Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners from Gaiam

I was recently contacted by Gaiam and agreed to review some of their Yoga DVDs. I wanted to give them a good tryout and enlisted the aid of a friend of mine. She wanted to try yoga and I thought Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners would be a great place for her to start. I’ve not been doing yoga for very long myself and we’ve both enjoyed these morning workouts.

Rodney Yee was a professional ballet dancer who later studied Iyengar yoga. He travels nationally and internationally to teach workshops, teacher trainings and retreats. Rodney has been designing and performing in Gaiam programs for over 10 years. We found his instruction very easy to follow and his transitions smooth.

This DVD, shot on beautiful Molokai, Hawaii, includes two workouts, one 20-minute morning “energizing” workout led by Rodney Yee and designed to get you going in the morning and a 15-minute evening “rejuvenation” workout led by Colleen Saidman and designed to help relax you at the end of the day. My friend and I alternated between the two workouts, doing one each morning for four mornings in a row. Each workout offers you the choice of full-instruction, pose-only instruction, which excludes hints and reminders about your posture and breathing or inspirational instruction, which in addition to pose cues includes thought provoking reminders about the connection between yoga and the spirit of the world around us.

My friend and I used the full-instruction option and completely enjoyed both of the workouts. As with any new workout, the first run through is a little awkward while you figure out the flow of the poses. In each case this awkwardness was minimal and, by the second day we both felt smooth and comfortable with the transitions.

The DVD also includes a 40-minute pose guide which walks you through each pose at some length, helping you perfect your form. We chose not to work through the pose guide as I wanted to review the DVD in a timely manner but I think the pose guide, which allows you to pick and choose the poses you want to review, is an invaluable tool and I was glad to see it included.

I think Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners is an excellent jumping-off point for anyone wanting to dip their toe in the world of yoga. The poses are basic and won’t scare anyone off while at the same time they will leave you feeling like you had a good workout. The names “energizing” and “rejuvenation” are apt as that’s exactly how you will feel when you are through! Even if you are a more advanced yoga student, these short workouts are great for grounding and meditation when you don’t have much time and need a little pick-me-up!

Next week I will be reviewing Rodney Yee’s A.M Yoga for Your Week. Can’t wait to get started on that one!

Would You Like to Buy My Home in Beautiful Alpine, Texas?

Now that I’m leaving I’m finally unveiling exactly where that little “rural West Texas town” to which I so often refer is actually located. Beautiful Alpine, Texas, nestled in the Davis Mountains in the Big Bend area of Texas, has been my beloved home for 31 years and, although I’m looking forward to my big adventure, I truly am sorry to leave this quiet little town of about 6,000 friendly people. Alpine is home to Sul Ross State University, plenty of real working cowboys and lots of big open country. We’re thirty miles from Marfa, Texas, the town memorialized in the movie Giant and made famous and fashionable by minimalist artist Donald Judd, home to about 2,500 people, approximately half of whom are artists from somewhere else. We’re twenty-five miles from Fort Davis, Texas, home to McDonald Observatory, which is located here because of our dark skies; we take light pollution very seriously around here!

Are you packing your bags yet? Can you tell I love my town? I also love my home and want to finally share it with you! Self-indulgent it most certainly is but I hope you’ll pardon me and enjoy this little peek into my real life! If not, better skip this post! When I get to Virginia I’ll have to go back to anonymously referring to my little rural southwest Virginia town!

My house was built in approximately 1925 and originally occupied five city lots. Thankfully for me who has to cut the grass, it now only occupies 1½!



Isn’t it cute?! The upstairs balcony is off my master bedroom and is completely screened by those trees. It is very private. I can go out there in the evening with a cocktail and I think it has got to be the most peaceful place on earth! It’s like being in a treehouse.



Here’s my side yard with my new raised beds with their deer deterrent cages. This building contains an efficiency apartment and a one car garage in the front and a large shop and some storage rooms in the back. I have a tenant in the apartment who takes care of everything for me when I am out of town. I’m really going to miss her!

