- Watching Gamers:Dorkness Rising #
- Charisma? Weee! #
- Tweeting a dork movie? I'm a bit of a geek. #
- We just met and the first thing you do, after boinking a stranger in the presence of the king, is to murder a peasant? #
- Every movie needs a PvN interlude. #
- Everything's better with pirates. #
- Waffles? Recognize. #
- The Spatula of Purity shall scramble the eggs of your malfeasance. #
- Checkout clerks licking their fingers to separate bags or count change is gross. #
- Watching Sparkles the Vampire, Part 2: Bella's Moodswing. #twilight #
- @penfed was a waste of money. $20 down the drain to join, wouldn't give a worthwhile limit, so I can't transfer a balance. #
- @JAlanGrey It's pretty lame. The first one was ok. This one didn't improve on the original. in reply to JAlanGrey #
- RT @tferriss: Are you taking snake oil? Beautiful data visualization of scientific evidence for popular supplements: http://ping.fm/pqaDi #
- Don't need more shelves, more storage, more organization. Just need less stuff. #
- @BeatingBroke is hosting the Festival of Frugality #226 http://su.pr/80Osvn #
- RT @tferriss: Cool. RT @cjbruce link directly to a time in a YouTube video by adding #t 2m50s to end of the URL (change the time). #
- RT @tferriss: From learning shorthand to fast mental math – The Mentat Wiki: http://ping.fm/fFbhJ #
- RT @wisebread: How rich are you? Check out this list (It may shock you!!!) http://www.globalrichlist.com/ #
- RT @tferriss: RT @aysegul_c free alternative to RosettS: livemocha.com for classes, forvo.com for pronunc., lang8.com for writing correction #
- Childish isn't an insult. http://su.pr/ABUziY #
- Canceled the Dish tonight. #
Saturday Roundup – Holiday Edition
Merry Christmas.
Or, Happy Saturday, as the case may be.
T0day, we are herding all of my nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters-in-law, and parents into my house for a second Christmas dinner and gift exchange. It’s the first holiday we’ve hosted. It should be interesting.
On a side note, we’ve gotten so much snow, I’ve almost lost my grill, sitting on my deck. Another 2-3 inches, and my patio table will be just a white mound of cold.
Best Posts
Here is a great story about waking up the Christmas spirit. That’s spirit, not spirits. We’re not discussing booze.
Think you can retire on a million bucks? Think you can get to a million bucks?
I’ve recently realized that I’ve spent more time on the hiring side of the interview table than the out-of-work side. I’m nowhere close to 500 hires, though.
Oooh! Shopping for money! That’s something I’m going to look into. Nothing like turning habits into cash.
This is some serious travel hacking. 15 flight, 16 cities, 9 countries, 35000 miles for $400.
LRN Timewarp
This is where I review the posts I wrote one year ago.
The secret to fearless change? Just get started. Everything else will follow.
I also wrote a post about one of my core values. Without integrity, what can you really have?
Finally, a post on how distractions will kill your productivity.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked
How Much Should You Tip? was an Editor’s Pick in the Festival of Frugality. Thanks!
Shaving for Real was included in the Carnival of Money Stories.
Anchor Price Your Salary was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend!
Saturday Roundup – No More Car
…err, no more car loan. I paid off my car this week, a year early! Now I’m down to 2 debts: a credit card with an embarrassingly high balance and my mortgage. We’re rocking the debt snowball!
Free Money Tip
INGDirect is having a sweet promotion. Open a checking account, use it three times in 45 days, and get $50 free. Free money is the best kind. I love my ING account and keep all of my savings there. If you don’t have an account there, yet, now is a great time to open one.
30 Day Project Update
This month, I am trying to establish the Slow Carb Diet as a habit. At the end of the month, I’ll see what the results were and decide if it’s worth continuing. For those who don’t know, the Slow Carb Diet involves cutting out potatoes, rice, flour, sugar, and dairy in all their forms. My meals consist of 40% proteins, 30% vegetables, and 30% legumes(beans or lentils). There is no calorie counting, just some specific rules, accompanied by a timed supplement regimen and some timed exercises to manipulate my metabolism. The supplements are NOT effedrin-based diet pills, or, in fact, uppers of any kind. There is also a weekly cheat day, to cut the impulse to cheat and to avoid letting my body go into famine mode.
