Easy Like Sunday Morning Recap and Roundup – # 8 – July 22nd, 2012

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Each time, the purpose of the Easy Like Sunday Morning Recap and Roundup series is the same – for me to be able to connect with you, the readers, on a more personal (non personal finance informational transmission only) level, encourage community, and also to give back to the other bloggers around the blogosphere who have mentioned My Personal Finance Journey throughout the past few weeks or so. It’s been about a month since the last roundup, so we definitely have some catching up to do! 

As far as the theme goes, the title of the roundup gives it away. The roundup theme is named after the Lionel Richie song, Easy Like Sunday Morning (which I play once each time I put this together), to remind us of the importance of slowing down at least every once in a while to take appreciation for that which transpired over the past few days.

So, without further ado, let’s get started with this edition’s roundup!

Updates from Jacob’s Personal Finance Journey and Life 

• As far as my life in general, the month of July has been fairly easy-going and has not brought too many drastic changes. 
• Mainly, I have been running Alzheimer’s disease experiments in the lab and staying in town for the most part on the weekends. I’ve also been getting out and riding my road bicycle for exercise, since it’s far too hot these days to run! haha
• This past weekend, I had my parents come in to town from Arkansas and my sister come in from North Carolina, so it was nice to enjoy some of the local cuisine, breweries, and hiking areas along with them.
• Also, at the beginning of July, my girlfriend and I saw some really nice fireworks at a local park here in Virginia. Below is my favorite picture I took during the event! Enjoy!   

• As far as my personal finances and blog go, the months of June and July have treated me pretty well. 
• Blogging income was very strong for the month of June, so that has helped me to make significant progress towards maxing out my Roth IRA for the 2012 year. As of today, I only have $300 left to go! I’m pretty excited to get this knocked out for the year. 
• It is also helping to have my girlfriend contributing $300 towards the monthly housing expenses, which helps with the HOA fee and miscellaneous utilities. 
• One thing that was a little difficult financially and emotionally was that in late June/early July, we almost lost one of our greyhounds, Charlie, to a strange stomach problem. What was happening was that he was continuously throwing up weird white foam after eating or drinking anything. However, it now appears that he recovered from it.
• Because of this problem and some other knee problems Charlie has had along with miscellaneous other expenses, my girlfriend and I have now paid about $600 since the beginning of June on dog-related expenses. 
• Hopefully, we won’t have any major medical problems for a couple months at least now. 
• However, to account for dog-related expenses, my girlfriend and I are both saving up a “doggie emergency fund” so that we never have to take out credit to pay for pet care. 
• As far as the blog goes, as you’ve probably noticed, I have mainly been busy running the Tour de Personal Finance. We’re currently down to only 4 posts competing, and I’ve really enjoyed hosting this event once again this year! 

Guest Posts from Personal Finance Bloggers on My Personal Finance Journey

Since the last roundup, there were three guest post here at My Personal Finance Journey.

-Daniel from Smarter Finance Today discusses how to refinance your home mortgage properly.
-Karl from Wise Stock Buyer discusses the benefits and pitfalls of index funds vs. individual stocks.