Pimp Your Finances

Ah, spring has officially begun!

Growing up, spring was my favorite season. The weather gets warmer, trees and plants come back to life, and school ends, giving you three responsibility-free months to look forward to.

Now that I’m older, it’s still my favorite season, even though I don’t have the summer off to look forward to. I still love the warmer weather, and it means I can begin landscaping in earnest (one of my favorite hobbies/chores).

I hope you’re enjoying the warm weather, and also the NCAA tournament. Hopefully your team is doing better than mine did.

Here are this week’s links:

No Credit Needed shares his thoughts on Debt Reduction and the Emergency Fund. This is one of those questions where there is no right answer. Some people say you should build an emergency fund before you pay down debt. Others think you should just pay down debt, because it makes the most sense financially. I split the difference, and try to start an emergency fund as I pay down debt, so I can avoid slipping backwards while still making progress.

Fine Tuned Finances has Five Ways to Maximize Your Career Opportunities in College. Unfortunately, getting your degree isn’t enough to stand out from the crowd and land a good job. You’ve got to look for ways to distinguish yourself while you’re still in school.

Shrinkage is Good has a fun article full of Financial Advice from 10 Fictional Billionaires. It’s very creative, and includes tips from the likes of Scrooge McDuck, Tony Stark, Thurston Howell the Third, and more.

My Supercharged Life gives three simple financial rules, and asks Have They Outlived Their Usefulness? I think they’re still relevant. People have just forgotten about them – much to their own detriment.

And in an article that combines one of my favorite authors with one of my favorite sites, Ramit Sethi has a post at Get Rich Slowly about the Psychology of Passive Barriers; Why Your Friends Don’t Save Money, Eat Healthier, or Clean Their Garages. It’s a great article that tries to change the way we think.

And for the fun link, one of my favorite web comics XKCD has finally tackled finances. In their latest, they tackle the AIG bonuses, but probably not in the way you think. He’s mad at the media, not AIG.

I agree with him. I think the real travesty here is how much time and effort are focused on the bonuses, when in reality there are much more important things that the media and politicians should be devoting their time to.

Not to mention it doesn’t make sense to get mad about $160 million in bonuses after we gave them $170 billion in bailout money. It’s like going to McDonald’s, and ordering a super sized Big Mac meal with a diet Coke. Yeah, you might save some calories, but it pales in comparison to what you’re going to be eating anyway.