Is this President Obama’s “mission accomplished moment? We might find out this weekend. Here are some articles that I enjoyed this week:

Cruise over Green Panda Treehouse and enter a contest to win an iTouch!

College textbooks can be a really large unexpected cost. Moolanomy suggests the Best Places to Purchase Textbooks for Students. Before spending money on that brand new textbooks, take a look at this article and give yourself the opportunity to save a few hundred dollars each semester.

Late payments on a loan are not the only way to hurt your credit score. Mrs. Micah lists5 Ways to Hurt Your Credit Score Without Using Credit.

I am getting ready to open a new bank account. Squawkfox tells us how toFire your bank with the Switch Bank Accounts Checklist. Closing an old account can be a massive pain, but part of being a good customer is the willingness to walk.

Rocket Finance ranks the Top 10 Smarmy Financial Products on TV. Can you add any to the list?

Have a great weekend and remember do not just spend money, spend time with family!

Article by Stew

Photo by borman818

• Friday Gathering: Last Trip of the Summer Edition Here are some interesting posts from around the personal finance blogosphere this week: How to...
• Back to the basics of saving money This article is part of an ongoing series called Money Saving Monday. Each Monday, I...
• 6 Financial Decisions - Don't Learn The Hard Way Photograph: Learning The Hard Way by Alex @ Faraway This article is part of an...
• Saving Money with Wachovia's Way2Save Wachovia bank recently announced a new program called Way2Save. If you watched the super bowl...
• Keeping it real: Confessions of a personal finance blogger Photo by: dreamer07 I've been debating writing this article for a few days now. Confession...

Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour this weekend. I would like to call for the abolition of Daylight Savings Time. Why in the world do we do this every year? Anyway, here are some articles that I enjoyed this week:

Be sure to stop by Green Panda Treehouse today and sign up for the free iPod Touch giveaway!

Ron at The Wisdom Journal figured out where our government learned math. Funny video, check it out.

Jason Topp, one of the writers at ChristianPF, posted a really challenging article about the best ways in which to help the poor. Outstanding post.

Jim Wang tells us how to survive an IRS tax audit. Fun stuff.

That’s the list! Have a great week and remember, do not just spend money, spend time with family.

Article by Stew

Photo by knuton

• Friday Gathering: First Snow Fall Edition Here is some reading that I found stimulating this week. Borrow From None presented a...
• Friday Gathering: Mrs. Stew's Picks Edition Here are some articles that Mrs. Stew liked this week: Think Your Way to Wealth...
• The Friday Gathering for 12/14/2007 4:00pm today signals the beginning of 3 weeks of vacation. I don't have to return...
• 3 steps to a personalized income plan for your children Photo by: wsh1266 This is a guest post by WJ, a husband, father, fellow Christian...
• Dealing with the debt timebomb Photo by: pingnews.com This is a guest post by Jonathan who created Friends and Money...

The  2009 nominees for the Plutus Awards are up and there are five nominees in the Religious Personal Finance blog category. Today, I thought I would feature a post from each of them. After reading, click over and vote for your favorite.

Jason Price at Bible Money Matters challenged us to leave an inheritance for your children.

The article, How to spend your tax refund wisely, was posted at Christian PF, but was also written by Jason Price. Busy guy.

Matt Jabs at Debt Free Adventure posted a somewhat controversial article entitled, One world currency-new world order.

Craig Ford managed an Eminem reference on a Christian personal finance blog with his post, Could the money lover please stand up? Okay, maybe it wasn’t an Eminem allusion, but I thought it was funny anyway. j

Overcoming anxiety- how worry reveals what we worship was posted at the final Plutus’ nominee site: Redeeming Riches.

That is the list, have a great weekend and do not just spend money – spend time with family!

