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30May/090

Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs – Ranked By Traffic

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Note: Please do not be misguided by this post's date i.e. Sep 2007. We've published May 2009's rankings at the same url as Sep 2007's rankings. This will benefit those who had linked to this post since fresh monthly rankings will be available at the same url. Unfortunately Blogger does not allow static pages, so the past date (url) of this post will stay. But the content will be updated every month.

Updated on May 29, 2009: Welcome back to our rankings of personal finance (pf) blogs for May 2009 based on traffic data of April 2009. It requires a lot of hard and smart work to figure among the best personal finance blogs. Heartiest congratulations to all those who made it to our list of "Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs." Our next ranking of PF Blogs will be released in August 2009.

As you may have noticed, there are some discrepancies in Quantcast and Compete's results. This may be due to the fact that many sites have not implemented requisite trackers and plugins (details are here). It makes sense to go through with the implementations to make this game an even playing field.

The following tables show traffic rankings of individual and group personal finance blogs respectively based on monthly traffic data (Apr 2009) from corresponding sources.

TABLE's LEGEND
» FIRE RANK: Overall Traffic Rank of a site
» BLOG: Name of the blog being ranked
» CHANGE: Change in FIRE RANK of a blog wrt previous month's position
» SITEMETER: Traffic rank based on Sitemeter's data
» QUANTCAST: Traffic rank based on Quantcast's data
» COMPETE: Traffic rank based on Compete's data
» SCORE: Average Traffic rank (Sitemeter, Quantcast, Compete)
» PAGE RANK: Google's page rank for the blog
Rankings Methodology Raw Traffic Data Master List Notes
INDIVIDUAL PF BLOGS - RANKED

