Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Jan 16th
Its been a busy week! Managed to survive the first full week back to work, launch a contest last Monday, and got mentioned on Consumerist.com (which sent my web traffic soaring!) I’ve been blogging for a few weeks, and have had a great start thus far… almost broke most of my goals which I gave myself a YEAR to reach… I need to get more aggressive in them 
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I’ve been sticking to my budget for the most part — I think at the end of the month, I’m going to shift some money around between it. It wont increase my expenses, but rather, better allocate (Eg: make eating out, and grocery shopping interchangeable… so if I buy more groceries, I’ll eat out less, and vice versa)
Around the personal finance networks, some of the interesting posts that caught my eye included…
- The Financial Blogger wrote about 30 Financial Moves Before 30… most of which I’ve done (or will do). I thought it was really interesting, as some of them are really good ideas.
- WalletPop examines Student Debt Dilemmas, something that I’m familiar with myself, and shares some stats about Canadian student loan amounts.
- Fiscal Geek asks if you Should Start Your Own Business, and some areas to think about before taking the plunge.
- While not finance related, My Life ROI had a great article on Jump Starting Your Fitness Routines for 2011.
Later this week I’ll be sharing a post on my 5 year goals…. kinda the broader goals I’m aiming towards, but nothing too definitive just yet.
Weekly Roundup – Jan 8th
This week has flown by — while Monday was a holiday, Tuesday was the first day back at the office, and Wednesday was the first of day of my two night courses. Getting back into the 7.30am wakeup call was tough, but I made up for it by waking up at 11am today.
One of my more challenging budget goals, was to eat out less to save money. Before, I’d eat out anywhere from 7-9+ times/week. In the past week, only twice! One, because I was late for work and needed something to eat, and the other, was a planned get-together with friends. Overall, I’d say this week was a success. Out of my $250 restaurant budget, I’ve only used up $25. 4 weeks to go, looking good! If I’m far below the $250 at the end of the month, I’m going to reduce that budget all together to save more.
I’m also excited to say, that on January 1st, I had my best web traffic day yet! While still early on, its great to see such a response so quickly, not to mention the wide range of comments too!
Some blog articles that caught my attention this week, include…
- Million Dollar Journey had guest writer Mike Holman, where he discussed Why Low Interest Rates Are a Good Thing. A really detailed and interesting read on the realities of interest rates.
- Studenomics talks about Vegabonding 101: Everything You Need to Know to Travel the World, a great post about tips to get started and what to do while away.
- Nickel by Nickel talks about Renegotiating Utility Contracts and how her mom saved 20% on her electricity bill, simply by saying a competing company offered her a better deal.
- Christian Common Cents asks the question on whether to Rent or Buy a House, and has some powerful arguments against buying right away.
- Fiscal Geek shares his 4 Best New Years Resolution Ideas that he thinks can pay off big. I really like the idea of setting a % for saving, rather than a hard amount.
Now I’m on to start the weekend, in the beautiful (but cold) day outside… That, and maybe tackle pages of reading for class, and start doing some of the leg work on a passive income business I’ve been kicking around for some time now.