Housekeeping
Just wanted to throw this out there before the price goes up $10. This is the last weekend to buy the How I Make Money Blogging eBook by Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff for just $17! On August 1st it goes up to $27. Read my review of the eBook here.
Random Thoughts
Last night I decided to join up to one BILLION other people and watched the Olympics opening ceremonies. The beginning was pretty neat and very well put together but I am a perfectionist at times and always notice all the little things that go wrong. There were a few things that really stuck out to me like the sparks that went off early on the rings converging in the air as well as the ones that didn’t stop when they separated. There was also the light up blankets that seemed to malfunction and not light up properly. It was just a small thing here or there and in the massive scheme of everything they did I’m surprised there weren’t more little goof ups.
I vaguely remember the Beijing opening ceremonies from four years ago but China seemed much more prepared and was more impressive in my mind. I don’t know if it was the friends I was watching it with or the things I had never really thought could be done that impressed me but there wasn’t anything that stuck out this year in the London opening.
Granted I couldn’t put together anything that comes within a thousand miles of what these countries did preparing for these ceremonies. I think I need to cut everyone a lot more slack, myself included, and just slow down, calm down and enjoy things more instead of always look for what is wrong with things… on to the Round Up!
Round Up
Andrea used to write at So Over Debt… until she killed it! This week she posted RIP So Over Debt at her newly rebranded blog So Over This! Check it out!
Squirrelers wrote about 5 reasons why we retire sooner than we plan. These are all very valid reasons so if you aren’t saving to retire because you don’t think you ever will please read this article… you need to start saving today!
An interesting thought was posted at Modest Money this week… Does Everyone Need an Emergency Fund? I posted my thoughts in the comments but I believe most people should have access to guaranteed money in case of an emergency. Then again, personal finance is personal so maybe you don’t need one…
Life and My Finances poses a personal question and wants to know if he should buy a house on the beach or not! I personally said it wouldn’t be wise to tie up all of your assets in real estate but what is your opinion?
After realizing he was spending way to much money on food this week Thousandaire posted that he significantly cut his food expenses last week! Great read and it shows the power of paying attention to where your money is going.
Carnivals
Below are all of the carnivals that I was put in this week that I could find or got ping backs on. If you hosted a carnival that I was included in this week and I missed it please let me know and I’ll add it below!
Yakezie Carnival, Carnival of Money Pros and Carnival of Financial Camaraderie included my post Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses: How I Made $443 in 5 Minutes.
Festival of Frugality included my post Passive Income: Not As Passive As You Think – Part 1.
The Carnival of Personal Finance included my post Passive Income: Not As Passive As You Think – Part 2.
Enjoy your weekend!
What’ve you been up to lately? Anything noteworthy to share?
An accountant by day and blogger by night, Lance is the owner of this site. 
I take the opening ceremony as a whole was very engaging! Although very long like other opening ceremonies, it was well paced.
krantcents recently posted..Friday Night Links: Olympic Medals Edition
I think they’re always really long but I haven’t seen too many yet. I think a lot of people quit watching during the parade of nations…
We came in about an hour late and missed the rings.
But overall, still inspiring. I was glad to see some comedy as well. 
Crystal recently posted..Weekly Favorites, Gratitude, and Giveaways #76
The first hour was my favorite part probably! Sorry you missed it.
Well I missed the Olympic opening ceremonies but I hear it was pretty good overall. The reason the Beijing ceremonies seemed more prepared is because they just faked some of the stuff that could go wrong such as fireworks and ‘live’ singing. Plus I’m sure they made them practice over and over for months.
And thanks for the mention Lance.
Modest Money recently posted..End of July 2012 Blog Update
I’m sure China had put a lot of work into it being on the world stage as did London. Overall they were both great productions but China’s seemed more novel than London’s to me.
Thanks for the mention! My wife and I would love to have a house on the lake, but I agree with everyone that said we should wait until we can buy it with cash. It’s going to take some work, but I’m ready for the challenge.
Derek recently posted..Four Ways to Vet an IPO Before You Buy
I bet you are! You take challenges very well and I bet the motivate you like crazy.
I didn’t love the opening ceremonies. I think it was too long. Not engaging enough. There seemed to be a story at one point then it was completely lost. There were a lot of cool aspects but nothing “flowed” well in my opinion.
A Blinkin recently posted..What is Supply Trade Finance?
I actually went to bed during the parade of nations. I bet a lot of others did the same.