Last updated on Sun May 17 2009 05:49 PM EDT

FIRE RANK BLOG CHANGE SITEMETER QUANTCAST COMPETE SCORE PAGE RANK
1 MoneySavingMom - 1 1 1 1.0 5
2 GetRichSlowly - 3 2 2 2.3 6
3 TheSimpleDollar - 2 3 3 2.7 6
4 DealSeekingMom New 4 4 4.0 4
5 BluePrintForFinancialPros ↓1 6 5 5.5 3
6 CommonSenseWithMoney ↑6 5 7 9 7.0 5
6 MyMoneyBlog ↑2 8 6 7.0 5
7 FiveCentNickel ↓2 9 8 8.5 3
8 CouponCravings ↑4 4 16 7 9.0 5
9 MoneyBlueBook ↓3 10 10 10.0 5
10 BankDeals ↑3 5 17 11.0 3
11 FreeMoneyFinance ↓1 11 15 13.0 6
12 TheDigeratiLife ↓1 14 12 13.0 2
13 CashMoneyLife ↓4 13 14 13.5 3
14 MomAdvice - 19 11 15.0 3
15 SavingToInvest ↓8 15 16 15.5 4
16 ChristianPF ↑4 12 19 15.5 3
17 FrugalDad - 6 23 18 15.7 3
18 BeingFrugal - 7 21 22 16.7 3
19 TheSun'sFinancialDiary ↓3 17 20 18.5 3
20 GenerationXFinance ↑3 18 21 19.5 3
21 MoneyNing ↑5 12 30 26 22.7 4
22 AskMrCreditCard ↑6 10 39 24.5 4
23 MyTwoDollars ↑2 11 31 33 25.0 2
24 MoneySmartLife ↓9 24 28 26.0 2
25 MyDollarPlan ↓4 29 25 27.0 3
26 TheDoughRoller ↑3 26 29 27.5 3
27 BeingFrugalIsFabulous ↑11 15 32 37 28.0 3
28 LazyManAndMoney ↓6 25 34 29.5 3
29 DebtKid ↓3 37 23 30.0 4
30 MoneyMatter&MoreMusings - 20 40 30.0 3
30 Moolanomy ↓11 33 27 30.0 3
30 NotMadeOfMoney ↑10 28 32 30.0 3
30 PaidTwice ↑3 14 38 38 30.0 3
31 DividendGrowthInvestor ↑16 22 39 30.5 3
32 NoCreditNeeded ↓8 18 35 44 32.3 5
33 TheFinanceBuff ↓2 9 36 52 32.3 3
34 GatherLittleByLittle ↓7 16 46 42 34.7 3
35 FrugalUpstate ↑11 21 44 41 35.3 4
36 IWillTeachYouToBeRich ↑3 58 13 35.5 3
37 KeepingKingdomFirst ↑18 13 74 24 37.0 4
38 MoneyUnder30 ↑3 41 35 38.0 5
39 EngineerADebtFreeLife ↑20 40 36 38.0 0
40 BloggingAwayDebt ↑8 34 43 38.5 3
40 MillionDollarJourney ↓3 27 50 38.5 3
41 BibleMoneyMatters ↓7 48 30 39.0 3
42 PTMoney ↓19 23 45 49 39.0 2
43 SingleGuyMoney - 41 41.0 4
44 FreeFromBroke ↓8 29 52 45 42.0 3
45 DontMessWithTaxes - 25 60 51 45.3 6
46 MyOpenWallet ↑3 24 43 70 45.7 3
47 LittlePeopleWealth ↑11 33 53 54 46.7 3
48 CleverDude ↓4 20 64 57 47.0 3
48 FrugalLawStudent ↓6 17 66 58 47.0 3
49 PunnyMoney ↑14 27 55 59 47.0 0
50 StopBuyingCrap ↑2 49 46 47.5 5
51 TheHappyRock ↑6 32 54 65 50.3 0
52 BargainBabe New 19 78 56 51.0 4
53 MrsMicah ↑7 50 55 52.5 2
54 SenseToSave ↓3 35 59 66 53.3 2
55 ThePiggyBanker ↑24 47 60 53.5 4
56 GiveMeBackMyFiveBucks ↑5 26 42 93 53.7 3
57 TheFrugalDuchess ↓22 37 72 54.5 5
58 ItsJustMoney ↑11 28 82 55.0 0
59 FIREFinance ↓6 34 65 67 55.3 3
59 GoodFinancialCents ↑6 22 81 63 55.3 3
60 PoorerThanYou ↑14 39 73 56.0 2
61 NoDebtPlan ↓3 30 62 77 56.3 2
62 MightyBargainHunter - 69 47 58.0 3
62 MyPersonalFinanceJourney ↑16 45 71 58.0 3
63 ExperimentsInFinance ↑5 8 108 64 60.0 3
64 ManVsDebt New 48 56 76 60.0 0
65 MoneyMusings ↓11 76 48 62.0 0
66 WellHeeled ↑6 63 63.0 5
67 HowISaveMoney ↓1 61 69 65.0 2
68 2millionBlog ↓12 70 62 66.0 3
69 UltimateMoneyBlog New 44 88 66.0 0
70 ThriftyFloridaMama ↑6 36 99 68 67.7 3
71 YetAnotherBlogAboutMoney ↑4 68 68.0 4
72 Pecuniarities ↑4 43 71 90 68.0 3
73 BudgetsAre$exy ↓23 31 113 61 68.3 4
74 TightFistedMiser ↑7 50 72 85 69.0 0
75 TheWanderingTaxPro ↓8 38 101 69.5 5
76 Neville'sFinancialBlog ↓5 67 75 71.0 3
77 Jim'sFinanceandInvestment ↑3 71 71.0 0
78 AlmostFrugal ↓8 90 53 71.5 3
79 TheFinanceJourney ↓15 42 75 100 72.3 0
80 MillionaireMommyNextDoor New 73 74 73.5 4
81 TheWisdomJournal ↑9 116 31 73.5 3
82 SavingsToolbox ↑12 58 91 83 77.3 3
83 Mapgirl’sFiscalChallenge ↑3 52 85 96 77.7 2
84 MoneyCrashers ↓52 78 78.0 3
85 BankBonuses ↓1 53 88 94 78.3 0
86 DinksFinance ↓13 68 89 78.5 6
87 MyFinancialJourney ↑6 40 118 79.0 0
88 MoneyEnergy New 80 80.0 2
89 ERollOver New 80 81 80.5 4
90 FinallyFrugal ↑4 61 100 80.5 3
91 AFrugalLivingBlog - 83 83.0 4
92 GettingFinancesDone - 59 107 83.0 0
93 TheBaglady ↓8 55 112 83.5 0
94 OneFrugalGirl ↑4 56 92 103 83.7 0
95 MakeLoveNotDebt ↑4 84 84 84.0 3
96 Caveman'sFinJourney New 54 57 142 84.3 0
97 TheFinancialBlogger ↓9 93 79 86.0 3
98 RetirementThink New 86 86.0 -1
99 FrugalHomemakerPlus ↓12 87 87.0 4
100 My1stMillionAt33 New 87 87.0 3

