Well, maybe this is a slight over-statement but today you probably will excuse this weakness of mine. Because, we may be still in an economic pickle, our national debt may not be going the right way, the British pound is expected to fall further against the dollar but Andy Murray just won Wimbledon.
FB has been an ongoing source of commentary of the men’s final and it will probably be right to say that most everyone on this isle was waiting/watching, holding their breath. Most of us think about this as Britain doing great in tennis: after 77 years finally the trophy stays here. Some use the opportunity to create a Scottish hero, a symbol of identity ahead of the referendum on Scottish independence.
To mark this sporting victory, I decided to tell you about what has been happening on the UK personal finance blogs before I move on and tell you about some great articles on some of my long time favourites (now these don’t belong to a place, or a country).
Elaine at Mortgage Free in Three is always good value when it comes to un-orthodox approach to problems that will break another woman. Today, rather naturally being a Scot, she’s published a brief note about Andy Murray and how important he is as a role model for our kids; with that I agree but this is not the post I want to tell you about. How often do you hear ‘Mum/Dad, I am bored.’ from your kids? I bet fairly often (though I nipped this one in the bud, when I sent my son to do some chores). Elaine has a great solution: the Bored Jar where activities were written on pieces of paper and her son (about 5 years old) was invited to ward off boredom by picking these out and doing ‘what is says on the note’. Go check what the notes said; won’t regret it!
Did I tell you that when stuck at an airport recently I met an exchange student from the US who came to study in Europe so he can visit our amusement parks (yep, he had a list). If someone like that is reading, or your children are bored, Karen at Help Me to Save is telling us about a 2 for 1 Alton Towers entry. Oh, and Alton Towers is one of the places that are my most basic nightmare – rides of great heights and drops, spins around and the like. Been there once and spend the day reading a great book in the coffee bar while John and the kids explored the attractions.
From the everyday to the really exciting! The Monevator published an article discussing five ways to reduce tax in retirement. Please note that this is not about tax avoidance – the Accumulator makes it clear with a wonderful drawing that tax is one of the two things we can’t avoid; the other one is death. Worth having a look – there were at least two ways I have never considered and look promising.
Vero at Financial Confessions, apart from publishing a list of top UK PF blogs where The Money Principle is second, gave us a wonderful post on the ways in which your personality affects your relationship with money. And it turns out I am a Planner – the type of people who see themselves as the cleverest in the room and have their eye far into the future. This is how we trip into what happens today!
Rachael at rPlan published a post on what can be invested in an ISA. The answer is ‘a large variety of things’ so you will have to go there and check the list.
Viviana over at The Lean Times asks a very interesting question: could having ‘no spend’ days be a bad thing? What do you think?
Finally, an article by an old favourite:
Leo Babauta published a post offering tips on how to keep to good habits during travel. Great! If only he published this one before I went to Bulgaria and started eating carbs again!
How did The Money Principle do?
The following personal finance carnivals included our post:
Carnival of MoneyPros at Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Master the Art of Saving
Yakezie Carnival at Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses
Our post on the signs it is time to leave your job was included by John at the Frugal Rules as one of the seven blog posts that ruled last week.
I published a guest blog post on frugality on Miss Thrifty. I have been popping there to have a look and this has nothing to do with narcissism; it is just that the introduction Miss Thrifty did was so great! It is not every day that The Money Principle is called ‘a chocolate box of a blog’.
This is all for now; speak soon.
Thanks for the mention. I took our sons to Alton Towers one August. We managed to get free tickets by saving vouchers from our local supermarket. I’m not a fan of thrilling rides either, so I was mainly hanging around.