Happy Saturday everyone! I’m about to hit the road and go to Blog World in Los Angeles, but I wanted to share with you the latest with the Yakezie Blog Swap #13 that I hosted!

The topic for this swap was “What do you never go cheap on and why?” It’s a subject that I find kind of amusing and love hearing different people’s views on it. What better way to get multiple perspectives on this than host a blog swap and have people share their opinions!

I hope you enjoy the following articles. Please share the love and promote these awesome posts:

Retire by 40 dives right into the subject of “going cheap” and nails down the logic behind his financial choices over at Money Q and A.

Money Q and A explains why experiences shouldn’t have a price tag but “stuff” should. The post is over at Retire by 40.

Narrow Bridge Finance shares a little bit about his Jewish background and how sometimes the price is worth it. The post is over at Money Beagle.

Money Beagle itemizes some things that one should never go cheap on, including peanut butter! The post is over at Narrow Bridge Finance.

Live Real, Now shares with us that he is willing to pay the full price for food any day over at DQYDJ.

DQYDJ goes into detail why nice dress shirts are a must and spending money now. His post is over at Live Real, Now.

My Personal Finance Journey never goes cheap on sports equipment. His post is at My Broken Coin.

My Broken Coin encourages to spend money on yourself and not to go cheap on the luxuries in life. The post is at My Personal Finance Journey.

My Dog Ate My Wallet never goes cheap on tea and neither should you for the things you enjoy. The post is at One Cent at a Time.

One Cent at a a Time bares all and says fancy shampoo is a requirement! The post is at My Dog Ate My Wallet.

This concludes the Yakezie Blog Swap #13! As it turns out, many frugal financial bloggers don’t go cheap on everything! Let this

Welcome to the tenth weekend roundup at Free Money Wisdom! I have some great updates and some awesome links to share with you. I hope you’ve had a wonderful week. I had a very busy work week and barely had time to work on this website!

So, I’m going about my normal day on Friday and hot the gym like usual. Well, during my post-lift cardio session, I had a “light-bulb” experience. These experiences are not rare by the way. I swear some of my best ides come to me during cardio sessions lol.

Anyways, I was thinking about the one thing that would make this blog great. Not just great, but truly great. Then it hit me. I have seriously been slacking on providing you, the reader with quality personal content. By that, I mean that I have neglected my posting and have had one too many guest posts. Part of this is laziness on my part. Or maybe I’ve been too busy and haven’t managed my time very well… Either or, I have failed in terms of my content.

I’m going to focus my energy going forward on my writing. Not link building, not socializing, and not wasting my time. Writing is going to be my focus. I have so many life experiences to share with you so I’m pumped about that! Even better though, these life experiences can teach you how to manage your money in a God glorifying, wise way. It’s a win win. I’m also thrilled to get to know more of you better. If you’re reading this, feel free to email me and ask me questions or just email me to make a new friend. I want to be known for my “open door” policy and keeping the conversation going. You excited or what!

Now, onto the weekend roundup! I found some really solid articles from the Yakezie network this past week and couldn’t help but include them. I learned a lot from these articles and I’m sure you will too. Happy reading:

Top posts of the week!

Do you respect your money? over at Money Mamba

Saving for a down payment over at Money is the Root

Student Loan Debt Clock over at the Family CEO

How to embrace a sustainable living lifestyle over at Prairie EcoThrifter

Frugal Eats over at Bucksome Boomer

American Express Gold Card annual fee waived over at My Journey to Millions

Do you ever lose track of the big picture? over at the Financial Blogger

How much do I need to save for retirement? over at Frugal Zeitgeist

Super Simple Spinach Salmon Enchiladas! over at the Saved Quarter

How to set up a financial contingency plan over at Not Made of Money

Links to my staff writing, please share on your social networks!

Money as a relationship builder over at Gen X Finance

Make extra money with yard sales over at Debt Free Adventure

Co-signing: What does the Bible say? over at Christian PF

Rebates are a sham and I hate them over at Free From Broke

Carnivals yayyyy!

Festival of Frugality #298

Yakezie Carnival

Canadian Finance Carnival #55

Totally Money Carnival

Carnival of Personal Finance #238

Derek from Life and my Finances inspired me for this post. He has done a great job at being personable and getting his points across within his articles. I seriously need to do a better job at that! I remember when my most popular articles were pieces that tied it back in to my life personally. I need to get back to that. Derek also shares some of his goals for the future. I figured now would be a good time to do this:

Goal #1- Reach 2500 Twitter followers by January of 2012. My follower count has been stagnant and I have no idea why. Does anyone have advice on increasing this number? If you do, please let me know!

Goal #2- Grow my email list to 250 by January of 2012. I use Aweber to track subscribers instead of Feedburner. It’s been super successful with the launch of my free E-Course. 250 seems like a very manageable number by January. If I beat that then hoorahh!

