Finance and Fat » Web Favorites

Weekly Web Favorites and 3,000 Calories

Eden — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:32:17 +0000

I started using a new fitness and nutrition tracking website this week (Daily Burn) and was quite shocked when I found I had consumed 3,200 calories one day. To be honest, I know I’ve been eating horribly lately. Trying to treat my stress with fat and sugar apparently. But I had no idea my diet had gone that far out of control. I guess that’s why it’s good to keep a food journal. It would be even better to not eat 3,000 calories in the first place, but now I know what I need to work on.

Favorite Quote:

“It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. Better to assume you are a moron and occasionally surprise yourself.” Funny Quotes by Quotes for Idiots

Favorite Links:

The Source of Frugal Misery [from The Simple Dollar] When you spend money, spend it on things you value. Spend as little as possible on the things you don’t value.
How to Network With Busy People – Part 11 [from Steve Pavlina dot com] Don’t begin your first contact with an apology (like ‘sorry to bother you’). Just because someone is busy doesn’t mean you’re not an equal.
On the Proper Use of ‘Me’ and ‘I’ [from Foldedspace] It may be something simple, but this is a nice overview and good for reference in case you forget.
Planning Fallacy [from Less Wrong] Great read if you’re a project manager or if you make plans for the future…yeah, that should be everyone. It’s an important concept to understand.
Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy by Moving to Remote Village [from The Onion] This is one of the funniest things I’ve seen for a while (it’s a video by the way). Of course it’s just a parody, but it’s not really that great a stretch to imagine this in our future.

*As always, you can find all of my ‘weekly web favorites’ and many more links on my StumbleUpon page and my Delicious Bookmarks.

Weekly Web Favorites and 3,000 Calories

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Weekly Web Favorites: Losing Weight is Hard Edition

Eden — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:07:54 +0000

I’m really struggling with my diet and exercise lately. I’ve realized that I first turn to food when I’m feeling stressed or depressed. The only healthy replacement I can think of is exercise so I’m going to work on making exercise a priority, even when I don’t feel like it.

Favorite Quote:

“One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. Unless you’re a raccoon. Then it’s basically all one category.” – Funny Quotes by Quotes for Idiots

Favorite Links:

I have two favorites from Early Retirement Extreme: Survival Preparedness – a great starting point for emergency preparation and Extreme Early Retirement vs. Friends and Relatives offers a look at the issues you’ll face with friends and family when trying to save money to the extreme.
What We Wish We Knew When We Were Younger [from Get Rich Slowly] – a great look at things we wish we had known before, since I knew virtually nothing about money these all apply to me and many more too I’m sure.
The Short Term and the Long Term Choice [from The Simple Dollar] – Ask yourself where you’ll be in the future when making a decision, this is great advice and something I’m trying to put into practice in my life now. I have far too much of a short term focus.

Carnivals

I was fortunate enough to be included in the Carnival of Personal Finance: Famous money quotes edition, hosted by Christian Personal Finance and the Festival of Frugality #189, Extreme Heat Edition, hosted by Modern Tightwad. Many thanks to the carnival hosts for the hard work they put this week!

*As always, you can find all of my ‘weekly web favorites’ and many more links on my StumbleUpon page.

Weekly Web Favorites: Losing Weight is Hard Edition

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Weekly Web Favorites – Quotes for Idiots Edition

Eden — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:05:01 +0000

I have a little side project going, called Quotes for Idiots. The idea behind it is humorous takes on the usual, boring quotes we hear all the time, as well as some wacky stuff that someone crazy comes up with. Traffic to Quotes for Idiots has recently taken off so I want to start working harder at promoting it. I’ll be including some quotes in my weekly web favorites post from now on. Enjoy!

“He who hesitates is lost. Unless he hesitates before walking in front of a moving bus, that might save his life.” – funny quotes by Quotes for Idiots

Favorite Posts:

The Big Question: Are You Better Than Yesterday? – From The Blog of Tim Ferriss and it was written by Chad Fowler, CTO of InfoEther, Inc. – I really enjoyed this post. One great takeaway is when you are working on something long-term, like losing weight, don’t let the lack of immediate results discourage you. Just try to do better than you did the day before and give your results time.
Are Budgets Dead? [Ask The Reader] – From Saving for Serenity – Great conversation on the importance of budgeting and whether a budget is really necessary.
Six Words That Saved Me $17,893 – And Can Save You Even More – From Frugal Dad, written by Neal Frankle of Wealth Pilgrim – Read this post and remember “What is the purpose of this?”.
Frugality Vs. “Big Wins” – Why You Shouldn’t Care About Either – From Man vs. Debt – Big wins or frugality is always a popular personal finance discussion. I think paying attention to both is important.

