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!

By Eden, Sun 28 Dec 2008, Categories: Web Favorites

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)

By Eden, Sun 14 Dec 2008, 4 Comments, Categories: Web Favorites

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.

By Eden, Tue 9 Dec 2008, Categories: Consumerism, Web Favorites

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!

By Eden, Sat 6 Dec 2008, Categories: Web Favorites

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.

By Eden, Mon 1 Dec 2008, Categories: Web Favorites