My post on being a solar cell skeptic was included in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance hosted at Money Crashers.  Here are a couple of other posts I enjoyed:

• Madison at My Dollar Plan wrote about a calculator at Vanguard.com that compares the cost of an ETF vs. a mutual fund.  It’s a particularly thorough calculator that includes, for example, the bid-ask spread on the ETF purchase.  Now if only the calculator was available at a more general site that included more than just Vanguard’s funds.  (Hint:  Are you listening Google?)

• The Canadian Finance Blog had a solid post with financial tips for soon-to-be-parents.  As the Mom of a young son, the best suggestion I have to expectant parents is to not go overboard in buying stuff (Canadian’s tip #5).  When in doubt, resist the urge to buy.  Babies need a lot less than you might think — a few clothes and toys, but mostly your bountiful love and attention.  They grow out of the baby stage quickly, so thoughtful friends and family might consider buying books or toys that will be useful in 6 or 12 months.

My writeup on over-amped CD’s was included in the Money Hacks Carnival hosted last week at Green Panda Treehouse.  Other notable articles include:

• Mrs. Accountability’s first hand account with Credit Karma and tracking her credit rating.  I’ve been considering trying Credit Karma, but I just hate the idea of putting more of my personal financial information out there on the internet.  Maybe I should just get over it.

• Adam Baker wrote a thorough guest post over at Get Rich Slowly on 9 Ways You Can Knock the Socks off Your Next Landlord.  But really Adam, a rental resume?  I guess it would help in an unusual situation (like when you were trying to land a short-term lease in New Zealand), but it seems a bit overboard for more pedestrian situations.  Regarding rental situations, I’ll add a tip on getting back your deposit:  clean up a bit and then spray the better part of a can of Lysol in the apartment.  And then leave for awhile so you don’t have to breathe the stuff.  It’s never failed that the landlord walks in, takes a whiff, and is impressed.  Maybe the harsh chemicals temporarily blinded them to the bit of crud I left on the baseboards.  Whatever.  It’s worked every time for me.

• I read Bucksome’s post on the benefits of business travel with extra interest, as I am currently on a three-week exile business trip in California.  My favorite personal experience of the trip was introducing a colleague to the joy of tidepooling.  Once she poked a sea anemone and saw it react, she was hooked.  I apologize to all the sea creatures she has subsequently perturbed.

Image credit: brockvicky at Flickr.

Full Disclosure: I have accounts at Vanguard; otherwise, no positions.

Tags: CreditKarma, ETFs, rental deposit

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