My wife and I love to eat. We also love to save money. Sometimes it’s difficult to reconcile these competing desires. I’ve written before about learning to eat more meals at home and how to find healthy food on an unhealthy budget. Recently, Bankrate posted an article called 10 Frugal Cooking Tips that Sizzle.
Cooking can get expensive if you buy too many kitchen gadgets, make poor grocery choices or panic shop for each night’s supper. We spoke with chefs, caterers and cookbook authors for their insights on eating well without spending a lot. We share their onion pearls of wisdom with you.
The article balances cost-conscious shopping with lasting quality. Here’s the list with my comments:

Buy produce in season. If you want tomatoes in December, you’re going to have to pay. But if you buy them in August, you can get them cheap. (Better yet, grow your own!) If you’re not sure what’s in season, check [...]

Thrift, frugality, and investing are pursuits that cross political, religious, and social boundaries. Regardless of your ideology, sound personal finance habits can help you live a better life.
There seem to be three distinct classes of personal finance books:

Those with an overt religious-based foundation for thrift. Dave Ramsey bases the ideas in The Total Money Makeover on his Christian faith. Miserly Moms takes its cues from Christianity, too.
Those espousing a “reactionary” back-to-the-earth philosophy. I’m currently reading Living Simply with Children, which is a great book, but clearly written from a more “liberal” perspective.
Those that fall somewhere between, or which straddle both camps. This group comprises the bulk of personal finance books. Some, like Your Money or Your Life, manage to simultaneously promote Christian beliefs and a sort of “New Age” philosophy. Others studiously avoid any sort of dogma.

There’s nothing wrong with any of these perspectives. They’re all good. And they allow authors to bring new [...]

I’m testing three new plugins for this site. If you have feedback regarding their functionality, please let me know.
You can see them in action at the bottom of the sidebar. The first simply tabulates recent posts. The second lists popular posts. The third selects random posts. When I’m sure they’re working correctly, and when I’ve figured out the CSS, these three will be grouped together to form the new page header throughout the site. (Bye bye, default tunnel image!)
I may opt against the random posts column and simply manually add featured posts in order to promote past entries that I think deserve special attention for whatever reason.
While I’m tinkering, I’d appreciate feedback regarding other areas of the site that need work. For example, one user wrote yesterday:
When my window is not large enough at the bottom, the comment window will NOT show at all. You can fill in name, email, and site, [...]

udandi & the craft of money: Question of the Day Marathon: Day 19
“What is your hobby and how much money do you spend on it?” I collect comic book compilations, and I’m *ashamed* to confess how much I spend on it…
(tags: pfblogs qotd hobbies)

To Get That Job, Bring On The Charm: Survey - News by InformationWeek
“A job candidate’s likeability and personality matter as much or more than skills when it comes to hiring and promotions.”
(tags: work career job)

I don’t like credit cards. They’re a dangerous trap, especially for the young. Many smart people disagree with me, though, and have learned to use credit cards to their advantage. This guide provides solid credit card information so that you can make smart choices.
I’ve structured this as a series of questions and answers. There’s sure to be a lot missing. Please let me know what else should be included here, and I’ll add it. Let’s start with the big question:
Where can I find the best credit card deals?
Index Credit Cards is a comprehensive credit card resource. The site features daily credit card news, but the main attraction is its list of credit cards, which catalogs over 2,000 credit cards including sublists of cards by:
Low-interest credit cards

Ongoing low-APR cards
0% introductory offer cards
0% balance transfer cards

Reward credit cards

Cash-back cards
Cards with rewards
Travel and airline cards
Gas cards
Automotive cards

Credit card offers also feature lists of business cards, student cards, [...]

Bad day at work | Ask MetaFilter
“My employer is decreaseing my salary from $90K to $45K with commission. Is this legal? What are my options?”
(tags: money askme job career employment)

Chipping Away - Busting Debt in Boston: My Question of the Day!
“If tomorrow you were to suddenly find yourself unemployed, what would your action plan be and how much trouble do you feel you’d be in?”
(tags: qotd pfblogs work unemployment)

How can I learn to be the sole breadwinner? | Ask MetaFilter
“I’m now the sole breadwinner. What else should I be doing to make sure we don’t end up in the hole?”
(tags: unemployment finances budgets work)