Shall we peek inside?



Here’s my living room. It actually looks kind of crowded in this picture but it isn’t really. You also can’t see the great exposed box beams in the ceiling. I love to light a fire in my fireplace in the winter for that perfect cozy atmosphere.



You go through this little hallway to get to the dining room. Just to the right in the hallway is the door to the basement, which I affectionately refer to as Subterrania, an unusual feature in West Texas. To the left is a neat little built in cupboard where I keep all my crystal and stemware. Once into the dining room, to the left is a large downstairs bedroom with an attached powder room. This is the room I was hoping to rent, which, although light filled, is pretty empty.



Back out and passing through the dining room you come to my cute kitchen where I test all my SimplyForties recipes!

Originally this built-in cabinet housed an ironing board. All the mod cons for the 1920’s housewife! Now it’s lined with shelves and is where I keep my spices. Past the kitchen there is a small mudroom, which has a pantry and a broom closet.

I think you’ve seen my backyard before. I’ve posted about my portable chicken run and how I have so much work to do! It really is a sanctuary for me. There is a pergola area out there where I frequently entertain in the summertime. The ex-BF and I built that as one of our projects.

We’ve had a lot of rain lately and, unlike when this picture was taken, the grass is very green out there!

Let’s go back inside and peek upstairs!

See the stairs tucked back there on the left? I like how they go up a little and then turn and are kind of hidden behind that wall.

Upstairs there are two bedrooms and a full bath. I treat the whole upstairs as a master suite, with one room arranged as a bedroom and the other arranged as a sitting room/office. I spend 80% of my time up there. It’s a perfect arrangement for me and why I thought I could rent out the lower room with little impact on my privacy.

See the left behind pug asleep on the couch? That’s where he spends most of his time. As long as I'm revealing all my secrets, his real name is Rage. Remember, a teenage boy named him!

Here’s the door to that great, private second storey balcony, which is in my master bedroom. That blue scarf is from a friend's trip to Mongolia, where it represents the blue sky. I like having it there for cloudy days.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I see is the blue sky and the trees outside my balcony door. The pictures over my bed are blown up photographs from a trip I took to France a few years ago. Now that’s some frugal decorating! Here’s the other side of this big, bright, sunny room:

That big desk (it’s really a dining room table) is across the hall in the sitting room now and I have some bookcases in its place.

That’s about it! Do you feel like a voyeur? I’m glad I got to show you my home, which I love so much! Now it’s memorialized for me and I can come back and look at it any time I want! If you love it too and want to move to my perfect little town, drop me a line and let’s talk!

Okay, back to my regularly scheduled blog! The next post will be about another alternative living arrangement. Shell cabins, a sort of contemporary catalog house, are a great way to get an inexpensive home. One of my friends has one and graciously allowed me a look inside. That’s up next!

Big Changes: A New Life

The most amazing thing has happened since I wrote my article about losing my major client. I applied for and have accepted a position as a caretaker on a small farm in southwest Virginia. After 31 years I’ll be selling up and moving out! I plan to be on the farm in a month. I have so much to do that my head is spinning right now but I’m excited.

A couple in Denver recently bought the farm but are planning to stay put for a year. They wanted someone to look after things, assist with some tasks and just basically inhabit their house to keep it from falling apart. My initial idea was to rent my house here in Texas for whatever length of time I was gone. Since then I’ve decided to sell up. I realized that, by selling my house and most of my things, I can go to Virginia debt free, possession free and commitment free. That’s a strong lure! When my time at the farm is up, I’ll be able to go where I choose. It’s a very exciting prospect!

Back in January I wrote about my goals for 2009. On that list I included being debt free and significantly reducing the number of my possessions. It looks like I’ll meet those goals, though not in any way I could have anticipated. I’ve been ready for a big change in my life for a few years now and have been putting it out there. The universe has responded in a major way!

