Today’s holiday provided me with a much-needed break from the general craziness that is my life. I had time to take care of a few household chores rather than procrastinate as usual. Living alone is both a blessing and a curse in this respect. After I finished my chores and allowed myself to go out and enjoy the beautiful weather, as dusk approached I spent a few hours in Princeton with my camera. Here are a few pictures followed by some interesting personal finance articles from the past week.

4 Reasons Why Index Investing May Not Be for You. This post at Million Dollar Journey takes the “devil’s advocate” position. It’s important to note that index funds do not get “average” returns—a very small percentage of actively managed mutual funds beat the index over long periods of time, and it’s impossible to predict who will ahead of time. That’s really a key point in favor of index funds.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Personal Finance. Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has assembled seven of the worst things you can do for your personal financial situation. This post rounds up the seven articles pertaining to each “deadly sin.”

The Hidden Costs of Smoking. Smoking is an expensive habit, not just because of the price of cigarettes but also because of the effect the habit will have on a person’s health.

Here are some interesting articles from the MoneyBlogNetwork and beyond. I enjoyed these posts and I believe others will as well.

The Psychology of Credit Cards? Get Rich Slowly shares the story of a reader who has switched from debit card to credit card but has lost the ability to keep track of his spending as a result. Together, they ask readers for suggestions about overcoming the psychology of “spending somebody else’s money.”

Decision Made: I Am Moving All of Our Accounts to Vanguard. NCN from No Credit Needed has decided that the low-cost funds available at Vanguard suit his investing style. NCN made a great choice based mostly on numbers. (The funds have very low expense ratios for all account owners and will actually become less expensive as your balance increases and you qualify for different levels of service). It’s an excellent financial decision. I agree with NCN and at this time I plan on opening any new investment accounts at Vanguard.

Cost vs. Benefit Analysis: Extra Chest Freezer in the Garage. Jonathan from MyMoneyBlog runs the numbers to determine whether it is worthwhile to buy an extra freezer. This is a good example of an analytical approach to decide whether the potential benefits of a large purchase are worth the cost, but as always, a number of assumptions are involved.

Buying a Used Auto With High Miles. Gather Little By Little shares his recent experience buying a Eddie Bauer edition (didn’t they go out of business? or just close a bunch of stores?) Ford Expedition with over 100,000 miles. In many cases it makes financial sense to buy used cars, though there are some exceptions. He got a great deal on this car as long as there are no undiscovered problems.

• How to Find a Good Auto Mechanic. Five Cent Nickel shares several tips.
• What You Buy Matters to Credit Card Companies. Meg from All Financial Matters describes how CompuCredit uses the types of locations in which you shop to determine your credit score.
• Don’t Be Scared of Your Portfolio. Mighty Bargain Hunter offers some advice for those who are afraid to look at the damage caused by the stock market.
• Help Some Readers: Lots of Credit Score Questions. Free Money Finance asks readers to help other readers.
• How Good Writing Skills Save and Earn Money. Wise Bread lists four reasons it pays to write well.

Here are some articles from the Money Blog Network I enjoyed recently.

All I Really Need to Know About Stocks I Learned in the Sixth Grade. Get Rich Slowly interviews David Gardner, one of the founders of The Motley Fool, a website mainly about investing. The forums on The Motley Fool is where I originally picked up some great tips on how to live financially smart before I started writing for Consumerism Commentary. Once the forums gained popularity, the website began requiring payment in order to participate, counter to the idea of the free exchange of information—an important price for people learning how to get their finances in order. The discussion boards there have, I believe, returned to being a free service, but considering The Motley Fool’s transformation to an expensive investing newsletter, I’ve moved on. The interview at Get Rich Slowly is worth a read, though.

Uh Oh. It Might Be Time For A Real Emergency Fund. No Credit Needed points out the Morgan Stanley customers may not be able to withdraw money from their home equity lines of credit. Many see the HELOC as an emergency fund, but it can never be a complete emergency solution; in fact, I believe it should be low on the list in a complete emergency plan. Here’s one example of why it can be dangerous to rely on your HELOC.

