Whew, the end of yet another week. Can you believe it’s already November? It seemed like only yesterday I was trying to figure out what to get my wife for Valentine’s Day and already we’re planning for Thanksgiving in a few short weeks. It’s been a heck of a year so far, though we still have a little bit to go, and while things haven’t been too rough, I know that everyone’s been dealing with challenges this year. One thing we can be thankful for is that we’re still here, still kicking, and 2010 is just a few weeks away. Keep your head up and keep fighting, you only fail if you give up.

I hope you enjoy this week’s picks:

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A year or so ago, I’d do weekly roundups highlighting some personal finance articles that I really enjoyed each week. Sometime within the last year, I fell behind and soon abandoned these articles because I felt like they weren’t adding much value. Well, over the last few weeks, a few new readers have told me that they discovered Bargaineering from roundups on other sites.

So, I’ve decided to bring these Weekly Roundups back in order to share with you some other websites I personally enjoy and hope that you will to. These will be once weekly and I will try not to link to the same sites because that really doesn’t help you find new and fun places to spend your valuable time.

And yes, that’s a Pontiac Firebird. It’s not a Phoenix, but it’s close enough!

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Starting this month I’ll be doing a monthly roundup of some posts I found particular entertaining, interesting, or informative. I won’t inundate you with a list of posts, each one will be carefully selected and given some context.

This month I’ve been doing a lot of food blog reading since I’ve been writing about a variety of cooking topics, like making bread crumbs and pizza crusts, so I found a couple foodie blogs to share with you all. I hope you like this new monthly feature!

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I thought my 100 money saving tips post was a pretty big list but there were plenty of lists the past few months that gave my list a run for its money…

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Earlier last week, I posted a quick travel tip recommending Travelzoo’s email newsletter. David trumped me and listed 50 budget travel tips! I guarantee you’ll find something in that list that you can use to save money.

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Nickel shares 36 ways to earn extra money. Some of these are very creative, some require hard work, and other are just silly. Care to get a paper route or delivery some phone books?

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The Tip’d Blog just posted a list of 25 essential tools to manage your financial life. Twenty five may not seem like a lot compared to a hundred and fifty, but these are great tools that are absolutely crucial if you want to truly go paperless.

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It’s broken up into two lists, one with 13 Things Your Bank Won’t Tell You and 7 More Secrets From Your Bank, but these twenty secrets are gems. This is #7 from the “7 More” article: “You can get practically any fee waived if you ask, especially if you’re a longtime customer.” I can attest to that.

8
Kiplinger.com called on Knight Kiplinger, Editor in Chief, to talk about the eight keys to financial security. There are only eight items in this list but each one is very valuable and very important to know, Key 1? Pay Yourself First.

(Photo: vizzzual-dot-com)

I wrote about the Dogs of the Dow this week but did you know about the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats? Nickel wrote about them this week and it’s a fantastic name for the companies in the S&P that have increased their dividend payouts for twenty-five consecutive years. They have outperformed the S&P index over the past 3, 5, 10, and 15 years and had a lower standard deviation (probability that their stock price will go up or down in a given year), they are stable, income generating, blue chips. So, what are they and how do you invest in them? Read Nickel’s post!

Curious how the companies that participated in the TARP program are faring? Check out the NASDAQ’s Government Relief Index, ticker QGRI. It kicked off at 1000 this week and it tracks the performance of U.S.-listed securities that are participating in government sponsored relief programs, including but not limited to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). How’s it faring? As of Friday, January 9th, it was around 941.

Jeremy at GenXFinance is finding the silver lining in this recession in his post, Why the Recession Will Be Good for Us as a Country, and I agree with him. There will be some good out of this situation, it’s just unfortunate it has to come at the expense of so many hard working Americans. SVB at The Digerati life also compares this business cycle to past business cycles. Here’s a great one-liner: “Ours is a red-headed stepchild of a recession.” (in other words, it’s a bad because it’s triggered by credit system woes instead of monetary tightening, yikes)

It’s the first roundup of the new year and I think many have dubbed this the Year of Frugality. If they haven’t, then I just did because we’re going to have a lot of economic and financial challenges this year and the best way to combat them is to tighten up the purse strings so you have some spare cash to handle any emergencies. The wiggle room in a lot of budgets has gotten a lot smaller. To help with that, Ive decided to make this a frugal roundup, pointing to some posts that I think can help you save a few dollars this year.

First, Lazy Man shares a few tips on how to save money on television, movies, music, and books, the four basic food groups in your media consumption hierarchy.

It’s a little cold to be changing car oil right now but my friend Fred doesn’t seem to mind. He recently changed the motor oil in his Dodge Caravan and gives both instructions and a cost benefit analysis. I change the oil on my own car myself mostly because it’s faster than going to a place like Wal-Mart (who, according to some reports, uses sub-par oil anyway). I don’t want to be spending $60 on a quick lube place either. The only change I’d make to his list is the oil drum, just take it to a mechanic and they will let you dispose of it there (they are required to by law).

Saving money is one thing but here are a few ideas from Nickel for earning extra money. Of the thirty-three he lists, I’m sure you can find something in there you can do to earn a little more money.

And to end it all, I felt it appropriate to mention a post I wrote that listed 100 money saving tips. Originally focused on the holiday, how to save money so you can afford the gifts you want to get others, it’s just as appropriate any other time of the year.

(Photo: billywarhol)

Doom and gloom are on the menu and you have to order something. Fortune tapped eight brilliant minds to ask for their outlook on our dismal economy and none gave a positive answer. There are some big names on this list like PIMCO’s Bill Gross and Oppenheimer’s Meredith Whitney, definitely give this one a scan because they give some very detailed answers. This isn’t a fluff piece.

