Although this was a short week, it felt like it was one of the longest ever. I’m looking forward to spending the entire weekend doing absolutely nothing except relax and watch a lot of sports. While I waste away, you can learn something from these great writings from the past week.

Happy National 401(k) Day – Ben reminds us of some simple, yet important things to consider when it comes to your employer sponsored retirement plan.

What I Learned From the 2001 New England Patriots – Football is finally here, and the Lazy Man compares the football team to issues about life. Who says you can’t learn anything from sports?

Risks of Paperless Finance – Jim talks about some of the pitfalls of paperless finance. I must say, being paperless has burned me on a few occasions. While it does have its benefits, you have to be careful of a few issues.

September is eBay Month at MyPoints – If you join MyPoints and click through the link on the site after you’ve signed into your account, you get 4 points per dollar you spend on eBay items during the month of September!

Invest in the Stock Market Using These Investing Styles – SVB takes a comprehensive look at the most common ways of investing in the stock market and the pros and cons of each.

Gold Prices Climb Back to $700 an Ounce – The Sun examines the history and trend of gold prices, which could be a decent hedge against this volatile stock market.

The High Cost of Low Risk Investing – Nickel examines how low risk investments can cost dearly. People often don’t understand the other types of risk at play when investing in “safe” investments.

Shop Now for Holiday Gifts – Even if you can’t bring yourself to begin shopping for holiday gifts now like FMF suggests, it isn’t too late to begin saving a little money now for the rapidly approaching holiday season.

Stop Going Crazy With Birthday Parties for Kids – Not only are a lot of kids spoiled brats, but often it is the parents who are more concerned about the party and how they appear to others than celebrating a special occasion.