As the costs of fuel have soared, so has the cost of getting people and goods from point A to point B.  Airlines are feeling this squeeze, just like the rest of us, and they have taken to turning around and squeezing their customers for every dime they can.  Since many of us will be flying next week, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to discuss some tips for saving money and time when traveling.

I'm sure most of you haven't heard, but this obscure user here has a new book coming out soon.  He's not the only published author hanging around these parts, however.  Many months ago I started keeping a list and now I publish it every Tuesday for discussion.  You might be amazed how large this list of authors is, which is why I've split it into multiple sublists.  If any author feels misclassified by this system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.

As large as it is, I'm sure this list is not yet complete.  If you know of any any authors who I am missing, respond in the comments or send me email.  If you're an author who'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.

This list got its start in the weekly diary series  What Are You Reading and Bookflurries.  Be sure to check those out if you like to talk about books.

Welcome to the holiday edition of Frugal Fridays.  I'm ready for a relaxing day watching things explode, so I decided to make this the topic for today.  Follow me below the fold for some ideas on how to save money while celebrating the birth of our nation and be sure to share your own patriotic money saving ideas in the comments.  Some of these tips may come a bit late to be of much help to you this year, but keep them in mind for next year.  I write notes to myself about where to go and what to bring when viewing fireworks each year and put them in my calendar to pop up next year and remind me.

If this is Tuesday, it must be time to discuss books published by Kossacks or former Kossacks or relatives of Kossacks.  If you have ever wondered how many authors we have around here, well, I have a little list.  OK, it's not so little anymore.  It's actually quite a big list, which is why I've split it into multiple sublists.  If any author feels misclassified by this system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.

As large as it is, I'm sure this list is not yet complete.  If you know of any any authors who I am missing, respond in the comments or send me email.  If you're an author who'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.

This list got its start in the weekly diary series  What Are You Reading and Bookflurries.  Be sure to check those out if you like to talk about books.

As we slide into tougher economic times, more and more people are looking to starting their own business as a way of augmenting their income.  If you are thinking along those lines, this diary may have some helpful pointers for you.

Before I get started on this topic, there is one note that I forgot to mention in last weeks diary on disaster preparedness:

If you live in Southern California, you may want to take place in the largest public earthquake preparedness event ever on November 12-16: Shake Out.  There are multiple events occurring this week including a drill and other preparedness exercises.  The big one is coming and you had best get prepared.

Every Tuesday evening (more or less) I post the list I've been keeping of books published by authors who hang out here (or who used to hang out here or who are closely related to someone who hangs out here).  This list got its start in the weekly diary series  What Are You Reading and Bookflurries.  Be sure to check those out if you like to talk about books.

This list has grown so much that I've split it into multiple sublists.  If any author feels misclassified by this system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.

As large as it is, I'm sure this list is not yet complete.  If you know of any any authors who I am missing, respond in the comments or send me email.  If you're an author who'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.

Right now there are tornadoes and floods in the midwest, fires in the west, hurricane season is starting in the Atlantic and it is always earthquake season, so I have disaster planning on the brain.  When a disaster strikes your home or community, it can be a really costly event.  However, with a little bit of time and effort in advance, the frugal person can avoid some of the worst trouble and expense.  Putting together a disaster plan and a set of supplies can be done rather cheaply.  It doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg and the money spent now will seem like a terrific bargain if those supplies are ever needed.  Even if they aren't, you will have bought yourself some peace of mind that is priceless.  

Much of this diary will be a reprise of the one I did six months ago on building a disaster kit.  See that diary for the detailed list of supplies I have tried to assemble.  If you already have a disaster plan and set of supplies, you may want to revisit them and update them now.  If you haven't yet made your disaster preparations, now would be a good time to start.

Each week I've been posting the list of books published by authors who hang out here (or who used to hang out here or who are closely related to someone who hangs out here).  Now that the primaries are over, if you are looking for something interesting to read, be sure to check it out.  

In looking over the list this week, I realized we have now passed the century mark, there are over 100 authors on the list.  As a matter of fact, the list is so large, I've split it into multiple sublists.  If any author feels misclassified by this system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.

This list got its start in the weekly diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries.  Be sure to check those out if you like to talk about books.

As large as it is, I'm sure this list is not yet complete.  If you know of any any authors who I am missing, respond in the comments or send me email.  If you're an author who'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.

I know this is a really exciting night for people here, but if you are looking for something to read off-line, check out this listof books by Kossacks.  I used to post it each week as a comment in the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries, but now it has grown so large, it merits its own weekly diary.  

