Wow, super busy week at work to start the new year, so I have to confess I’m behind in my reading of blogs. Thus, the links are a bit abbreviated this week, but I promise I’ll be back on top of things soon!

• As you may have noticed, the New Year started on Tuesday (and if you didn’t notice…wow. Just…wow). Most of the blogs in the blogroll posted resolutions, both financial and otherwise. Personally, I’m not a big resolution guy, but I did resolve to make $5,000 in side income in 2008. Monday I’ll start outlining just how I plan to make that happen.

• Oil hit $100 per barrel for the first time this week, and gas prices are back above $3/gallon here in Wisconsin. At Gen X Finance, Jeremy had a great article on how to invest to help offset increasing gasoline costs. Check it out and maybe next time everyone else is complaining about the increased cost of filling up, you can be chortling about the

• The start of a new year also means another chance to max out your retirement savings. But how do you decide which investment vehicle is the best place for your limited dollars? Free Money Finance chimed in on investing in a Roth IRA vs a traditional IRA or non-matched 401(k). I fall squarely in the middle on this one: I think there are enough advantages to investing pre-tax money (401k & trad IRA) and after-tax money (Roth) that you should have have both types, and invest based on your current tax rate and projected future needs. Have your cake and eat it too!

• Finally, Madison at My Dollar Plan had a great little collection of financial calculators. Don’t just guess about your savings, investing, retirement, or insurance needs, take advantage of these free tools and refine your figures!

Well, I hope everyone had a safe and happy first week of 2008. Don’t forget to check back Monday for the first outline of my 2008 extra income project!

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Well, Friday is here once more and with it, the last work week of 2007 is over! Time flies, eh? Anyway, here are some of my favorite posts from the holiday-shortened week.

• At The Simple Dollar, Trent has a great list of 6 great financial education resources. Knowledge is the key to success with money (as with anything else) and I don’t think anyone can claim to know everything they could ever need to regarding personal finance and investing.
• Free Money Finance had a good article on how to make sure your boss thinks you’re doing a great job. For most of us, our job is the main source of the income we’re so concerned with saving and investing, so it is definitely wise to make sure the boss lets you keep it!
• Continuing the “what is your time worth” theme from the last FLH, Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity wrote about one easy way to calculate the value of your time, assuming you think your job pays you what you’re worth!
• In some sad but really not surprising news, Jeremy at Generation X Finance wrote about a study showing that teenagers are not saving for retirement. This part seems blindingly obvious, but what I found really interesting was that the study also estimated that 35% of today’s teenagers will never put money into a 401(k) or similar account, due to a combination of ignorance and not having the option in their jobs. It amazes me that will all the uncertainty over social security and the loss of employer pensions so many people in my generation will not take action to help themselves. This just begs for some kind of basic finance class in middle or high schools!
• And on a social security related note, Jonathan at My Money Blog had a story about what it takes to live exclusively on Social Security, with a variety of quotes from people in that unfortunate situation. The fact that they can even come close to getting by with so little really makes it hard to sympathize with those poor schmucks who can’t save even on $250,000 a year, doesn’t it?
• One of the (great) non-financial blogs I read is by Seth Godin. He had a great post asking what have you been doing with your time so far in the 2000’s? I thought it was a great call to action. If you’ve been waiting (like me) for the right moment of inspiration and circumstances to try starting a business, changing careers, or pursuing a dream in any form, it’s time to start taking action. Understanding that the world is constantly changing, you can’t wait for the right moment, you have to start moving and make that moment!
• And finally, with New Year’s Eve fast approaching wine lovers should check out the money saving advice from Lazy Man & Money and Blueprint for Financial Prosperity for help finding the perfect vintage to ring in the new year without breaking the bank.

Have a great weekend!

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The last few months have not exactly been kind to bank stocks. Sub-prime mortgage losses have hammered banks that made such loans, and even brought down banks with no direct exposure. Analyst downgrades and investor pessimism have been the rule.