Now that you’ve been scared, here’s a Money Magazine piece with financial advice from six financial advisers. These won’t be names you’ve heard of before but under each picture is how long they’ve been advising, the assets their clients hold, and what they may be known for. When others are panicking, stay level-headed.

Gary Bonner sent me two great articles by Victor Hanson: The Hysterical Style and Ten Random, Politically-Incorrect Thoughts. They’re both good reads too.

Here’s a bonus link for this week:

Finally, for those with a less than stellar fraud detector, Ben Popken of The Consumerist penned an article for Reader’s Digest this month, How to Avoid A Scam. “When times get tough, the cons get cagier. The latest scams, shams, and devious flimflams to avoid.” Check it out.

This is a great story about company founders taking care of their people. When Peer Bearing Company, a Waukegan, IL., ball bearing maker, was sold to a Swedish company earlier this year, the company founders gave away bonuses to its 230 employees. Big deal right? No. They gave away $6.6 million bonuses. That’s a great story to hear about.

My friend Fred at One Project Closer is giving away two more $100 gift cards, head on over to enter. Fred is the guy I turn to when I have any questions about home improvement, so if you’re into home improvement, you definitely want to check out One Project Closer. As for what I’d do with the $100, I’m thinking about getting some shelving units for the room in the basement. The amount of stuff that’s accumulated there has really made it necessary for us to get shelves (and we can’t get rid of stuff because it’s all seasonal).

Trent announced that 365 Ways to Live Cheap, his book on frugality book is now available (announcement). It includes a compilation of the 365 best tips he has on personal finance and frugal living and comes at you for only $7.95. Don’t be cheap until after you buy the book.

FMF shares some solid tips on negotiating for the best price on electronics. There are some pretty good tips on there that apply to other things as well (though I don’t know if I trust that last tip). My favorite tip? “If you do negotiate with us, be discreet.”

Did you know that rhodium is one of the world’s most precious metals and goes for about $7500 an ounce? Only 25 tons are mined each year and it has made an appearance in such famous pieces as the Crown Jewels of the British Queen and now a new ring for President-elect Obama’s wife, Michelle. Dude’s a baller.

Finally, for those of you still shopping, SVB put together a great list of 21 websites that can help you save money shopping online. Whatever you do though, don’t buy gift cards. I think gift cards are stupid and so does Seth Godin, marketing guru.

(Oh, for those who keep track of this sort of thing, the American Express Wishlist promotion is back on again this year)

Cap tackles a topic that I think people often get confused – the difference between FICO and FICA. In reality, I don’t think people confuse the two… they confuse FICA for FICO (as Cap explains), experts included. They are as confused as that monkey!

Matt at Steadfast Finances writes a post that I think will probably get him killed in Detroit – Should GM get chopped off like a gangrenous limb? I’m torn about it, on one hand I think we should let free markets run free and companies to fall based on their poor decisions. The financial bailout was palatable for me because their failure would impact regular Americans outside of the financial industry. The Big Three auto companies have known for years that their cars are unpopular and they should’ve been making more fuel efficient vehicles – they ignored the signs. The Prius has been out for many many years, you can’t tell me Ford didn’t have enough time.

Lazy Man asks readers how you should evaluate a gym membership. I like how his first pro was “forced workouts,” I know a lot of people with gym memberships who don’t feel that pro (ever!).

Finally, Consumerist linked to a story about how the government shut down the Liberty dollar (original story at Triple Canopy). The idea of Liberty Dollars is pretty clever though… but I suspect they’re difficult to tax.

Brip Blaps talks about the riddle of steel, which is a direct reference to none other than Conan the Barbarian. “Over the last couple of months we’ve all learned that some of the advice that we’ve been handed over the years will not be easy to swallow. Learning to live within your means and invest in index funds and network to maintain your job are all nice, friendly pieces of advice when the economy and the market are headed in a never-ending positive direction…. Now for my generation (Gen X) and the rest of the country it’s time to learn the riddle of steel.” Credit-fueled spending isn’t going to get you into Valhalla.

It’s important to challenge your assumptions. Here’s a simple example everyone can relate to and it involves a story I read at One Caveman’s Financial Journey. Caveman has been buying ground beef in bulk at his local warehouse store for at least four years and always picked up a 6 lb. log, what he thought was the cheapest per pound price. For years, he overlooked the larger meat logs because he thought they were sausages. Well, recently he went ot the store and saw his favorite 6 lb. meat logs were actually 5 lb. meat logs and a little more expensive, so he gave those weird sausage products another look. Turns out they were 10 lb. meat logs that were thirty five cents a pound cheaper! How many times have you made assumptions only to realize they were wrong? Fortunately this wasn’t a huge oversight, he estimates he’s spent about a hundred bucks more over the course of four years, but it’s a good example of how you should always challenge your assumptions.

I used to read Dan Melson’s Searchlight Crusade all the time when I was buying a home. I stopped reading it as much the last few years because I wasn’t planning on buying a home and didn’t really need his expertise. The other day I had a reason to stop by his site and was once again reminded how well informed he is (it’s partly his job) and how well he explains certain topics. In fact, a post this week tackles the very problem that David of My Two Dollars was facing – how to qualify for a loan with irregular, 1099-MISC income (it talks about more than that). If you’re going to buy a house in the next year or two, read Dan’s stuff. (Oh, also check out his Consumer Focused Carnival of Real Estate)

Lazy Man always asks himself five question before he buys something, it’s a good process to go through sometimes our brains run on autopilot. We buy something because it looks good or was pitched well, but we never ask ourselves the five questions Lazy Man does.

Finally, I leave you with this thought – Is the Baby Boom Generation the Shallowest Generation?