Article by Stew

• Money Saving Monday - Don't pay for software, use free software instead! Photo by: javic One of the many ways I save a considerable amount of money...
• Friday Gathering: The Yankees are probably going to win it again Edition Here are some articles that I like this week. I hope you find something to...
• Why Religion is an Important Part of Personal Finance - The glblguy's Perspective There is an incredibly interesting post over at Get Rich Slowly titled Why Religion is...
• Friday Gathering: End of Summer Edition Here are some articles that I found interesting this week: The Silicon Valley Blogger asks...
• Once again looking for guest posts Photo by: Orin Optiglot I'm once again looking for guest posts as my queue is...

Gather Little by Little was featured in four carnivals this week!

What will you do with your tax refund? was featured at the 244th Carnival of Personal Finance. Boy, that thing has been around for a while.

Investing Baby Steps #2: Different Investing Strategies for Beginners Part 2 was chosen as an Editor’s Pick at the 104th Money Hacks Carnival.

If you can’t handle $5, why should I give you $10? was included at 217th Festival of Frugality and the Carnival of Money Stories.

Here are some other articles that I found interesting this week:

Bible Money Matters posted, Is math the king of the financial jungle? Albert Einstein was fascinated by compound interest, I was a math major in college and I enjoyed this post.

My wife and I have become big fans of Craiglist. I always thought Craiglist was a pretty simple site, but I guess not. There is a book about it and Lynnae reviewed it.

Moolanomy asked, Could you survive without money?

That’s the list – have a great weekend! Don’t just spend money, spend time with family.

Article by Stew

Photo by blmurch

• The Friday Gathering for 12/21/2007 Photo by: My Wife I am really enjoying my vacation from my "real job". I'm...
• The Friday gathering for 5/30/2008 Photo by: ?ick Harris Looking at my subscriber numbers this week, I finally crossed the...
• The Friday gathering for 5/23/2008 Photo by: Mr.Thomas Today is my wife and I's 16 year anniversary. It simply doesn't...
• Ask me anything 4th edition Photo by: NickStarr Each week I give the readers of Gather Little by Little a...
• The Friday Gathering for 11/9/2007 Time for another Friday gathering! It's been a pretty quiet week for me and I'm...

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints, winners of the NFL Super Bowl. I did not really have a rooting interest, but was kind of pulling for Peyton Manning . . . Here are some posts that you may want to read from the last week.

From the Carnival of Personal Finance #243 featuring:

• How I got three salary increases in less than twelve months from Mike at The Financial Blogger.
• Investing Baby Steps #2: Different Investing Strategies For Beginners Part 1 by Mike and posted here at Gather Little by Little.
• Five legitimate work-from-home jobs by Jonathan at Christian PF.

From the Festival of Frugality #216 featuring:

• Our bank network by yours truly here at Gather Little by Little.
• Joe at Personal Finance by the Book posted, Tax Refund? How You Should Use It and Why You Should Lose It.
• Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents says, There is room for life insurance in your budget.

That’s the list, have a great weekend and remember, do not just spend money, spend time with family.

Article by Stew

Photo by Cordey

• One year of gathering little by little Photo by: ritchielee Exactly one year ago today, I brought Gather Little by Little online....
• What Does the Bible Tell Us About Debt? Photo by: LabyrinthX This is a guest post by Miranda Marquit who writes about personal...
• Lies, money and marriage - what can you do? He's been buying those sunflower seeds again and not telling her* What would you do...
• Nuru Personal Finance Cards Review and Giveaway Sometime back I received a deck of Nuru Personal finance cards in the mail from...
• A Little More About The Financial Blogger As previously announced by Larry, aka GLBL guy, he recently sold his blog to a...

If you are a college football fan, this was a big week. All the fans in my state are upset about all the top recruits that signed to play out of state . . . Here are some articles that I found interesting this week:

I am not quite sure what to think of Lynnae’s post about her 5-second rule. I tend to be a little like Jerry Seinfeld when it comes to germs. Maybe that’s why Lynnae is “being frugal” and I’m just Stew . . .

I do not think I have a shopping addiction, but I read the Silicon Valley Blogger’s ten questions just to make sure.

Ron asks, Would you rather be right or be employed? I tested the boundaries of that concept recently . . . thankfully I am still employed.