I Wan to Pay Cash for a House in 12 Years. In this article, JLP from AllFinancialMatters takes a look at a reader’s financial position and determines what it will take for him to reach his goal.

Ten Things Teens Should Know About Money. Five Cent Nickel shares BankRate’s list. I agree with Nickel’s opinion that the list could be improved with a few additions.

Get Promoted and Earn More Money by Dressing Correctly. Free Money Finance inspires an interesting discussion about what (not?) to wear. In my building, there is quite a difference between the dress “code” on the second and third floors due to the type of the work that occurs there.

There is Nothing Unpatriotic About Retiring Early. Mighty Bargain Hunter responds to a call for retirees to continue working and not accept some retirement benefits to help ensure that the system will support future generations.

How Much Money Should a CEO Make? While it’s easy to say that any individual should make whatever he or she was able to negotiate, but I’m reminded of a few examples in which CEOs were paid quite well to drive businesses into the ground.

Here are some personal finance articles I’ve enjoyed recently from around the web. Perhaps you will, as well.

$1.8 Million Net Worth – How I Got From There to Here. QCash, a retired, 37-year-old millionaire, explains how he reached that point. ”[P]urchasing real estate at a young age paid off huge for me. Living a pretty frugal lifestyle, while planning for a family and working hard on my business, allowed me to take chances.”

Why the Heck Does Gas Cost So Much – Commodities Investing Series. “Still, some economists believe that as the U.S. economy takes a dive, most investors start looking for “safe” places to put their money. Usually, they turn to commodities. This actually drives the price of those commodities up because of the sudden increase in demand.”

Get it in Writing. “Whenever you are dealing with with anything of importance, get it in writing. This includes things such as a contract for employment, salary negotiation, contractor’s estimate, negotiating a purchase, or anything else that involves money or a service. If you don’t get it in writing, you open the door to unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of you.”

How SIPC Works and How SIPC Differs from FDIC Insurance. “Just like how the FDIC insures bank deposits in the event of a bank failure, SIPC insures investment accounts in the event of a failure… The SIPC only covers losses due to a brokerage failure, or other unscrupulous activity. SIPC does not insure losses that occur as a part of regular market fluctuation.”

Lost Money: How Money Drains Add Up To $175,000 In 10 Years. “Many of us have frittered away some of our money on occasion. But what if we’re able to put a stop to the mindless spending that eats up our money without us even realizing it?”

As I write this roundup, the anchors of The Today Show mentioned they will soon present the founder of Thrasher Funds, an expensive mutual fund company designed to attract younger people towards investing, to offer financial advice for teenagers. I’ve noted before that the concept is good, but the execution is out of touch. It’ll be interesting to hear the advice they’re scheduled to provide on the television show.

Here are some recent articles from the MoneyBlogNetwork.

Details on Equifax ID Patrol. Free Money Finance interviewed the president of Equifax Personal Solutions about this identify theft protection product. Even after the interview, FMF is not convinced that this is a necessary product.

How Can I Get My Wife to Talk About Money? J.D. from Get Rich Slowly shares a question from a reader and solicits opinions from his readership. Here’s the question: “Whenever I bring up anything financial… [my wife] gets very defensive and angry, and refuses to talk about it… Is there anything I can do to have an open dialogue with her about money matters without making her defensive?”

Can You Handle the Financial Truth? Mighty Bargain Hunter tackles “verbal shock therapy.” Some people respond to verbal beat-downs in the style of Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey. No, I do not agree that this “therapy” is effective in the long run. People with problems and addictions need support from their friends. Spending and debt is much more private than alcoholism, for example. If it weren’t, if finance was an acceptable topic for discussion, it would be much easier for people to get the support they need. In the mean time, authors who yell at callers on television and the radio will thrive.

How to Annualize a Rate of Return. AllFinancialMatters is one of the best blogs for getting technical information about measuring your success (or failure) at investing. Recently, he shared the formula for annualizing your rate of return to compare your performance with metrics common in the financial media.