GROUP PF BLOGS - RANKED
Last updated on Sun May 17 2009 12:28 PM EDT

FIRE RANK BLOG CHANGE SITEMETER QUANTCAST COMPETE SCORE PAGE RANK
1 WiseBread - 1 1 1 1.0 4
2 FourPillars ↑2 2 3 2.5 2
3 ConsumerismCommentary - 4 2 3.0 5
4 PersonalFinanceAdvice ↓2 3 3.0 3
5 AllFinancialMaters - 5 4 4.5 5
6 Queercents - 2 6 8 5.3 3
7 SoundMoneyTips ↑4 8 6 7.0 5
8 AmericanConsumerNews - 9 5 7.0 3
8 DebtFree ↓1 3 11 7.0 3
9 SmartMoneyDaily ↑1 7 9 8.0 0
10 CreditBloggers ↓1 10 7 8.5 5
11 TheDiv-Net ↑1 4 12 10 8.7 3

Request
If your blog is not listed, please check if it's in the master list of all PF blogs. Your site's presence in the master list means that it has been considered for the rankings. However if your blog pertains solely to investing then it will be listed in a separate set of rankings for investing blogs. Else, please leave a comment or email us with the following:
  • blog url
  • google page rank
  • sitemeter traffic url (if any)
  • your contact email id (so that we may notify you when this list is updated)

If you provide us with proper information, we will include your blog in our next publication of rankings. Provided that your blog's traffic data (Quantcast/Sitemeter/Compete) exists, and is 2000 or more. Please do not feel sad if your site did not make it to this month's rankings. This set of rankings will be updated regularly. So new blogs will get an opportunity to be ranked every month.

Already in the master list?
To help us serve you more efficiently, for those of you who are already in the master list please let us know if any of the following takes place:

  • you have added a new tracker (Sitemeter/Quantcast/Compete)
  • you have removed one of the trackers (Sitemeter/Quantcast/Compete)
  • you have made your sitemeter data public (from private).
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We hope you enjoyed this post. Our heartfelt thanks to the pf blogosphere's active community for their honest feedback. We will continue to improve the rankings with your participation. This list belongs to the community and will help us all improve, one creative post at a time. So joyfully we bid adieu till the next update!

Previous Rankings:

  • 2009 - Mar, Feb, Jan
  • 2008 - Oct, Sep, Jul, May, Apr, Mar , Feb , Jan

  • 2007 - Nov, Oct, Sep

Image Source(s): iStockPhoto

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28May/090

$50 SignUp Bonus from eFirstBank

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

eFirstBank is offering a $50 sign up bonus for a new personal checking account with at least $50. This offer is specifically for their customers in Arizona, California and Colorado. If you are not from these three states you can quit reading from here on :( .

  • Sign Up Link: Deal & Details

  • Offer valid for personal checking accounts opened. Limit one gift award per household, per 12-month period. Limit one gift per account.

  • Minimum opening deposit of $50 required to receive the gift. If you do not maintain the minimum daily balance a $7 service charge will be assessed for Money Market Checking and a $15 service charge will be assessed for Premier Checking. There is not a minimum balance or a service charge for Free Checking or 55-Plus Checking.

  • Fees: Internet Banking is free if you agree to receive your statements electronically; otherwise, a $3 monthly fee will be assessed. If you enroll for the optional Bill Payment Service and less than three bill payments are made per month, a $5 inactivity fee will be assessed. Premier Checking customers are exempt from Internet and Bill Pay fees.

  • The $50 signup bonus is considered interest and is subject to IRS and other tax reporting.

  • FirstBank employees are not eligible to receive the award.

Let us know how this bonus worked out for you :) .

