We have moved and settled into our home – well, at least we’ve moved! It will be a while before we unpack the last box, especially since I went back to work today and left a house full of boxed up stuff for the family. Pretty sad when you go back to work to rest up!

Over the weekend, while packing, I came across a handful of change. With my coin jar already packed, and time running out to move, I felt like tossing the change in the trash bag and moving on. But that would have really hurt me!  After all, the $1.30 I collected under sofa cushions represented about a year’s worth of interest on a $100!

Can you believe some people actually throw money away? Don’t believe it? Check out the fifth article below.

The Frugal Roundup

7 Critical Ways You Need to Take Your Life Off Autopilot. Here is a great list of things that you should really focus on. (@ My Super-Charged Life)

Redbox Testing $2 Per Night Rentals. Redbox has started testing $2 per night rentals. Will you still rent from them with that type of increase? (@Your Money Relationship)

A Little Food Planning Goes a Long Way. It’s always a good idea to plan your meals ahead. You can save a ton of money and always have what you need. (@Million Dollar Journey)

Master Your Money with a Financial Health Day. When you have your financial health day, make sure you involve you spouse in the decision. (@ Get Rich Slowly)

Why Throw Money Away? Yeah, this person really throws money in the trash. Seriously. (@The Suns Financial Diary)

How to Become a Successful Secret Shopper and Supplement Your Income. Need some extra cash to beef up your budget? Become a secret shopper! (@Generation X Finance)

Best of the Rest

• The Productive Art of Positive Thinking
• How to Find More Time During the Day
  
• The Bucket List
• Why Lottery Winners Go Broke: Prospect Theory at Work
• My Grandfather In-Law: A True Veteran Hero
• House Hunting Tips For Busy Parents
• Frugal Ways to Celebrate the Holidays
• Have You Ever Taken Risks to Try and Improve Your Career?
• What’s Luck Got to Do With It?
• 31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010
• Interview Your Interviewer
  

We are in the midst of the dreaded packing, sorting, selling, tossing phases of moving. Nothing reminds you of just how much stuff you have like the process of packing and moving. Fortunately, we don’t have far to go, so we have looked upon the move as a positive opportunity to simplify our household by clearing it of clutter.

Just yesterday we rounded up all our old clothes, jackets, etc. that we no longer wear and plan to give them away to shelters, and other charitable organizations in our area that may need them (there is particularly high demand in the winter months). I’d encourage you to go through your closets and find an old jacket, or set of blankets that you no longer use, and find someone who could use them. A good place to start is with churches, missions, shelters, and organizations such as The Red Cross and Salvation Army.

The Frugal Roundup

The Argument Against Frugality. Not on the frugality bandwagon yet? These reasons for not being frugal may change your mind. (@The Sun’s Financial Diary)

100 Goals. I came across this site the other week and thought it was pretty cool. It chronicles a guys attempt to complete 100 goals he has for his life. Check it out! (@Hundred Goals)

“What Works For You” Can Be a Trap. The personal finance theory of “do what works for you” comes into question. (@Consumerism Commentary)

Ditch Productivity For A Day: 12 Great Sites To Kill Time & Have Fun. Sometimes it’s OK to sit down and unwind. (@Dumb Little Man)

Avoid a Financial Holiday Hangover This Year. Great steps for avoiding the dreaded holiday credit card bills in January. (@Generation X Finance)

Best of the Rest

• How Working Overseas Helps Your Career
• How One Homeless Person Lives: Coping With Homelessness
• Adventures in Dallas (How We Saved Money There)
• Why Canadians Don’t Redeem Coupons
• Year End Tax Tips 2009
• Understanding Health Savings Accounts
• Choose Your Words Carefully… You May Have to Eat Them
• Survive a Financial Crisis: 12 Tips For Married Couples

Before today’s roundup I’d like to take care of a few housecleaning items – a few personal, and a few blog related. Here’s a look at what’s happening in the life of one frugal dad:

• My full time job has been busier than ever in October. That’s good for job security, but bad for blogging. I’m behind on emails, writing, etc, but am keeping my head above water. If you try to contact me, it might take a few days to get back to you. Thanks for your patience.

• The Frugal Dad Fan Page on Facebook I introduced last Thursday is humming along with 200 fans following. If you missed the announcement, please consider joining us. I try to post something to the wall or discussion board every day, and we’ve already had a few interesting discussions (check out yesterday’s post about the morality of taking hotel toiletries – good stuff!).

• I’m kicking around the idea of a weekly newsletter to be delivered on Saturday mornings, in lieu of weekend posts here at the blog. The newsletter would contain some special features not seen on the blog, along with a unique article or two, a “week in review” section, special deals for newsletter readers, etc. Any interest?

• Long-time readers will remember one of my blogging goals was to reach 7,500 readers. I hit that earlier this year and extended that goal to a big stretch goal of 10,000 readers. As of this writing I’m only a couple hundred away. Could you help me by signing up to follow Frugal Dad if you aren’t already?  Thanks to all who have already signed up!

Enough about me, let’s get on to some great articles from others!

