Happy Friday everyone! It’s hard to believe that Daylight Saving time is this weekend, so remember to set your clock ahead Saturday night. While I love the winter, the main thing I hate is having what seems like such limited time in the day. I remember driving home from my previous jobs at the end of the day and hating that it was dark and the feeling that I could not really do anything outside. Now that we’ll have daylight until 8:30 at night we can start doing many of the things that we love to do in the Frugal Rules home like getting back to gardening and yard work while the kids play outside and try to “help” us. The other good thing about this week was that we finally got our taxes done by our CPA. I know that many like getting large tax refunds, but we try to get ours as close to zero as we’d much rather have that many throughout the year to apply it to things we want to take care of. Well, we did pretty good this year and we’ll be getting a whopping $40 from the feds and $170 from the State. I know that it’s not much, but it feels good to know that we did not owe this year.
In other news, there will be two giveaways coming up next week so you’ll definitely want to come back for those. The first one is a personal giveaway that I am running to celebrate Frugal Rules’ six month blogiversary! I am excited to hit that mark on Monday and am even more excited to see where the site goes this year. In total, there will be $600 on the line with the giveaways next week, so come back and check them out.
As you scroll down you’ll see that I have made some changes to my Frugal Friday posts. In an effort to get anyway from a massive link dump I’ve shortened my list to my ten favorite blog posts and might even cut that down to five here in the near future. I hate to narrow it down, but I want to make sure I am not just posting a huge list each week and I want to be sharing what I feel my readers will benefit from the most. Another change is that I am highlighting a blog post of the week that I enjoyed the most and one that I feel my readers will benefit from as well. The remaining blog posts will be in no specific order, just ones I enjoyed immensely. I have some other changes in mind that I am still toying with implementing, so we’ll see where this Friday post goes in the future.
Blog Post of the Week
Try Change! It is Good! on Reach Financial Independence
Pauline tells it like it is in this post. Who likes change, I know not many do…myself included at times. The problem with being averse to change is that we stay in our comfort zone which will ultimately get us nowhere. This can be applied in virtually every area of life, so find something you’ve never tried and give it a go to open yourself up to new possibilities.
Other Blog Posts that Ruled
How I Reduced Our Grocery Budget From $1,100 to $600 in Six Months on Canadian Budget Binder
What if I Can’t Pay My Income Taxes? on Eyes On The Dollar
Why Do People Like to Reveal Their Income? on Financial Samurai
Investing in Stocks and the Stop Loss on The Wise Dollar
Required Reading: Warren Buffett Wisdom in the Annual Letter on 1500 Days to Freedom
3 More Financial Products to Consider Avoiding on The Chicago Financial Advisor
Officially an Entrepreneur: Who is Your Roger Bannister? on Well Kept Wallet
Why Do Sales Make Us Irrational Shoppers? on Debt RoundUp
Neighbor Envy? Screw the Joneses! on Johnny Moneyseed
Odd Search Terms
How not to spend money…Easy, just don’t do it!
21 Easy ways to save money…What, you could not come up with 22?!
Are Heiniken’s ads made for specific gender? And do you feel they will motivate you to buy it after watching…They did just sponsor the James Bond movie…who do you think they’re after?
Are there college degrees to lose weight…It’s called Cup ‘O Noodles people
EZ Money loan hours…sounds like a place you shouldn’t go to me!
Taxes done at WalMart…I am soooo sorry!
Unique ideas to put into bowls…Um, I don’t know, maybe cereal?
Do you have anything fun planned for the weekend? What’s the one thing you’re looking forward to most about spring?
Photo courtesy of: Patrizio Martorana
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I’m almost considering having a CPA do my taxes in the future, but I think we will go with turbo tax again. Ours have become very complicated because of multiple jobs/incomes, student loans, buying a house (and next year having a renter). We’ll be doing ours pretty late just because our weekends are spoken for for most of March, but shouldn’t be a big deal.