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27Apr/090

Carnival of Personal Finance #202 – The Lao Tzu Edition

Lao Tsu writing the Tao Te Ching on bamboo paper

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Welcome to the 202nd Lao Tzu edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. With each passing day the going is getting tougher for millions. So we felt inspired to theme the Carnival on the quotes from the great master Lao Tzu. He is the author of “Tao Te Ching.” Tao means the way of all life, Te means the fit use of life by men, and Ching implies text or classic. He believed simplicity to be the key to truth and freedom. On that note we hope that his sayings will help us to consciously lead a simple life filled with joy and abundance.

A small note before we get started on the carnival. You may want to checkout our current giveaway of YNAB (You Need A Budget) Pro - Personal Finance Software worth $50. To enter the giveaway all you need to do is simply a leave a comment with your favorite two digits.

To enjoy this huge carnival to the fullest it might help to ease yourself into a relaxing chair with a drink of your choice and some time on your hands :) .

Editor's Picks
Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

  • The Three Most Influential Lessons My Parents Taught Me - "My parents taught me some very important financial lessons, if not life lessons" - My Life ROI, Frugal Dad

    MLR shares three most influential lessons that his parents taught him at an early age of 8 years which helped him to remain debt free throughout his adult life and pay his way through college. A candid article which is a must read for all adults especially those who are parenting young kids :) .

  • Are Green And Socially Responsible Mutual Funds Worth It? - "A greener and more socially responsible alternative to investing in green and socially responsible mutual funds." - Pinyo, Moolanomy

    Pinyo presents some salient points about why investing in green and socially responsible mutual funds may not make sense.

  • 5 Ways To Report Scams - "Have you ever wondered who you should report a scam to?" - Chris Holdheide, Stumble Forward

    Chris has written a very useful and informative article about how to report a scam and who to report it to should you become a victim.

Investing
Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.

  • What Matters In Investing - "The financial media has a vested interest in making investing seem difficult. It's not!" - Kyle, Amateur Asset Allocator

  • IRA or Roth IRA? Which One is Better? - Matthew Paulson, Fine Tuned Finances

  • The Hyperinflation Scam - "Can hyperinflation lead to a complete devaluation of the US dollar against hard assets such as gold, oil, land and others, which would eventually lead to everyone living in caves hunting for food?" - DGI, Dividend Growth Investor"

  • Investment Strategies that Work - Day 4 - Asset Allocation - "A simple discussion about how asset allocation works." - Wealth Pilgrim

  • How to Invest in Cuba Following Obama's Olive Branch - "With Obama's recent olive branch to Cuba, a CUBA focused Fund rallied 40% overnight. Will the trend continue?" - Dan, Darwin's Finance

  • One Reason the Rich Get Richer - "Rich people get richer because they get opportunities the rest of us don't." - Free Money Finance

  • A Two Step Process To Follow After A Dividend Freeze - "Designed to help us determine if we should sell a stock after a dividend freeze." - D4L, Dividends Value

  • Why don't more 401(k) plans include index funds? - Helen, Affine Financial Services

  • Bad Stock Market Performance Raises Your Insurance Premium - The Weakonomist

  • Transfer In Cash - "A brief description of transfers in cash" - ABCs of Investing

  • How To Stretch Your IRA For Your Beneficiaries - "Learn how to pass more on to your children through a Stretch IRA" - Jeff Rose, Good Financial Cents

  • Investor Mistakes: Looking at Past Performance - "All that the past will do is lose you more money. Don't look!" - Investing School

  • Learn How To Invest: Develop An Investment Plan - Tim Parker, The Smarter Wallet

  • Ammo Becomes The Best Investment of the Year - Curt, Penny Jobs

  • The Secret Fund Managers Don't Want You to Know - Jason Unger, Automatic Finances

  • Buy and hold and indexing in bear markets - "A look at the truth about indexing in the light of the recent bear market: indexing no longer works - myth or reality?" - Marc Ryan, Independent Investor

  • Rampant Inflation: My Big Early Retirement Worry - Elizabeth G, Modern Gal
Frugality, Saving & Budgeting
Be Content with what you have. Rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

