Friday Link Love – Credit Perspectives Edition

This week, I decided to get creative and put together a “Devil’s Advocate”-style series that highlighted some of the extreme opinions about credit cards and had the two sides face off using my voice as their medium. I think it went fairly well and I even learned a bit on the way by putting together the articles. It’s like they say; you really do learn more about a topic by arguing for the “other” side.

Yesterday’s wrap-up was written from my own perspective. I’ve always believed credit cards to be tools, albiet potentially dangerous ones that need to be treated with the same respect as a chain saw. It’s important to understand your options and shying away from credit cards completely would leave you with one less tool in your personal finance toolbelt. But at the same time, overusing and abusing your credit card is a quick way to have that card turn against you.

Alongside the intro to my Credit Perspectives series, Gather Little by Little ran my guest article about marketing and feeling the need to “keep up”, Ignoring the Joneses, on Monday while Gibble was out on vacation. Many thanks to him for publishing a second article of mine.

This week provided wonderful reading material and it’s a shame I can’t highlight everything I’ve read. Instead, here are the best of the best from this week, in alphabetical order by post title:

• Prime Time Money – 6 Tips to Earn Hundreds of Dollars per Hour
• The Wisdom Journal – 10 Commitments You Should Make for Your Own Financial Success
• Master Your Card – 12 Things to Ask BEFORE the Wedding
• The Simple Dollar – A By-The-Numbers Look at Why Saving Is More Important Than Perfect Investment Choices
• Frugal Dad – Becoming Debt Free: Identifying the Why
• fivecentnickel.com – Don’t be Stupid: Rotate Your Tires
• Chief Family Officer – Fake coupons cost everyone
• Mrs. Micah – Financial Independence Day — What Financial Independence Means to Me
• My Super-Charged Life – How To Avoid Buying Things You Do Not Need!
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity – Lowering Mortgage Rate with Hard Work

Have a great weekend everyone! See you again on Monday.