Various Observations

I've been a bit delinquent with updates, so a bit of everything today.

With the Dow Jones average near its high, I've made a partial mutual fund redemption to help pay for our recent vacation, which my wife and I agreed to do before the trip. But this strategy can only be used sparingly, which is why we're trying so hard to generate more revenue.

My wife's career service business continues to do well lately, although she is striving to delegate more work to others so she can focus on business development. Seems like this is the challenge of any small business - to get past the point where everything is being done by one person.

Get Rich Slowly has an interesting post this week on whether it's a waste to have multiple magazine subscriptions. I've also wondered about this, but still find it useful to peruse publications like Money, Kiplinger's and Smart Money while commuting to and from work. Usually I try to save articles electronically as I've found that most articles I clip rarely are found again. At least on my computer I can use my desktop search program (I use Copernic) to locate past articles. I also continue to read the Wall Street Journal daily.

Our recent switch to Geico for auto insurance includes emergency road service so we'll probably drop AAA which, fortunately, we've rarely had to use.

With gas prices continuing to slide lately, I'm glad I didn't take the plunge into commodity based mutual funds. Who ever imagined that prices would go any direction but up?

Not only is it challenging to think of things to write regularly but I've found an incredible number of other blogs focusing on revenue generation, some which I've featured on the right column. Many others are featured on the Carnival of Personal Finance. Guess making more money is a universal obsession.

Interesting excerpt from October's Kiplinger's (these magazines really are worthwhile somtimes): "The biggest barrier to becoming rich is living like you're rich before you are." The point is that too much discretionary spending makes it impossible to do the saving that will eventually result in accumulating wealth. I don't see an easy way to link to article but it is called 'The Invisible Rich." Who is best at implementing this strategy? Recent immigrants who live cheaply and work long hours yet manage to put away a chunk of every paycheck.

Finding the money to give to charity is always important, no matter what your income is. October's Money includes an article on how to find the charities that spend money responsively, recommending sites like the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator and Guidestar.

Almost every financial magazine I've read lately has at least one article on the sorry state of the housing market. Money includes one story about someone who sold their home with the help of a blog. Guess it helps to be creative these days. Yet it seems if you are planning to buy another home when you sell a house, it may not matter as much what the market is like. But when you need to pay two mortgages for an extended period (as some people I know are doing), this may not be much of a comfort.

Today is my wife's birthday so we'll definitely be spending some money tonight celebrating with a play and dinner out. Sometimes you just have to not be so careful (although I did get discounted theatre tickets through the Theatre Development Fund, a great way to finance entertainment if you meet their membership qualifications).