Note: This should have been published on Friday morning. But I just realized that I saved it instead of publishing it. Doh. So here’s my Friday round up … two days late. Sorry!

Spring has definitely arrived. The flowers are blooming, the leaves have returned to the trees, and it’s going to be another 70-degree weekend. I’m enjoying this weather while I can, because it’s going to be hot soon.

And now for my favorite posts from the week:

• Free From Broke discusses having the money talk with your spouse. Great advice, but I’m always surprised to find out that some couples don’t talk about money.
• Not Made of Money shares some tips for frugal container gardening.
• Get Rich Slowly shared the inspiring story of an 84-year-old social worker who quietly saved over a million dollars simply by living frugally.

From the Pecuniary Associates:

• Pecuniarities learned that procrastination is the leading cause of financial death while preparing her taxes this week.
• Counting My Pennies compared her grocery spending habits with the USDA Food Plan and discovered she may be spending too much.
• Greener Pastures compares the pros and cons of bottled water. I prefer the happy medium between bottled and tap water: filtered tap water.
• Financial Nut shares a guest post from Mike’s Millions with 401k Retirement tips.

That’s all I’ve got. Hope you’re all enjoying the weekend!

Yesterday was a much needed paid holiday, but unfortunately I spent the morning quite ill. I’m feeling a lot better now, and I’m finally ready to tackle my round up.

But first, some housekeeping. I have been meaning to update my category situation for some time. I somehow ended up with over 40 categories. That wasn’t working well from a usability standpoint, and many of them overlapped in subject matter. So I converted all of my old categories to tags, and recategorized all of my posts into 11 categories. You can find my new navigation beneath my Google ads in the left sidebar. You’ll now be able to navigate to general subjects through the categories and more specific subjects through tags.

And now my favorite posts from around the blogosphere:

• Bargaineering shares some tips for how to save money buying wine.
• My Two Dollars examine’s Suze Orman’s advice to focus on savings and only pay the minimum due on credit cards during the recession. I agree that liquid savings should be a priority right now, but if you’re deep in credit card debt I’d recommend adding just a little to the minimum due.
• Mrs. Micah shares her financial story, and asks you to share yours.
• Sense to Save contemplates whether to save for a “starter house” or take more time to save for the house they really want.
• The Simple Dollar asks you to take a look at what really makes you happy, and balance your budget accordingly.

And from the Pecuniary Associates:

• Pecuniarities offers helpful tips for getting right back on the financial horse when you fall.
• Financial Nut gives some practical advice on budgeting for vacations. Better to work hard and save it up than charge it.
• Greener Pastures offers tips for avoiding recession weight gain.
• Counting My Pennies discusses the unique financial challenges of 20-somethings.

After a whirlwind four-day trip to New York, I’m finally home. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot, but I’m absolutely exhausted.

Traveling with an expense account is odd. I have to admit, it’s kind of thrown me off. For four days, my boss covered the tab for everyone at fancy restaurants. It was fun, but that kind of luxury can temporarily alter the mindset. I’m trying to get back on track now.

I’m resting up today, but I have some exciting news to share first! I’ve joined the Pecuniary Associates blog network! It’s a little late because of my trip, but I’m excited to share my first blog round up featuring the other members.

Here we go:

• Penelope at Pecuniarities warns you to beware the hidden and indirect costs of “free” things. I try not to go too far out of my way to obtain “free” items, otherwise it stops being worth my time and sometimes even money.
• Trevor at Financial Nut shares some thoughts on valuing a business. He’s looking for some advice on buying/selling a business from those of you with experience. Can you help him?
• Megan at Counting my Pennies asks “Has the economy changed your spending habits?” Hopefully it’s made you think a little more before making unnecessary purchases.
• Lisa at Greener Pastures shares five consumer trends in the recession economy. It’s interested to see how spending trends highlight people’s priorities during a downturn.
• Scott at The Passive Dad says sometimes the best way to make a tough decision is to talk it through with a frugal friend. Even if your friend isn’t so frugal, talking it through will give you the opportunity to put everything into perspective and make the right decisions.

I can’t wait to share more of their great ideas with you through the network!

Hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back Monday with regularly scheduled blogging.

Our friends are arriving tomorrow morning, and then Monday morning I’m heading to New York for business. I have a lot to do before our company arrives, so I’ll make this round up short.

Here are my favorite posts from the blogosphere this week:

• Pecuniarities suggests a financial fast. Sometimes the only way to find out if you can live without something is to actually live without it.
• Happy to be at Home says bartering is back. Thank goodness! We all have something to offer, so why pay money when you can trade services so everyone will benefit?
• Common Sense with Money asks, “To stimulate, or not to stimulate?” Less spending and more saving may not be the best thing for the economy right now, but doing the best thing for you and your family will ultimately be the best thing for the economy in the long run.
• Small Notebook looks back on a year of composting. I live in an apartment right now, but I can’t wait to try composting when I have the space for it.
• Bargaineering offers a simple explanation of the stimulus tax credit. If you have questions about why your paychecks are suddenly just a little bigger, then you should read this.

Sorry to cut it short this week, but I’m short on time and I still have blog posts to schedule for next week. :)

Happy Friday! And happy first day of spring!

This week has flown by … compared to last week at least. I hope next week goes by even faster, because Tony and I are heading out of town for a quick weekend getaway in Washington DC! We haven’t gotten away together (aside from visiting family) since our honeymoon, so we’re really excited to spend some quality time together. We could really use it.

When I set up our budget for this month, I tried to limit our spending in a little in certain areas to give us a little extra spending money for our trip. Unfortunately, we haven’t been as strict as I had hoped, so we’re pushing it. We’re using part of our tax refund to cover gas and a meal out, but other spending for the weekend is coming out of our regular budget.

To avoid going over budget for the week, we’re attempting to get through the weekend without spending money on anything but groceries. This is tough for us, because we usually run all of our errands (and spend most of the money we spend) on the weekends. Wish us luck!

And now on to the round up:

• Small Notebook offers a list of tools that come in handy around the house. Are you prepared to be your own handyman (or woman)?
• Almost Frugal shares some interesting facts about money in France. It’s always fascinating to me to see the differences in cultures when it comes to money and spending.
• Northern Cheapskate has some tips for extending the life of your shoes. Shoes are definitely an item that I’d rather spend a little extra on if they’ll last longer.
• Sense to Save shares a detailed list of expenses from her hospital stay for the birth of her son. It is shocking and terrifying how expensive hospital stays can be. Yikes. I can’t believe we ever lived without health insurance.
• If you’re planning a meal out this weekend, head over to BeCentsAble. She has some sweet restaurant deals from Ruby Tuesday, Subway, and TGI Friday’s.

Happy Friday!