I’m measuring two metrics, my weight and the total inches of my waist , hips, biceps, and thighs. Between the two, I should have an accurate assessment of my progress.
Weight: I have lost 17 pounds since January 2nd. That’s 6 pounds since last week. I cheated this week and had a slice of toast and 6 croutons with my grilled chicken-but-no-cheese salad.
Total Inches: I have lost 9 inches in the same time frame, down 3.5 since last week.
Naturally, the first week is the most dramatic. That’s when my body was flushing most of the garbage I’d been eating, including holiday feasts. I’ll have a hard time complaining about 6 pounds in a week. My guess is that I drop another 10-15 pounds by the end of the month, bringing the average to about 1 pound per day. Over time, that will drop as my base caloric burn drops to match my new weight.
Best Posts
Realized Returns is giving away a Kindle. I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t enter, because I’d love to get a Kindle.
Maximizing Money has put together a stellar list of financial blogs. If I’m not enough to keep you going, take a look at that list.
Mystery shopping sounds like it could be such a sweet deal for some people. Always try to make money doing what you love.
Here is another list of sites that can make you some money. I love side hustles.
And finally, here is Lifehacker, showing you how to make better cocoa.
LRN Timewarp
This is where I review the posts I wrote one year ago.
I wrote a post on saving money while cooking. This post has easily withstood the test of time. We keep getting better at stretching our budget. Over the last year, we’ve actually reduced our food budget by an additional $50 per month, while the quality of our meals has gone up.
This was the first week I posted a 30 Day Project update. My first goal was to start waking up at 5AM. That worked well for almost the entire year, but I’ve let that slack off over the last few months. On the weekends, I don’t set an alarm or try to get up early, but I’m still up by 7:30, usually. During the week, my alarm goes off at 5:10, but I let myself snooze it. I’ve discovered that I do better at attending to my personal projects(like blogging) late at night instead of early in the morning. So, I’m going with what works, instead of trying to force what doesn’t.
I also reviewed the bills I pay that aren’t paid monthly in my third budget lesson.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked and Guest Posts I’ve Rolled
First 3 Things to Do in the New Year was included in Crystal’s rockin’ new Total Money Carnival.
4 Ways We Keep Wasting Money was included in the Festival of Frugality.
Living the XBox Life on an Atari Income was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Swamp Finance was hosted by Squirrelers.
I ran the guest post, The Best Financial Advice I Ever Received for Saving Money Today.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend!
Sunday Roundup: Reddit Rocks
Friday was my biggest traffic day, ever. Mike‘s guest post, Brown Bagging Your Way to Savings, went slightly nuts on reddit. For a few hours, it was in the top 10 on the front page, generating more traffic every half hour than I normally see in a day. That was fun.
In other news, my kid is in the #2 slot for wrestling the heavyweight slot on his wrestling team.
30 Day Project Update
This month, I am trying to establish the Slow Carb Diet as a habit. At the end of the month, I’ll see what the results were and decide if it’s worth continuing. For those who don’t know, the Slow Carb Diet involves cutting out potatoes, rice, flour, sugar, and dairy in all their forms. My meals consist of 40% proteins, 30% vegetables, and 30% legumes(beans or lentils). There is no calorie counting, just some specific rules, accompanied by a timed supplement regimen and some timed exercises to manipulate my metabolism. The supplements are NOT effedrin-based diet pills, or, in fact, uppers of any kind. There is also a weekly cheat day, to cut the impulse to cheat and to avoid letting my body go into famine mode.
I’m measuring two metrics, my weight and the total inches of my waist , hips, biceps, and thighs. Between the two, I should have an accurate assessment of my progress.
Weight: I have lost 25 pounds since January 2nd. That’s 3 pounds since last week. 17 more to meet my goal for February.
Total Inches: I have lost 14 inches in the same time frame, down 2.5 since last week.
Best Posts
J. Money has launched an awesome new project called Love Drop. Once a month, they go make a huge difference in someone’s life. Wise Bread interviewed them yesterday.
