MORE SUMMER READING AT SOME COOL PERSONAL FINANCE SITES | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance

Grab a drink, a snack, and relax by the pool; Check out these excerpts of my favorites reads from around the blogosphere, then stop by the websites to get the full articles!

Mark Riddix at MoneyCrashers writes about Strategies for Earning Passive Income

”One of the easiest ways to generate passive income is by investing in high yielding dividend paying stocks. You can buy high yielding stocks like Verizon or AT&T which are currently paying almost 7% in dividends. Real estate investment trusts (REIT) are also great income producing investments. REIT’s are required by law to pay out 90% of their earnings back to shareholders…..”

Mysti at Budgeting in the Fund Stuff wrote We Decided to Use the Emergency Fund to Pay off Debt

“As I mentioned about a week ago, Mr. BFS and I paid off his car. Yay! Well, we made the last payment of $4600 by using our emergency fund. In fact, the entire last $7500 came from that account. I’ve had a couple of people seriously wonder about our mental health since we’ve also had to raid our cash for dental expenses, vet bills, a major vacation, and grad school payments. This means we went from having more than $20,000 in cash to about $4500 in cash in less than 2 months…..”

Smart on Money wrote a wise post entitled, When you Make Financial Mistakes, don’t allow them to Snowball.

“It’s fine to make mistakes – we all do it. What sets the successful apart from those who can’t seem to find their way out of debt is that they learn from their mistakes, and they move on…”

Jaime at Eventual Millionaire wrote You are Not the Numbers.

“Whether you like them or not, the numbers show reality. They exemplify what is important to you. You might say being home with your children is the most important thing to you, but unless you are spending money consciously then the numbers don’t lie…….”

The Ultimate Money Blog wrote about how to Make Money Online; These are Sites I Use.

“Expo TV has been a HUGE source of my internet income. Basically you review a product on video and upload it to the site. I have made more money than I ever thought possible from this one site. I highly recommend it…..”

Not Made of Money presents some important lessons in 10 Steps for Keeping your Personal finances Organized

“Use accounting software.
There are a number of companies that have created software specifically for the purpose of helping individuals to manage their finances. Accounting software can help you track your spending over time and to help you successfully maintain a budget. You also don’t have to worry about missing bill payments again, because most accounting programs will allow you to set up reminders…..”

Jason at LiveRealNow writes about something we all can realate to: OVERSCHEDULED.

“Everybody takes on too much at times. How do you avoid over-committing? Learn to say no. It is okay to refuse to take on more projects. You probably aren’t the first person to turn down the project and you probably won’t be the last. Don’t assume it’s your responsibility. It is fine to leave it for someone else….”

Mike at The Dividend Guy Blog discusses Dividend Investing with Less than $1000 .

“It is true that $1,000 is too small of an amount to start investing in the stock market…unless you consider ETFs! Exchange Traded Funds have been one of the most discussed investment products in the recent years….”

Heather at Wild West Adventure Writes Ditching Plan B.

“I’m pondering something Tyler Tervooren listed on his “5 Pillars of Awesome Risk Taking” over at the Advanced Riskology blog: “throw away Plan B.” The idea being that we all know deep in our infinitely wise and visceral hearts exactly what it is that makes us burn with energy and desire, and we should do whatever it takes to achieve that Plan A, because, as Tyler puts it, “If you know deep down what you want (and I think everyone does, but most are afraid to allow themselves to believe it) then you should avoid having a Plan B at all cost. If you already have one, you should do everything within your power to dismantle it. Plan B is a major distraction to Plan A….”

Mrs. Accountability at Out of Debt Again wrote, Did I get a New Washing Machine or Not?

“Mr. A and I were having a hard time forking out $400 or more on a washing machine which was working, aside from having a small tub, and oh, that pesky stopping mid-cycle problem which had escalated….”

Shawn at Watson Inc. had a guest post on his site entitled, Hey Broke People, Stop Overpaying for College.

“I need only point out the handful of people who “made it big”, whether we consider financial, intellectual, or public merit, who did not complete a degree at an expensive, private university. Bill Gates: Harvard dropout. Warren Buffett: Started out at the more prestigious University of Pennsylvania, but transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after being dissatisfied with the quality of education at his first school….”

Geoff at Car Negotiation Coach sponsored a guest post by Wealth Informatics called Find the Best Car Rental Price.

“A rental car can be a big chunk of vacation expenses. If you add in all the state & local taxes, airport fees, facility use fees, underage fees, insurance, additional driver fee, refueling fees… it could get very expensive, very easily. But if you spend a little time you can save a lot of money and get the best rental car deal…”

Neal at Wealth Pilgrim lists 19 Great Jobs without a College Degree and How to get them Fast .

“Going to a trade school instead might be a brilliant move. I read recently that only 1 in 4 college graduates find jobs. On top of that, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8 of the 10 fastest growing jobs don’t require college degrees….”

Kevin at Invest It Wisely writes, What is It All About?

“In life, we have three main resources at our disposal: our health, our mind, and our time. We are not equal in our capacities for health and mind, but we all have the opportunity to make the best with what we have, and increase our life expectation. …”

My Financial Objectives writes I Hate Overdraft Fees.

“Overdraft Protection. Do I use it? No. Do I wish I had it? No. Do I ever think I will use is? No. Should you use it? That depends on you. Quite simply, I feel that overdraft protection is not necessary at all for someone like me. …”

Craig Ford writes a thought provoking article for Wise Bread called, 3 Reasons Not to Invest Now

“A common piece of investing advice (which is generally true) is that the best time to start investing is now. But we must also remember that investing requires a personalized plan….”

Mrs. Money from The Ultimate Money Blog asks the timeless question, What are Necessities?

“I was thinking the other day about what would happen if I lost my job. If I lost my job, both Mr. Money and I would lose our health insurance, matching 401k contributions, and about 1/3 of our total income. We’d have to make some cuts to our lifestyle to be able to make it work….”