Weekly Roundup - February 11, 2009

(overlooking the Dordogne from Beynac Castle, Beynac-et-Cazenac, France)

I was just introduced to The Fabulous Geezersisters’ Weblog and I’m glad I was. This article, Remedy for a Bad Week, is a good little reminder of the value of friends. I’m definitely adding this blog to my already long list of reading.

Government Spending – Do We Get A Vote? appears in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Dollar Frugal. Smart Easy Money wonders Where You Draw The Line in terms of salary in this economy. Exactly how much would you cut your rate in order to get a job? Do you have cash? Steadfast Finances points out that the Joneses are selling and, if you have cash in hand, you could be buying their stuff at half price!

Sound Money Matters had an excellent article asking, “Is the Recession Good for the Environment?”

In an insighful article, Wall Street Jobs Pay Out Big Bonuses: The Investment Banker Defends His Salary, The Digerati Life says “If we’re living in a capitalistic society then we should all be riding the market down in the same way we rode it up.” A lot of us are riding it down, there’s no reason these guys should get to take government money and keep on living like it never happened.

Ruth Pennebaker, who writes at the aforementioned Fabulous Geezersisters, had a great article in The Texas Observer, They’re Just Not That Into Us Anymore. She's realizing that with W out of the White House, as Texans our little bit of infamy, our 15 minutes, is over. Pretty funny stuff.

Spicy Chickpea and Spinach Stew appears in the Make It From Scratch Carnival at I’ve Got a Little Space To Fill. Funny About Money has a good lesson in why, in some cases, it’s better to just do things yourself. Check out her post, Cleaning Lady Jamboree, for the details. This doesn’t sound too appetizing but it looks delicious! Eco Child’s Play has a recipe for black bean brownies that I’m going to try. Any excuse to pretend brownies are healthy is an excuse I want!

Jim at Bargaineering has a great article called “Understanding Your Financial Fortress”, where he creates a wonderful castle analogy, which he illustrates with some great photographs. It’s very clever!

JLP at All Financial Matters was reading Robert Wright’s One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson, and the History of What We Owe and decided to e-mail the author for his take on the current financial situation. Mr. Wright responded with a very concise explanation of his take on things. Fascinating stuff!

Have a great weekend everyone!