Mighty Bargain Hunter eats oat meal for snacks. Bleh. But he seems to save money doing it, maybe I need to broaden my tastes.

Generation X Finance relays some advice on what to do when you have a bad financial advisor. Good article, is what should I do when I give myself bad financial advice?

That’s the list. Have a great weekend and remember, do not just spend money, spend time with family.

Article by Stew

Photo by SD Dirk

• Lucy, you got some [financial] 'splainin' to do! I have been doing a lot of thinking about family finance and especially the financial...
• Family Money Mangement - Helping Friends And Family In Financial Trouble When it comes to family money management and assisting friends and family who fall victim...
• 1 Year Ago Today - 10 things we've done to regain financial control One year ago today was a life changing day for my family and I. Honestly,...
• What will you do with your tax refund? A couple of weeks ago, I asked, Should a believer contribute to IRA's, 401K's or...
• From debt to investing This guest post was written by ABCs of Investing - a brand new site for...

Lots of tax tips from other bloggers:

Lynnae at Being Frugal, prepares her own taxes. I do too and mine are pretty complicated this year.

If you purchased a home in 2009, Debt Free Adventure lists Tax Credits for Home Buyers and Owners. I sold a home in 2009, which will just complicate my taxes. Sigh.

Mrs. Micah listed the 2009 Tax Credit & Deduction List. Thankfully, I have lots and lots of deductions, but again, they complicate things.

If you do not know the IRS tax deadline, seriously? You do not know when your taxes are due? Even Canadians know stuff like that. April 15th is not complicated.

Prime Time Money posted Tax Preparation Checklist – A quick, uncomplicated list of things you may need to file your taxes.

Jeff Rose lists some of the ways in which our taxes have grown more complicated this year: 2010 Tax Tips to Take Advantage Of – 2010 brings on a slew of new tax tips to be aware of. I hope Turbo Tax will sort them all out for me.

Have a great weekend! If you can get a break from doing your taxes, remember not to spend money, spend time with family.

Article by Stew

Photo by Alan Cleaver 2000

• The Friday Gathering for 12/14/2007 4:00pm today signals the beginning of 3 weeks of vacation. I don't have to return...
• American Opportunity Tax Credit As a general rule, I typically oppose almost all federal government spending on anything other...
• Ask me anything - The Answers Photo by: goldberg About 2 weeks ago, I gave my readers a chance to ask...
• The Friday gathering: Whoosh edition With a loud Whoosh, our typical fall schedule arrived this week.  Football season started for...
• Getting started with the envelope budget method This is a guest post from Luke the guy behind Neobudget.  NeoBudget is an online...

Mike, gave me the privilege of announcing the winner of the book, Get Financially Naked. Drum roll, please . . . . . Julie (comment #21)!

Here are some articles that I found interesting this week:

I am a huge fan of tax software and e-filing. I have used TurboTax almost since it was first made available online. Debt Free Adventure just figured out that if you are claiming any of the new home buyer tax credits – you must file your tax return on paper! This goes right up there with the DMV not taking credit or debit cards . . . government always provides poor customer service.

As far as blogging goes, I have had mixed success and failure. Maybe if I had read Pete’s article at Bible Money Matters at the beginning, I would have had a little more success. Check out Blueprint For How To Make Money With A Blog: Advice From Successful Bloggers.

I have considered becoming self-employed many times during my life. Often, the greatest hindrance is medical insurace. Patrick discusses the options: Shopping for Self-Employed Health Insurance.

I worked my way through college, but along the way I qualified for major student loans – at no interest until I graduated. I often wish that I had taken the loans and put the money in a savings account and then paid them off when they came due. I actually had a friend who pulled this off. Studenomics details the process in Investing your Student Loans.

The Silicon Valley Blogger at Digirati Life writes a comprehensive post about helping with the Haiti relief effort. I hope you can do something.

Have a great weekend! Remember: don’t just spend money, spend time.

