Weekend Reading – Balloon Boy Edition

Another week of great reads.  These are entries from blogs I frequent, and I hope you will too ( just come back! ).  I’ve also included various finance/investing carnivals that published my material this week and my favorite posts from my two blogs. This week’s edition coincides with a rather bizarre tale of a publicity-seeking family that claims to have been fooled by their child – the Balloon Boy.  As the nation watched and Twitter was ablaze, pundits were initially mocked for questioning whether this might be a publicity stunt, when in retrospect, perhaps they were right.  Balloon Boy was not in the balloon, but in the attic.  After hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent and hundreds of man-hours in emergency services and equipment were diverted away from true potential emergencies, it was all for naught.  I dedicate this edition to the folly because it was really a sign of the times to see a story sweep the cable news cycle and captivate Twitter followers whereas if this happened 20 years ago, it would be a back page story in the “Oddball News Column”.  This story grabbed more attention than the ever-increasing violence in Pakistan, Iran’s nuke program potentially provoking Israel to attack, or the notion that we may be seeing the sun set on the US Dollar as the World Reserve Currency unfold before our eyes. Personal Finance: Weakonomics: You’re Manipulated all the Time (Great Post that totally clicks with me that I never thought of doing myself) Get Rich Slowly: Dow 10,000 ?  Nonsense! (Thank God someone influential said it.  Couldn’t agree more) Million Dollar Journey: How the Alternative Minimum Tax Works (I’m

just waiting for this to hit me one year – Aaauugghhh) Consumerism Commentary: Make your Own Extended Warranty Moolanomy: Fall Cleaning for your Financials Political Calculations: Implicit Taxation By Design ( Please, Please, Please read this article on the current Health Care Bill and how it will really tax the middle-class) Investing Oblivious Investor: Best Low-Cost Index Funds (stop paying for actively managed under-performance, please!) Dividend Guy: High Yield = Low Returns? (in many cases, yes) Afraid to Trade: BIDU – The stock that keeps on giving (I’ve owned for years, love it!) Monevator: Tax Avoidance vs. Tax Evasion My Top Articles at Darwin’s Finance and Everyday Finance: Death of the US Dollar?  What it Means Gold Hype – Don’t Get Taken for a Ride 9 Winning Money Habits How to Get Your Market Losses Back Now (NOT!) Comcast vs. Verizon FIOS [Hidden Fees] Cash for Appliances – Details Emerging How to Lose 90% in an ETF Fast $50 Signup Bonus at Tradeking Review iPhone Apps that Changed My Life Our Health Insurance is Increasing 30% Next Year – What ?!? Carnivals that Featured my Content Recently: Carnival of Personal Finance Carnival of 20-Something Finances One Mint Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Tax Carnival Carnival of Trust Best of Money Carnival of Financial Planning Festival of Stocks Money Hacks Related posts: Could the US Dollar be Replaced as the World’s Reserve Currency? What it Would Mean Weekend Reading: 2016 Olympics Edition 3 Painless Tips to Save Up for Something Special Weekend Reading: ACORN is Toast Edition FREE $10 per Child for simply Reading to them

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Weekend Reading – Balloon Boy Edition