I would recommend cutting it down to 5, people are much more likely to actually follow the links and I think others would value it more if they were one of the five.
Have a good weekend!
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..Friday Giveaway Roundup – 16 Giveaways
Yea, there becomes a point when a CPA is a much needed thing. I hated turning them over, but it saves us a bunch of time and I’d much rather have an expert handling them with our business.
Thanks for the feedback n the roundup. It’s probably just going to be a moving target from week to week, but am looking to eventually cut down on them altogether in the near future.
Thanks for the shout out; super appreciated!
Mr. 1500 recently posted..Thursday Rant: I want Smarties Cereal!
Not a problem sir. have a great weekend!
We need to start getting our tax refund as close to $0 as possible also. We’re bad with that and got a pretty big tax refund back this year. Have a great weekend!
Michelle recently posted..How to Eliminate Food Waste from Your Fridge
I hear ya Michelle, though those big returns are nice. I was just happy not to be owing this year. Have a great weekend!
thank you for the special light, I am honored! And congrats on the mini tax refund, that is well calculated. Have a nice weekend.
pauline recently posted..Friday recap 8 march
Not a problem Pauline, my pleasure. Thanks, I may just use the refund to take Mrs. Frugal Rules and I out for dinner.
Thanks for the mention John!
Johnny Moneyseed recently posted..The One Week Snapshot Challenge
Not a problem sir!
Thanks for mentioning my post. Always glad for Daylight Savings Time. Supposed to get close to 50 here this weekend as well, should melt all of the snow we got just a few days ago. Have a good weekend.
Roger @ The Chicago Financial Planner recently posted..Friday Finance Links March 8, 2013 – Late Winter Edition
Not a problem Roger. It’s supposed to do the same thing here, but then they’re calling for snow early next week…crazy!
I like the changes John. I got a little overwhelmed by massive link dumps when I was doing them and I feel that narrowing it down is cleaner and easier to deal with. I am also very happy to be on the top 10. Thanks for the inclusion.
I am excited for this weekend because I get to pull my Jeep out for the first time and start work on the old gal. She has to go in for inspection and I need to get her tuned up in order to pass. It should be fun!
Grayson @ Debt RoundUp recently posted..When DIY Plumbing Works Out In Your Favor
Thanks Grayson. It does get a bit overwhelming and readers don’t tend to like them. I eventually see myself moving away from them to use the time on other blogging things.
Sounds like a fun weekend. What kind of Jeep do you have? We used to have a Cherokee, but sadly it’s gone.
8:30, it stays light here until after 9:00
I suppose that’s one benefit of living further north, longer days during the summer. But getting dark at 5:00 in the winter is the pits.
Like Michelle, we need to start getting our taxes closer to zero. But with the extra side income this year I’m going to wait because I don’t want to be hit with a surprise tax bill next year.
Have a great weekend.
Justin@TheFrugalPath recently posted..January & February Income Plus Some Updates
Yea, it’s usually 8:30-9:00, but not much past that. Sounds like a plan on the taxes, those surprises are never good.
I love extra daylight! I’m thinking of doing a top 5 or 10 myself. It seems easier for everyone. Thanks for including me this week. Great job on the taxes. Mine are not done, but I will owe quite a bit I’m afraid.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..The Line Between Making Money and Being a Sell Out
Me as well Kim. I think it is easier for everyone and less of a link dump. I was afraid that we were going a lot too, I was quite relieved not to have to pay this year.
Last year I owed a bunch in taxes so I adjusted my w2s accordingly (trying to reach $0 owed and $0 back). This year I’m getting about $1000 back. It’s hard because my income has varied so much over the past few years with raises and extra work and whatnot. Obviously I’m glad to be making more, but I hate the thought of giving the feds an interest free loan on my money. Hopefully 2013 is the year I balance out.
Looking forward to another hour of sunlight. It’s so depressing to go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.
