Crux
Weekly Roundup – Back In Action Edition
It’s been a couple weeks now since my mom passed away, and I am trying to get back in the swing of things at work, at home, and here at the blog. Fortunately, I’m surrounded by many friends and loved ones at each place, and it has been a big help during this difficult time. I have not had much reading time these last few weeks, and my weekly roundups have suffered for it. My editorial comments in this edition probably won’t win any blogging awards, but hey, it’s a start.
The Frugal Roundup
101 Ways to Take a Bite Out of Your Food Budget. The title says it all – a monster list of money savers to help trim your food budget. (@The Wisdom Journal)
The Art of Letter Writing: The Sympathy Note. After recently losing my mom, we received a number of nice sympathy cards. I also appreciated the many comments here at the blog, emails, etc. It has made me more aware of the need to express sympathy for others when they are dealing with rough times. This post is an excellent how-to from someone who recently experienced a loss. (@ The Art of Manliness)
5 Ways Spending More is Actually Frugal. I liked this post because it focused on a popular topic surrounding frugality: does it make sense to spend more money up front in some cases to get a better value. (@My Dollar Plan)
The Best Times to Buy for Huge Savings on Major Purchases. An excellent run-down of the best time of year to make 14 major purchases, factoring seasonal discounts, inventory issues, etc. (@The Daily Crux)
Accidental Frugality – Can You Live on Half of Your Income? When we reach debt freedom soon, living on half my income is a big goal for our family. I think we can get pretty close, even with the mortgage, but will require a lot of discipline. (@Stop Buying Crap)
How Not To Suck At Blogging.If you are a blogger, aspire to be a blogger, or are interested in any entrepreneurial endeavor, this is a must-read post. One way “not to suck” is to follow Man vs. Debt’s lead – he’s done a phenomenal job in a short time with his blog. (@Man vs. Debt)
Best of the Rest
- Saving For Retirement? Best Move For Your Retirement Plan
- Question of the Day: Are You a Perfectionist?
- Fall Maintenance Tips for Your Home That Can Save You Money and Protect Your Family
- How To Be Married A Decade And Stay Madly In Love
- Teach Your Kids How to Manage Money in 7 Easy Lessons
- 22 Tools You Should Keep in Your Car
- how to poison attitudes towards work in young children
- Smart Living Rule 7 – Pursue Good Opportunities Fearlessly
- Is CreditKarma Useful?
- Car Leasing Tip – Increase Your Security Deposit
Post by Frugal Dad
July Rewind And A Little News
July was a hot month around here. One of my posts was featured at LifeHacker.com and The Daily Crux.com, which helped push my monthly page views up to around 200,000 for the first time ever. I’ve also seen a nice increase in subscribers - around 8,500 at last count. Thanks to all new subscribers who have signed on, and to all you regulars who continue to follow.
Five Posts You Should Read If You Missed Them the First Time
July 1 - Store Credit Cards Spark Celebration
July 8 - Seven Secret Places to Hide Cash in Your Home
July 15 - Become a Debt Killing Machine in Five Steps
July 20 - The Tri-Level Emergency Fund
July 24 - Living Off the Grid With Kids
Schedule
Now that the mid-year rush at my full time job has slowed to only a mild rush, I plan to start posting more often. Look for more two-a-days here at Frugal Dad (email subscribers will have to scroll down to check for a second post). I’m hesitant to commit to a formal schedule of twice daily posting during the week, because things come up often that keep me from the keyboard. So for now I’ll just leave it that Monday - Friday the plan will be two posts, and maybe one on the weekends, but don’t hold me to it…please.
Forums
For members of the Frugal Dad forums, I have bad news. I’ve decided to remove the forums for a variety of reasons. First of all, they are a huge target for spam, and I don’t have time to adequately moderate them to keep out the filth. Second, they didn’t quite take off like I had hoped, but most of that is my fault as I did not seed them with topics often enough to keep the discussion going. I hope you won’t mind if I cut them loose and refocus my efforts here at the blog.
How Can You Help?
Every couple weeks I receive an email from an appreciative reader looking for ways to help me spread the word here at Frugal Dad. I certainly appreciate it when readers are compelled to tell others about the site, and decided I should formally point out ways you can help me keep things going here. Again, I don’t expect any of these from you, but I am forever grateful for your help.
- Email articles that interest you to friends and family
- Tell offline friends about FrugalDad.com
- Instead of bookmarking, sign up for a free subscription
- Visit sites that I mention here at FD (in roundups and various article features)
- Share FD articles with your blog readers, friends on Facebook and Twitter, StumbleUpon, and other social networking sites
Again, thanks for a successful July. August promises to be busy for all of us with kids returning to school, and the kickoff of fall sports (did someone say college football?). It’s a new month and a clean slate - no better time to get control of those finances. Stay frugal!
Post from: Frugal Dad
