Given the recent events in Washington, it’s appropriate to start this week with Roger Wohlner’s Some Stock Market Perspective amid the Government Shutdown. Roger talks about the long term, and how short term bits of news or craziness in Washington get lost in the noise when we look at decades of data. Check out his article for the beautiful charts he’s posted, but stay to read his insightful commentary.
A Thank-You to J Money, my McDonald’s Budget article was featured at Budgets Are Sexy this week in J’s Rockstar Roundup: Billionaires, Weirdos & Drug Dealers. (Disclaimer – I am not, nor likely to ever be, a billionaire, nor am I a drug dealer. At times, I’ve been called weird. I plead, no contest.)
At Get Rich Slowly it was time to Ask the Readers: What’s the best way to prepay your mortgage? The reader asked about making bi-weekly payments on her mortgage. I have no objection to setting money aside to make extra payments if that’s what you’d like, but I advise never to pay extra to service the bi-weekly payment. Just send in the extra funds as they accumulate.
Who Really Needs Your Social Security Number? This was the question that was answered at MoneyNing this week. It’s not a number you should give out to anyone that asks, there are really a few select times it’s actually required. Emily explains when to just say “no.”
Just when I thought I’d never reference Soylent Green again, Frugaling.org posted Soylent: The Future Frugal Food Source. It seems a company has appropriated the name Soylent and is manufacturing an inexpensive source of nutritious food under this name. To be fair, the Soylent website offers a discussion of food waste and cost. This product has the potential to reduce the issue of starvation in the world. If you visit the site, you’ll note the founders of the company are young, too young to have seen the movie in the theaters. It’s we who are 50 and over who will be a bit grossed out by the name of this product.
And from Time Management Ninja – Why Being Right Isn’t Always the Most Productive Answer. I offered my own comment, agreeing with Craig that time is important, and sometimes moving on is far more important than being right. The debate can be a productivity killer. I’ve seen it happen time after time.
Looking forward to sharing a beer with again one day, my man. Perhaps FINCON this month?
Absolutely, J, I’ll see you next week!