Recent additions to the blog roll

The last few days have yielded several interesting discoveries: the difference between black Angus and bed Angus beef (the color of the steer's hide); the amount of money in the last of my chests of coins gathered in childhood ($88.94); and two new blogs, which I've added to the blog roll to your right. 

The first is called Mr. Money Mustache, a personal-finance blog by a former software engineer who "retired" about 7 years ago at the age of 30. Interviewed recently by the Washington Post, I looked up this Mr. MM's blog and found it brilliant, albeit at times a bit preachy. The basic idea underlying Mr. MM's approach involves unlearning habits and expectations which make life expensive and complicated. Among other things, he advocates living close to work (and biking whenever possible), getting rid of television, and treating debt as "...a huge emergency, like running around with your hair on fire. Or like standing in an enormous cloud of killer bees, which are stinging every square inch of your body." Living "below your means" need not be a sacrifice, but rather a way of achieving a sustainable financial life. And the reason I put "retired" in quotes earlier is because--to Mr. MM anyway--retirement is just a point at which money is no longer an issue.

From reading "Mr. Money Mustache" I came across the second blog added to the rolls, "Raptitude," by   David Cain. This one is harder to characterize, but no less interesting than MMM. David is a great writer, and distills a long tradition of self-help and reflection into interesting posts. By his own admission, these posts focus on five general themes: 

"-Learning what humans are not so good at, and getting better at those things
-Moving away from conformity and convention and other human limitations
-Appreciating humanity in spite of its faults
-Cultivating self-reliance and a healthy mistrust of the status quo
-Examining what makes humans tick on the micro and macro levels"

"Raptitude" makes for interesting reading, and in many ways compliment Mr. MM's blog. Both urge readers to challenge conventional thinking about happiness, limitations, and what we want in life. Similarly, both advocate a more positive attitude (see here and here) in everything we do; that optimism makes life feel less difficult and more fulfilling. And finally that in the end it isn't money that makes us happy, but rather the lives we live, and choices we make. 

Pay attention, stay positive, and waste little; those are the basics of these two blogs as I understand them in a nutshell. They've both inspired me, and perhaps they'll inspire you too. Enjoy :)