Trick or treat! Thanks, everyone, for a great October. As usual, there were some excellent discussions. I was also pleased to be able to give away over $600 in prizes to celebrate Get Rich Slowly’s 18-month anniversary. My Real Life took precedence this month, though I did my best to maintain quality around here. This was possible thanks in part to guest posts from readers like you. Here are some of the best GRS articles from the month of October:

October 1st: Is a money merge account a good way to pay off your mortgage?
October 9th: Who earns minimum wage? A statistical profile
October 12th: How to eat at a swanky restaurant without blowing your monthly food budget
October 17th: Recurring monthly costs: Which are worth it? Which are not?
October 19th: Ask the readers: Best brick-and-mortar banks?
October 24th: Understanding the seven habits of wealth (a guest post from Dough Roller)
October 25th: Frugality is not a dirty word
October 28th: [...]

It’s that spooky haunted time of year — my annual post about estate planning! Last year I shared a brief guide to creating a will. Today I’m going to look at a recent New York Times article by Christine Larson that provides an overview of will preparation software.
Larson writes, “Recently, the increasing sophistication of software and services for estate planning, combined with growing consumer comfort with online financial management, has led to a boom in homegrown estate planning.” Here’s a list of the products and services she mentions (along with the canned spiel from the corresponding web site or Amazon page):

LegalZoom: “Save time and money on common legal matters! Created by top attorneys, LegalZoom helps you create reliable legal documents from your home or office. Simply answer a few questions online and your documents will be prepared within 48 hours. We even review your answers and guarantee your satisfaction.”
Suze Orman’s Will & Trust Kit: [...]

This morning’s discussion about credit cards and emergency funds was interesting. Many commenters noted that if you have a history of using credit responsibly, a credit card can actually make an acceptable buffer in case of the unforeseen.
JenK made an analogy I like: “Credit cards, like knives, are not risky in and of themselves. People chop onions and peppers all the time without cutting themselves — though someone with a history of cutting might rather buy them pre-chopped.” The problem, of course, is that many people who don’t know how to use knives — or credit cards — get themselves into trouble.
A couple of readers pointed to interesting articles at other sites. Bornbad mentioned a Reuters story that describes how stressed borrowers use plastic to delay default. It seems the subprime mortgage crisis may have a domino effect. Some people purchased houses they could not afford, and have been staving off disaster with [...]

Sometimes I wonder: Have I always had personal finance conversations all the time? I don’t often initiate them, but money seems to be a constant topic, even when people are unaware that I write about it every day.
Just this morning, for example, I met with a fellow who needs some boxes to ship his woodworking products. (By day I am the sales force for my family’s small box factory.) My customer gave me a tour of his shop, showing me his doll beds and myrtlewood clocks with obvious pride. “When I retire in a few years, I want to spend my time doing this,” he said. “I love it.”
After we’d measured his products and determined what kind of boxes he needed, we began to discuss payment terms. “Now, do you guys take credit cards?” he asked.
“We don’t,” I said. “We’re not set up to handle them.”
He sighed. “I guess I can pay by check. I [...]

Valerie writes: “Someone in our family recently suggested that compact fluourescents weren’t worth it due to their high initial cost compared to incandescent light bulbs. We’ve switched all our lights to CFL, so my husband looked into the actual costs. I thought you might like the results” In this guest post, she lays out the numbers.
It makes good economic sense to switch from Incandescents to compact fluorescents (CFLs) — it’s not just a bunch of hype. Let me use our very conservative electrical bill to demonstrate how making the switch can save you money.
Our total consumption for July and August was 1195 kilowatt hours (kWh). This equates to 19 kWh/Day — far below the U.S. average of 29 kWh/Day. Part of this low consumption is because we’ve already replaced most of our incandescents with CFLs. But let’s say we haven’t, and assume that our electrical bill with incandescents is the same as it is [...]

Here’s a roundup of recent articles from around the Money Blog Network (and beyond).
Ramit at I Will Teach You to Be Rich has the post of the week, writing about an annoying e-mail he got. One of his readers wrote:
This is nothing personal against you, because every personal finance author I’ve read says the same thing, but your advice is not for real people like me. The “spend less, save more” theory is great for singles or young married couples with no kids … but I need some other strategies to help me get my finances in order.
Folks, all personal finance stems from this fundamental skill: spend less than you earn. It’s simple, but it is not easy. Why not? Because money is more about mind than it is about math.
Speaking of which, JLP wonders is personal finance really 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge? Dave Ramsey often makes this claim, but does it [...]