Control spending: If you spend less you'll have more money available to pay down debt and save for the future. Write down your expenses for a month to see where your money is going. You might be surprised by how easy it is to find places to scale back.

Create a debt repayment plan: If you carry credit card debt, write down everything you owe and make a plan to pay it off. Start with small items you can act on right away–it will make tackling the bigger debt easier. Also, try buying with cash only. It’s a sure-fire way to prevent increases in your credit card debt.

Set up auto-savings plans: Arrange with your bank or another financial institution to have a set amount deducted from your checking account to a savings account each pay period. Of the Americans who have been able to contribute to emergency savings funds, automatic withdrawal is the most popular method, according to the Consumer Federation of America.

Boost retirement savings: If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, increase your contributions. If you don't have an employer plan, open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and arrange for contributions to be made automatically from your checking or savings account.

Create a long-term plan: Write a list of your long-term goals, such as buying a home or saving for college or retirement. Visit the Life Events section of Smart About Money for concrete tips on accomplishing those goals.

Protect Yourself: Be prepared for the unexpected by making sure you, your family, your assets and investments are insured and fully covered. If you do not have a will, make 2010 the year you establish a life plan.

Find a financial buddy: Share your financial resolutions with a friend, colleague, or family member, and you’ll be more likely to keep them. Find someone else who wants to turn around their debt or cut their spending, and establish a mutual support system.

NEFE operates the site Smart About Money and have developed a series of articles filled with tips to help you make 2010 the year of financial freedom.  You can also find Economic Survival Tips, worksheets and articles focused on financial education related to housing, spending, credit and job change. Follow NEFE on Twitter at @nefe_org.

It's hosted by Amazon and it's filled with hundreds of personal finance books from authors like Jim Cramer, Andrew Tobias, George Soros, Peter Lynch, and Jim Rogers.

Check it out. There's still time to order before Christmas (I can say that, right)!

The Investor presents Young people are already rich posted at Monevator.com, saying, "If you have teenagers or kids at college who waste their money on frivolous purchases, this link is a must read – and a must forward!"

Finance Tips 101 presents Saving Cash With Coupons ? Three Tips To Keep More of Your Money posted at Finance Tips 101.

Daniel Drew presents Unsecured Small Business Loan posted at My Business is doing well should I choose an SBA Loan?, saying, ""Lines of credit are generally paid off by opting for a permanent source of financing. In case of commercial property line of credit, the sale of the old property may help repay the line of credit""

Jack Schmidt presents The High Cost of Deep Fried Coke posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, "SectorMatic.com – Personal Finance | Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you're on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It's for you!"

KCLau presents The only financial company who knows the power of social media posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "there are always many methods to get free traffic and leads to your website. Beside search traffic, another major source of traffic is social media. There is one company who knows how to make use of social media – ROCKWILLS"

Tom DeRosa presents Math in the Real World: Erasing Debt Activity posted at I Want to Teach Forever, saying, "How to turn those debt consolidation and credit loan applications into a simple life (and math) lesson for your kids"

Kevin Fleming presents Easy Ways To Save Money on Satellite TV and Cable. posted at Satellite TV Guru.

Tom Peper presents Financing a Small Business | freebusinessmembership.com posted at How To Start Your Own Business, saying, "Free Business Membership offers information on how to start a business, home based business, franchise, SBA loans, promoting a business, LLC"

Chris McClelland presents How social networking sites can also help you save some money posted at Lucrative Investing.

jim presents Best CD (Certificate of Deposit) Rates posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Ben Dinsmore presents Reduce Your Hot Water Bill with this One Simple Tip! posted at Trees Full of Money, saying, "While washing oatmeal off my 10 month old's face this morning, I came across an effective way to save on hundreds of gallons of hot water each year!"

Billeater presents Ten Ways to Save Money During Pregnancy posted at Billeater.

Stingy Student presents Best Amazon.com Discount Sale – 90% off for Back To School Shopping posted at Stingy Students, saying, "Get up to 90% off at Amazon.com for back to school shopping!"

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Improve Your Credit Score: A 6 Step Plan posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Teach kids about maintaining a good credit score!"

The Smarter Wallet presents How To Consolidate Debt: Ways To Reduce Your Debt Load posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "Teach your kids about how to manage debt."

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Canadian Discount Brokerage Review and Comparison for TFSA and RRSP posted at Financial Highway, saying, "Discount Brokers"

Banker Saver presents Sneaky Bank Fees: How To Avoid Those Extra Charges posted at Banker Saver, saying, "Let's teach our kids how to avoid sneaky bank fees that eke away at our savings."

Investing Toolkit presents Dollar Cost Averaging Basics posted at Investing Toolkit, saying, "We explain dollar cost averaging, an important investment principle that everyone should know."

Summer presents Teaching Your Kids to be Energy Efficient posted at Wired For Noise.

