4th of July Friday Finance Findings

If you are celebrating the 4th, I hope everything is going well and you’re able to enjoy some of the festivities and time with friends or family. For us, we spent a bit of time down in Amish country picking up some great meat and cheese. There is nothing better than this horseradish cheese that we find down there. In addition to that, I’ve been breaking in my new Weber grill. Our really cheap grill had finally cooked its last meal, and it was time to invest in a quality cooking machine. I must say, even though we’ve only cooked a few meals on it so far, it is already a thousand times better than the junk we were using before.

In other news, we also just recently picked up a Wii. The last thing we need in the house is another video game that can waste time, it is just too fun. I’m hooked on bowling, but all of the games are a blast with a group. Even better, is that it plays Gamecube games, so we can finally revive some of our old classics like Mario Kart! But all this gaming has led to a very sore shoulder and elbow, so it may be time for a break.

If you have some free time this weekend, here are some of the best articles from the past week. Oh, and by the way, don’t forget you can follow and chat with me via Plurk. It is sort of like Twitter, only a lot better (in my opinion). There are quite a few other financial bloggers out there using it as well. I think it is a lot of fun.

Risk Management via Insurance: Disability Insurance -I’m a strong proponent of disability insurance if you provide a sizable portion of your family’s income, and Frugal Trader has a guest post from a CFP that does a great job at outlining who’s at risk, and what type of coverage you may need.

Financial Independence Day: Escape the Rat Race with Lessons from our Forefathers – While we celebrate the independence of our country, how many of you have thought about the day you can celebrate financial independence? Well, Ben compares some timely lessons from our forefathers.

Will the Government Raid Roth IRAs? – Tax free growth and withdrawals are great, but what happens if the government decides that they need some additional tax revenue and begin taxing your Roth IRA? I don’t know if it can or will happen, but it just makes you think about how important it is to diversify your taxes as much as possible.

What Example are You Setting with Baby’s First Bunny Bank? – Lazy Man has an interesting post that highlights the true opportunities that can be missed when buying a young child some material gift. That doesn’t mean you can’t give gifts, but you should think twice before dropping coin on a silver bunny from Tiffany’s for sure.

7 Ways to Payoff Credit Card Debt – There are a number of different ways you can tackle credit card debt, and there isn’t a right or wrong answer. Different methods work better for different people and different situations. Madison takes a look at seven of the most popular ways to pay off that credit card debt.

Dow and S&P in Bear Market? – If you’ve been paying any attention to the stock market since late last year, you probably feel the pain. There are a few different definitions as to what constitutes a bear market, but regardless, things have been rough for the past eight or nine months.

Lose Weight While Spending Less on Food and Exercise – If you’re looking to shed a few pounds and get healthier, you know that it can come at a cost. But don’t worry, SVB has a number of great tips that can help you not only shave off a few pounds, but save money while doing so.

5 Free (And Inexpensive) Ways To Reduce Your Debt -Are you looking for ways to pay down your debt even faster? Well, there is good news, as NCN has some free or inexpensive ways to put you on the fast track to becoming debt free.

Inflation and Rising Prices Aren’t the Same Thing – Most people think of inflation as simply rising prices, but they are different things. Not all price increases are due to inflation.