Last week, an unpleasant incident hit this site on Friday. Our hosting server was facing file system error and it was brought down for repair longer than 30 hours. That’s the longest downtime I’ve ever experienced here. Anyway, everything is fine now except I still have some issues with certain posts that are oddly displayed.

The most popular post from last week is the money saving tip about how to get a lower service charge for balanced funds.

Below is the other articles around the personal finance blogosphere that I enjoyed reading recently:

• BVP: Tax deductibility of insurance premium @ Ringgit Channel
  • Explain the tax issue of paying premium on life insurance for the purpose of Business Successon Planning
• Build Wealth with a “Virtual Employer” ? Get Rich Slowly
  • Explain how the a person created a “virtual employer” in order to limit his natural spending habits. By playing games with himself, he was able to go from $20,000 in debt to having over a million in savings in just fifteen years.
• Buy More House Than You Need @ Blueprint for Financial Prosperity
  • Consider buying more house than you need, not more house than you can afford.
• Calculate Financial AND Opportunity Costs of Your Decision at Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money
  • It’s a term you often hear in the business world in relation “the cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a different action“. But it most certaintly relates to your personal finances as well.
• Credit Cards and Guns @ Cash Money Life
  • Credit cards and guns - what do the two of them have in common? A lot more than people think. Both are powerful and useful tools that can provide a valuable service. And both can be abused with devastating results.
• Financial Jargon Humour @ Malaysia-Finance Blogspot
  • A great list of some smart-ass definition for financial jargon. Really make me laugh!
• Frugality is NOT a Dirty Word ? Get Rich Slowly
  • Frugality means choosing to make the most of your money, to focus on everyday costs, to recognize that small amounts matter. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a skill that nearly anyone can practice.
• Getting Rich Slowly: Interview with JD Roth @ Wise Bread
  • Interview of one of the most popular personal fianace blogger.
• Google Stock Mania Continues - $700/share
  • Google’s market cap is hovering in the $220 billion range, this morning, and the stock has gained 723% since its IPO in August 2004.
• IPO Froth in Asia
  • Alibaba.com has locked up about HK$450 billion, closing its retail book on Friday with the tranche 250 times oversubscribed. Its international allotment has attracted US$180 billion (HK$1.4 trillion) worth of orders.
• Leave-it-to-Fate Vs Self-Discipline Approach @ Grad Money Matters
  • The approach 1, where we wait for a raise or to be able to meet our goal is a perfect example of the “Leave-it-to-Fate” approach. The approach 2 where we trim the fat off our budget is a perfect example of the “Self-Discipline” approach.
• Major Changes to Your KWSP Contributions » Meshio.Com
  • There are some major developments and changes to the KWSP allocations and it’s going to really affect how you will be enjoying the fruit of your labor.
• PennyWise by Meshio.Com
  • Funny cartoon. Honest and humorous.
• The Ten Most Important Things I’ve Learned About Money and Life In The Last Year @The Simple Dollar
  • Trent is one of the most popular personal finance blogger. This article tells his best money lesson learnt last year.
• Things You Should Know About Percentage Traps
  • When it comes to investments, simply stating percentage gain/loss is not nearly enough. There is something else that MUST go along with the percentage data: it is the duration or time frame.
• TraderFeed: Three Market Idiots
  • There are three varieties of idiots in the market you’re likely to encounter during your trading career.
• [Estate Planning] Have you ever wondered how your assets being distributed when you’re gone?
  • In life you would have own houses, land, factory, car, cash, shares, unit trust, gold, shop lot, jewellery, etc as your personal assets. How are these assets being distributed upon death?
• [Real Estate] ChoiceA Takes on the Realtors of the World, 2.0 Style
  • ChoiceA is a new site for do it yourself, or For Sale By Owner, real estate listings.
• eBay Opens Developing World Microfinance Site
  • MicroPlace is similar to Kiva.org, and allows investors in developed nations to support microloans for entrepreneurs in developing areas of the world.