Goal #3- Continue to post 3 solid articles a week. I want to focus more on personable content going forward and really providing you the reader with some useful information. I want to make it more interactive and entertaining.

Goal #4- Continue staff writing for ChristianPF, Gen X Finance, Free From Broke, Bible Money Matters, and Money Crashers. Believe it or not I was actually staff writing for another three blogs but I ended up cutting it down to these blogs due to burnout! Yes, burnout. I thought I was invincible but staff writing 8 posts a week was just too much!

Like other weekend roundups, I found some really epic posts from around the Yakezie community. Here are some of my favorite reads last week:

Money and relationships over at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Your Will: give to kids equally or not? over at Squirrelers

Groupon for Brunswick Bowling over at Mom’s Plan

Why it’s so difficult to make money in the stock market over at Sweating the Big Stuff

Are two household incomes really better than one? over at Len Penzo

Do you have decision fatigue? over at Krant Cents

You’re not debt free if you have debt over at Punch Debt in the Face

3 lessons I should have known in high school over at Thousandaire

What bills do you auto-pay? over at Money Beagle

Can you live without a credit card? over at Faith and Finance

Time to play catch-up with my Carnival appearances… I highly recommend that you go to the sites below and check out other articles, tons of great material has been coming out!

Canadian Finance Carnival #53

Canadian Finance Carnival #54

Festival of Frugality #296

Have a great rest of the weekend and I’m looking forward to connecting with you this next week! It feels good to be back in the groove! Talk to you soon

I survived the great blackout in San Diego! If you haven’t heard about the recent electricity blackout, you can check out more about it here. People say it was a historic moment for the West coast. I have to agree with that statement!

I was driving back from some errands for work when it happened. I’m cruising through downtown San Diego and all of a sudden all the street lights were killed. Not even flashing, like they were all out completely! No big deal, I thought. I kept driving and driving and at this point I was pretty far away from downtown and the street lights were still out. When I finally got to work some of my coworkers told me what happened. They said the major grid in San Diego was killed and over a million people were without power!

As it turned out, it wasn’t just us here in San Diego. I guess parts of Mexico and Arizona lost power also. When we’ve lost power in the past it’s taken quite a few hours to get it back. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and knew that it would be at least a day before the power came back on.

It was a surreal experience going home. All gas stations closed, restaurants clearing out their food, and every retail store without lights. I ended up driving around that night and was shocked at the quietness and lack of electricity around San Diego.

Later that night, I heard that Target was open so I thought I would go and check it out. You would not believe the long lines and what people were buying. I swear there was a line that wrapped around the store and people had carts full of candles and dry foods. It was shocking. It also reminded me that Americans are terrible about disaster preparedness.

As a lesson, I’ll be starting my own emergency preparedness kit and writing an article on it in the near future. It’s an important topic that everyone should be familiar with.

Now, what would a blackout be without some of my favorite links of the week! As usual, here are my top ten favorite articles of the week from around the Yakezie community. Enjoy!

Bowling leagues are dang expensive over at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

5 simple ways to take advantage of low interest credit cards over at Faithful With a Few

9 things to do when you retire over at Free from Broke

Is cash still king? I’m starting to have my doubts over at Life and my Finances

Leaving kids at home when school shopping? over at Everyday Tips and Thoughts

Pros and cons of cashback credit cards over at Live Real, Now

Homework spaces and places over at The Centsible Life

Rich people are going to hell over at Punch Debt in the Face

I bet against america. I’m not patriotic? over at Darwin’s Money

Katy Perry and personal finance: maxing out those credit cards over at Squirrelers

It’s been a busy week and have had friends and family visit me here in San Diego, so it’s been quiet on the staff writing front. Here are the few I wrote this week:

Wedding budgets: slash expenses with these 5 tips over at Christian PF

Mint.com Review over at Deliver Away Debt

Carnivals I was featured in this week-

Festival of Frugality #296

Totally Money Carnival #36

Best of Money Carnival #120

Carnival of Wealth Fall Edition

Yakezie Carnival 9/11 Edition

Carnival of Financial Planning #198

It’s that time again, another weekend roundup of the best posts of the week. It was a busy week and got a lot done on this blog. I’m excited to see the constant growth. I can’t believe that almost 8 months has gone by!

If you are reading this, thank you for your support and readership. This blog would be nowhere without people like YOU. If you haven’t yet, go grab my free 7-day e-course on tips for retiring a millionaire. The competition for $50 is still going so don’t miss out on this free cash opportunity!

It’s been beautiful weather here in San Diego and I keep praising God for it! Speaking of good weather, I really need to hit the beach soon, it’s been a while

Without further a-do, here are the top ten articles from this past week!