I told my girlfriends this weekend and there were some tears but everyone is happy for me and a little jealous. Their first question was, “What airport do we fly into when we come visit?”. My family is thrilled. I’ll be equidistance between my two sisters and one of my brothers; one in Maryland and two in Georgia. My other brother, who is a trucker, makes regular runs to the vicinity. It’s been 31 years since I lived near family and I’m looking forward to regular weekends with them.

I’ve got a lot of calls to make today. I’ve decided to contact some estate sales people and have them come in and liquidate for me. I live in a two-storey, three bedroom home and I plan to take what fits in a 5x8 trailer and sell everything else. I have a couple of family pieces that I’ll take as well as my power, sewing and gardening tools and some kitchen things, including my beloved pots and pans. A few personal items will fill out the trailer and that’s it!

I initially planned to take my chickens but have realized that it makes better sense to sell them and get new ones up there. The farm owners are urban homesteaders too and are happy for me to have chickens, build a coop, plant a garden, all the things I love. I’m picturing bee keeping, some serious composting, maybe even a couple of milk goats. Who knows?! I will be taking the left behind pug and maybe my worms. I suspect they’ll be no trouble on the journey!

I need to call the realtor, get new shocks on my car, go by the U-haul place, the list seems endless! I plan to look for offsite paralegal work once I get up there. Roanoke, Virginia, and Winston-Salem, N.C., are close enough and I’m sure are full of lawyers. Once I’m debt free I’ll be able to live very inexpensively. I’ve been yearning to live a more simple life for a long time and this will be my chance to give it a try.

I’m scared, I’m overwhelmed by the amount I need to do, but mostly I’m exhilarated! I wish I could just pack a bag, get in my car and start driving but of course that’s not realistic. So, I’ll make my calls, liquidate my life and then hit the road. One of my sisters is flying out to help and will make the journey with me.

I’ll be blogging about the process and my new life. Wish me luck and join me here on my road back to simplicity!

Beet, Carrot and Feta Salad

This recipe appears in the Make It From Scratch carnival at It's Frugal Being Green. If you came from the carnival, welcome!

Here's another delicious summer salad. One of my sisters, who gave me this recipe, told me that this salad changed her from being a lifelong beet hater to a true beet lover! Give it a try and see if it will do the same for you!



Serves 4 INGREDIENTS:

· 2 medium large raw beets, peeled
· 4-5 medium carrots, peeled
· 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, well drained
· feta cheese for garnish (approx. 1 - 1 1/2 cups total)
· 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
· juice of half an orange (or 3-4 Tbs orange juice)
· 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
· 1 tsp dried dill (or 2 Tbs fresh chopped dill)
· 1 minced clove garlic
· black pepper to taste
· salt to taste (go light because of the saltiness of the feta cheese)

PROCEDURE:

Get started by making the dressing in a mixing bowl, that is large enough to eventually make the salad in, by combining about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil with the juice of half of a fresh squeezed orange, 2-3 Tbs of balsamic vinegar, about 1 tsp of dried dill, a good crack of fresh ground black pepper and 1 minced clove of garlic and whisk it up.

Next, use a peeler to peel a couple of medium sized beets over the sink and then use a box grater to grate those raw beets right into the bowl with the dressing. Then grate an equal amount of peeled carrots over the top of that.

Be super careful with your fingers as you're grating the vegetables or, if you wanted to, you could use a food processor with a shredder attachment instead.

Next, add 1 well drained 15-ounce can of chickpeas and toss everything around to coat.

All that is left is to check it for seasoning, maybe add a little more orange juice or dill and maybe a pinch of salt but, be careful with the salt because the feta cheese we're finishing with is pretty salty itself. Finish each individual serving with a little crumbled feta cheese over the top.

I've got some big news coming tomorrow. Be sure and check back!

Almost Fell Off the Frugal Wagon!

