I’m disappointed that the NBC television show Journeyman has been canceled. Last night’s final episode seemed like the writers rushed to close the storyline. I’m probably just a sci-fi geek, but despite a first-impression resemblance to NBC’s Quantum Leap (and more resemblance to classic science fiction literature), I found the show to be quite unique and enjoyable. It’s another clever show that got lost in the network’s ratings chase.

On AllFinancialMatters, JLP echoes Jonathan Clements’ 12 suggestions for making your kids financially savvy. I particularly like the first point: children should learn the ability to delay gratification. Not only must the parents be able to say no, but the parents must exemplify this philosophy through modeling sound decisions.

Nickel writes about his thoughts on the new energy bill. I still see so much misunderstanding about this bill. The government is *not* banning incandescent bulbs, for instance. It does raise the interesting issue of how much government should be involved with regulation. See the article and commentary on Compact Fluorescent to Become Mainstream.

A few days ago, I watched the classic It’s a Wonderful Life with James Stewart. (If there’s any ambiguity in that sentence, I apologize.) It’s an interesting movie, often imitated, with an interesting social and financial commentary. On Get Rich Slowly, J.D. hit the nail on the head with his analysis of the value of social capital.

Finally, Lynnae from Being Frugal has some suggestions for building an emergency fund when money is tight. Her suggestions are to “pay yourself first,” a camera-ready way of saying, “Automatically deduct a small portion of your paycheck before you even have a chance to see it,” and use your growing savings as encouragement to continue. It takes only a small amount of dedication and discipline to build an emergency fund, and it’s possible using these techniques in almost any situation.

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