Average Joe’s Friday Read-a-Long

….in which our intrepid hero, Average Joe, takes you through some of his favorite reads. This post is published whenever the hell Joe gets around to it. Today’s your lucky day.

Happy Friday, read-a-long peeps. It’s been quite a few weeks since this groundhog popped his head out of the hole and said “I’m not sick anymore!” but now’s that time.

Of course, that means I was sick over the entire holiday and only recovered in time to get my ass back to work.

But, with work like this, who needs a holiday anyway, right? You with me?

Here’s what I’m talking about:

Hey workout lovers, Todd Mayfield at Fearless Men wrote about barefoot running. I’m sticking with shoes for now, but he makes a great case for those five toed shoes.

Savvy Scot and femmefrugality have cool posts on technology. Savvy Scott focuses on emerging energy-saving tech while femmefrugality tackles items that will be cheaper in 2013. Both fun reads if you’re hoping for new toys or lower costs on those toys.

There’s something about making letters that can be personal. As bloggers, we do it by stringing together words in ways that reflect our personality. At Letter Cult, they focus on how people actually draw the letters. This post is full of fascinating examples.

Holly at ClubThrifty writes the funniest/creepiest post of the week, with her near-porno debut at a classic motel.

My internet friend Jefferson at SeeDebtRun outs himself and his weight struggle in Epic Failure. The question I ask is this: what is the right way to lose weight? Go it alone? Do it with a team of help? Read weight loss blogs?

It’s not a blog, but the New York Times ran a fascinating article about how Disney is expanding their technological advantage over other companies….and mining data at the same time.

Hank at Money Q & A lists several ways to keep your New Year’s Resolutions. Generally, New Year’s tips posts won’t make a “must read” list, but Hanks are really good, especially the last one: Don’t Make Any.

…and finally, I love peeing in public as much as the next guy, but TB at Blue Collar Workman (who sees all the good stuff in a day’s work), meets a woman with her pants down….literally in a post last week.

As always, too many great blog posts by too many good authors to mention….but this should get you started this weekend!

Congrats Are In Order

Congratulations to our friend American Debt Project on her recent engagement.

Way to go, Len Penzo on being mentioned on the Dave Ramsey Show! Dave reviewed Len’s Billionaire piece with his listeners and discussed how everything is in perspective. Of course, you can hear Len weekly on the WAY-more-popular Two Guys and Your Money podcast, but I think the little Ramsey thing is a great 2nd place….

Sicorra at Tackling Our Debt reports that her blog planning tools have been downloaded over 1,000 times. Wow! If you haven’t checked them out, what are you waiting for…a link? I just gave it to you!

AND last but not least, our friend Dr. Dean Burke from the Millionaire Nurse Blog finished first in his election for Georgia State Senator, and is headed to a run off early next month. While I’m sure that keeps him away from our podcast a little longer, America can use more great people like Dr. Dean. Congrats on the well-deserved victory!

We’re Very Popular and Humble, Too

In the last few days we’ve been mentioned quite a few places, and I need the thank my mentioning peeps:

Jason at FrugalHabits, who just might be the friendliest guy on the internet, gave our pieces Stock Market Punishment – 1st Lesson of 2013 and 5 Saving Tips You Wish Someone Had Told You Earlier a nod.

PK, from DQYDJ.NET included our podcast (including his own, awesome contributions) in his DQYDJ Weekender last week.

Todd & John, our friends at Fearless Men, chose Stock Market Punishment – 1st Lesson of 2013 for their as part of their best reads of the week.

Kathleen from FrugalPortland used our savings account strategy in her post Two New Savings Hacks for 2013.

Steve Stewart of MoneyPlanSoS fame mentioned our podcast on his DaveRamseyFan website in his post: Dave Reads: What’s It Like to Be a Billionaire, By Len Penzo.

Speaking of podcast, Lance at Money, Life and More also mentioned the show and his appearance in his Personal Finance Round Up, Mentions, and Carnivals #37.

Contests! We’ve Got Your Contests Right Here!

Our $100 contest ends soon. You should get in on the fun while it’s still open.

We’ll have a $1,000 contest coming this weekend (look for it Sunday here).

I received your emails about Diary posts. Keep them coming! I’m reading them all and hopefully will be able to respond to some this weekend. New Diary posts hopefully coming next week….

Adorable Cat Photo: DidByGraham