Archive for August, 2008

Weekly Round-Up: King’s Dominion

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 30, 2008 (7:49 am)

Photo Credit: FreaksAnon

We’re going to be at King’s Dominion tomorrow and I’m excited! Some friends we’ve met from the move will come. Some of our dear friends from home are meeting us there.

While I will definately grab some food and drinks at the park, I’ll have a stash of fluids and snacks in our car to lower some expenses.

I was reading through a lot of posts this week, especially yesterday. It was hard to narrow it to the Top 10. If any of them catch you eye, please read and leave a comment on the blog. Blogs get better with discussion.

Here are some great posts from this week:

As a reminder I’m participating in Blog Action Day on October 15, 2008. If you have any ideas on some topics you’d like to see for the special day, please leave them in the comments. Enjoy your weekend!

AAA Can Help You Find Cheaper Gasoline

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 29, 2008 (7:09 am)

Quick Post!

We just got our AAA magazine with fuel saving tips. If you’re a member of AAA, you can use the fuel finder option on the site and see which station has the cheapest gasoline.

Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 26, 2008 (9:44 pm)

I’m participating in Blog Action Day again on October 15th and this year’s topic is poverty. Please make sure you check out yor favorite blogs, as there are thousands of sites registered. Right now the estimated audience is 4,703,973. It’s expected to grow, as more blogs are joining.

This year I’m asking the readers to help with this topic. Please let me know what you would like me to look at in regard to poverty and how personal finance can help. It’s a complex topic so I need some specific ideas. Leave your ideas in the comments. I’ll list the topics September 1st and we’ll start narrowing it down.

I’m also going to encourage participation by asking readers to sign up with Kiva. The program uses microloans instead of typical donations to help others. I’m already registered, but I know I can do more. I’m working my budget to set aside some money.

Microloans are small loans, as little as $25, that help entrepreneurs in developing areas lift themselves out of poverty.

If you sign up with Kiva, please give central@blogactionday.org as your referrer so the donation can be track down for Blog Action Day. You don’t have to wait until October 15th to sign up.

Personal Fitness Update

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 25, 2008 (7:39 am)

It’s been awhile since I talked about my exercise routine. I was walking with my co-worker twice a week during lunch. I had two motivations for doing it.

The first reason was I wanted to burn some calories. I felt like I didn’t have any time to do anything with my schedule and noticed lunch was a bit open ( I had an hour for lunch). 

The second reason was I was spending too much money eating out. I rather save the money and improve my health at the same time.

Where am I now?

I’m now walking at least 30 minutes a day 4 days a week. It’s light, not strenuous. With this heat, it’s just right for me.

I’m also working out with my husband during the evenings.  We’re trying to get in shape and have more energy. It’s motivating to work out as a pair at home as it keeps us accountable without the scrutiny (and costs) of going to a gym.

We bought some items for the workouts. My husband is using dumbbells and I’m using resistance bands. We went to Wal-Mart and got our equipment.

Purchases we’ve made on exercise equipment:

  • 3 Dumbells ( 2- 15 lbs weights & 1-8 lb weight to make a pair)
  • 2 Resistance Bands
  • 1 Heart rate monitor (The monitor is was the most expensive item. It was $28)

The total spent this month: around $60

Please wish us well. We’ll try to occasionally update you on our progress.  If you have any tips or advice, please let me know!

Photo Credit: mikebaird

Conversations in Personal Finance

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 22, 2008 (1:45 pm)

 

 

There was a passionate discussion this week on All Financial Matters when JLP made an observation regarding a woman and how she spent her food stamps. He had a conversation with a reader who felt he was being unfair and requested to unsubscribe.

After reading the posts and some comments, I saw that there was a bigger issue. I commented on the original topic about food stamps, since I could see both sides of the story and then I made a comment about the nature of my blog reading.

Here is part of my comment (#51) that I left:

I think this was a great topic to discuss and I loved reading all the responses. I’m still subscribing to this blog because I want to challenge my assumptions and learn from others. That’s the point, right?

I’ve been checking back on the comments to see how people are reacting.  A reader made an interesting comment:

Personal finance blogs do much better when they stick to personal finance and stay away from social commentary.

I really think that one reason I enjoy following personal finance blogs is they can and do made a personal observation or comment. I learn a bit more about the writer and gain a different perspective on a subject.

I could go to CNN’s Money site to just get numbers and some facts. I go to other bloggers to get motivation, stories, conversational topics, and sometimes commentary.

I find it unrealistic to think I’ll agree with everything that a blogger writes about. Sometimes reading others’ thoughts and attitudes towards some topicchanges my mind. Other times I’m even more sure of my ideas, as I now have to reevaluate the reasons why.

I love reading All Financial Matters and will continue to subscribe to the site. By the way, you should join in on one of topics. JLP has fantastic readers who will love to discuss matters.

Why do you read blogs? If you’re a blogger, how much opinion and personal thoughts do you share? Do you feel there are things I may need to include or change in my blog?

Photo Credit:  gutter

Weekly Round-Up: New Logo Edition

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 20, 2008 (11:27 am)

Photo Credit: crowt59

I’m feeling a bit under the weather, so I decided to put up my round-up today. I started feeling a bit tired last night and it hasn’t improved today. Hopefully resting will help me ge back on my feet tomorrow. I have a couple of unfinished articles that I would like to complete.

Here are some posts that got me thinking this past week.

Find Cheap Transportation for School and Work

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 18, 2008 (7:15 am)

 

Walking: If you live close to campus and work, this is the cheapest option. It is also a healthy option, as walking can help you shape up. Make sure you use good shoes for your walks.

Bicycle: This seemed to be a popular option for the students that lived on campus at my university. You can get bikes for $50 or less used.

Scooter/Motorcycle: Scooters can get around 60mpg, but their tanks are usually small (1-2 gallons). They can make excellent short range vehicles. I checked my local Craigslist and I found some for $900 and less.  Motorcycles have bigger tanks and great mileage. You would have to get a special license for one and they cost more than scooters.

Bus/Mass Transportation: If you live in a city with reliable transportation, consider yourself fortunate.

Used Car: If you ask and dig around, you can sometimes get a fantastic deal on a used car. When I needed a car, but was lacking serious funds, I told everyone I knew that I was looking for a cheap car.

I was able to get a Geo Prizm for $500. It was a manual, so I had to learn to drive it. It was not fancy at all, but I got 30mpg on it (Toyota engine). It was pretty cheap to insure it and I was able to go to work and school.

A lot cheap cars aren’t advertised. I heard from a friend of a friend about this car. The man was selling it as his daughter had gotten a new car. Th engine and transmission were in good condition.

Car Sharing: My university partnered with a car sharing company and offered this as an option for students who didn’t want a car, but needed to get around.

The costs vary from location, but around here, I’ve seen it for $5/hour and that includes insurance and gas. Zipcar is available in many cites.

Finding cheap transportation doesn’t have to be impossible. Just use some creative thinking and you can even surprise yourself.

Photo Credit:  Todd Baker << technowannabe

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