Tip: Use the word “solved” in a google search to find the answers to tech problems.
If OMG and Awesome got drunk and made a baby with Optimus Prime, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cobra Commander’s nastiest fantasies, the offspring wouldn’t be this good. Holy crap. Major cheese alert.
Q. Why do some business lobby hard for excessive regulation in the name of protecting the environment or forcing people into decisions they disagree with, only to turn around and lobby for waivers to those regulations once they are passed? A. Because it’s not about the environment or health or giving-a-crap. It’s about the money. When an established company pushes for regulations, it’s to keep upstarts from entering the market. Regulations add barriers to entry. Anybody who’s trying to force you to do something for your own good has a product to sell to meet that “need”.
LRN Timewarp
This is where I review the posts I wrote a year ago. Did you miss them then?
Have you ever given any thought to the idea that debt is a social disease? It’s taboo, you usually didn’t do anything nice to get it, and it’s hard to get rid of.
In case I haven’t made it obnoxiously clear, I’m more than a bit of a geek. The post I wrote about D&D and personal finance should make it more obvious.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked and Guest Posts I’ve Rolled
Medical Costs and Choices was included in the Festival of Frugality.
How to Save Money On Anything was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Mike from http://savingmoneytoday.net presented Brown Bagging Your Way to Savings, which is the post that went kinda nuts on reddit. He also hosted my post, Resisting Temptation.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great weekend!
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-30
- Bad. My 3yr old knows how the Nationwide commercial ends…including the agent's name. Too much TV. #
- RT @MoneyCrashers: Money Crashers 2010 New Year Giveaway Bash – $9,100 in Cash and Amazing Prizes http://bt.io/DZMa #
- Watching the horrible offspring of Rube Goldberg and the Grim Reaper: The Final Destination. #
- Here's hoping the franchise is dead: #TheFinalDestination #
- Wow. Win7 has the ability to auto-hibernate in the middle of installing updates. So much for doing that when I leave for the day. #
- This is horribly true: Spending Other People's Money by @thefinancebuff http://is.gd/75Xv2 #
- RT @hughdeburgh: "You can end half your troubles immediately by no longer permitting people to tell you what you want." ~ Vernon Howard #
- RT @BSimple: The most important thing about goals is having one. Geoffry F. Abert #
- RT @fcn: "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." — Winston Churchill #
- RT @FrugalYankee: FRUGAL TIP: Who knew? Cold water & salt will get rid of onion smell on hands. More @ http://bit.ly/WkZsm #
- Please take a moment and vote for me. (4 Ways to Flog the Inner Impulse Shopper) http://su.pr/2flOLY #
- RT @mymoneyshrugged: #SOTU 2011 budget freeze "like announcing a diet after winning a pie-eating contest" (Michael Steel). (via @LesLafave) #
- RT @FrugalBonVivant: $2 – $25 gift certificates from Restaurant.com (promo code BONUS) http://bit.ly/9mMjLR #
- A fully-skilled clone would be helpful this week. #
- @krystalatwork What do you value more, the groom's friendship or the bride's lack of it?Her feelings won't change if you stay home.His might in reply to krystalatwork #
- I ♥ RetailMeNot.com – simply retweet for the chance to win an Apple iPad from @retailmenot – http://bit.ly/retailmenot #
- Did a baseline test for February's 30 Day Project: 20 pushups in a set. Not great, but not terrible. Only need to add 80 to that nxt month #
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-16
- Dora the Explorer is singing about cocaine. Is that why my kids have so much energy? #
- RT @prosperousfool: Be the Friendly Financial “Stop” Sign http://bit.ly/67NZFH #
- RT @tferriss: Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ in a one-page cartoon: http://su.pr/2PAuup #
- RT @BSimple: Shallow men believe in Luck, Strong men believe in cause and effect. Ralph Waldo Emerson #
- 5am finally pays off. 800 word post finished. Reading to the kids has been more consistent,too. Not req’ing bedtime, just reading daily. #
- Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse: morbid story from my childhood. Still enthralling. #
- RT @MoneyCrashers: Money Crashers 2010 New Year Giveaway Bash – $7,400 in Cash and Amazing Prizes http://bt.io/DDPy #
- [Read more…] about Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-16