This article appears in the Carnival of Money Stories at Consumer Boomer. If you came from the carnival, welcome!

Sometimes we think we’ve totally shed our old consumer lifestyle and emerged as a truly frugal, consciously living person. We know we’re so integrated in this new lifestyle that, even if we won the lottery we wouldn’t go back to our old spending ways. We’re comfortably smug as we watch the Joneses keep struggling. Then something happens and our old self rears its ugly head and lets us know that we have to stay focused!

A few weeks ago my old refrigerator quit working. I emptied it out, turned it off, let it sit for a day or two and turned it back on. It worked for a few days and then quit again. That’s it, I figured, time to replace it. Not only did I decide that I was going to replace my fridge, I decided to replace all my appliances! They’re all sixteen years old, I reasoned, probably going out soon anyway, why not head that hassle off at the pass and just go ahead and get new ones? Just like that, I was right back where I started a year or so ago, ready and willing to spend money to replace something that still worked, for the sake of sheer convenience and opportunism.

I have another fridge in my shop and had moved all my food out there. I had some trips planned and decided not to do anything until I got back. Just like most other things, buying appliances in rural West Texas is difficult and I wasn’t prepared to deal with it just then. I did some research, made my decisions about what I wanted, and then put the plan on the backburner until a more convenient time.

Subsequent to my refrigerator failure and before I’d acted on my urge to buy all new appliances, I lost my job. Even in the face of this adversity I was still planning to replace the fridge, if not everything else. Basically for the sake of form, I decided I’d better at least call the repairman to come take a look. He visited me this week and, for $116 he fixed my fridge, proclaimed it good for at least another fifteen years and felt there was no reason the other appliances wouldn’t last a good long time too. This guy also sells appliances so no, he wasn’t drumming up future business for himself!

Why, one wonders, was this repairman visiting me a good six weeks after the fridge failed? After I’d spent countless hours picking out new appliances? Why did I think of him last instead of first? I thought I’d beaten that old, unconsciously spending person I used to be into submission a long time ago! It was a good reminder that I’m not quite there yet. Allocated budget for all new, unnecessary appliances - $3,500. Necessary expense - $116. Number of perfectly good appliances going into the landfill - 0. Lesson learned – priceless!

Have you ever lost your focus? Luckily circumstances stepped in to foil my attempts to derail myself. What about you? How far wrong did you go before you got yourself back on track? I got my wake-up call, what about you? What snapped you back? Isn’t it wonderful that we get to fall off the wagon and then are allowed to get back on?!

Japanese Beetle Trap

I just came across this video from Fred at Fred's Fine Fowl. It's an ingenious Japanese Beetle Trap that funnels the beetles right to the chickens! I'm going to have to keep this in mind although I think I'd replace the old shoelaces with something else. Great job Fred!



Do you have any clever ideas or inventions that you have created or adapted for use? I'd love to hear about them!

A bad day on the farm!

(Temporary chicken enclosure that sits down inside one of the raised beds.)

I had a pretty grim day on the urban farm yesterday. I’ve let my chicks spend the night outside for the last two nights in their temporary enclosure and when I came down to check on them yesterday morning, one was dead in the pen, gruesomely missing a leg. I’m sure a raccoon reached in there, grabbed what it could and jerked it out through the poultry netting. This was a very sweet chick and I was pretty down about losing her. I felt especially guilty because I know that poultry netting (chicken wire) is not strong enough and not secure enough for overnight accommodations. I just knew that my chicks were tired of coming in and out and I was tired of chasing them around and forcing them. I knew better and I did it anyway. Poor chick paid the price. Life on any farm, urban or rural, big or small, includes these little vignettes about life and death but you do get attached and I was pretty sad. I completely re-wired the run with ½” hardware cloth, which I should have used from the beginning and now I hope they will be safe. I know I’ll be sleeping with one ear tuned to the yard tonight!


(Seems silly to be so sad over a chicken but this big red and white one is the poor victim.)