  • No-Grocery-Shopping Week - Todd, Harvesting Dollars

  • Six Ideas for Cheap Summer Vacations - "If you can afford travel without debt, this is a great year to do it for less" - Aryn, Sound Money Matters

  • How to get free long distance calls - "Get free long distance calls with my computer through MagicJack " - CPF, Christian Financial Help

  • Cheap things to do with your kids - "Things to do with your kids that involve more time than money." - Don, Keep My Dollar

  • Be Behind The Times - Michele, Saving Money In Real Life

  • 10 Earth Week Activities that will Save you Money - "A list of 10 things you can do for earth week that will help our environment and save you money." - Passive Family Income

  • Common 401k Planning Mistakes & Tips to Avoid them - Tim, 401k Planning

  • Save Money By Dropping Some Pounds - "Who knew that an extra ten or 40 pounds could cost so much?" - That One Caveman, One Caveman's Financial Journey

  • COBRA / ARRA Update: No Kidding? We Called It - "If you're counting on the government or your former employer to subsidize your health insurance, you may be in for a rude shock" - Henry Stern, InsureBlog

  • What Your Cable Company Doesn't Want You To Know - Money Beagle

  • Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) - "RESPs allow you to save for a child?s post-secondary education" - The Canadian Finance Blog

  • 8 Best Free Music Websites - The Happy Rock from The Happy Rock

  • Are You Willing to Sacrifice to Succeed? - "We forget that success normally takes sacrifice. Are you willing to sacrifice for your personal finance goals?" - Kevin, No Debt Plan
Money Management
The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself, the more he gives to others, the more he gets himself. The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.

  • Early Social Security: A Way around the Earnings Limit - VH, Funny about Money

  • 25 Ideas For Your Income Tax Refund - "Did you get an income tax refund? Here are 25 things you can do with it!" - FFB, Free From Broke

  • Financial Plan for the Young and Single - Savings Toolbox

  • 5 Easy Steps to Online Financial - Debbie Dragon, American Consumer News

  • What To Do With All Your Extra Money - "Ever find yourself with some extra money and you don't know where to put it?" - MLR, My Life ROI

  • Making More vs Spending Less - Rags, Rags 2 Riches

  • 19 Ways To Start Off On The Wrong Foot - Nate, Money Young

  • A Financial Back-Up Plan - "Being prepared for personal emergencies can help prevent it from becoming a financial emergency as well" - Kate Kashman, The Paycheck Chronicles

  • Why Emergency Fund is Important and How to Start One - "The recent recession has illustrated the importance of emergency fund. Here are some reasons why it is important and how to construct an emergency fund" - Ray, Financial Highway

  • Your Home Office: Ideas To Set Up Your Place of Work - Silicon Valley Blogger, The Digerati Life

  • Free Excel Spreadsheets for Managing Your Personal Finances - "Here are some of the more popular and free Excel Templates for managing your personal finances" - Green Panda, Green Panda Treehouse

  • Opposites Attract - When a Saver Marries a Spender - Miss M, M is for Money

  • 16 Second Quarter Financial Tips - Madison, My Dollar Plan
Credit & Debt
If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.

  • Criminal Charges, Volume XXXVII: Fast food fraud - Jeremy, Taking Charge

  • Best Rates Not Always the Best Deals - Credit Card Assist

  • Free FICO Credit Score - Jim, Bargaineering

  • Reviewing My Credit Score - "A review of your credit score and what you should do next" - My Findependence Day

  • Closing Credit Card Accounts will Not Help Your Credit Score - PT Money, Prime Time Money

  • Obama Puts Weight Behind Credit Card Bill Of Rights - Mr. CC, Ask Mr. Credit Card's Blog

  • Improve Your Credit Score Under the New FICO Scoring - "The impact of the new FICO score on steps to improving your credit score" - Ben, Money Smart Life

  • Debt is bad - "Does it make sense to save $ when you're in some bad debt? My brother expresses his own views in an interesting way :) " - J. Money, Budgets are Sexy

  • Simple and Easy Methods to Reduce Your Debt Significantly - Debt Freedom Fighter, Discover Debt Freedom

  • I'm Dumb For Consolidating My Student Loan - "Who said consolidating was a good idea? I wish I could punch them in the face" - Debt Ninja, Punch Debt In The Face

  • Yet Another 4 Reasons To Hate Credit Card Companies - Baker from Man Vs. Debt
Real Estate
In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.