Daoud presents 15 Fun Things To Do For Under $1 posted at Practicing Parents.

Jenny presents Strict Spending posted at Stop Spending Money, saying, "It is not too difficult to learn how to budget and still be happy."

Ella Moss presents MY KINDER UNIVERSE « Zodiac Times posted at Zodiac Times, saying, "child-care summer-time blues"

Daniel Drew presents Small Business Loans posted at My Business is doing well should I choose an SBA Loan?, saying, "Many companies in the US are ready to help businesspersons when they need financial assistance. The lending companies have a team of experts who can guide you about matters pertaining to unsecured loans, so that you can make a smart financial decision."

Kate Hopkins presents 100 Money-Saving Lessons from Poor College Kids posted at Online College Degree.org.

Jack Schmidt presents Albert Einstein and Your Personal Economy posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, "SectorMatic Money Site – Personal Finance | Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget. Now you can live like a fat cat, even if you're on a money diet. Laugh all the way to the bank with Jack Schmidt and SectorMatic. It's for you!"

Barry presents Managing Surplus Money In The Short Term posted at Associate Money.

Cindy S presents Top 10 Things I’d Like To Teach My Children About Money posted at Oh My Aching Debts, saying, "Do you watch your grown children making the same mistakes that you made? Here are some of the things that I wished I had taught mine."

CindyS presents Top 10 Things I’d Like To Teach My Children About Money posted at Oh My Aching Debts, saying, "Some of the things that I would like to teach my kids about money."

Chris McClelland presents Credit card perks that you might be missing out on posted at Lucrative Investing.

About six months, in fact. But nobody's counting, right? So, I have about 1000 submissions to wade through. Here's my plan – one set of ten every day until I'm done.

Here's 1 through 10.

Sam presents New !! How to Pay for College posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "How to Pay for College Smart Ways to Pay for Your College Did you know that the average cost for tuition and room and board is $32,000 at a private college? …"

Gregory E. Rouse presents Frugal Business posted at Frugal-Living-Skills Blog, saying, "First, we don’t know how to do math today… People will often spend money to save money (which is a paradox) or spend money to make money. We seem to forget that every penny spent has to be earned back."
and then some. A penny saved is a penny earned is the old saying. It didn't take into account income and sales taxes.

besthotel presents Banyan Tree Luxury Hotels posted at List Of Best Hotels In The World 2007, 2008, 2009, saying, "Luxury hotels and spa resorts @ banyan. To live there is like a dream"

endowments presents Endowment Life Insurance Policy Blog Surrender my endowment policy posted at Endowment Policy, saying, "Some information on how to sell life insurance endowment policy"

Jack Schmidt presents 3 Credit Cards That Could Change Your Life posted at SectorMatic Money Journal, saying, "SectorMatic Money Site – Personal Finance | Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget."

Barry presents Saving Money With Do It Yourself Projects posted at Associate Money.

Master Your Card presents Soft Pull vs. Hard Pull: Which is What and Who’s Responsible? | Master Your Card posted at Master Your Card, saying, "The precise formula that credit reporting agencies use to determine your credit score is as elusive as Google’s PageRank algorithm. But there are some things we consumers understand well about the factors that go into your credit rating. One such item that has a weighty presence on your credit report is a credit inquiry – that is, when someone (including you) checks out your credit history for whatever purpose. Conventional wisdom dictates that having many credit checks on your credit report is bad, while having fewer is better. But that’s not necessarily true."

Jonathan from Debt Loans presents What You Need to Know About Home Equity Loans | Debt Loans posted at Debt Loans, saying, "Home equity loans can be appealing loan options for a number of reasons. Still, before you seek out this type of loan, make sure you know what you are getting into. There are lots of things that you should know before you apply for that loan."

Carlos Sera presents An Unexpected Tale – Teach Your Children Well posted at Financial Tales, saying, "As a young boy I was blessed to know and learn from my Uncle Segundo or Tio Segundo as I knew him. He like so many other relatives came to live with my family for a short time as they fled their beloved Cuba to make a new home in the welcoming arms of the United States. Tio Segundo was like many Cuban exiles. He came to this country in his late 40’s by himself, penniless and left behind everything that he knew and cherished. In Cuba he was an intellectual, a philosopher, a consultant to Presidents, a lawyer and the Mayor of Holgin, the second largest city in Cuba. This tale teaches us that the unexpected happens and that you must prepare."

jim presents How Secured Credit Cards Work posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Tomorrow: 11-20.

In 12 years, Antoine Walker(notes) made more than $110 million playing professional basketball moderately well.

It always seems to happen.

Whatever the details, it was a big chunk of change, which, amazingly, wasn’t enough.

These guys seem to wind up in debtor’s prison or the poor house, or both. It’s a shame, in a way, to see all that money wind up gone, but at least these guys stimulate the economy, right? I mean, that money didn’t just vanish; it just moved from his pockets to everybody else’s.

