Extended Warranties, Envelope Cash Video, And Alcoholism: Money Blogs Roundup

I intended to publish this earlier, but simply forgot about it (.. yeah, just forgot). So, I am just going to stick with the “midweek” in the title and you can assume that I published this on Wednesday.

• Upgrading My Living Room Entertainment, Part 2: Extended Warranty by Flexo @ Consumerism Commentary. Flexo wonders if he should buy extended warranty (at $63 per year for 3 years) on his newly acquired 42″ $1300 LCD HDTV. Personally, I don’t even think about extended warranties when it comes to electronics - if there is some problem, it’s usually apparent within the first few months and conversely, if there are no problems within the first few months, then it is very less likely that there will be problems in future (according to my perception). This is especially true for stationary (non-portable) items like televisions, desktop computers, or home theater systems - there is hardly anything that can cause malfunctioning at a later stage. Also, most of these relatively expensive items come with original factory warranty (usually for a year) and that’s probably enough time to figure out if you bought a lemon.

• Envelope System Video Tutorial (Step By Step Guide To Using The Envelope System To Manage Your Cash) by NCN @ No Credit Needed. For people who don’t use credit cards, and are not good with managing cash, this will be a very instructive video.

• Here’s A Crazy Idea: How About A Six-Month Prohibition to Cut Debt, Eliminate Alcoholism, and Save Families by Nick @ Punny Money. Nick wonders whether prohibiting alcohol would solve a lot of problems. Hmm… prohibition will probably mean much safer driving on Friday nights. Now, I would give up a few beers for that. Seriously though, with all the TV advertisements against drunken driving, one would expect a drastic reduction in people who drink and drive. However, over the last 5 years, things haven’t changed much in our town. It’s still pretty risky (for sober drivers) to be out driving on late Friday nights.

• How The Frugal Law Student Saves On Shaving by Brett @ Frugal Law Student. This is what I was talking about when I wrote this post: I Don’t Need A Microchip For Shaving. Brett’s post reminds me of old days - it was a norm to use safety razors for shaving (around the place where I lived when I was young).
  

• 10 Ways To Make Saving Money Painless by Brip Blap (as a guest author) @ My Two Dollars. A simple message worth repeating a thousand times: make your savings automatic.

• Additional income: Stoozing, or Credit Card Arbitrage by Plonkee @ Plonkee Money. “Stoozing” seems to be the English word for 0% APR arbitrages. On a related note, I wrote something earlier about whether a credit card arbitrage is worth it if the card companies charge balance transfer fees (although the article talks about transferring balances from one card to another, you can extend the logic to transferring balances from a 0% card to a bank) - check it out if you still want to “stooze” after the fees.

• 5 Myths That Can Hurt Your FICO Score by Melissa @ A Penny Closer. Again, some advice that is worth repeating a thousand times. Every once in a while you will notice a well-established personal finance blog saying something to the contrary.

• Examine Your Motives Series: Buying a Home @ Clever Dude. If every homeowner had done this before jumping to make their purchase, we wouldn’t have had the subprime mess at all.
  

  Don’t just buy a home because your friends are doing it, or you’re afraid of missing something, or because you “want freedom and stability”. Home ownership is not a financial investment. It’s an emotional investment.

  True, it’s an emotional investment, but it cannot (and should not) be made without a thorough financial analysis. If you are signing for a 30 year mortgage… at least think 10 years down the line.

Carnivals of the week

• The 89th Festival of Frugality hosted at FILAM Personal Finance.

• The Carnival of Personal Finance hosted at Free Money Finance.

• The Carnival of Observations on Life hosted at Anja Merret.