Making more than my husband and we are loving it! over at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

New Jersey activates price gouging laws in reaction to hurricane Irene over at Faithful with a Few

The reasons to build wealth over at Buy Like Buffett

All advice is not created equal over at Thousandaire

Understanding marginal propensity to consume over at Faith and Finance

Compensation for nurses: hourly wages verses salaried over at Dr. Dean

Money saving international travel tips over at Money Help for Christians

Your options if employment cuts you over at Money Green Life

Transportation alternatives for one car families over at Free From Broke

I like it but I don’t know why over at Wealth Informatics

As always, I staff write for quite a few websites, here they are. Don’t forget to +1 and Tweet these articles!

Hidden value of work over at Debt Free Adventure

It might be time to break up with your bank over at Bible Money Matters

Real estate investing for beginners over at PT Money

Indiana Jones guide to personal finance over at ChristianPF

10 ways to simplify your finances over at GenX Finance

Honeymoon spots on the cheap over at Free From Broke

I was featured in some blog carnivals this week again

Canadian Finance Carnival #51

Carnival of Wealth, ephemeral edition

Festival of Frugality #295

Weekend note from Jon- Don’t let up. When you feel like everyone around you is splurging and spending money that is the perfect time to sit back and resist the temptation! I know it’s hard but don’t give in. Be different, be goal oriented. Have a good week everyone!

Another great week has gone by, where oh where does the time go! It seriously feels like my days aren’t long enough. Or maybe I’m just bad at time management haha.

This was a frugal week for me. I boosted my emergency fund back to where it was a couple months ago with the help of earnings from this blog! Yes, if you didn’t know by now, I do make a nice side income from writing articles for Free Money Wisdom. If you had asked me 6 months ago if I would make money with a site, I would have laughed at you!

In other news, I’ve been going back and forth about buying a long board. Considering they’re around 200 bucks, it’s pretty steep for my wallet! Luckily, I found out that there is a shop here in San Diego that rents long boards per hour. How cool is that! Realistically, I’m not going to take my board out very often anyways, renting just makes more sense for me right now.

OK, now for this week’s links! Here are ten of my favorite Yakezie member articles, enjoy:

Investing in your marriage over at Money Help for Christians

Lending Club: how I select my investments over at Beating Broke

What to do with savings now over at Wealth Pilgrim

How much money do I need to retire? over at Canadian Finance Blog

Are you frugal at the expense of enjoying life? over at Mom’s Plan

Performing the study and work balancing act over at The College Investor

Budgeting according to your salary over at Frugal Zeitgeist

Blogging at the local arabica coffee house over at Money Reasons

Dividend yielding stocks - I learn something new every day over at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

What is piercing the corporate veil? over at Financial Samurai

As always, I like to showcase my staff writing. If you have a chance to read them, that would be great! Here they are:

4 financial fantasies to avoid over at Christian PF

Real estate investing for beginners over at PTMoney

What you can’t hold in an IRA over at Free from Broke

I submit to multiple blog carnivals each week and had the pleasure of being accepted into a couple of them. Check them out and be sure to read articles from other sites!

33rd Totally Money Carnival over at Parenting Family Money

Best of Money Carnival 117 over at Pastor Personal Finance

Man, what a week! Sorry if you haven’t heard from me or seen me around. My girlfriend has been in town I’ve been super busy! It was a great week full of beaches, Hollywood, and relaxing with friends. I need more weeks like this…

So, I did manage to read some excellent article during the week, so here is my weekend roundup with some of the finest reads!

In other news, I’m launching a free giveaway tomorrow for my latest e-course “How to Retire a Millionaire.” Keep your eyes peeled, it’s coming tomorrow morning!

Here are some of my favorite articles this week:

Best cash back credit cards over at Free Money Finance

How to build an emergency fund over at Canadian Finance

Going Green on a budget over at Prairie EcoThrifter

Where to get free stuff over at Wealth Informatics

It’s our anniversary again over at KNS Financial

Go green, reuse household items and save money over at Sustainable Life Blog

Not your parent’s money book review over at The Amateur Financier

You have no freaking idea, do you? over at Control your Cash

Homeowners Insurance Rates Increase? over at Ultimate Money Blog

Negotiating with your spouse over at Car Negotiation Coach

My staff writing pieces for other websites:

TradeMonster Review over at Money Crashers

Disappearing Middle Class over at Debt Free Adventure

Saying no is not always easy over at Christian Personal Finance

6 Mutual Funds to Hedge Against Inflation over at GenX Finance

Carnivals I was featured in this week:

Totally Money Carnival #33 over at Free From Broke

What’s next?

Free Money Wisdom is growing fast, it sure is exciting. I just wanted to let you know that I will keep up the every other day writing and not slack off. If you haven’t already, subscribe for my free e-course. I’m brainstorming ideas for my e-book, any ideas?

Have a great week folks!

photo by dimodi

Wow, it feels like it’s been a crazy week. Top it off with clouds during the month of August in San Diego, what the heck is up with that!