Carnivals

I was fortunate enough to be included in the Carnival of Personal Finance: House of Rose Edition, hosted by Good Financial Cents and Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #18, hosted by My Life ROI. Many thanks to the carnival hosts for the hard work they put this week!

*As always, you can find all of my ‘weekly web favorites’ and many more links on my StumbleUpon page.

Weekly Web Favorites – Quotes for Idiots Edition

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Weekly Web Favorites

Eden — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:05:27 +0000

Sharing some of my favorite links from the past week or so.

Teach yourself to cook [from Wise Bread] – Great look at how and why you should be cooking at home (I completely agree).

Benefits of Homemade Household Cleaners [from Five Cent Nickel] – Why you might want to make your own household cleaning products.

the four(ty) hour workweek [from brip blap] – In-depth look at the popular book (The 4-Hour Workweek
) and figuring out what freedom from work really means.

FDIC Steps In to Keep Ally Bank’s Interest Rates Lower [from Consumerism Commentary] – Too much government interference in the private sector? I certainly think so.

Note – I add all of my weekly web favorites (as well as many more links) to my StumbleUpon page, which you can visit at any time to see all of my favorite links.

Weekly Web Favorites

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Weekly Web Favorites

Eden — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:29:18 +0000

There were many great posts written in the blogosphere over the past week. Below are a few of my favorites.

The thing about goals [from Seth Godin] – Life would be easier if you didn’t bother to set any goals…but you’d be lagging behind your goal setting colleagues.

When Your Financial State Improves, Do Your Frugal Standards Change? [from The Simple Dollar] – Nice look at why we are doing this frugality ‘thing’, what is truly important, and how to progress as your financial life improves.

Ask the Readers: How Much Money Would it Take For You to Compromise Your Principles? [from Get Rich Slowly] – Very interesting discussion on money, values, and ethics. Lots of great comments.

5 Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferriss [from Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk] – This is an interesting one, with an obviously negative tone, but it touches on some important points on building personal relationships and how to keep the proper perspective.

The Single Secret to Making 2009 Your Best Year Ever [from Zen Habits] – Great article with one simple thing to focus on this year.

Weekly Web Favorites

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Weekly Web Favorites: Christmas is Over Edition

Eden — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:46:05 +0000

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. We had a great time hosting Christmas dinner at our house for the second year in the row. Lots of food, lots of family, and not a lot of gifts—just how it should be. We used the weak Economy as an excuse not to exchange gifts with just about everyone we know. That made Christmas a lot less stressful and a lot less expensive.

This week, I participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance and the Carnival of Debt Reduction. Many thanks to Saving to Invest and Destroy Debt for hosting the blog carnivals this week.

I haven’t read many blogs over the past week and that will continue as I plan to be away from this blog and the Internet in general until about January 5th. That being said, I do have a couple of favorites from the past week.

Buy Now Pay Later [from Bonfire of the Brands] – a little anti-consumerism message is always important this time of year.

Fed Destined To Become World’s Largest Auto Dealership [from Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis] – the bailout madness is really going too far. Actually, it had gone too far months ago and now I guess we’re just in the laughable stage.

Happy New Year!

Weekly Web Favorites: Christmas is Over Edition

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Weekly Web Favorites- Blog Carnival Edition

Eden — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:05:00 +0000

First up for this week, I was fortunate enough to have my article on Simple Steps for a Cash Only Christmas chosen as an Editor’s Pick in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance. Many thanks to Free From Broke for hosting this week’s carnival.

But enough about me, now for my other favorites from the past week.

10 Top Tips for Fighting Illness [from Get Fit Slowly] – These tips should be part of my regular lifestyle. I would put hand washing at the top though—I seem to get sick much less frequently now that I’ve become a little obsessed with washing my hands.

Household Uses For Vinegar, The Ultimate Frugal Solution [from Frugal Dad] – It’s amazing how much you can do with vinegar and how inexpensive it is.

A Crazy Retirement Plan? [from the Strump] – Clearly, there are many different ways to get to retirement. Just make sure you have a plan that is realistic for you.

