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I’m in full-on hermit mode for the next few days. Kris is out of town — on a road-trip with friends — and I’m devoting every waking hour to my book. (Well, I’ll walk the marathon on Sunday, but aside from that…) It’s actually kind of fun to dedicate myself to a single project for a prolonged period of time. Makes me feel like a real writer.
Speaking of real writers, here are some recent articles I’ve liked elsewhere on the web:
Many people ask me, “Should I invest while still in debt?” There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question; as with most decisions, you must do what works for you. Still, Matt at Debt-Free Adventure has taken a stab at exploring the pros and cons of each option. If you’re in debt and thinking about investing, take a look at his suggestions.
Though I still haven’t finished reading The Paradox of Choice, the book has had a tremendous influence on my life. I believe author Barry Schwartz has hit upon an important problem with modern life: Some choice is great, but too much choice is paralyzing. Over at The Art of Manliness, Brett and Kate have writtten a nice article on how limiting your choices can cure your restlessness. I agree. With fewer options, most people find they’re happier.
One of my goals is to create a completely paperless personal finance system. I’ve made great strides in the two years I’ve been working toward this, but my money isn’t fully automatic yet. I’m always looking for new tips. Last week, Jonathan at My Money Blog posted his own strategy for creating a completely automated financial household.
Finally, here’s a list of the money carnivals GRS has participated in recently:
- Emily at Taking Charge organized Carnival of Personal Finance #223.
- Patrick at Cash Money Life hosted the Money Hacks Carnival #83.
- Bob at Christian PF is this week’s host for Carnival of Debt Reduction #210.
- At Green Panda Treehouse, Laura juggled Festival of Frugality #196.
- Wojciech at Fiscal Fizzle emceed the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #25.
- The Skilled Investor entertained entries at Carnival of Financial Planning #108.
Now it’s back to writing — and to being a hermit. But although I am being anti-social, you folks should go spend time with your friends and families.
This article is about Spare Change Thursday, 1st October 2009 (by J.D. Roth)
October 1st, 2009 at 6:20 pm
At least you have your cats to keep you company, right?
October 1st, 2009 at 6:33 pm
@Austin
Heh. Yes, yes I do. Four warm furry bodies. Cats make Kris’ absence bearable.
October 1st, 2009 at 8:24 pm
When we were first married we had a rule stating we had to spend 1 day/week apart, and away from each other. It lasted for the first few years, but has trailed off. Now that we’re going on five years it seems like we are never apart.
I love my wife very much… but when I get a full day or two away and am able to fully focus my energies on projects - I can really go into Superman mode.
Hopefully you can really knock out a ton of writing.
PS… thanks for the link J.D.
October 1st, 2009 at 9:21 pm
“Many people ask me, “Should I invest while still in debt?” There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question; as with most decisions, you must do what works for you. Still, Matt at Debt-Free Adventure has taken a stab at exploring the pros and cons of each option. If you’re in debt and thinking about investing, take a look at his suggestions.”
I’m in debt and I ponder this frequently. I have lots of student loans, no credit card debt, but a very VERY small cash reserve (if you think of it as an emergency fund). But I could spare some cash to invest if I can get a decent return. Thanks for the link!
October 1st, 2009 at 10:07 pm
It’s nice to see that you’re participating in carnivals even when you’re site’s so highly visible on its own. It really speaks to the community aspect of blogging and I’m sure motivates many smaller sites to continue hosting them when they see highly respected bloggers participating.
Digging into the financial automation article.
October 1st, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Automated is the way to go — I’ve found a system that makes sure that I pay all of my bills on time. I charge everything to a credit card and then I have an automatic payment every 15th of the month go out to my cc, when I get my direct deposit.
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:02 am
i think that it is possible to invest while still in debt but it is an quite the gamble and you would be exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. this is for people that are not risk averse. in taking this risk, it can pay off or really blow up in your face, thats my take. you only need to read through the forbes rich list and see many examples of both instances
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:12 am
Good luck with the writing!
I know how difficult it can be — I’m working on my dissertation. Are you anywhere near a university? I find I get really inspired when I go to the Law Library of my university; it’s old, has mahogany desks, floor to ceiling bookshelves, and those fun little green lamps you see in lawyer’s offices in the movies
An inviting atmosphere can really get the thought-juices flowing.
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
I loved the link to reducing the choices - it actually really applies to me right now since I keep wibbling over where to keep my IRA. Right now it’s at Fidelity, but I’ve been driving myself nuts over if I should move it elsewhere, especially Vanguard. lol
Have fun writing and remember to emerge for air once in a while
On a completely unrelated note, I saw your contribution to the dealing with a windfall article over at the Fidelity site - very good advice!
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:23 pm
I really loved “the paradox of choice” - it turned on a light bulb for me. I all of a sudden realised that I don’t need to agonize over whether or not I have made the “perfect” choice - for the most part the result will be pretty much be the same. The perfect really is the enemy of the good (or even of the complete).
Now I just go with my initial reaction to things and life is much more straight-forward and no less enjoyable. One problem is though, that sometimes I find that I have too much of a routine and so sometimes have to check myself and make sure I’m not getting into a rut.