Weekend Wind Down 8/25/2012 – Getting in Back to School Mode!

Oh, no! It’s finally happening! It’s back to school time for Mrs MMD and my kids. Since Mrs MMD is a teacher, this marked the first week that she has had to go back into her room and start setting up for the start of the year. The kids had to actually wake up and go back to daycare while she and I are at work. Overall, it’s been an outstanding but too fast Summer. Unfortunately play time is over and they’ll be waking up at the crack of dawn (with me) every day very soon.

The week flew by for me. I spent the first part of it in Virginia for business, and have been playing tons of catch-up at work ever since. Around the house, just after paying for the new floors, our washing machine broke down! Crap! This is soon to become another unfortunate and upcoming expense. Darn appliances!

Blog News: 

This week I’ve been extremely pre-occupied with getting a jump on my niche site project. I forgot how much work actually goes into picking out a theme, customizing it, and setting things up the way you want them. It also doesn’t help that I’m a perfectionist so every small blemish is like a dagger to my eye!

On Monday we’ll start off with a post about the dangers of Facebook and your job.  Think you can’t get fired?  It happened to a girl at my work this month …

Which sounds better for retirement income: $60,000 or $82,500?  Yeah, I thought so!  On Wednesday, I’ve got another suggestion from The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read that sheds some new light on the ever-popular 4 percent rule!  This theory will raise some eyebrows!

And don’t forget: This Monday I have a guest post on the Pageonce Blog!  I’ll be lining up another guest post for next month shortly!

Link Love – Blogs You Should Check Out:

In case you missed them, here are a few great stories you should check out this weekend:

• So a ton of people jumped on the Life Insurance Movement bandwagon this week (I always seem to get the memo too late on these sorts of things). But none of them really packed as much heart and personality into their story as much as Jefferson at See Debt Run. Read about his struggle with this topic in Insurance for the Rainiest of Days.

• The things your kids say will both make you laugh and scare you to death. Andrea’s son gets down with Flo Rida in My Child, the Pop Culture Expert.

• Being debt free is cool and all. But does it always make sense to pay everything off when there might be higher return uses for you money? Read Money Life and More’s question to his readers What Would You Do?: Should I Pay Off My Car Loan?

• Does money get in the way of doing the things you love? Of course it does! Even the simplest hobbies still cost money to participate in them. Read Budget & the Beach’s story My Passion Killed My Finances.

• But wait! Kim from Eyes on the Dollar has some tips for affording all those things you want. Read How to Afford Expensive Hobbies.

• Daisy’s blog gets redesigned, and it turns 2! Check out: Giveaway, Redesign & Second Blogoversary to Add Vodka!

Carnivals:

My Money Design was featured in the following personal finance carnivals this week:

• The Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #46
• Lifestyle Carnival 15th Edition
• Lifestyle Carnival 15th Edition
• Financial Carnival for Young Adults – 26th Edition
• Lifestyle Carnival
• CANADIAN PERSONAL FINANCE HAPPY HOUR – 10TH EDITION – WHAT TO BUY?
• Yakezie Carnival, Dog Days of Summer Edition
• Carnival of Retirement – Tips and Topics For Your Golden Years
• Good Week, Drive-in Theaters and a Carnival

Thanks again to all my new and returning visitors. I really appreciate your support and hope you continue to enjoy my site!

Posts This Week:

1) My Alternative Emergency Fund Strategy and How It Works

2) Asset Allocation Models from Author Daniel Solin

Photo Credit: Unknown