Weekend Reading: Six-Month Anniversary Edition

This week, my six-month giveaway contest came to a close, and I contacted the winners. I will announce them on the site as soon as I have received a confirmation from everyone.

I had a decent response rate, although a few entries had to be disqualified due to invalid email addresses and similar problems! After all was said and done, there were about 300 valid points (points, not entries), and it turns out that the expected value of each point in the contest was close to a dollar, so each point that you received was worth close to a dollar in terms of prizes! Much better odds than the lottery, don’t you think so? 😉

Here’s what was posted at Invest It Wisely over the last week:

• If You Enjoy Financial Obligations, Don’t Read This. (A guest post by Greg McFarlane). This is a post about taking advantage of today’s low rates to save money by refinancing.
• Five Tips to Become More Productive with Google Apps. Call me a fanboy, but I love Google Apps.
• It’s Invest It Wisely Six Month Blog Anniversary! It’s been six months since I started Invest It Wisely! I’ve had a great time, and I’ve enjoyed sharing the journey with you guys.
• Guest Post at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff: How to Make Better Use of Your Time. Check out my guest post, which is about using and managing your time wisely.

Networks

A new personal finance hub, Money Index, has just launched. Yours truly is listed in the Canadian section there. Check it out!

Weekend Reading

Here were my favorite reads of the week:

The International Currency War (Beating The Index)

Mich covers the growing race to the bottom by various countries, as they struggle to keep their currencies from appreciating too strongly against the US Dollar. Several countries, such as Japan, South Korea, have already intervened, and the displeasure voiced by Americans against China’s currency peg is growing ever stronger.

The End of Free Markets: A Great Reason to Buy Stocks (Balance Junkie)

Balance Junkie gives her thoughts on investing in the markets these days, and the signals (or lack thereof) being given.

How To Have a Great Blog Contest (Out of Debt Again)

This post helped me out a lot when I prepared my contest and evaluated the winners. Thanks Mrs. Accountability!

Why Do We Save Anyway? (Watson Inc)

Roshawn helps us to keep things in perspective, and to remember what it is that we’re saving for, and why.

Celebrating the Rich Stealing from the Rich (Andrew Hallam)

Andrew Hallam makes a great case against hedge funds in this exposé.

Do we Incur “Debt” Through our Childhood? (Squirrelers)

Squirrelers asks us a philosophical question about our relationship with our progenitors.

Use What You Can Lose (The Wealth Artisan)

The Wealth Artisan reminds us to bet only with money that we can afford to lose.

Drinking On The Job – What Do You Think? (Everyday Tips and Thoughts)

Is drinking on the job ever acceptable? What do you think?

My Fake Business Would Have These 10 Mistakes Covered 😉 (Budgeting in the Fun Stuff)

Crystal gives us some good advice to take into consideration when thinking about starting up your own business.

How Much is Your Pet Worth? (Personal Finance By The Book)

How much is your pet worth to you? Where do you draw the line when it comes to medical expenses and suffering?

Understanding Happiness, Taxes, and Net Worth (Financial Samurai)

Sam just can’t let go of the idea of a renter’s tax. Is a renter’s tax fair? Is it more just than the present situation? Be sure to head over and join in the discussions.

Home Renters Should Not Pay More Taxes: A Rebuttal On Financial Samurai’s Article (Spruce Up Your Finances)

Here is Ken’s rebuttal.

… and please check out these additional articles that I liked:

Economics

• A Job With A Ton Of Openings (Buy Like Buffett)
• China’s bizarre phenomena: buildings die unnaturally (China Hush)
• The Meaning of Gold in the News (Mises Daily)
• Sound Money Gaining Important Media Mindshare (The Daily Capitalist)
• Time as a Price (Mises Daily)
• Urgent Letter To The President (The Daily Capitalist)

Health

• 10 Simple Ways to Improve Health (Personal Dividends)
• Cost of obesity report (Frugal Zeitgeist)

Investing

• Any of These Stock Sites Worth the Cost? (Invest In the Markets)
• The Wisdom of Sir John Templeton (Hope to Prosper)
• What the scholars are saying (Larry MacDonald)
• Invest like Warren Buffett (Andrew Hallam)
• The best investment advice you’ll never get (San Francisco Online)

Miscellaneous

• When “Giving It Away For Free” Becomes “You Will Never Get Paid” (Money and Risk)
• Downsizing Spurs New Businesses (Bucksome Boomer)
• Barter Groups and Home Repairs (In Search of Salt)
• Mark Zuckerberg Donates $100 Million to Newark, NJ Schools (My Financial Objectives)
• ATMs that Sell Gold Bars – Beyond Ridiculous (Darwin’s Money)
• How to Preview Shortened URLs (TinyURL, bit.ly, is.gd, and more) (The Joshmeister on Security)
• The Troubles With Modern Sleep: Myths, Memory, and Mortality (Singularity Hub)
• Raytheon Unveils 2nd Generation Exoskeleton Robotic Suit (KurzweilAI)
• Costs of the Patent System Revisited (Mises Economics Blog)
• Drinkers Outlive Non-Drinkers – Longevity Never Tasted So Good (Singularity Hub)
• The Man Who Makes Your iPhone (Business Week)

Personal Finance

• 10 Ways to Budget and Spend Less Than You Earn (Maximizing Money)
• 10 Ways To Save Money On Groceries (Canadian Finance Blog)
• What to Do if You’ve Been Declined a Secure Credit Card (Little House in the Valley)
• Simple Personal Financial Tip: Managing your Financial Time (Simple Financial Lifestyle)

Retirement

• Do Retirees Require GMWB (guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit) Products? (Canadian Capitalist)
• 10 Traits That Lead To a Successful Retirement, Part 2 (The Wise Buck)
• Don’t Destroy Your Golden Years (Faithful With A Few)

My roundup includes sites that mentioned Invest It Wisely over the past week; thanks for including me, and please let me know if I forgot to mention you!

Video of the week

Have a great weekend, and see you next week.