KK @ Student Debt Survivor recently posted..A Letter to My Alumni Association AKA the Bloodsuckers
Getting $1000 back is not too bad, especially as it would come out to less than $100/month, though I am the same way and would rather have it throughout the year.
Thanks for the mention! Early Congrats on six months! I’m coming up on three months so will have a post on that very soon!
Jose recently posted..A Coupon for the Man (or Lady) Cave
Not a problem Jose! Congrats on the three months. It’s amazing how fast time flies, isn’t it?
Yay DST! I’m doing the same thing with links. It was just too listy before. Congrats on getting the taxes done. I’m tackling that project this weekend. Always a chore…
Budget & the Beach recently posted..Link Love/Week in Review 3/7/13
I completely agree Tonya. In addition to that it just starts diminishing the value for all involved. Have fun with the taxes.
At least you got your taxes done. I have to get moving on that one although I have read the CRA website in Canada so I know what I’m doing. It seems fairly straight forward to me. I’ve been saying for a long time I was going to shorten my list and I’ve done the same. Although there are so many posts I like to share I simply share them on Facebook now rather than on the blog. It seems much easier that way. I may even combine my Fri/Sat posts again although my fans do love to read the posts I share according to their feedback. Have a great weekend mate.
Canadian Budget Binder recently posted..Net Worth Update CBB February 2013-Move or Stay?
I agree that there are so many posts out there Mr. CBB! Most readers don’t like the link dumps and the value starts to diminish for all involved. I have given thought to combining my Fri/Sat posts as well. I’ve seen a little bump in traffic since running the Saturday posts, but not a whole lot. We shall see.
Pauline’s post was one of my favorite’s this week as well! It really resonated with me
I hear ya about the link love posts; I link 10 posts, but I’m thinking of shortening the number as well. Or maybe picking a theme for the particular link love and doing posts that relate to it.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mackenzie recently posted..Link Love: TGIF Edition!
As it was mine Mackenzie! It was real, which is what I like about Pauline’s writing. I am going to be probably shortening mine and probably getting rid of them altogether at some point. Having a theme is a great idea. Have a great weekend Mackenzie!
Can’t believe it’s daylight savings time already.
Time for GOLF again!
Financial Samurai recently posted..Cheap Health Insurance Options For The Unemployed, Self-Employed, Or Early Retiree
I agree, seems like just yesterday it was Christmas.
I’ll leave the golf to you though.
I am so excited for DST! I love leaving work and still feeling like I have a life. Taxes are hard for me because I work a contract employee job and as an independent contractor. Luckily, it wasn’t as nightmarish as I thought, and it sort of evened out– I got $384 back and put it towards debt!
Do or Debt recently posted..How do you manage your work online?
I feel the same exact way about DST! The taxes sound good, there’s nothing wrong with getting nearly $400 back.
Eek, I hate daylight savings time! I work until 10pm on Saturday, and I have to get up again at 5am on Sunday, and with one less hour of sleep this is going to suck.
Anyway, I am excited about the giveaways at least
Melinda Gonzalez recently posted..My Net Worth Story
I can understand why you hate DST, especially with losing the hour of sleep.
Thanks for the great list of posts!
Nick @ ayoungpro.com recently posted..The Financial Six-Pack for the Young Professional
Not a problem Nick!
I think the changes are great John, gotta stay true to the blog. Have a good weekend.
Money Bulldog recently posted..Dow Hits Record Highs ~ Are Stock Markets Due For A Correction?
Thanks Adam! It’s a moving target, but one that I need to be happy with and one that’ll be better for readers. You have a great weekend as well sir!
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Hah, those are some weird search terms, “how not to spend money”. LOL!
Great posts, thanks for sharing!
Listen Money Matters recently posted..Plug Your Spending Leaks
You should see the others I get, don’t know why but it brings them to me.
We get a pretty big refund these days but it is because we get money back for going to university. That will end eventually.
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