Free Money Finance

Free Money Ebooks

Today I have a treat for you -- FREE STUFF!

Here are five free ebooks that several personal finance bloggers are offering. I thought you all would enjoy these:

ESI Money offers three steps to financial independence. 

Financial Mentor has 18 lessons from a self-made millionaire. 

Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance has free investing resources.

Bayalis is the Answer tells how to superfund your 529.

Mama Fish Saves details common budgeting fails.

Intentionality Ink offers a DIY investing picture-book.

Rachel Hernandez shares 10 dos and don'ts to get started in mobile home investing.

Enjoy!!!

The Money Tips Network

Today is the official launch of the Money Tips Network (MTN), a new group that includes 13 of the most trusted personal finance blogs in the world.

Our Mission

Money Tips Network exists to provide you with honest and helpful money tips from the best personal finance blogs. Like you, the Money Tips Network bloggers come from vast and varied personal experiences.  But we share a common belief:

You can lead a better life by practicing smart money management.

Money Tips Network Members

MTN blogs collectively reach more than 5 million visitors a month and over 200,000 subscribers.  The blogs include:

• Bargaineering - Written by Jim Wang, Bargaineering is a blog that chronicles his personal finance life. Jim is co-host of the Personal Finance Hour podcast with JD Roth of Get Rich Slowly.

• Consumerism Commentary - Created in 2003 by Flexo, Consumerism Commentary has been honored by Kiplinger as a must-read blog and named as one of Yahoo's "Ten Money Blogs Everyone Should Read".  Flexo runs the original (and still the best) PF blog aggregator pfblogs.org, and recently started the Consumerism Commentary Podcast.

• Five Cent Nickel - Written by a man who has been meticulously recording his finances since 1997 (stored in Quicken), Five Cent Nickel is one of the oldest and most respected blogs around.

• Free Money Finance - That's me! As most of you know, this site is about one simple thing: growing your net worth. 

• Generation X Finance - Jeremy Vohwinkle is the blogger behind Gen X Finance, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and the editor of About.com's Financial Planning section.

• Get Rich Slowly - Get Rich Slowly, recently named "most inspiring money blog" by Money magazine, is devoted to sensible personal finance.  JD Roth is the other half of  the Personal Finance Hour podcast.

• No Credit Needed - NCN started this blog in 2005 to track his debt reduction efforts, and has since been inspiring others in their debt reduction efforts. In addition to the blog, check out the No Credit Needed Network and the No Credit Needed Podcast.

• Squawkfox - Making frugal living sexy, delicious, and fun. "Fox" has a new book coming out in 3 weeks! 397 Ways to Save Money will help you spend smarter and live well on less.

• Stop Buying Crap - Despite the title, Cap doesn't preach being cheap.  Stop Buying Crap is about understanding your unlimited wants and how you may fulfill it with your limited resources.

• The Digerati Life - You can always count on Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB) to churn out practical, comprehensive, and helpful advice about personal finance and small business.

• The Frugal Duchess - Miami Herald columnist Sharon Harvey Rosenberg offers a fun, frugal and fashionable way to save money & live well.

• The Simple Dollar - Trent Hamm is arguably the most respected personal finance blogger today. There's a great new article on The Simple Dollar everyday, and Trent's book reviews are legendary.  Get a copy of his recently published book, 365 Ways to Live Cheap: Your Everyday Guide to Saving Money, that helps you save money every day of the year.

• Wise Bread - A community dedicated to helping each other live large on a small budget.

What Now?

As of right now, you can visit the Money Tips Network homepage.  It aggregates the latest posts from MTN blogs and has profiles of members.  You can also subscribe to the Money Tips Network feed via RSS or email.  Be sure to check out each of the individual blogs and browse their invaluable archives.

If you're a money blogger, check out the Bloggers Corner of the Wise Bread forums.  That's where PF bloggers ask questions, swap stories, and share best practices all day long.  Come hang out with us.