  • Renewing a Mortgage - Variable or Fixed Rate? - "Wondering if you should switch from a variable rate to fixed rate? Read about some tips that will help you decide by concentrating on cost certainty" - Nurseb911, Triaging My Way To Financial Success

  • Shopping For The Best Loan In The New Lending Environment - Dan Melson, Searchlight Crusade

  • How to be a Slum Lord - "Have you ever wondered who owns all those run-down buildings in the worst part of town?" - TStrump, The Strump - Financial Blog

  • Rental Property Update April 2009 - "Ever wonder if there can be financial loss from a bad tenant in a Rental Property?" - Smarty, Growing Money
Finance & Economy
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

  • The Recession And The Effects On Paying For College - Simon, Realm of Prosperity

  • Are you standing financially naked when it comes to your personal finances? - B Simple, Simplified Financial Lifestyle

  • Stress Tests and Capital Adequacy Explained - "The highly anticipated FED stress test results may very well serve as fuel for further gains" - Dorian Wales, The Personal Financier
Career
At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

  • Why Social Networking Doesn't Work - "A discussion of how networking is about forming relationships, not simply collecting business cards." - Steven, Hundred Goals

  • Staff Meeting with God: You Can Learn a Lot from a Snake! - "Moses has a staff meeting with God. During this job interview, the Lord uses a snake as part of an object lesson to teach him about authority and wisdom." - CoolHappyGuy, Wealth From The Bible.com

  • Seven Reasons to Join the Military (and make it a career) - Bob, Bob's Occasional Musings
Other
Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good.

  • The Importance in Education - "School is not just to learn about Calculus" - David, MoneyNing

  • What If I Die? Make Sure Your Family Has All Your Important Information In One Place - "A look at why you should put all of your important financial and personal information in one place for your family members to access" - Peter, Bible Money Matters

  • Geezeo Review - "Geezeo is financial management with a social twist" - Chance, Personal Finance Software Reviews

  • Taxation Without Representation - "Could the Government's runaway spending derail your investment future plans?" - Bret Frohlich

  • Mark Cuban, Naked Pizza, and Being Passionate and Persistent about Your Dreams - RC, Think Your Way To Wealth

  • Review of Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope - "A look at the Town Hall for Hope where we discuss what was said and what we feel about it" - Kyle, Suburban Dollar

  • Review: I Will Teach You To Be Rich - B.B., Beating Broke

  • The Three C's of Financial Happiness - Jeff, Stretchy Dollar

  • Make Money Online from a Blog - Step by Step Guide - "A detailed guide on how to make money online from a blog" - Investo Blogger, Investo Blog

Well, with that we've reached the end of this carnival. If you liked the carnival, you may want to look around. We've got some great articles that might prove useful towards leading a simple yet happy life :) .

We thank Flexo for giving us an opportunity to host a Carnival of Personal Finance. The next edition of this carnival will be crafted by Weakonomics. Heartfelt thanks to all for making this carnival a success. Adieu till we meet again at another carnival of joyful sharing.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say - "we did it ourselves."

Image Source(s): Lao Tsu Photo courtesy of kafka4prez, iStockPhoto

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24Apr/090

Weekend Review #17 – From a Quick FIRE Plan to Reducing Monthly Bills

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

Apr 24, 2009: The past few weeks went by at a crazy pace. We had several personal as well as professional projects competing for our time, space and energies. Consequently we could not do the weekly roundups though we did get a chance to glance through the stellar articles presented at the carnivals.

Thankfully we got a breather this weekend and can afford to take life at a leisurely pace. Here are some fine articles that caught our attention at the carnivals and festivals:

  • My Money Blog: Jonathan has outlined A Quick & Dirty Plan To Reach Financial Freedom. Mind you it does not account for inflation but provides a good start to a plan for FIRE.
  • Five Cent Nickel: Philip from Weakonomics (in a guest post) shares about Lessons Learnt On A Shuttle Ride at the Car Dealer. Truly, looks can be deceptive.
  • Greener Pastures: Lisa presents a very interesting study about how Bottled Water Equals Tap Water? We use a Brita Pitcher to filter tap water and we've been doing fine for last ten years :) . Saves us money and the planet from plastic bottles in trash.
  • This Wasn’t in The Plan: Alison shares nice clips from her experiences in Can Gardening Save You Money? We love gardening, hoping to get one started at the earliest.
  • Debt Free Adventure: Matt writes in details about how we can Reduce Monthly Bills - Trash Edition.We pay for trash removal and there were a couple of new tips that we learnt from Matt :) .