I got a plumbing issue figured out and the watering system for the tomatoes resolved. I have fifteen plants in the new bed with the deer-deterrent cage in place. The sides roll up for work and down when I’m through. I’m very happy with the design and so far, no sign of deer destruction! I still need a bit more topsoil to do the second bed but should have that in place soon. It’s late for West Texas but we have a long growing season and, as they say, better late than never!


(Raised beds with deer deterrent cages.)

The Unemployment Line - It Could be Worse!

This article appears in the 210th Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance at Suburban Dollar.



So I’ve become a statistic. I am one of the thirteen million Americans who has lost their job due to the current economic conditions. As you may know, I work freelance but the majority of my income (80%) comes from one client who pays me a flat fee every month so that he is always first in line. I do offsite paralegal work for him and unfortunately, business has been so bad he’s had to switch me to an hourly arrangement. As there’s no work, I'm basically laid off.

My initial reaction to this unexpected news, was that I needed to call a realtor, put my house on the market and make plans to sell up and move out, probably foisting myself upon a family member until I could get things rolling again. Luckily, I calmed down before I put any of that in motion and decided, for the time being at least, I needed to try and hunker down and see if I can weather the storm. It’s been about a year since I jumped on the frugal bandwagon and, although I’ve been working very hard at it, I still have some debt and not a lot of savings. I’m in a much better position than I was a year ago but not in a position to weather this current situation for very long so I’m scrambling.

I was a network admin for the U.S. Border Patrol before going freelance and I’ve got some small clients for whom I provide that kind of service. I’m glad I have them because at least they represent some money coming in but at approximately 20% of my former income, I can’t rest long! I put an ad in the paper to see about renting a room in my house. You may recall that I have been exploring this as a possibility for quite some time but hadn’t gone forward with it for various reasons. The ad has been running for two weeks now and I’ve not yet been successful. I had one good possibility who wasn’t sure she could get out of her current lease and was going to call me last week. I haven’t heard back from her so clearly she either changed her mind or was unsuccessful in her negotiation with her landlord. I also had a man come yesterday to look at the room. It had never occurred to me to rent to a man and, after talking to him, I decided I just wasn’t comfortable going that route. I’m going to keep running the ad and hope something comes of it. Renting a room is a great passive income generator that I hope to be able to take advantage of soon!

I’m sending letters out to some local attorneys offering my services as an “on call” paralegal. One of my friends who is an attorney has already recommended me to these particular people so mine will be follow-up letters. I live in a very tiny rural town and wages are pretty low here and jobs hard to find. I feel like scrounging up a series of part-time jobs, which allow me time to keep my current clients and continue looking is a better strategy than taking a low paying full-time job that wouldn’t allow me time to do anything else. I’ve been doing a lot of networking and have been getting some leads so hopefully something solid will come soon.

I hope to keep my ship afloat at least long enough to decide what I want to do and to make an informed decision about where I want to go. I’ve been living in this little tiny town for nearly 31 years now and perhaps it’s time to move along. My son is gone and for quite awhile I’ve been feeling in need of a change. Perhaps this is my call to action! It’s a little scary. Frankly, the thought of liquidating my possessions, another long-held goal, is so daunting, I’m afraid it’s been partially responsible for my inertia!


I know things happen for a reason and I’m sure I’m going to be fine, wherever I end up. Change is hard but I think I’m up to it!

Update on my Urban "Farm"

Several weeks ago I wrote an article on making little seed starter pots out of toilet paper rolls. I made a bunch of them and put them under the lights down in my basement. I sprouted a variety of seedlings using this method and will mark it down as a success!

Here's an update. The containers in the front and to the right are bell and Anaheim peppers still in their starter pots. The container in the back is arugula, which I planted in one of those clamshell containers that lettuce comes in from the grocery store. I just filled it with potting soil and sowed the arugula seeds directly in the container. The arugula will stay in the basement because it is too hot here for it to grow outside.