While the past week has brought a small reprieve with rumors of another Fed rate cut on the way, many banks are still hovering near their 52 week (or longer) lows. While analysts are mostly saying “sell” or “hold”, I am looking to buy.

Why?

In a word - dividends. Banks tend to have high dividends, and plunging stock prices have pushed yields to almost ridiculous levels. Citigroup is currently yielding over 6%. Bank of America - 5.6%, Wachovia - 5.8%, US Bank - 4.8%, Key Corp - 5.7%.

Slightly smaller; National City - 8.3%, Huntington Bank - 6.5%, or if you feel brave, Washington Mutual currently is yielding 11.7% with most people betting that the dividend will be cut next quarter.

With large established banks like this paying 6-8%, it really is a tempting situation. Of course, as with any stock, the price can continue to go down, particularly if more losses show up at that bank. But on the other hand, with prices so far depressed compared to historic levels and the risk of total default so low (do you really think Citigroup will fail?) the upside just in terms of income seems pretty solid. There is also risk of dividends being cut (like WaMu is widely expected to do), but companies generally avoid this if possible, because it is a big signal of financial weakness.

Bottom line: do your homework, but as an income play, banks are worth a look!

Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, and I don’t recommend any particular stocks or investment strategy. The above is just my own thoughts and speculation.

Edit 12/11/07: And as expected Washington Mutual has slashed its dividend (by 70%!) Cross that one off the list…

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Well, after a short hiatus (due mostly to a poorly timed computer failure) the Friday Link Highlights are back! I know, I’m excited too.

• JD at Get Rich Slowly has a good post on giving personal finance books as gifts, including discussion of whether such books make good gifts and some age-based recommendations.
• Jonathan at My Money Blog has a good post about setting up a Roth IRA as a gift. There are some restrictions, but if they qualify I think this is a great idea, for the same reason I like gifts of stock rather than the perennial savings bond.
• Also at My Money Blog, during my PC forced down time Jonathan wrapped up his series detailing how he re-built his retirement portfolio from scratch. Lots of information, and his thought process is well laid out.  
• For real estate folks (or stats junkies like me), Barry at Financial Page has the Third Quarter National Home Price Index. Not looking good for sellers, but the investor in me is certain there are deals to be had…
• With the end of the year fast approaching, tax time is coming soon. Jeremy at Generation X Finance has a nice post about how to tell if you will fall under the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and what to do about it if you do.
• Speaking of the AMT, KMC has an article about why your tax refund might be delayed if Congress doesn’t pass a fix for the AMT formula soon. Let’s all hope our legislators take prompt and decisive action on this topic. Ha.

Glad to be back in the saddle here (do blogs have saddles? I’ll assume they do). Have a great weekend everyone! 

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Hard to believe that Friday is already here! Heading into the first weekend of existence for Money Forge, here’s a collection of some of my favorite posts and stories from elsewhere in the financial blogosphere:

Lazy Business Owner has a great post on how to make your business look bigger than it actually is. One of the barriers to starting a small/side business is overcoming your customers’ perception that small=inexperienced and risky, and LBO has some good tips.

If E-Trade’s recent ups and downs have made you a bit uneasy, Jonathan at My Money Blog and Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity talk about SIPC insurance: what it is, what it does, and how to know if you have it.

Also in the investment vein, Free Money Finance has a quickie on why index funds are great investments. I couldn’t agree more.

Trent at The Simple Dollar just finished reading 52 personal finance books in 52 weeks, along with reviews and rankings to help you decide what to read first. Very useful!

Finally, with the holidays approaching (is Thanksgiving really next week!?), five cent nickel talks about ways to reduce the financial pain of buying so many Christmas presents. Our family uses the “draw names” technique, but there are certainly other options!

Also in the Christmas theme, Free Money Finance talks about how to maximize gift cards while five cent nickel cautions against giving gift cards at all. I’m with five cent nickel on this one.

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