We've got a slew of ideas to roll out in the coming months including guest posts on Wise Bread from MTN bloggers, roundups that gather the best financial advice, and product reviews to help make smart choices.  It all adds up to more of the best money tips for you so stay tuned!

Introducing...Three Great Sites

For those of you interested in great websites, I have three that I'd like to share. And they're so different, there's bound to be something for everyone. From ice cream to blogging advice to personal finance blogs -- it's all here. ;-)

Here goes:

• If you like great-tasting ice cream, please visit the NEW (up just this week) website of Moose Tracks ice cream, the main sponsor here at Free Money Finance. The site has a whole host of new features including a listing of all their tasty flavors of ice cream, a store locator where you can find your favorite Denali Flavors ice cream, FAQs about ice cream, and even a store with lots of moose-related items. And here's a secret -- click on the moose's head on the home page to here a real moose call! You don't get to hear one of those every day. ;-)
• If you're a personal finance blogger and are interested in best practices/learning more from other pf bloggers, visit the MoneyBlogNetwork Forums. There's already lots of good stuff on how to maximize your ads, opinions on various blog services and software solutions, and comments on what others are doing on their blogs to make them top-notch. It's a great source of information if you're interested in blogging about personal finances.
• If you're a reader of personal finance blogs, you should check out PFBlogs.org. This website is an aggregator of all the personal finance blogs. It's completely free of advertisements and exists solely as a service to bloggers and readers. In short, it's a great, great resource for finding and reading a ton of different personal finance blogs.

Introducing...MortgageLoan.com

Just wanted to introduce everyone to a new site (and advertiser here at FMF): MortgageLoan.com. As you might imagine, it's a place where you can find a mortgage loan. (The name kind of says that, huh?) Here's what the site says about itself:

Since 1995, Mortgageloan.com has served consumers who search for the best mortgage loans, refinancing and home equity loans across the nation. We know that lenders compete for your home loan. Get the lowest rates!

Anyway, stop by and check it out. If you like it (or not), come back here and let us all know what you think with a comment.

Introducing...Finance News Today

Just wanted to introduce everyone to a new site (and advertiser here at FMF): Finance News Today. It's a new personal finance website that has similar content to Free Money Finance but without all the wit and wisdom from me that you all have come to love! ;-)

Anyway, stop by and check it out. If you like it (or not), come back here and let us all know what you think with a comment.

Recommended Site: Business Opportunities

While I read many personal finance blogs, I read many more blogs that aren't related to money. (Currently, I have 192 feeds on Bloglines that I review each day -- I just cut about 20 of them the other day.) I'd like to introduce you to one of the non-finance blogs that I think you'll like.

The site is Business Opportunities and it has become one of my favorite blogs. It covers anything a person needs to select and grow a business (if they really want to make it happen). I like it because it gives tips that apply to my everyday business life -- suggestions that make me think and then take action. And it's entertaining as well.

Some recent posts that I like include:

• Marketing Is An Ethical Duty
• Five Essential Entrepreneurial Qualities
• Startup Tips from the Big Guys

And for the business-minded among you, here's an ice cream business you may want to investigate (though you really can't make ice cream better than Moose Tracks)

Stop by and visit Business Opportunities. I think you'll like it there.

Introducing: Wealth Junkie

One of the best things about personal finance blogging is that I get to read a lot of personal finance blogs (as well as non-personal finance blogs for that matter) and I want to start sharing some of my favorites with you. If you like Free Money Finance, it's likely that you'll like these as well.

My first recommendation/introduction is Wealth Junkie one of my favorite personal finance blogs. In particular, I like Alexander's posts on the following:

• Review of book "How to Get Rich" -- I like Trump too!
• Amazon's price drop policy -- Good to know!
• Quotes (This one from Jack Welch) -- Good advice! (and often inspirational)

I'm pleased to introduce you to Wealth Junkie. If you'd like to read another personal finance blog, stop by and check it out. And tell Alexander that I sent you! ;-)