The Frugal Roundup

Best Things to Buy in the Fall – Find the Biggest Discounts and Sales on These Items This Fall. Seasonal shoppers can get big discounts just by buying when retailers are looking to move that out of season inventory. (@Generation X Finance)

Dealing With Unemployment Like a Man. Unemployment is hard on anyone, but as this post points out, it’s traditionally been hardest on men. Read on for eleven tips to help you get through it like a man. (@Art of Manliness)

The Zero Hour Workweek. An inspiring ebook from someone who’s getting “paid to exist.” Hat tip to WC of The Writer’s Coin for leading me to this one. (@Illuminated Mind)

How to Have a Ghoulish Halloween for Less. From costumes to decorations (and yes, even frugal candy alternatives), this post covers it all. Frugal (Happy) Halloween! (@Coupon Sherpa)

Follow the Glow. Not sure what it is you should be doing with your life? Simply “follow the glow.” What an inspiring post! (@The Blog of Rick Smith)

10 Free Online Budgeting Applications. A nice run down of some of the more popular free online budgeting applications. I’ve given a number of these a try. (@Lazy Man and Money)

Best of the Rest

• Personal Budgeting Made Easy With the 60% Solution
• What Was the Best $100 You’ve Ever Spent?
• Everyone Is Special and Unique Just the Way They Are
• 10 Surprising Things You Can Turn Into Cash
• 2010 Quicken Deluxe Giveaway
• Why Don’t Most Financial Planners Plan Finances?

I have finally taken the Facebook plunge! I created a personal account some time ago to reconnect with friends, but just this week I set up a fan page for FrugalDad.com. My goal for the fan page is to provide a place for readers to interact with me outside of the comments section, Twitter, etc. I enjoy chatting in those environments as well, but let’s face it – having a discussion is tough to do in 140 characters, or through the back-and-forth nature of blog comments.

Yesterday I tossed out a “Discussion” feature and a few questions to get things going. Since I removed the forums feature here at Frugal Dad, I’m hoping this can replace some of those features. Because many of the discussion topics are seeds for future posts, your feedback is greatly appreciated. Who knows, I might just mention one of your comments in the post and reference your blog.

Hope you’ll join me over at the new Frugal Dad fan page at Facebook! Click the banner below to join, and be sure to check out the roundup below.

The Frugal Roundup

Want to Get Out of Debt? Become A Master at Instant Gratification. Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it?  Read on to find out what Neal means about mastering instant gratification and using it to your advantage. (@Wealth Pilgrim)

Do You Need a Local Bank? We are fans of ING Direct, but also maintain a local checking and savings account. We keep a local emergency fund (the first couple thousand of our fully funded emergency fund) here just in case we need cash in a hurry. (@My Dollar Plan)

Finally Out of Debt? Here’s How to Stay Out. So many people fight for years to obtain debt freedom, only to fall right back in the trap of living beyond their means. (@Wisdom Journal)

Google Street View – Great For House Buyers. We have been entertaining the idea of relocating here lately and have found Google Street View to scope out a number of properties in other cities. (@Four Pillars)

Sneaky Ways Restaurants Use Menus to Entice You to Spend More. I’ve read a number of articles on the ways grocery stores use consumer psychology to make shoppers spend more. This is an interesting piece on similar strategies employed by restaurants. (@Wallet Pop)

Why Freelancing Benefits Your Day Job. Those who have read FD for a while now know I’m a big proponent of the “side hustle,” for exactly the reasons pointed out in this post. (@Fiscal Fizzle)

The “Local Store Premium” – How Much Is It Worth to You? This weekend I worked on a couple major household repair projects. Rather than going to the big box warehouse store, I decided to try our local hardware store for supplies. I paid a little more, and they had less product options, but I felt good about helping a local store this time around. (@The Simple Dollar)

Best of the Rest

• Become a Fan of Generation X Finance on Facebook
• Organizing Your Way to a Simple Christmas: Gift Lists
• What Kind of Spender Are You?
• How to Get Rid of $106,000 in Debt
  
• Price-Placebo Effect: Are You a Victim, Too?
• Trusting Your Intuition
  
• 3 Quick Tips to Make Your Life Better Today
• 7 Ways to Build & Maintain a Personal Network that Works for You
  
• Learn More About Lending Club Credit Rating and Collection Process
• How Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Works
• Loan Modification Companies vs The Fair Housing Authority

Hope everyone has a great end of the week. Just a heads up – only 10 weeks until Christmas. Don’t wait for the last minute and charge presents on a credit card. Start saving now and enjoy a cash-only Christmas!

No fluff in this roundup. Here are the top eight articles I found around the web this week. Enjoy!

10 Attributes Of The Perpetually Broke. It’s true; there are some common characteristics of those who seem perpetually broke. If any of these apply to you, it might be time to change your habits. (@Money Matters)

How to Avoid Work While On Vacation. I remember a scene from the last trip we took. There we were at Dollywood outside of Gatlinburg, TN. For several minutes we kept pace with a Dad furiously checking his BlackBerry while his kids moved from ride to ride, begging him to watch. Sad. (@Brip Blap)

How to Retire Early. This post mentions the idea that a big salary early on can help you retire even faster, assuming you hold expenses low. Of course, a big salary often comes with big headaches, and it might burn you out long before early retirement. (@Free Money Finance)

Credit Cards – Close ‘em Shred ‘em & Forget ‘em! Earlier in the week we debated what to do with unused credit cards. Looks like Jabs knows exactly what to do with them! (@Debt Free Adventure)

Painting a Specific Future – And Figuring Out How to Get There. Some inspiring thoughts from Trent on laying out future goal with actionable steps and a time line to accomplish them. (@The Simple Dollar)

How to Improve Your Credit Score When Paying Down Debt. Continuing the theme of paying down debt, here are a few ways to boost your credit score while reducing your debt balances. (@No Debt Plan)

How to Stop Buying Clothes You Never Wear. I like to think my wardrobe represents that of the typical male. I own a couple pairs of jeans, a pair of brown, black and tennis shoes, and exactly one suit. The rest of my wardrobe is dedicated to work clothes – the usual business casual garb. (@Get Rich Slowly)

With or Without Interest – Do You Know What You Paid. A great reminder to always figure the interest when calculating the total cost of something financed. We tend to forget about that when quoting costs. (@Mrs Micah)