Friday Round-Up: The Best in Personal Finance Blogs

The weeks are flying by at top speed now, and I’m beginning to feel the need to nest in preparation for baby’s arrival. While I sit here in my little office typing up a storm, I imagine placing the crib on this wall, the changing table beneath the window and a chair in the corner. The problem is, I don’t have a crib. Or a complete changing table. Or a chair.

With roughly 14 weeks left until baby makes three, my hubby and I have our work cut out for us. Well, mostly my husband. He’ll have to paint the room, move furniture all around the house, set up the crib, finish the changing table, hang the blinds and prep the closet with little rods for tiny dresses. For the first time in our married life, I will actually be making a honey-do list!

As for my own complete-before-gorgeous-baby-enters-the-picture list, I have a ton of sewing projects: chair cover, curtains, crib skirt, changing pad covers and possibly a crib bumper. I also need to de-clutter the house and hold a garage sale, clean everything for the baby shower (sis lives thousands of miles away, so she’ll host it here) and hop through consignment shops on the lookout for bouncers and other baby paraphernalia.

My registry includes the crib, stroller, quilt, and a ton of practical things like cloth diapers, wipes, burp rags, etc. For the rest, I welcome surprises like cute dresses. ‘Cause, really, who can resist adding a little dress to practical baby gifts?

Despite my difficulty focusing on non-baby related issues this week, I was able to peruse the internet for some great finance articles…although I was easily distracted by sidebar ads for baby gear! In any case, I found a ton of great articles, and here are some of my favorites:

• Retire by 40 dives into the frugal landscape not to discourage frugality but to inspire investing. That’s right up the MomVesting alley: check out his post “No One Ever Gets Rich by Being Frugal.”
• Budget got you eating non-organic? Prairie EcoThrifter shows us “How to Eat Healthy on a Budget.” This includes the Clean 15 – if that’s Greek to you, check it out for more info!
• When push comes to shove (or chocolate syrup bottles go empty), Nikki at Debt Free by Thirty has your solution: make your own chocolate syrup! Yep, you read that right: no more bottles of Hersheys necessary.
• Financially, women are on the rise and men are shrinking in financial status. Does that mean that men are finished? Check in with Wealth Informatics to check out the details.
• Homeschooling parents, Mighty Bargain Hunter has a free schooling bargain for you: free iPad apps that encourage reading, introduce marketing and finance principles, and teach patience. Is there really anything more magical?
• To join or not to join; that is the question. Femme Frugality shares her beliefs on joint accounts. Join her for an open discussion!

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