Linkfest!

Frugal Babe talks about how she does second-hand shopping. There are some really important points here that are worth reiterating - second-hand shopping takes longer and requires more patience and creativity than buying new does. It can be hard to wait for that perfect *whatever* that you're searching for or to dig through piles of junk to find something good, but the deals are worth it. (I'm putting this here not because I'm a paragon of doing this - but as a reminder to myself!)

A great reminder about how to have faith in myself as a new parent, from Girl's Gone Child.

Sweating the Big Stuff asks which is worse: feeling guilty about spending money, or feeling regret over not spending it. This is tough, because I know I have both kinds of regret. I think it really depends on the situation, and if someone comes up with a magic way to tell the difference, please let me know! (Some things I've learned: if you have the chance to study abroad, DO IT. That's a big regret over not spending that I have. And if you have to pay for your boyfriend's share of your spring break trip that he planned, DON'T DO IT. In fact, break up with him.)

Lame: 20 Something Finance reports about CEOs abusing their authority by trying to sway their employees' votes. This should be every bit as illegal as campaigning outside the polls, in my opinion. Threatening someone's livelihood to get your candidate elected is shady doings.

Hurricane Sandy may be over, but there were some really good posts about preparing for emergency weather situations. My favorites were at The Centsible Life and One Frugal Girl, along with one from The Consumerist about how long refrigerated food is good for when the power's out.

Recipe alert: a lentil and brown rice casserole from $5 Dinners.

Starting to think about the holidays? Some great gift ideas from AskMetaFilter and Bargaineering.

The New York Times covered how technology is changing the way students learn - I have definitely seen the effects of technology and a shortened attention span in my own life. Peanut and I plan to limit Baby M's screen time especially in the first few years of her life. We don't have a television, so that will be easy, but it'll be harder to limit computer/smart phone time when we are slaves to those devices ourselves.

This quote jumped out at me from a recent Small Notebook post: “My things should complement, not complicate, my life goals.” This is larger than "things" - I'd like to evaluate whether my decisions complement, not complicate, my life goals.

What good reads have you found lately on the blogosphere?