Debt Elimination Tips: How To Reduce Debt With These Do’s and Don’ts [from The Diegerati Life] – Get out of debt tips from someone who has learned by doing.

Lastly, I leave you with some great financial wisdom—guaranteed to make you rich: (here’s the link in case the image doesn’t show up)

Weekly Web Favorites- Blog Carnival Edition

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Bonfire of the Brands

Eden — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:30:00 +0000

I recently discovered the Bonfire of the Brands website and book, thanks to the Good Consumer video I talked about a few days ago.

I really love the idea behind this site and I ordered the book. Below are a few excellent quotes (my titles in bold) from the website. I recommend taking more time to read it yourself—there is a lot of great content to be found.

The Basic Problem:

These are the facts: Chain stores dominate our high streets. Adverts dominate our media. And brands dominate our culture – to the extent that owning the right products defines what it is to be normal. For some people this isn’t an issue – they shop for pleasure, they love the big brands, and they feel comfortable being sold to all day. I’m not one of those people. Well, not anymore. I’ll give you three reasons why:

1. Non-essential consumption is a root cause of the situation we find ourselves in today – the environment, the economy and popular culture are all affected by the drive towards consumer growth.

2. Consumerism doesn’t work – in that it’s supposed to make us happy. Not in any sustainable way. Shopping is like a drug – the instant high is fantastic, but it’s never enough.

3. We’re starting to lose the choice. There are millions of consumer choices on the shelves. But alternatives to consumerism isn’t one of them. It’s virtually impossible to live brand-free and be normal.

Consumerism:

Buy Less Live More

If we don’t shift to a less consumerist and throwaway society, we’ll hit crisis after crisis, and it’s coming soon.

Think about it:

The Mark Of A Moron

It’s surely the mark of an individual to refuse to be branded. It’s daft to spend money on Nike clothes. The mark of a moron. Anyone who does so has been merely duped by the million-dollar marketing campaigns. To buy Nike shows a sheep-like nature and a lack of imagination and style.

Who in their right mind would want to be branded, like a cow? A brand identifies you as someone else’s property. It is the mark of a tamed and exploited animal. Brands promise freedom but they deliver the opposite: the worst kind of slavish conformity.

Bonfire of the Brands

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Weekly Web Favorites: Crazed-Consumerist Edition

Eden — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:43:38 +0000

I’ve included an excellent video in this week’s Web Favorites. It’s called the Good Consumer. Sadly, there is far too much truth in this video.

California May Pay With IOUs, Minnesota $5.2 Billion in the Hole [from MISH'S Global Economic Trend Analysis] – Looks like just the beginning…my guess is that the bailout of the States will be the next big bailout story.

Shall We Call it a Depression Now? [from Robert Reich's Blog] – Sounds a bit extreme to me, but it doesn’t seem like such as stretch as it might have a year ago.

How To Get A Gut [from Get Fit Slowly] – It’s far too easy to pack on extra pounds this time of year. Take action now!

The death of buy and hold? [from Early Retirement Extreme] – My early days in the stock market took place during the ‘new’ buy and hold strategy that seemed so perfect during the dotcom boom. Sadly, too many people still think it works.

Harvard: Not So Smart After All [from The Big Picture] – “Harvard’s endowment has now blown through over $8 Billion, or 22% in the last four months.” Yikes!

Weekly Web Favorites: Crazed-Consumerist Edition

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Weekly Web Favorites

Eden — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:07:29 +0000

Some of my favorite Web articles over the past couple of weeks.

7 Wildly Successful People Who Survived Bankruptcy [from Mental_Floss] – It’s amazing how many successful and famous Americans have filed for bankruptcy. Clearly, it shouldn’t stop you from being successful.

Managing Into The Ground: Robert Nardelli [from Barel Karsan] – I need to become a CEO. $200+ million in compensation for failure isn’t too shabby at all.

One Life: The Cost of Extreme Consumerism [from Consumerism Commentary] – A temporary worker at a Wal-Mart was trampled to death by an insane mob of shoppers on Black Friday. This is a great illustration of what is wrong with the Consumerist Culture in our country. Truly disgusting.

Good Gifts To Give: Five Guidelines To Giving Gifts Your Family and Friends Will Love [from erica.biz] – Excellent way to think about gift giving this Christmas season. Bottom line, give something practical.

A Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis [from mint] – Fancy little graphics breaking down the current financial meltdown. Very well done.

Weekly Web Favorites

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