Photo Credit: striatic

The 2008 Summer Olympics have started and it already has been full of headlines.

• China commands early lead on Olympic medal table
• American murdered in Beijing as Olympics kick off
• Phelps sets Olympic mark in Beijing debut
• U.S.-China rivalry just beginning

I’m a fan of gymnastics and hopefully will be able to catch some of it, starting with the finals Tuesday.

News & Carnivals

This week I had the privilege of being interviewed twice! I enjoyed both of them. Thank you BGS and Jim for the opportunity.

• Broke Grad Student is introducing members of the College Money Network and it was my turn this week.
• Jim @ Blueprint for Financial Prosperity had me dig deep with some questions about my past debt on credit cards and why I decided to become smarter with my money.
• Carnival of Personal Finance: City Slickers Edition was hosted by SquawkFox.
• Mighty Bargain Hunter hosted Carnival of Debt Reduction.

College Money Network always have diverse posts an this week was no exception. With our backgrounds, you’re bound to get an eclectic mix. This week we tackled such topics as:

• How to Save a Bunch of Money Buying College Textbooks
• By Taking Control of My Finances, I Took Back Control of My Life
• 5 Things Every College Freshman Needs to Know
• Credit Card Paid Off! Now What?
• Cheapish, healthyish summertime drinks

Here’s some great personal finance articles I’ve read:

• You can’t save your way to prosperity. You can’t?
• Looking at Debt Repayment as an Investment
• 15 Tips for Saving Money While You Still Have a Job
• Online Bill Pay – Cheaper, Faster, Greener, More Secure
• How Do I Actually Snowflake My Savings?
• Would you move for a lower cost of living?
• Need A Mortgage? Check out FHA Home Loan

There were a lot of good articles, so I hope you get a chance to read some of them. It’s going to be a busy and fun weekend for me. I hope you get to enjoy your weekend.

• Carnival of Personal Finance #136 Is Here Welcome to the Carnival of Personal Finance #136! The carnival is in town for this week only, so make the best of it. As you explore around I’ll highlight some great games that you might enjoy. This is not your usual carnival, as the games aren't fixed and the rules......
• Weekly Round Up: September 29 I can’t believe that October is 2 days away already! A lot of this week’s posts were interesting and I continue to like the variety that these bloggers offer. Free Money Finance has an article on how to save money while traveling. We’re going on vacation in November, so......

• Addicted to Cell Phones (and Personal Finance Links) My name is Lazy Man and I'm addicted to cell phones. It seems that I spend too much time reading various blogs about cell phones and not getting the things I need to get done. Specifically, I read about Palm because I've always liked their products... and now they are......
• Carrying Consumer Debt Is The American Way. In case no one noticed, there is a continually growing debt problem here in this country, especially with the economy the way it is. Americans are putting themselves further into a hole that while it seemed shallow at first, continues to get deeper and deeper the longer unpaid debt racks......