Some Wonderful Links (Annotated, Of Course)

In between doing a massive amount of genealogy research yesterday, I was perusing the sidebar of this blog and came across these blog posts which really resonated with me.

• When people do weird things.  My brother-in-law thinks I'm weird (no job? no desire for a job? no credit cards??  That's weird!) and I think he is kind of weird too (in the nicest possible way but who racks up a $2,000 AmEx bill EACH MONTH??).  As this article points out, people's behavior may seem weird to us but then again our behavior may seem weird to them, the important thing is to accept that what works for us, works for us and what works for others works for others.
• Goin' Commando With Credit.  This is meeeee.  Now I am so glad I didn't apply for a credit card when the desire hit me to do so.  I don't have any credit cards, I don't want any credit cards, and I don't feel naked!
• Which pool are you in?  This is me too!  I would almost always choose the quiet pool because I like peace and order and neatness, etc.  But I am glad that I nearly always roll with the punches (like when the SIl says 'can I bring my 3 and 6 year old granddaughters to spend a month with you?' and I smile and say yes even though I am thinking noooooo.  But everything worked out great and I am glad that I get shaken out of my comfort zone on a regular basis.
• If I Woke Up Broke.  This was a great post because it highlighted what someone should do if they wake up broke.  Unfortunately, during the Great Recession, many people didn't do this.  They found themselves unemployed but kept living on credit and didn't do anything to change their lifestyle to align with their new lack of income.  The result was often massive debt and sometimes homelessness.  I am SO GLAD that when I lost my biggest client a few years ago we immediately decided to change our lifestyle (sold the house and everything else and become homeless vagabonds for a while).  Everything worked out really well for us in the end.  I think when faced with a challenge of this magnitude, extreme, radical action is necessary.