Things have been exciting around here! If you haven’t heard, I finally launched my e-course “How to Retire a Millionaire.” It’s been getting nothing but positive feedback. Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter so you can access. Enter your email on the right!

Anyways, here are some of my favorite reads this week:

Wandering Earl presents “Death of Random Travel Experiences.”

Squirrelers presents “Revisiting the Rule of 72.”

Canadian Finance Blog presents “How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?”

The CollegeInvestor presents “The Biggest Credit Card Mistakes Young People Make and How You Can Avoid Them.”

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff presents “Should I Hire a Staff Writer?”

Financial Samurai presents “Improve Productivity an Extra 7 Hours a Week.”

Money Green Life presents “Stock Market Sucks: How to Protect Your 401k During Market Downturn.”

Dr. Dean presents “Dog Food Factoids: Ten You Need to Know.”

Money Crush presents “Sell High, Buy Low.”

Everything Finance presents “Does a Credit Rating Downgrade mean an upswing in Rates?”

I don’t just write for Free Money Wisdom, I staff write for some of the most popular personal finance blogs on the internet. Here are a few of my articles on the other sites:

“Retirement RMD Basics” over at Bible Money Matters

“How to Avoid Buying a Used Car Lemon” over at Free From Broke

“What Drives Foreign Currency Exchange Markets?” over at Gen X Finance

“Is Saving for Retirement During College Wise?” over at Outlaw Finance

As for blog carnivals, I’ll be focusing more on those these next few months. Looking forward to another epic week. God bless and stay safe!

photo by williac

Well, it was another fantastic week. Not only was it a solid week for me at my day job but it was a huge week for Free Money Wisdom. If you haven’t noticed, there is a new picture on the right sidebar. It’s my new e-course called “How to Retire a Millionaire: The Only Guide You Will Ever Need!” It is a completely free e-course pack filled with all the information and tools you need to be financially successful and retire with millions. I was asked by numerous friends and coworkers to produce something that was all in one spot, so this e-course is it!

Also, there has been a higher number of reader comments and unique views, which I’m thrilled about! Props goes out to the Yakezie community for making this happen. Without the members of Yakezie, I wouldn’t be where I am today. As always, here are blog posts that I really enjoyed reading this week!

“Lean In” over at KrantCents

“Don’t be a fool, focus on school” over at Beating Broke

“NUTS, staying the course” over at Beating the Index

“Amazon Prime review, Is it for you?” over at PF Firewall

“Take advantage of your extended health benefits” over at Young and Thrifty

“5 alternatives to gym memberships” over at Couple Money

“Why many rich people are only fooling themselves” over at Len Penzo Blog

“What would you do? Tips to make smart money choices” over at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance

“Cancel your newspaper and magazine subscription” over at Retire By 40

“Get $12 off eco friendly lunchboxes at Mamasource” over at Mom’s Plans

I don’t know if you know this but I do a fair amount of guest posting on some big name blogs. Here are some articles around the web that I wrote!

“Who cares if your 401k is negative?” over at Outlaw Finance

“Using cash is the only way to go!” over at Debt Free Adventure

“How to choose a credit union” over at ChristianPF

“Know your stuff before renting out your home” over at PTMoney

“Prepare for your next financial crisis” over at Generation X Finance

“Playing the retirement catch-up game in your 40′s” over at Free From Broke

I hope you enjoyed this roundup! Have a wonderful week and God Bless!

photo by mariareyesmcdavis

Well, it was yet another epic week of personal finance articles from my good friends over at Yakezie. In light of the current negotiations with the United States debt limit, I think it’s more important than ever that we take control of our finances, get rid of debt and live a truly American lifestyle.

In other big news, I’m officially a member of the Yakezie network! This is big news for this blog, it’s been a battle to get down to 200,000 Alexa rating. Currently I’m sitting at 120,000 and still dropping. I’d love to see 75,000 by December! It was a journey full of new relationships and tons of hard work. Finally completing the Yakezie challenge is what is giving me extra inspiration to keep working on this site and put in even more hours. To those that helped me get here (you know who), a big THANK YOU!

Here are some epic articles from this past week:

Buy Like Buffet- Semiconductor Penny Stocks

KNS Financial- Giving Wishlist

Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance- Surprising Moving Expenses

Yes, I Am Cheap- Record Wealth Gap

Everyday Tips and Thoughts- Ipod Design - Where is the Variety?

Early Retirement Extreme- Join the Military or Retire Early?

Sweating the Big Stuff- Used Car Buying Tips

Wandering Earl- Terrible Photos of Europe

Young and Thrifty- How a Storage Unit Can Save You Money

Krant Cents- When Did I Get Old?

Here are the carnivals I’ve been featured in recently:

Festival of Frugality #290

Carnival of Wealth