Updating My Will and Purchasing More Insurance. I need to pay more attention to my insurance situation. Here’s some of what No Credit Needed has done recently to update his coverage and paperwork.

The Federal Minimum Wage: Looking Back Over Time. Five Cent Nickel shares some excellent charts describing how minimum wage has changed over time and how the real purchasing power of the minimum wage has varied wildly at the same time.

Track Your Spending. Or Not. At Wise Bread, Philip writes about the benefits of tracking your spending. If you’re beginning the path to financial stability—or financial awareness—tracking your spending is one of the most important first steps. Once you’re in good financial shape, the necessity of tracking every single penny is diminished.

Here are some articles to read this weekend.

Is There a Cure for the Economy? The Spending and Saving Catch-22. “Maybe I’m crazy, but it seems like as long as the money shifts between business and consumers the economy isn’t going to improve overall. If consumers have more money they have safety and security, but businesses suffer. If businesses have more money, consumers are likely overspending and have too much debt.”

How to Improve Your Credit Score. Million Dollar Journey explains why a high credit score is important and provides a few tips for increasing your score as well as building your credit from scratch.

Moolanomy’s Family Vacation Wrap Up. Pinyo from Moolanomy shares stories from his recent vacation, including some great photographs, and intersperses the article with a few frugal vacation tips.

Star Trek: How We Will Abolish Money. In the future according to Gene Roddenberry and the rest of the people who have helped to create this particular science fiction universe, money is obsolete. Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity seems one way we can get from a society where money governs almost everything we do to a society where money is not necessary.

Today was the first time my mother has visited me in New Jersey after moving out to California 10 years ago. The apartment in which I now live, my eighth apartment in ten years, was the first to be visited by my west coast family. I’m more than happy to travel to California twice a year to visit them, but it was nice to spend time with them and visit some of my mother’s “favorite” New Jersey spots like the grounds of the Institute for Advanced Study and Mastoris Diner.

The visit was a surprise. They called on Friday to let me know that they were in the state and we made plans to spend Sunday together.

While I was spending the day with family, you could have been reading these fine articles from The Money Blog Network.

• One Unplanned Consequence of Our Kitchen Renovation. JLP is using much more energy!
• More Gas Saving Tips. Prices are still on the rise.
• How the Government Lies About Inflation. Marotta Asset Management estimates inflation to be over 7%.
• Money Tips From Consumer Reports. Get Rich Slowly presents a summary of two articles featured in the magazine.
• Inflation and Rising Prices Aren’t the Same Thing. Mighty Bargain Hunter points out the differences.
• 5 Free (and Inexpensive) Ways to Reduce Your Debt. No Credit Needed covers the basics.
• Your Interest Rates Are About to Go Up. Even those with excellent credit history are in danger.

Earlier today, I put the Hoover SteamVac I purchased last week to the test.

The SteamVac required assembly, but the instructions were straightforward. The parts are mostly plastic and they had a “cheap” feel, but when the SteamVac was assembled, the construction was lightweight and easy enough to move across the carpet, even with full tanks.

I started with the dining room, one of the rooms with the lowest foot traffic in the apartment. The receiving tank was full of water by the time I was about 67% finished with the first room. As I removed the tank and dumped its contents, I was amazed at the amount of dirty water. After finishing the dining room, I progressed to the higher-traffic living room.

The manual says that the carpets will dry within six hours after cleaning, but I found that the carpet was mostly dry within as few as three hours.

Cleaning is a therapeutic activity. It actually feels good to get something really clean. I just don’t particularly like the process.

Now, here are some articles I’ve enjoyed lately.

First, check out the latest Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Mrs. Micah. She’s chosen a Buffy the Vampire Slayer theme.

• Wal-Mart’s Changing Its Logo
• The Hidden Costs of Renting a Car
• My Wife, the Money-Saving Machine
• How to People Find and Use Financial Information?
• A Great High Gas Price Indicator
• Creating My List of Financial Priorities
• Beauty is in the Eyes of the Employer