Weekend Reads: Memorial Day and Saying Thanks Edition

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With Memorial Day upon us once again, it’s time to remember those who have served — and sacrificed.

Instead of reciting the standard feel good message, I tend to think about what my grandfathers must have felt when the subject of World War II came up.

Not surprisingly, they only spoke of their military service on the rarest of occasions.

After all, who would want to know how small it made them feel to fight a war halfway around the world from a place they called home. What it felt like to come under threat of a kamikaze attack. What it was like to administer first aid to Marines at Iwo Jima. Or what it was like to walk through a graveyard of Sailors and Marines you knew by first name, not by rank or serial number.

Hopefully, I’ll never find out. I imagine it would be something like the opening sequence to Saving Private Ryan.

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On a lighter note, let’s shift the focus back to financial related topics.

Favorite Reads from the PF Blogosphere

Jim from Bargaineering graciously allowed a guest post by Yours Truly about what it’s like working as an independent trader. And broke it up into three posts no less:

Good Financial Cents has a great follow up article on How to Prepare for a Storm or Emergency. We occasionally get these here in the southeast thanks to the summer thunderstorms, and just recently, had one drop down approximately 2 miles from my place. Scary stuff, but great info here.

The Simple Dollar found 14 Great Places to Trade or Barter Your Stuff Online. Everyone has likely heard of Craigslist or Ebay by now, but many of these were new to me.

Money Relationship is a soda drinker (like me) with I’m Addicted to Soda (and Spending Lots of Money On It). Adam estimates he spent $2100 over the last 5 years and will spend $51,000 if he continues his soda habit until he reaches the age of 75. No wonder Warren Buffett speaks so highly of Coca Cola stock in his Berkshire Hathaway portfolio.

Debt Free Adventure tells a story of why you should learn to Manually Report Utility Meter Readings To Avoid Being Overcharged. His electric and gas company overcharged him two months in a row, and he saved $160 spotting their “error” which no one would have caught but himself. This is becoming more and more common, so it would be prudent to take Matt’s advice here.