Update: Updated some links and removed social networking sites that I no longer use. Also note that I am now primarily using Twitter over these other services (funny how these things change).

I spend a lot of time on the Internet. As a result I collect a lot of interesting links and resources. The hard part is finding an efficient way to keep track of the good stuff and share it with people who might be interested. Lately, I have become a regular user of StumbleUpon and Tumblr. I like these sites because sharing links with them is fast. I also use Digg, Del.icio.us, and Twitter, though they are becoming less useful to me. I still consider Del.icio.us my all-encompassing bookmark reference, and that is a valuable thing to have, but it’s not great for sharing. I like the StumbleUpon community and recommendations and I like that Tumblr is sort of a mini-blog and very easy to use for quick thoughts (I’ve found I prefer it over Twitter).

I have added a ‘Links‘ link to my site navigation that points to my Tumblr page (Tumblog). That will be the main place I keep my Internet favorites and other cool or fun stuff I come across when I’m on the Web. You can also subscribe to my Tumblr RSS feed if you want to keep track in an RSS reader. The Tumblr links will go beyond the content of this site, but if you have found what I’m doing here to be at all interesting you will likely get some value out of my favorite links as well.

You can also follow me at StumbleUpon, though I will likely add anything I ‘Stumble‘ to Tumblr as well (is this language getting ridiculous or what). Of course, there is an RSS feed for my StumbleUpon reviews too.

Summary:

• My StumbleUpon page
• My Twitter page
• My Tumblr page
• My StumbleUpon RSS
• My Tumblr RSS

My username at StumbleUpon and Tumblr is ‘edenj‘. Add me to your friends or follow me if you like. If you use these services send me an email or post a comment with your username and I will add you to my friends.

First, let me apologize to the wonderful hosts of this weeks carnivals and festivals for the delay in my post. I know you guys put a lot of time and effort into hosting and I should have written this post earlier in the week. It’s not a good excuse, but I’ve just been insanely busy.

First up is the Carnival of Debt Reduction - Holiday World Tour hosted by Lynnae at beingfrugal.net . I am honored to have been chosen as an Editor’s Pick in this Carnival, with post #1 in my Get Out of Debt in 9 Steps Series. Be sure to check out fellow Editor’s Pick 10 Small Ways to Make a Big Dent in Debt from Paid Twice. After you have read our tips for getting out of debt, see what Single Guy Money has to share about how great it feels to knock out your credit card debt. Yeah, I’m jealous.

Next on the list is the Carnival of Personal Finance - Investment Truth Edition hosted by StockTradingToGo.com. Many thanks to StockTradingToGo for including my post on Why You Should Make a Budget. Interesting analysis from My Open Wallet on the Amazon.com Kindle (new e-book reader). Personally, I think the $400 price tag is insane, but as My Open Wallet covers maybe it could be a good deal. If you are looking to earn some extra money, have a look at Mrs. Micah’s post on finding a freelance job in your free time. I’ve found all but one of my freelance projects through personal contacts and word of mouth, but then again I’ve never tried very hard to find a lot of freelance work.
You might think that two blog carnivals would be enough for the week…well you would be right! But I did find time for a blog festival too. Thanks to Cheap Healthy Good for hosting the Festival of Frugality - The Mix Tape Edition. Another post from my Get Out of Debt Series was included on Living Below Your Means. I’m not sure if Bon Jovi follows a frugal lifestyle, but I guess you never know. I enjoyed this post from beingfrugal.net on having a frugal Christmas this year. I can really relate, resisting the urge to shop has never been easy for me, but I’m holding up much better so far than I ever have before. If you are doing some shopping, have a look at some strategies for winning items on Ebay by Home Life Weekly. Personally, I’ve been an Ebay ’sniper’ (winning at the last second is called ’sniping’) for many years. You don’t need a service to do it, though maybe it would be more effective- certainly will save you some time.

I think that covers it for this week. Thanks again to the hosts for all of your time and hard work.

Reader Question: Bear Market Worries, What About My Roth IRA? by My Money Blog - Interesting response to a reader’s question about a drop in the stock market. My take, if you can’t handle seeing your mutual funds drop on a short term basis then you shouldn’t be investing in stocks. Find your comfort level with risk and invest in the appropriate place.

Ask the Readers: How Do You Keep Frugality Fun and Interesting? by Get Rich Slowly - This is a constant battle for me. I like seeing the progress in my account balances as I work to spend and save more wisely, but I still have the desire to buy things that I know I shouldn’t.

Making it to Boardwalk at BankRate.com, interview with Robert Kiyosaki - I found this interview to be a mixed bag, I like Kiyosaki’s focus on improving financial education, but I found the recommendation to buy silver to be rather bizarre. I guess you only have to be right about something like that once, but precious metals have rarely been a wise place to put your money. Time will tell.

I may have complained a bit about trying to keep up with all of the articles in my earlier Personal Finance Carnival post, but I decided not to be negative and instead made some extra time for reading. I started at the bottom of the list and tried to focus only on bloggers that are new to me. Here are a few of my favorites below.

Thoughts on Robert Kiyosaki by How I Will Be Rich - Nice breakdown of Robert Kiyosaki (probably best known for the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book). I have yet to read anything by Mr. Kiyosaki, though my impressions from seeing him on TV and reading about him tend to lean toward the negative side. However, I do want to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and see what I think.

Ready to Retire Right Now? by The Digerati Life - Um, yeah, I’m ready now! Okay, I’m only ready mentally. I definitely believe in the alternative ways of making a living route and I will get there some day, just not before I have solved this pesky little debt issue.

How I Don’t Brown Bag and I’m Happier For it by Money Relations - I guess passing on the brown bag doesn’t make you evil after all!

Do You Pay People for Things You Could Do Yourself? by One Frugal Girl - This article makes a good point. I used to aspire to be able to afford to pay people to clean my house or do similar little annoying tasks, but is it really that bad to do things yourself?

Target - The Clearance King - by Saving Freak - Very interesting. I love Target, Wal-Mart would have to pay me well to get me to shop there, so now I need to keep a better eye out for the clearance deals.

Thanks to Million Dollar Journey for hosting the 126th Carnival of Personal Finance. I actually hadn’t been to the Million Dollar Journey site until this carnival, but I have to say I really like what I see. Be sure to visit if you haven’t already.

I already posted links to many of these articles in my Web favorites over the last week so I will have to take some more time to dig in and see if I can discover some new bloggers before I have more to share.

A little side note about blog carnivals- I really like the sense of community and I do my best to read as many of the participant’s articles as I can, but do we ever get to a point of diminishing returns with so many posts being shared each week? I mean, it’s a good thing that there is such an active community, but sometimes less is more. Just a thought, I’m not trying to say there was something wrong with the carnival or the host.