Pimp Your Finances

I wonder what the groundhog will see tomorrow…six more months of recession, or is the time for economic growth finally here?

Either way, the best thing to do is improve your own situation.  Here are some links to do it.

Mike at The Oblivious Investor writes about his 30 Year Market Prediction.  Bottom line?  “It hasn’t looked this good for quite a while.”  For young investors, this isn’t a recession.  It’s an opportunity.

At Free Money Finance, It’s Budgeting Time of the Year.  It’s a ridiculously detailed post with everything you need to set a budget, including a comparison of tools you can use to do it.

Mara at Secrets for Money has a great article on Another Type of Wealth: Pay it Forward and Random Acts of Kindness.  I’ve always been a big believer in treating others – especially strangers – the way you’d like to be treated.  This article explains how it can actually be good for our health and our money.

In a sign of the times, Wallet Pop is reporting on how girl scouts are putting fewer cookies in each box as a result of rising costs.

Kevin at No Debt Plan has a no-frills article on how to Cut the Crap and Check Your Monthly Budget Commitments.  Setting a budget and cutting spending will require work and sacrifice, but its absolutely necessary if you want to get out of debt.

And the fun link is a comic strip, but it’s not laugh-out-loud funny.  It came as a shock to me that Dilbert was recently laid off from his job.  Now he’s coping with unemployment and financial stress.  It’s nice to see art reflecting life.  Hopefully things turn around for Dilbert – and the rest of the country – very quickly.