Kris and I are in the middle of a long weekend of food and friends. Every autumn is like this, and we love it. We’re starting earlier than normal this year, and I hope that’s a harbinger of things to come. (This has been one of my favorite summers, and I’d love to continue this “lucky” streak.)
This morning, we’re both in the kitchen preparing food for various gatherings. I made my famous clam chowder the other night. This morning, I’m making two loaves of the easy-and-cheap homemade bread I shared last summer. Kris is baking cookies. Once everything is in the oven, we’ll head outside to pick the last of the apples and blackberries. I feel so Little House!
While Kris and I are enjoying life in the big woods — er, big city — here are some recent money articles from around the web:
A lot of people believe they’re immune to advertising. A lot of [...]

An Australian credit card site has compiled a list of the top 25 most badass personal finance bloggers. What does it take to be a badass personal finance blogger? I have no idea. “Badass” is not a term I would ever use to describe myself, but I’m there — and so is new GRS staff writer Adam Baker.
Several folks on the list — including Baker and me — got our very own “badass” caricatures. These things bust me up. Take a look:
   

Funny, funny stuff. Speaking of badass personal finance information, here are some other great money stories from around the web:
First up, Kiplinger’s has compiled its list of fabulous freebies for 2009. “We looked for primo goods and services, they write. “No useless junk allowed.” The list includes free videogames, free birthday stuff, merchants with free shipping, sources of free software, and more. Many of these will probably be familiar, but I found some [...]

Ah, the tribulations of a tightwad — they are many.
On Monday, I walked a mile-and-a-half to the hardware store to buy some 1/2-inch washers, nuts, and bolts. (Remember: I’m trying to walk 5-6 miles per day now, so I usually walk for all of my errands.) Every month this hardware store mails us the same coupon — $5 off a $25 purchase — so I took it with me, just in case. But my bill was only $19.88. I couldn’t find anything for $5.12 that I wanted, so I couldn’t use the coupon. At home I discovered that my 1/2-inch fasteners were too big.
On Tuesday, I walked a mile-and-a-half back to the hardware store to return the 1/2-inch hardware and buy 3/8-inch washers, nuts, and bolts instead. I took the coupon, but my total was even smaller this time. I couldn’t use it. I walked back home only to discover that my 3/8-inch fasteners were [...]

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my new-found love of alternate transportation, particularly walking. I wish I could convey exactly how much choosing to walk everywhere has changed my life for the better. Because I’m walking 5-8 miles in every day, I’m getting exercise, have time to read (most of my walking is on pedestrian trails or low-traffic streets), and am actually getting more errands done. It’s awesome. I’m a much happier man.
Speaking of happy: Here are some financial articles from around the web that I’ve enjoyed recently:
While I was in London two years ago, Tim from the Seattle Bubble blog provided a guest post discussing renting vs. buying and the realities of home-ownership. On Monday, he shared a follow up on his site in which he explored what he calls the “forced savings plan” myth. It’s true that over the past two years stocks have outperformed real estate — even though they’ve [...]

I feel like I’ve had a huge burst of creativity and productivity over the past ten days. It’s been awesome. I hope you’ve been getting a lot out of the articles, too.
My pace will slow soon, however, as I begin work on my book project. Though Get Rich Slowly will remain my top priority, I’ll have less time to spend here than I have over the past three years. Fortunately, the staff writers will be selected and ready to write in a week or two. They’ll help fill the gaps while also adding some variety around here.
Before I get back to writing articles about money, here are some items I’ve enjoyed lately from elsewhere around the web:
On Twitter today, Trent pointed to a fantastic article at Collective Inkwell. David Wright argues that fear is the ultimate foe of creativity and success. Absolutely. It’s when I do the things that scare me that I achieve [...]

It’s been a l-o-n-g time since I posted a group of daily links. I’m not sure why I got out of the habit. Maybe I thought you didn’t like them? In any event, daily links — which might be more aptly named “once or twice a week links” — are a great way for me to share sites and stories of interest from around the web. These are bits that aren’t worth a full post, or for which I don’t have time to devote a full article, but which are worth reading nonetheless.
If you have see article that you think other GRS readers would like, then drop me a line. Meanwhile, here are some stories that have caught my eye lately:
First up, Richard Barrington at Money Rates argues that because of a perfect storm of low housing prices, low interest rates, and the $8,000 tax credit, first-time homebuyers may be able to get the [...]