Here's some broccoli, which I just transplanted to 4" pots. The broccoli will also stay inside where it is cool. I have a whole bunch of these, which I'll transplant again when they are a little bigger.



Finally, here are my tomato plants. They have also been transplanted from their toilet paper roll starter pots into 4" pots. I have Super Sweet 100's and a heritage variety called Brandywine. Their next stop is the garden!

Speaking of the garden, another one of my projects is three raised beds. I built these beds out of 12' 2 x 12's. The beds are 8' x 4' so each bed used two 12' 2 x 12's. I chose to put two angle brackets on each corner. I thought the brackets would make the beds more stable than if I'd just screwed them together. It certainly made them more expensive! The blank wall you can see to the left of the single bed is where my chicken coop is going to go. The chair you can see is where my little makeshift chicken playpen is and where I sit to watch them!

After construction I used some tinted wood sealer in a redwood color. It is a good match to the trim on my house. I put them up on 2 x 4's to make painting easier and to keep from painting the grass! The can said to be sure there was no rain in the forecast for at least 48 hours after application. It rained 5 times after I finished staining them!

They're still red so I'm moving forward. The single bed is in my backyard. The two beds are in my sideyard which is, unfortunately, a popular stop for deer. It is one of the sunniest spots on my property and I'm determined to take it back! My plan is to build two 3' tall cages, with doors, out of 2 x 2's, and cover them with chicken wire. Then I'll set them down over the beds and hopefully thwart the deer!

I'm getting a late start on my vegetable gardens this year. I was feeling guilty about that until it hailed three times this past week. Now I feel ever so much smarter than my more efficient neighbors who are replanting their gardens. Sometimes procrastination pays off!

Unfortunately, topsoil is a little hard to come by around here so I'm scrounging dirt and organic material. My worms will be contributing what they can. Luckily we generally have until at least late October before the first frost so I should have plenty of time to get in a good harvest.

Finally, the livestock! The chicks are getting bigger. I've been taking them outside for short periods when the weather permits. Here is a very short video of them in their little outdoor playpen! Haven't quite got the video capability of my camera figured out!

Between the eggs and the gardens I'm hoping to produce a large portion of my food requirements. Wish me luck and stay tuned for future urban "farm" updates!

Carnival of Money Stories - June 1 Wedding Edition!

Okay, I know, weird theme with no connection to the content but June is a big month for weddings so there you go. Weddings are pretty expensive too, so that's my money connection!

Five Cent Nickel received notice of a correspondence audit from the IRS recently. A Letter From the IRS can be a scary thing. Luckily for him, Nickel was in the right and had the paperwork to prove it!

MoneyNing has an excellent article on foreclosure and how it really is happening everywhere. Foreclosure Really Happens All Over reminds us to be compassionate with those who have fallen on hard times, regardless of how they got there. It’s a good reminder.

Hopefully, even with times so tough, you are managing to maintain a charitable spirit. If you’re looking for ways to spend your charitable dollars, check out this article from Good Financial Cents’ Jeff Rose, Giving to a Good Cause: DonorsChoose.org. Jeff recently won a gift certificate to DonorsChoose.org from Green Panda Treehouse and was impressed by his experience.

SectorMatic Money Journal is asking, “What Does the Internet Mean to your Wallet?” It’s an interesting article.

Did you ever wish you could have a do-over? Suburban Dollar is outlining his three biggest financial mistakes and calling on the Suburban Genie! Those “if only’s” can be tough!

Len Penzo offers up an amusing article this week with, A Few Minutes with Personal Finance Genius Rich Livingston. I bet you know a few Rich Livingston’s!

Jim over at Bargaineering recently requested and reviewed his credit report for errors. Those things can be a little confusing so he’s showing us How to Review Your Equifax Credit Report. It’s a very informative article and he’s got some good advice to share.

