WYTI Links: 10.25.07

Thursday links this week:

• How I Live Without Using Credit Cards - My Simple System for Living on a Budget (via No Credit Needed) Thanks to Adam for recommending this worthwhile write-up.
  

• Budgeting is Like Baking Cookies (via ChristianPF) I'm a big fan of analogy/comparison articles. These are some excellent points about budgeting.

• An Annoying Email I Got (via I Will Teach You to Be Rich) The end of this conversation is where this really gets interesting. Finances are no different from faith in this perspective: advice (even Biblical) is of no use unless we are willing to change.

• Where To Stash Your Emergency Cash (via Michelle Singletary, Washington Post)
  

• Inexpensive Ways to Woo Your Wife (via Clever Dude) This is a guest post by Clever Dudette (Clever Dude's wife) about cheap ways to keep the spark lit with your wife. You've still got time this afternoon to implement some of these suggestions :).
  

WYTI Links: 08.24.07

It's Friday!!! Here's some material to check out...

• Life is Like a Game of Chess (via Money, Matter, and More Musings) I love a good analogy...this is nice.
  

• What Does an Insomniac Who Has a Personal Finance Blog Do at 2 AM? (via No Credit Needed) Very simple--but helpful--guide to making purchases.

• 20 Great Nuggets of Personal Finance Advice (via Get Rich Slowly) Nice collection of quotes...

Car Corner:

• Free Crash Test Videos from Consumer Reports (via Get Rich Slowly) I personally think safety is the most overlooked aspect in considering the cost of a car. These are helpful if you're in the market for a vehicle.

• You Can't Trust That CARFAX Report! (via Clever Dude) This is a little scary, actually. We just bought a car back in May, so we went through the whole CARFAX process. It's a shame it might be unreliable.
  

WYTI Article Featured

This is a week old now, but James' article about Credit Card Protector Plans was featured in last week's 100th Edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction (hosted last week at No Credit Needed).

The article even produced a playful comment from NCN...

A Cool Motivational Tool

Want to get out of debt? Trying to save your emergency fund? Having trouble staying motivated? What if you knew that literally anyone in the world could follow your progress; would that help?



That's exactly what you can do if you join the No Credit Needed network. Each member of the network lists how much they owe, how much they have paid, and a date set for their goal to complete the debt payment (or when they want to have a certain amount saved). The network then puts those amounts into a chart that shows up in blog form.



Every member's chart is updated whenever the member sends in the updated numbers. I joined and hope to update at the end of each month. Here is our first chart:

21.6% out of debt. That's going the right way!!!

If you want to see the charts, or join the group, check out the No Credit Needed Network.