Welcome! You can get the complete text of all the latest articles at Lake Country Saver in your email by subscribing to my RSS feed. Your address will only be used for mailing you the articles, and each one will include a link so you can unsubscribe at any time. Thanks for visiting!

As you might know, I’m a fan of The Simple Dollar, a personal finance blog written by Iowa everyman Trent Hamm. It has a great assortment of articles related to frugality, cooking, shopping and deciding what’s important in life.

I recently became a “friend” of The Simple Dollar, which basically means I’ve signed up to be on a special email list to occasionally help out Trent with small tasks. Here’s what Trent has to say about it on his blog:

Here’s how it works. “Friends of The Simple Dollar” is an email list that I’ve set up privately - I won’t share a single email address with anyone else. Roughly once a month or so (or maybe a bit more often when I release a book or something similar), I’ll send out an email to everyone who has signed up for that list asking for help on something small - filling out a survey, helping me a bit with book promotion, or sharing something of interest. It shouldn’t take someone more than five minutes or so to do the little things I might ask. On occasion, I might send out something special to the list to show my appreciation for your help, too.

So, if you’re willing to give up five or ten minutes once a month to help out The Simple Dollar with such simple things, please sign up to be a “Friend of The Simple Dollar”.

He’s already made good on his promise to show his appreciation (even though I haven’t done anything yet!): Today I received a free copy of Trent’s downloadable PDF “31 Days to Fix Your Finances” that he has for sale on The Simple Dollar. He’s asked all his Friends to pass along this 58-page “book,” so I wanted to share this with you.

What I love about this piece is that it isn’t just about money — it’s about focusing on your values and creating a financial plan that supports and strengthens those principles and goals. It’s a good read for anyone at any stage of figuring out their personal finances, whether you’re just starting to realize that your money is a mess or you’re moving into the future with a strong financial plan in place.

Please download the book and let me know what you think in the comments! I’d love to compare notes.

Enjoy!

For the next 24 hours, Oprah is offering a FREE download of Jean Chatzky’s new financial book, The Difference.

The book will be available for download from 11 a.m. ET Friday until 10:59 a.m. ET Saturday.

From Oprah’s Web site:

What can The Difference teach you?

• The top five things you can do to not just survive but thrive during tough times
• The eight things that make The Difference (i.e., the key traits and abilities of people who describe themselves as financially free)
• Advice for those having job insecurity as well as strategies for finding a job
• Why money doesn’t breed happiness—but happiness can breed money
• The direct connection between The Difference and your health
• How people who know The Difference make a difference for others
• Myths and facts about the wealthy

As most of you know, I was laid off at the end of January. I know many other people who have already lost their jobs, are terrified of losing theirs, or have suffered through paycuts and more just to keep the jobs they have.

I have never read any of Jean Chatzky’s books, but this one coukdn’t have come at a better time. I am a big believer in reading and learning to get through tough times, and this will be a perfect complement to the big stack of books waiting for me on my nightstand.

If you read this book, please post a comment or email me about it. I’d love to get an informal discussion going about this — and other — financial books!