I’m really surprised that the professional sports leagues haven’t really come up with a solution to this widespread problem. Why haven’t they employed the likes of American Express, Fidelity, or some of the better-known financial institutions to not only teach these guys how to manage their money, but why not even do more than that?

Don’t you see a very lucrative niche here? I guess much of this is handled by the athletes’ agents. But maybe therein lies the problem.

Why not employ financial planners? Why not, instead of giving them x percent (10 percent, is that the going rate for “talent?”) on the front end, give them 7 percent on the backend?

If I make you money as a financial guru, give me a piece of it when it’s bigger? Then, there is an incentive for both parties to utilize my services?

What am I missing here?

Is it that these guys are so toxic that nobody wants to touch them? Are the sports agents so powerful that nobody can “break in” to this aspect of an athlete’s life?

Why aren’t the players unions more involved? Or are they in on the money grab, too?

Just think what a really talented money manager could make out of an NBA star? It boggles the mind how much better off he could make not only the athlete, but the athlete’s community. And all without the extreme sadness experienced by the once highly-sought after athlete, once he is put out to pasture.

If only they had that much. Reminds me of the old quote from the infamous Willie Sutton, bank robber:

Why do you rob banks?
Because that’s where the money is!

Man sues BofA for ’1,784 billion, trillion dollars’ | Reuters

JOB DESCRIPTION

• Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
• Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
• Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
• Travel expenses not reimbursed.
• Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• The rest of your life.
• Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.
• Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
• Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
• Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
• Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
• Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
• Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
• Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
• Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
• Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
• Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION

• None.
• Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

• None required unfortunately.
• On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION

• Get this! You pay them!
• Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
• A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.
• When you die, you give them whatever is left.
• The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

• BENEFITS

• While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

POSITION

• Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
• Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

You see, at the end of July, July 31 to be exact, I was laid off. I knew it was coming as it was part of the transition plan to acquire Washington Mutual by JP Morgan Chase.

So what have I been up to the past few months? At the beginning of August, I took the family on a long vacation (3 weeks) up through Oregon, then west to the Oregon coast, and back down. We stayed at a large ranch, visited Ashland (the Shakespeare Festival), saw my cousins in Junction City near Eugene, then we stayed 5 days in Portland.

Portland is a beautiful city. We took bike rides (that first mile up the trail in Forest Park is a killer, what with me towing a double-wide Chariot bike trailer loaded with my two boys), went to the Children’s Museum and the Portland Zoo, visited Powell’s (a killer bookstore).

Then we went to Astoria (nice coastal city) and stayed a few days. Then we went south, through Gold Beach (the 25 miles south of Gold Beach is the most spectacular coastline I’ve ever seen and I live in California), and many coastal towns between there and my home.

We had a wonderful time.

I am in no mood to look for more work, either. I kind of like staying home. But for now, that’s a big dream I have. October might be the month where I get really serious about a job. I will be looking in the Portland and Seattle areas, though — that’s for sure. Places like REI, Columbia, Yakima, Nike, and a few others come to mind as places I’ll target to find gainful employment.

I’ve let the blog carnivals slip. I kind of dread sifting through all the posts because there’s got to be a ton of them. I most likely will break them up into 5 or 10 bit chunks, just to manage them better and give each post more attention. Sound good?

In the meantime, I’ve got a ton of stuff to do around the house. I’ve reorganized the office closet and have eliminated a lot of clutter (but there’s a lot more). We’re going to be redoing the front patio with tile. We’ll also being laying down some more sod in the front and back yards.

Plus, we’ve got our back yard landscaping plans back. I haven’t even looked at them yet. This is one project where I’ll have to really think about how to chunk it up into much smaller pieces because if I tackle it all together, I will literally kill myself!

Also on my list of to-dos is to install (or have installed) a door in the office that leads to the new back yard.

Boy, have I got a lot of work to do!

I don’t have time to look for a job.

Meanwhile, I am still laying the foundation for my eventual exit from the corporate world. I have redesigned a lot of my sites and hopefully will be able to put a lot of them on semi-autopilot (I have tried “autoblogging” software and I just really don’t like the outcome on anything other than a news blog), so I’ll be posting a lot to my sites:

• Muscle-Build.com and here
• Affiliate Central
• Internet-Marketing-Muscle.com
• Hardgainer’s Manifesto and here

Computer Monkeys will get a redesign, too (at least the blog will) as well as a lot more posts added.

Photo-dodo is on hiatus. I love photography and took a ton of photos while on vacation, but I just don’t foresee finding the time to devote to the site.

That’s it for now. I hope to make some contributions to this site in the very near future.

By the way, if anybody wants to guest-post, I’m all ears!

Leave me a comment if you want to make a guest post or two about personal finance (please, no topics other than PF).