Retro FIRE

  • FREE YNAB Pro Giveaway
  • FREE Health Care for the Unemployed - Take Care Clinic
  • FREE iPod Shuffle from eFirstBank
  • Why do we get laid off? A complicated corporate work culture ....
  • $10 Costco Cash Card from Amex
  • What is the Rule of 72?
  • Wall Street Survivor - Free Fantasy Stock Market
  • Restaurant.com - Special Discount 60% OFF
  • $50 Bank Signup Bonus - Franklin Templeton Bank

We were featured in the Editor's Pick in the Festival of Frugality. Here is the list of carnivals and festivals we participated this week. Have a nice weekend :) .

Image Source(s): iStockPhoto

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18Apr/090

Why do we get laid off? A complicated corporate work culture ….

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]
Every morning a small and simple ant arrived at work very early. Without wasting any time he started his work immediately. He produced a lot and was very happy about his contribution to his company :) .

The Chief of the company, a lion, was surprised to see that the ant was working without supervision. He thought to himself: "If the ant can produce so much without supervision, wouldn't he produce more if had a supervisor?"

So the lion recruited a cockroach who had "extensive experience" as a supervisor and who was "famous" for writing excellent reports. Now what did the roach do?

His first and foremost decision was to set up a clocking in attendance system. Afterall he needed that to track the sole employee of the company, an ant who arrived to work before anybody else did!

Next he needed a secretary to help him write and type his reports.

And last but not the least he recurited a spider, who managed the archives and monitored phone calls. After all the roach needed to see where the ant whiled away time .....

The lion was delighted with the cockroach's reports and asked him to produce graphs to describe production rates and to analyze trends, so that he could use them for presentations at Board meetings.
Now the roach had to buy a new computer and a laser printer to produce trendy reports.

Not only that, he recruited a fly to manage the IT (Information Technology) "Department" ....

The ant who had once been so productive and relaxed, hated this new plethora of paperwork and meetings which used up most of his time ......

The Chief (who else but King Lion!) came to the conclusion that it was high time to nominate a person in charge of the department where the ant worked.

The position was given to a cicada, whose first decision was to buy a carpet and an ergonomic chair for his office.

He also needed a computer and a PA (Personal Assistant). So he brought them over from his previous department. They would increase productivity and the bottom line by helping him to prepare a "Work and Budget Control Strategic Optimization Plan."

Around this time, the cicada convinced The Chief, the lion, of the absolute necessity to start a climactic study of the environment!

The "department" where the ant works is now a sad place where nobody laughs anymore and everybody has become upset ....

The Chief, the lion, reviewed the charges for running the ant's department and found out that the production was much less than before.

So he recruited an owl, who was a prestigious and renowned consultant, to carry out an audit and suggest solutions.

The owl spent three months and came up with an enormous report, in several volumes, that concluded: "The department is overstaffed ....."

Guess who the lion fires first?
The ant of course! Because he showed: "Lack of motivation and had a negative attitude."

We see similar incidents happening in corporate America on a regular basis. More so in 2008 with its huge nationwide layoffs. Often the CEOs walk away with fat severance packages to the tune of millions of dollars. But the common man on the lowest echelon of the food chain and whose blood and sweat runs the company, is simply handed a pink slip!

What are your views on simplifying corporate America's work culture so that the common man who is also a sincere tax payer gets better treatment? Or is it too complicated and beyond repair? In that case should we go back to America's heritage of small business owners playing a big part in the economy instead of a few big corporate houses running the show?

We are looking forward towards your responses. Have a wonderful weekend :) .

Note: The characters in this fable are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people or facts within a coporation is pure coincidence.

Reference(s): Adapted from a Portuguese story by PR. Obrigado Mario.

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