than -10C, and although I am not a person that adores the cold, this winter almost feels warm to me, since I remember winters where we would have weeks of -25C on end. I hope that the picture here captures a bit of that cold winter feeling. 🙂

Giveaways

The “Early Retirement Extreme” giveaway has ended, and I will need to choose a winner. The “We Have Met the Enemy” giveaway is still ongoing!

Tight Fisted Miser is also running a Skinny On Book and $5 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway that ends on Tuesday.

Posts of the week

• Falling Prey to Temptation: Self Control in an Age of Excess
• Going Carless: Does It Make Sense?
• Ongoing Personal Goals for 2011

Weekend Reading

• Why Oil is the Name of the Game in 2011 (Beating The Index) — Will oil hit $150 in the summer? What is going on with oil this year? As always, Mich gives a great analysis from his point of view.
• Chilling out in Laos and Koh Chang (Andrew Hallam) — Check out Andrew’s latest amazing travel exploits in Laos and Thailand!
• Effort or Achievement: Which Do You Value the Most? (Personal Finance By The Book) — Does effort count for something, even when one fails to achieve? What about achieving something without putting in an effort?
• How To Make $2,000 A Month In Online Income (Buy Like Buffett) — Buy Like Buffett has launched his ebook on generating more than $2,000 a month in online income!
• Is America No Longer a Place for Professionals? (Broke Professionals) — Broke Professionals is a blog I recently discovered. In this post, they take a look at degree inflation and getting an education versus getting a degree.
• Milton Friedman: Free to Choose: Part 1– The Power of the Market (The Biz of Life) — Milton Friedman explains the power of the marketplace, and why while it is not utopia, it is the best system to serve human needs. I enjoyed watching the first couple of videos of the series, and you can see Professor Friedman debate his opponents and colleagues during the second half of each video.
• OK, Here Is A Revelation – My Kids Are In Private School (Everyday Tips and Thoughts) — Is private school only for rich snobby people? Is public school worth the tax money paid. Kris shares an interesting post, and the comments are still rolling in!
• Swing a Salary Increase By Threatening to Leave? You’re Fired Within 18 Months. (Darwin’s Money) — What should you do when confronted with the option between jumping ship for a better deal or accepting a retention package?
• The Difference Between Metaphor and Action (The Biz of Life) — The Grouch shares his thoughts on the recent shooting in Arizona. I was also shocked by the events, particularly by the brazenness and apparent randomness of the act.
• The Fall Of The American Democracy! (Watson Inc) — Is the American democratic experiment doomed to failure? Roshawn shares his thoughts.

Economy/Economics

• EconomyPolitics 2nd Annual index of Economic Efficiency (Investing Thesis)
• Federal Debt of the United States – Q and A (Part I) (Financial Sense)
• Federal Debt of the United States – Q and A (Part II) (Financial Sense)
• Friedman Revisited (DIY Investor)
• Hopeful Predictions for 2011 (Hope to Prosper)
• Is the Federal Reserve Really Purchasing Over 60% of 2011’s Fiscal Deficit? In a Word, uh . . . Yeah. (Gonzalo Lira)
• Krugman’s Straw-Man Market System (Mises Daily)
• MORE CHARTS OF DOOM (The Burning Platform)
• The Idea of Risk and the Housing Bubble (Blessed by the Potato)
• Where should the BoC be setting interest rates? (Mises Canada)
• Will Gold Be Currency Or Will Cash Be Illegal? (Daniel R. Amerman)

Investing

• Bonds (DIY Investor)
• Following the Efficient-Markets Hypothesis into Absurdity (Mises Daily)
• Four Things I’m Bullish On Going Into 2011 (Dividend Monk)
• INVEST IN BONDS NOW-at Your Own Peril (Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance)
• The Allure of Real Estate (Mises Daily)
• THE KEY ASSET CLASSES FOR 2011 (Financial Sense)
• Where to invest now? (Larry MacDonald)

Miscellaneous

• China: What’s Next? (National Geographic Magazine)
• Finally, a Real Creator Is Person of the Year (Mises Economics Blog)
• Going Backwards To Move Forwards (Wealth Artisan)
• HSE: Health, Safety and Environmental – Safe Work Practices in The Home (101 Centavos)
• Is the Middle Class An Endangered Species? (Andrew Hallam)
• Occupied Territories: A ride from Kashgar to Lhasa (crazyguyonabike.com)
• Romantic Finance (Intro) – Traditional or Modern? I’m a combo, I think? (Finance Fox)
• Stressed out? Try mindfulness meditation (The Globe and Mail)
• They Chose Liberty (Mises Daily)
• Turning Insanity Into Politics (The Daily Capitalist)
• V FOR VENDETTA – 2011 (The Burning Platform)
• Will The Future of the Internet be Written in Chinese? (Singularity Hub)

Motivation

• The Golden Voice Homeless Man Who Never Lost Hope (Yakezie)
• The Secret to Success (Money Crush)

Personal Finance

• 3 Easy Financial Resolutions Every Gen Y should follow (Young & Thrifty)
• Home Ownership Leads to Heated Debate (Little House in the Valley)
• My 4 hour work week (Early Retirement Extreme)
• Paid What You are WORTH? (The Millionaire Nurse Blog)
• Publishing The Millionaire Teacher (Andrew Hallam)

Thanks to all of my readers and fellow bloggers; I appreciate the support and the feedback! I’ve fallen a bit behind on the reader and on replying to commentators, so I will hopefully be able to catch up this morning.

Some quotes for thought:

The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.

— John Maynard Keynes

Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants – but debt is the money of slaves.

— Norm Franz, Money and Wealth in the New Millenium

If you want to be a great leader,
you must learn to follow the Tao.
Stop trying to control.
Let go of fixed plans and concepts,
and the world will govern itself.

The more prohibitions you have,
the less virtuous people will be.
The more weapons you have,
the less secure people will be.
The more subsidies you have,
the less self-reliant people will be.

Therefore the Master says:
I let go of the law,
and people become honest.
I let go of economics,
and people become prosperous.
I let go of religion,
and people become serene.
I let go of all desire for the common good,
and the good becomes common as grass.

Lao Tsu

Video of the week

Hope you are enjoying the weekend!