Article by Stew

Photo by Muffet

• 10 Small Ways to Save Money That Make a Big Difference Image: alamosbasement When it comes to saving, sometimes starting small feels almost like not starting...
• A story of two friends Adam and Dave were the best of friends.  They met sometime during middle school.  They...
• Why Religion is an Important Part of Personal Finance - The glblguy's Perspective There is an incredibly interesting post over at Get Rich Slowly titled Why Religion is...
• Should I get a loan to invest? Photo by: Seth W. This guest post is from Ryan at Millionaire Money Habits, a...
• Friday Gathering: My favorite holiday is right around the corner! Some of us are going to be seeing a lot of traffic lights over the...

I am out of town for the next three days and as I was leaving, Mrs. Stew was coming down with the flu . . . I am stuck in a hotel room an airplane flight away and she is watching three children in between trips to the restroom. She is a trooper. Here are some articles that I liked this week:

Squawkfox listed 10 ways to cut your fitness costs in the new year. Fortunately, my job has workout facilities that I can use for free. Funny how that does not make it any easier for me to exercise.

No Debt Plan discusses the risks of living with your financial enemy. I certainly hope that you and your spouse have worked out that part of your relationship. It would be tough to be married to your enemy.

This is an old post from My Two Dollars, but I have been researching ways to watch televion over the internet. David found 35 ways to watch television without paying for cable. I have found that most shows can be accessed online, but I want to watch live sports . . .

Christian PF wrote about ten cheap ways to lose weight in the new year. I am looking for a weight loss progam that lets me lay around and eat anything that I want. Think it’s on the list?

Gen X Finance thinks that there are 5 reasons why you might die broke and unhappy. I am pretty sure that I will die broke – why should anything change from the way I live? However, I plan to die happy no matter what.

Have a great weekend. Remember do not just spend money, spend time with family.

Article by Stew

Photo by United Nations

• Could be good, could be bad Photo by: code poet This article is dedicated to my Dad who has always been...
• Are you discouraged by your finances? One of the top 10 new years resolutions each year is something related to finances:...
• Don't let death catch you unprepared I got the upsetting news yesterday that a friend and co-worker where I worked died...
• Ask me anything: More questions, more answers Photo by: brunkfordbraun Questions have continued to come in from you since I gave you...
• The Friday Gathering - Need some advice edition Photo by:Point-Shoot-Edit My wife and I were having a discussion last night about our house....

Congratulations to Alabama! I’m not really a fan of the Tide, but Ron is. Here are some articles that I found interesting this week and I hope you can find some useful tips:

Being Frugal found 101 Ways to Cut Your Spending This Year! I need to go through this list again.

Amateur Asset Allocator posted an article that might help me out: 401k Hardship Withdrawal Rules since I cashed out an IRA account this last year. I hope to qualify under the “money to pay your mortgage in an attempt to avoid foreclosure” exception.

Frugal Dad warns us that Delaying Roth IRA Contributions One Year Could Cost You $74,000. Yikes!

Another warning (I’m starting to sound like Mom) comes from Mighty Bargain Hunter: not tracking your spending can have repercussions. Yep.

Did you know that life insurance benefits are not taxed? (:whisper: Don’t tell the Democrats) I assumed they were taxable at least under the estate tax. Jim at Bargaineering compares life insurance benefits to car insurance benefits – not taxable. Life Insurance dividends might be taxable. Check out his post for more details.

Christian PF commends the giving spirit that is still alive and well in the United States. I think that Americans would give even more if taxed less . . .

Hope your first week of the new year was a good one! Have a great weekend and do not just spend money, spend time with family. The Stew household went sledding today. It was a blast!

Article by Stew

Photo by

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• The Friday Gathering for 11/2/2007 To be honest, I'm glad this week is almost behind me. Between trying to get...
• Money saving tips from the readers Photo by: .Bala Each Monday here on Gather Little by Little I write about topics...
• The Friday Gathering - Arizona Edition Within the next few hours, I'll be back on a plane and headed home. I...
• The Friday Gathering for 8/10/2007 Another Friday has arrived, and rather quickly I might add. Here in the Carolina's we're...