Yakezie Weekly Round-up: Better Late Than Never

As a proper welcome, this week’s round-up highlights those posts from newer members. And welcome back to Downturn Living. She’d shares a very personal message about where she’s been.

Here’s the highlights for your weekend pleasure:

• Joe the Taxpayer presents a political cartoon and poses the question: “Aren’t we concerned about a falling dollar more than another country’s currency being too low?” I thought about this question for some time, and would pose a follow-on question to his: “Beyond the fluctuations in currency, shouldn’t we also be concerned about the reasoning behind the change [in this case – trade deficit]?”

• Another great picture, Bible Debt questions whether we are slaves. An older article, I was drawn to the imagery within the photo. Looking at the rusty ball and ankle shackle, could you manage walking into a bank for a car loan and walking out with this? That’s what many people do every day!

• Debt Hawk really gives us something to think about. Going into the details of a Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP), it looks like there could be some great benefits. Owning a small side business, you can tax deductible contributions even if your full-time job offers a 401k! Would my lawn-mowing business be eligible? :)

• I’d always, and still sometimes do, consider the military. I like adrenaline, risk, & challenge (it’s all derived from each other). Bucksome Boomer highlights the intangible, character-building benefits and how they relate to your civilian job.

• Google knocked on PF Firewall‘s door, and he answered. I won’t give the ending away, but read the entire post. It’s so well-written, I was momentarily transported into the likes of the Aeneid or Illiad.

• PF By The Book addresses something I’ve been thinking about for a long time – subscribing to the PF preachings of only one guru. There are many points I disagree with Dave Ramsey on, but I appreciate what his strategies have done for others. The point is – “you are what you read”. So branch out, read as much different information as you can, and eventually you’ll pick and choose which strategies work best for your financial system.

• If you haven’t heard of Dividend Monk – learn it. He performs all sorts of Shaolin analysis on stocks, but today I wanted to point out his entry into the Million Dollar Club. I can admit that I was caught off guard, and impressed, with his write-up. The sections are well thought-out and made me re-think my own goals.

• Giving a 1-2 punch, Eventual Millionaire and Peak Personal Finance ask us the WHAT and WHY of becoming a millionaire. Before starting on your goals, first these questions must be answered in order to provide you with laser-like focus. Both focus on defining goals and establishing plans to get there.

• 20s Money addresses our short-attention spans with media information and the failure to dig beyond the headlines. As he points out in a real-life example, what’s reported in the news primarily concerns our perceptions of the markets – not necessarily the realities.