Favorite Posts, Mentions, and Top Comments Week of 24Mar2013

HAPPY EASTER!  Hallelujah, He is Risen!!!

Easter is my #1 most favorite time of the year because of the focus on Jesus’s Resurrection.  My conversion from atheism to Christianity five years ago turned on my coming to understand that the Resurrection was a real historical event.  At its core, Christianity depends on this one event – no matter all the theology that’s been built up, all the emotional experiences of individuals, or all the arguments for God’s existence from nature.  This is a point that I appreciate about the Christian faith as a scientist – that it is falsifiable.

“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:14-22.

Our Easter celebration today involves attending church with some friends and then hosting a brunch for 10 or so people.  We are going to be cooking like mad!  I hope we are able to have some good conversations relaying the Gospel to our friends.

This week and weekend have actually been pretty busy and stressful.  We have been watching a lot of basketball, some with friends, and had a few social dinners to attend.  I also went to a couple sessions hosted by one of the employers I’m looking at closely for my first post-PhD job, which reinforced that I’d really like to work there.  I also met my first-ever friend from the internet, another PF blogger!  I can’t tell you who he/she is but I bet you would recognize his/her moniker if I did.  🙂

Oh, and I smashed my phone.  At first I thought all ($250) was lost but Kyle found a screen replacement for about $25 so we’ll get on that soon.

Lastly but definitely not least-ly, one of Kyle’s family members died last week so we are flying to CA in a couple days for the funeral.  More details/posts coming on that since the unexpected trip is a pretty big expense.

Posts I Liked

Daisy from When Life Gives You Lemons advises you that there are some areas of life too important to let money dictate.

Mr. Pop from Planting Our Pennies distills Warren Buffet’s wisdom shared in his annual shareholder letters into five succinct suggestions for all our personal finances.

Mish from Filling in the Dots explains at Making Sense of Cents that she is halfway through a 1.5 year sabbatical to travel the world and how she prepared herself to take that step.

Kathleen from Frugal Portland tells it how it is: credit card debt is for losers.

Cat from Budget Blonde tells of a time in her life when she was not considering money – when she dated and then married her husband. Luckily she seemingly made a great choice!

Erika from Newlyweds on a Budget shares the story of how she realized she and her husband are no longer poor.

Mentions

My Money Design listed Marginal Tax Brackets, Deductions, and Credits Explained Graphically in his blogs you should check out.

Carnivals

When Did We Acquire All This Cash? was featured in the Financial Carnival for Young Adults and the Yakezie Carnival.

How to Spend Less When Attending Out-of-Town Weddings was featured in the Festival of Frugality #381.

Top Comment

Sara from Their Health and Wealth added some great information to my post on graduate students buying houses: “Recent college grads and current students are likely eligible for downpayment/first time home buyer assistance in their state. Unless you’re in a state with a very low median income, I can’t imagine a grad student not meeting the threshold. Sometimes the money is targeted at particular communities (those with lots of empty foreclosures) and sometimes it’s able to be used in any community in the state.”

Most Frequent Commenters

1. SarahN @ Live to List
2. nicoleandmaggie
3. Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies
4. Richard

Top Blogs Referring to EPF

1. Happy Simple Living
2. Well Heeled Blog
3. Making Sense of Cents
4. 20 Something Finance
5. Cash Rebel