Friday Round-Up: The Best in Personal Finance Blogs

I haven’t talked about my pregnancy on here recently. Thankfully, there’s not a lot to report: I feel absolutely wonderful; I walk 3.5 miles per day; and Baby Girl is growing like a weed in my belly. Oh, yeah, that’s right: It’s a girl!

My husband and I found out the sex of the baby a few weeks ago, and we’re both thrilled, albeit slightly surprised. Baby Girl has been following all the baby boy old wives’ tales: I feel good, look good, carry low, and crave “boy” foods like mashed potatoes and gravy (mmm…). So it was a surprise to discover that the baby I had already decided was a boy will actually be sporting pink!

Now that we know she’s a she, I’ve been feeling much more antsy about decorating the nursery. Right now, the nursery is my office, and when we relocate my computer to the basement, it will have to be painted. And I have to buy a crib. And I need to finish reupholstering my rocking chair. And the list goes on and on!

Someday soon, my husband and I will tackle painting the basement, selling the existing cast-off furniture in the basement, moving the office furniture, painting the nursery, setting up a crib…whew -- I’m tired just writing that list!

Despite my nesting needs, I still do have a functioning office at the moment, so I was happy to find a ton of stuff on the net about college savings, finances, sustainability and more. Join me for a break-down of the week’s best posts!

• The title “Pregnancy is Not Too Early to Start Saving for College” really caught my eye this week at Retire by 40. Since I am expecting, I jumped on the chance to read this article, and I wasn’t disappointed: there’s tons of info on college savings and student loans.
• Following conventional financial advice just might not be the best option. Follow along as MoneyCone blows some conventional wisdom out the window.
• Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog is starting a new series about some "Tenets of Sustainability." He’ll offer some guidelines for a sustainable life that people can pick and choose to fit their lifestyles. Sounds like a win-win to me.
• Most people want to reduce their grocery bill, but Nikki at Debt Free by Thirty sees an entirely different way to save money by increasing her grocery bill. How? Well, check in to find out!
• Are college kids responsible angels or complete nightmares as tenants? Derek at Creating a Passive Income takes a look at this and more in his post “Passive Income with Student Housing.”
• Ashley at Money Talks talks money with her eight year old daughter. When asked, “What’s the Point in Having Money if You Don’t Spend It?,” Ashley gives her daughter two wonderful examples that just might get through to her little spender.

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