Personal Finance Week in Review – The Big Dance Edition

March Madness is upon us with more games than you can watch at once but I still found time to read some interesting personal finance articles this week.

Investing
Sun talks about using ETF’s in your investment portfolio and Jim has another Devil’s Advocate post, Invest in Your Company. Some reasons he gives for buying stock in the company you work for are that you understand your company better than others and you often get an employee discount on the stock price.

Money Stress
SVB gives us some insight on preparing for stressful financial situations in our life. If you have money woes you can always turn to my 10 Ways to Reduce Money Stress post.

Entrepreneurism
Lazy Man warns us that perfectionism can get in the way of progress when you’re an entrepreneur. I read an article the other day that said good companies or websites are “always in beta” or always trying something new. Don’t delay getting started on your idea because it’s not quite right. Throw it against the wall and see what sticks!

Social Security
Jeremy describes where our social security contributions go, other than down the toilet. He asks the important question, “Will you ever see a benefit from the money you’ve been putting into these programs?”, not likely in my opinion.

Credit Cards
Tricia reminds us to take advantage of credit card services such as email alerts and credit card usage monitoring in Use the Resources Your Credit Card Gives You.

Inheritance
Mighty Bargain Hunter brings up a sad but important subject, how to plan for an inheritance. A key point is not to count on it, don’t make decisions assuming you’ll get an inheritance. What happens if you don’t?

Consumerism
I went on a rant this week about the perils of buying too much stuff and Henry put together a clever chart depicting how the more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you.

Free Stuff
Golbguru is having a reader appreciation contest where he’s giving 4 lucky readers “anything they wish for”. All you have to do is leave a comment to enter, there are 12 entries so far so the competition is heating up, contest ends Thursday, 29th March.

That’s a wrap for this week in personal finance, if you ever run any articles that are worth a mention just let me know. Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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