For a tech geek, I can certainly be slow on the uptake sometimes. How long has Facebook been around? One year? Two? I’ve had a profile page for a while, but never done anything with it until recently. I was wondering how all these old high school friends were finding me. Now I know. And now I see the appeal of Facebook.

If you use Facebook, you’re certainly welcome to join the Facebook Fan Page. (You can also follow GRS on Twitter. I don’t tweet often, and when I do it’s usually about random stuff, but I’m trying to share interesting PF links lately, too.)

Enough about social networking! How about some interesting personal finance links?

First, my local newspaper reports that the Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about an auto warranty scam. The con artists are phishing by phone and snail mail, telling consumers nationwide that their auto warranties have expired and then asking for Social Security numbers and personal data. Be on guard. (And, if you need it, check out this guide to how to prevent identity theft.)

Next, Simply Recipes — the only blog that my wife actually subscribes to via e-mail — recently published some tips for cooking on a budget. Elise’s list is short and sweet, but her readers offer dozens of other helpful tips. Simply Recipes is a fantastic food blog.

Meanwhile, Karawynn at Pocketmint meditates about shopping for happiness. She writes: “I know that shopping is not a cure for depression — either mine or the economy’s — sometimes new things do make me happy, especially when they directly improve my daily environment.” I think this is a good point. As with all things, the key is to find balance. When shopping becomes a regular cure for the blues, that’s a problem.

Finally, at Seeking Alpha, James Quinn writes that the current financial mess came about because of the myopia of what he calls The Shallowest Generation: the Baby Boomers, born between 1945 and 1963.

Our claim to fame is living way beyond our means for the last three decades, to the point where we have virtually bankrupted our capitalist system. Baby Boomers have been occupying the White House for the last sixteen years. The majority of Congress is Baby Boomers. The CEOs and top executives of Wall Street firms are Baby Boomers. The media is dominated by Baby Boom executives and on-air stars. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the current predicament.

This is a long rant, and I don’t agree with all of Quinn’s conclusions, but it’s interesting.

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