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Last Thursday, Jeff offered his final article for Consumerism Commentary, Learning and Saving. Jeff was a solid contributor, and I’m sorry to report that Jeff won’t be contributing regularly due to his other obligations. I am now looking to add an additional author to the Consumerism Commentary team which currently includes myself, Smithee, and Tom.

One thing I like about having a small group of regular contributors to Consumerism Commentary is that they bring different perspectives, opinions, and interpretations of personal finance to the readers. I have already solicited a number of writers interested in contributing a weekly article to Consumerism Commentary, but I am opening the invitation to everyone.

This is an opportunity for a writer to reach 10,000 or so subscribers and several hundred thousand visitors each month and earn some cash at the same time. I am currently in the process of collecting names of those people who are interested, and within a few days I will send emails to all explaining in detail my vision.

If you are interested, contact me and introduce yourself!

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Best of Consumerism Commentary, September 2009

We also had a number of excellent guests on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast in September. We discussed budgeting with the creators of You Need a Budget and PocketSmith, learned how to survive on a teacher’s salary, discovered the details about Mint.com’s acquisition by Intuit including one surprise that was not mentioned in the media earlier, and discussed negotiating and bargaining with presidential adviser Herb Cohen.

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As I find time, I write articles for websites other than Consumerism Commentary. This will always be my home for writing about money, but I’ll take whatever opportunity I can to share my thoughts online with more readers.

Here are a few of the recent articles I’ve published around the internet. Please read these and participate by commenting if you are so inclined.

Combining Money With Your Honey. Can a couple where both participants have different attitudes towards money and different incomes survive in a relationship with combined finances? The title of this article doesn’t sound like me — I think my original title was, “How People With Differing Attitudes can Combine Finances.” I’m pretty sure the new title is an improvement.

Be the Big Saver on Campus. This article is a guide for first-year college students, known vernacularly as freshmen or frosh. I don’t remember thinking about money at all when I first entered college, but if I had I probably would have been in a better situation when I graduated.

Is the Frugal Life Here to Stay? I keep hearing about the “New Frugality” in the media, and I often receive questions about whether those growing up post-Great Recession will have adopted an entirely new lifestyle that will last until they die, like those who grew up in the Great Depression. I certainly have an answer for that question.

These are only the most recent articles. You can look forward to more of these in the future.

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Best of Consumerism Commentary, August 2009

Here are some of the most popular articles, based on total visitors, published on Consumerism Commentary in August. If you missed them this past month, take a look.

  1. Receiving the First Time Homebuyer Credit Takes About Six Weeks
  2. My Grandmothers and the Cost of a Funeral
  3. Earn $500 By Referring Friends and Readers to ING Direct
  4. What’s Important to You in Healthcare Reform? (by Smithee)
  5. Personal Balance Sheet, Net Worth, Income, and Expenses, July 2009
  6. Using Debit Cards as Credit Cards
  7. Roth IRA Conversion
  8. Good News for Mac Users: Quicken for Mac 2010 Coming Soon
  9. Is Buying a Foreclosed Property Realistic? (by Jeff)
  10. Cash for Clunkers: The Revenge (by Smithee)

Social media

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter, a social media services based on short personal updates. My updates tend to be somewhat random non sequiturs but occasionally I might write about something pertaining to personal finance. I don’t simply duplicate my RSS feed.

If you do, however, prefer to receive notifications of new Consumerism Commentary articles on Twitter, follow ConsumerismComm as well.

If you’re a member of Facebook, visit the page for Consumerism Commentary and become a “fan.” Also, feel free to view my own profile and add me as a “friend.”

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Tune into the Personal Finance Hour radio show, tonight at 6:00 PM ET (3:00 PM PT) for a chance to hear me speak with Jim Wang from Bargaineering and J.D. Roth from Get Rich Slowly. We plan to discuss the trials and tribulations of shifting from an employee to an entrepreneur. Please listen in, and if you have questions, you can call into the show.

You can listen by calling 347-327-9144 at the beginning of the interview. You can also listen by visiting the Personal Finance Hour on Blog Talk Radio and chat online with other listeners.

If you miss the broadcast, you will be able to listen to the show in its entirety — but without the option of calling in to ask questions and the live real-time chat. The Blog Talk Radio website will host the archived interview and I will include a widget here.

Update: If you missed the live show, you can now listen to the interview using the widget below.

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At 6:00 PM ET (3:00 PM PT) today, Tuesday, September 1, I will be talking with Neal Frankle from Wealth Pilgrim and the Wealth Pilgrim Radio Show. We’ll be talking about the experiences that led me to discover personal finance and the motivation behind Consumerism Commentary. It will be a live discussion, and I’d like to invite Consumerism Commentary readers to listen in.

You can listen in by calling 347-637-2262 at the beginning of the interview. For a richer multimedia experience, you can listen to the show through Wealth Pilgrim Radio on Blog Talk Radio while participating in the show’s online chat at the same time.

If you miss the live broadcast, a recording of the show will be available on demand as well.

In addition to this evening’s interview, I’ll also be appearing on the Personal Finance Hour with Jim and J.D. next Monday, Labor Day, so stay tuned to Consumerism Commentary for more details as that interview approaches.

Update: For those who missed the live show, you can now listen to the interview in full using the widget below through next Tuesday.

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Congratulations to Consumerism Commentary readers Aliotsy A. and Scott O.! Aliotsy and Scott were selected randomly among those who responded correctly to the scavenger hunt held last month to celebrate Consumerism Commentary’s sixth anniversary. Both winners chose to receive the Apple iPod Touch. The iPods are now on the way!

More giveaways will be offered soon to readers who have joined our free email newsletter. I haven’t been using the email newsletter much lately, but you can expect to receive an email every one or two weeks with behind-the-scenes information from Consumerism Commentary, special deals on money-related products, exclusive tips and thoughts, and chances to win stuff.

To join the newsletter, enter your information below. Your information will be kept private and you will not receive any spam.

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This coming Thursday, August 27, I will be hosting an online chat session. Please feel free to join me on Money Quantum, a social network for people whose lives involve money, to chat about personal finance, investing, blogging or anything else we feeling like chatting about. I will share more information about Money Quantum later.

In order to join Money Quantum while the site is in “private beta” mode, request an invitation by emailing beta (at) moneyquantum (dot) com. Or, leave a comment on this post to let me know you would like an invitation, and I will email your invite personally. You must be a member of Money Quantum to participate in the chat, but it’s free, and once the site grows, I can assure you it will be fun. Joining now gets you in on the ground floor.

The chat will begin at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Once you have created your account on Money Quantum, just click on the “Chat” link in the navigation bar at the top of the page, or use the pop-up chat widget by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.

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