A Spring Has Sprung Roundup

It hit 70F this week and if that doesn’t say Spring, I don’t know what will.

photo credit: Kuzeytac

Another great week of financial reading, let’s start with Frugal Zeitgeist’s Realizing The Frugal Monster You Have Become! An interesting look at how frugal becomes a habit to some of us, along with a tongue in cheek reference to our inner frugal monster. As with anything, there’s a line beyond which you are likely to bring yourself more misery that joy. Short of that, being aware of what you spend and applying some sense can really help your wallet.

Miranda Marquit guest posted at MoneyNing Money Isn’t Just for Hoarding — It’s For Spending, Too. With all the talk of saving for retirement, paying off the mortgage early, etc, Miranda takes a view that gives one pause, perhaps spending is okay too. Not crazy go nuts spending, but an approach that says it’s possible to go too far in the other direction and maybe there’s a happy medium. I like her “money as a means to an end” approach and have been thinking about this a bit myself, spending too much time thinking about some purchases I should have made sooner.

At Budgets are Sexy, Lisa Rowan guest posted 7 Stupid Tax Mistakes to Avoid. When I read this it occurred to me that most articles are about what to do, not mistakes to avoid. Yet, think of how much grief, time, and money we might save if only we had some decent warning. That said, here’s an excellent list of the mistakes you don’t want to make when filing your tax return.

Just as I finished the writeup above I noticed the next article I tagged for sharing today was Free Money Finance’s Nine Roth IRA Conversion Mistakes.Maybe the ‘mistake’ articles are more common than I thought? This one gives a nice overview on what mistakes to avoid when it comes to the new Roth rules. You may know a few of these, but I’d bet you’ll learn at least one or two things by reading, I know I did.

John Frainee guest posted at Bible Money Matters How To Learn Investing Without A Formal Education. The title describes it well, some thoughts on how to start to gain a knowledge of finance. I agree with a couple commenters that reading is an additional source of knowledge and can provide a good foundation.

I’ll wrap up the week with Matt Jab’s Saving Money to Repay Debt in Lump Sums. Decisions regarding one’s finances are rarely clear cut, and in this post, Matt discusses why he’s stashing some money aside instead of paying off his debts faster. Theory is all well and good but in my own blog surfing I often enjoy when the author shares his or her own personal experience and approach to a financial matter.

Have a great week.

Joe