Have you ever had trouble moving your money around? Free Money Finance is having a tough time with E*Trade these days and he’s telling it like it is with Yet Another Reason to Hate E*Trade! He actually got to talk to a real live person and even that didn’t help!

Debt Kid has been having a tough time but he’s Hoping for a Good Summer. I’m impressed with his ability to keep a positive attitude and continue to move forward in the face of so many obstacles. He's a good example for all of us who are struggling.

The Lucrative Investor wonders, “Could Painting Your Roof be the Key to Reversing Climate Change?” Every little bit helps, I guess.

Having a great vacation can sure put you in the mind of buying a vacation home. Bible Money Matters was recently involved in just such an experience. Calmer heads prevailed though and he wants us to remember, Don’t Let Your Emotions Cloud your Good Judgement. Sure is fun to dream!

My Dollar Plan is trying to help a reader in a tough financial situation and is asking for your input, in “Help a Reader: Keep the House or Save for Retirement?” It’s a tough call, especially if you factor in the possibility of a rebounding economy enabling his house to become an integral part of his retirement nest egg.

Brian Maxwell from Live Your Life With Prosperity and Success submitted twenty-three articles, all of which I read. Although they were all good, none really fit the profile of money stories. In spite of that, who doesn’t want to live a happier life? 3 Ways to Live a Happier Life has some good advice and is written basically in the narrative voice and so I’m including it!

In the midst of all the foreclosures, it’s nice to read about someone doing a re-finance and keeping their home. Single Guy Money says he’s comfortably able to make his payments but is working out a re-fi in order to lower them. Who wouldn’t want that? Refinancing my Home…Hopefully tells us where he is with the process.

Do you think having an MBA will be the answer to all your prayers? CashMoneyLife reconsidered and explains Why Achieving an MBA is no Longer my Goal.

Funny About Money is in the midst of slowly losing her job. She’s been aware of it for quite awhile and has been factoring and figuring how she’s going to make it when time runs out. Unfortunately, she’s having a hard time getting all the facts on where she stands and what she’ll need. Right now she has a Fight a-brewing over COBRA with her employer. Sometimes it’s impossible to get a straight answer.

The Smarter Wallet walks us through the lessons he’s learned trading on the Stock Market. In spite of its title, “Should You Trade Stocks Online?”, isn’t specifically about trading online but trading at all. Thanks for sharing the lessons you learned!

Northern Cheapskate recently learned the value of preventative health care for your pet, even when it seems expensive. Lesson Learned: Don’t Skimp on Pet’s Care gives us all the opportunity to learn from her mistake.

Almost Frugal recently got out of graduate school and has a job – congratulations AF! She is letting us in on some Lessons Learned About Frugality While in Graduate School.

Money Blue Book has been trading with Zecco and gives us an in-depth review of his experience with them and their practices in Zecco Review: Free Online Stock Trading.

Finally, Ask Mr. Credit Card took a break from his normal topic and wrote an article about an inspiring idea his wife had for her 40th birthday party. Mrs. Credit Card’s 40th Charity Birthday Party for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation tells the story of how Mrs. Credit Card turned her birthday party into a fund raiser for a worthy charity. Good for you Mrs. Credit Card! I’m fast approaching 50 and I may go that route myself.

I received a lot of submissions this week. Many of them were informative, well-written, funny and enjoyable to read. Unfortunately, most of them were either not stories or not financial in nature or both. If your article was not included in this carnival, don’t despair. It was probably an excellent article, just not a story. I would urge you to submit it to one of the other financial Carnivals, where it will probably be an Editor’s Pick and earn you all sorts of attention! One of the things that make the articles in this Carnival so pleasant to read is that they must be stories meaning, among other things, that they are told in the narrative voice. Thank you all for your submissions!

Be sure and link to the carnival from your site. Please help advertise the carnival through whatever social networking sites you frequent. More traffic to the carnival helps us all!

Have a great week everybody!