Best of August 2007

“Best Of” posts seem to be in vogue lately so I thought I’d reach into the archives and start pulling out some gems from when there were fewer people. In August 2007, I was able to pen fifty-two posts on a variety of topics that interested me at the time. The two most commented posts was one about ridiculous frugal ideas and how I liquidated my target retirement 2050 funds in the face of economic turmoil. That month was when people started talking about an economic slowdown and that spurred me to liquidate some of my assets, which turned out to be a good idea at the time but it’s really a bad practice in general. Getting lucky shouldn’t be a long term investment strategy.

Another frequently discussed post from that month was 10 Reasons Credit, Debt and You Should Be BFF. I think that credit cards often get a bad reputation because so many people are mired in debt, but they’re a powerful financial tool if you use it responsibly. Fire can burn and provide warmth if controlled.

August also saw some discussion of the value of paperless personal finance, which is really one of the steps to simplifying your personal finances.

Lastly, in a bit of irony, I wrote a Devil’s Advocate post on how you shouldn’t jump from job to job on practically the one year anniversary of switching jobs. (There was also a frequently commented post on discussing salaries with your friends)