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Here’s a sad (but true) case of advertising at work. For reasons I have not yet discerned, ads for a product called Bacon Salt have been appearing on Get Rich Slowly. Yes, Bacon Salt — salt that tastes like bacon. (The company’s slogan? “Everything should taste like bacon.”)

Being a man who loves both salt and bacon, I visited the web site. I wanted to try the stuff. It turns out that my hometown sandwich shop carries it, so this afternoon I plunked down $5 to try some. You know what? It’s salt that tastes like bacon. (Actually, like bacon bits, but that’s a petty distinction, isn’t it?)

In yet another small way, advertising has claimed a victory over J.D. Roth. Had I never heard of Bacon Salt, my life would still have been complete. But once I knew of its existence, I had to try it. (And to make matters worse, I’m basically providing free publicity for the stuff right now. It’s tasty!) There’s even a Bacon Salt blog! And plenty of photos on Flickr!

Here are some recent articles about personal finance, only one of which is bacon-related:

Dave sent me a blog post containing notes transcribed during a recent presentation from Warren Buffett. As always, he’s full of insight:

  • When investing, most people should buy a cheap index fund and dollar-cost average into it.
  • “I won the ovarian lottery the day I was born and so did all of you. We’re all successful, intelligent, educated. To focus on what you don’t have is a terrible mistake. With the gifts all of us have, if you are unhappy, it’s your own fault.” (Note that Buffett was addressing a group of business school students.)
  • Why have relatively few people been able to emulate his success? “The reason gets down to temperament. People want to make money fast, but it doesn’t happen that way.”

This is a long interview, but it’s great.

Meanwhile, over at Wise Bread, Thursday Bram shared four inexpensive breakfasts in under five minutes. “I know that time is a precious commodity in the mornings,” she writes, “but there are options beyond the drive through. Some of these recipes can be made even cheaper, if you’re willing to put in a few extra minutes somewhere along the way.” My favorite option? Bacon muffins!

Last fall, Stephanie at Poorer Than You dug deep to answer the question, “Do we spend more when we use credit cards?” What did she learn? It depends. Many people do spend more when using plastic, but others have problems holding onto cash. The key is to know which type of person you are, and to make changes to your lifestyle to thwart impulse spending.

Finally, satirical weekly The Onion has a hilarious look at the money-obsessed: “I Say Live Life to the Fullest in Terms of Yearly Income Set Against Monthly Expenditures.”

Note: As always, I have not been paid to write about Bacon Salt. In fact, I spent five bucks to buy the stuff. Photograph by ninjapoodle.