A few posts that I enjoyed this week:

Rules for conducting a peaceful budget meeting | Daily Money Shot – I really enjoyed this post because I could totally relate! I am the one that handles the finances in our household. I have tried to get my husband more involved but he generally avoids it. He’s shown more interest over the last year though and this has been very encouraging to me. I know precisely what she means though when she talks about his ‘condescending attitude’!

Beware of the Company You Keep – Saving Advice  – This post reminded me of a chapter in ‘The Wealthy Barber Returns’ that talked about the difficulties of having friends and neighbours from all over the pay scale. I hadn’t thought about the impact that this had on us prior to reading the book but it has really stuck with me and I’ve been mulling it over quite a bit every since. (Stay tuned for an exciting giveaway announcement next week that may or may not have to do with the aformentioned book!)

Making Pet Ownership Sustainable | Sustainable Personal Finance – I was really hoping that this post would tell me how to make money with my pet so that my pet could sustain herself… this was not quite the premise of the article though I did get some very helpful suggestions in the comments section. Perhaps you guys know of any other ways for my pet to earn her keep? (I have a dog. She is deaf and not predictably friendly with other dogs. She is very cute and her talent is pooping.)

Hyperbole and a Half: The God of Cake -  This last one has nothing to do with personal finance but I was reminded of this post last night and it is one of my favourite blog posts ever. Ever. Caution: If this is your first visit to this blog, consider the rest of your day a write-off. I should mention as well that there are two little swears near the end as well in case that’s horribly offensive to you.

I’ve been finding some great blogs lately via others’ versions of Link Love so I thought I’d share a few that I really loved…

Savingadvice.com posted an amazing article by David Cummings about the changes he made to lose weight and save money.  I clicked on it hoping to get some tips on how to cook frugally for my husband who struggles with his weight.  Expecting to see all of the same old advice that everyone else posts, I was blown away by the many unique changes he suggests!! I was hooked after the first idea which I would not have thought of myself, ever.

Money Saving Mom featured a guest post by Janelle at Gluten Freely Frugal on preparing dried beans for the freezer. I had no idea this could be done! We have a pretty good stash of dried beans at the moment that we barely use because we are not good at planning our meals ahead of time.  My husband loves to cook but always just decides to whip something up at the last minute so when he used dried beans in the chili he made last weekend, they were still crunchy even after having cooked all day. I love that I can use these freezer beans instead of canned beans!! I’m going to work on this this weekend.

One of my favourite Debt blogs, Blogging Away Debt, has said farewell to writer Beks and is introducing new writer, Claire.  The changeover is due to Beks’ exciting debt payoff and Claire’s current high debt load. You can read Claire’s introductory post here.  If she is half as funny as Beks was (*sniff* RIP Beks’ debt) it will continue to be my favourite debt blog.