As a matter of fact, the list is so large, I've split it into multiple sublists.  If any author feels misclassified by this system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.  

I'm sure this list is far from complete.  If you know of any any authors who I am missing, respond in the comments or send me email.  If you're an author who'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.

We have a lot of authors hanging out on this site.  Some are world renowned, and some are not quite so famous, and for all of them, I have a little list.  I started keeping this a while ago and for a while I would post it each week as a comment in the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries and solicit new additions.  Now that it is quite extensive, I'm posting it as a weekly diary series.  

I've divided the list of authors into several subdivisions.  The full lists are all below.  If any author feels misclassified by this system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.  

I'm sure these lists are not yet complete.  Please respond in the comments or send me email if you know of any authors who I am missing.  If you'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.

Months ago I read this article about how expensive romantic relationships can be: Love can hurt — your bank account.  This is not the first time I've seen people say something like, "I don't have enough money to be in a romantic relationship right now."  I'm here to tell you that is just crazy talk.  While it is not true that "two can live as cheaply as one," one can, in truth, be in a relationship and spend not much more than one does living a solitary existence.  Follow me down to find some ideas for how to fall in love without breaking the bank.  

The truth of the matter is that it has been decades since I was single and dating, so some of my advice may be a bit behind the times.  Please join in the comments with your own advice.

Did you ever wonder how many kossacks (or close relatives of kossacks) are also published authors?  Well, I did, so I started to keep a list.  For a while I would post it each week as a comment in the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries and solicit new additions.  Then it got longer.  And longer until finally I decided to start posting it as a weekly series.  Check it out, you'll be amazed.

In addition to all the new entries I've added since last week, I made some other changes to the lists this week.  In order to increase readability, I've tried to make multiple sublists by splitting the Nonfiction list into two divisions by topic and I've also broken out some of the authors as Diary-Only Kossacks (those who almost never comment outside their own diaries).  If any author feels misclassified by this new system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.  

If you'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.

I often hear, "Frugal Fridays is great, but where can I get information on money saving tips, living frugally and general information about personal finance issues the other six days of the week?"  [Well, maybe I only hear this in my own head, but I still hear it, OK??]  I've found lots and lots of good websites and today I wanted to share some of them.  This way, in the future, if you are jonesing for some financial advice in the middle of the week, you will no longer have to wait till Friday to satisfy your craving.  This list includes some sites that I don't really use myself, but others have recommended as useful.

For a while now I've been keeping a list of books that have been published by members of our community.  Originally I just posted this list to to the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries but it has grown into its own diary series.  You might be surprised to find out which of your favorite authors is also posting here.  You also may be pleased to discover that some of your favorite diarists and commenters have even more for you to read.

This week, in addition to the sub-list of Kossacks-Once-Removed (authors who are relatives of Kossacks) I've added two more sub-lists: Former Kossacks (those who have not posted anything here in well over six months) and Celebrity Kossack Authors (authors who are well known outside this community and who rarely interact here outside their own diaries).  If you know of anyone who is missing from any of these lists, post a comment or send me email.  I'm happy to post an author's information anonymously (i.e., without the dKos ID) if that is what the author prefers.

OK, without further ado, check below for the complete (so far) lists.

Welcome to Frugal Fridays where we share money saving tips, discuss living frugally and generally talk about personal finance issues.  In the spring, a frugal person's fancy turns to ... art?  OK, that may have not been the ending to that sentence you were first expecting, but there's a logic to it, trust me.  With the warmer weather, comes a plethora of street fairs and other opportunities to appreciate the talents of local artists and craftsmen.  You can enjoy these events for free (the most favorite word of all in the cheapskate's lexicon) but you can also pick up beautiful items for your home at a bargain.  Best of all, you can be assured that all the proceeds go directly to the artist, not to any middle man.  

My thanks go out to all the guest hosts in the past month.  I'd really like to have more of this in the future.  I've been told that people like to get other perspectives than mine each week and to be honest, I like goofing off Fridays.  Please email me if you'd like to volunteer.

It turns out that we have quite a few authors hanging out here who have published books in the real world.  A while ago, I started keeping a list of books by Kossacks, former Kossacks and Kossacks-once-removed.  I was posting it each week to the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries, but the list has grown long enough, that I've decided to turn it into a diary and post it as a weekly series on Tuesday evenings.

Not all Kossack authors may wish to lose their anonymity, so I am only including the author's UID if he has outed herself here (gender confusion intended).  If you'd like to be included on the list, or if you know of an author who is left off, please leave a comment or email me.

There are no new authors added to the list since the last time I posted it, but Jennifer Weiner and Jeffrey Feldman each has a new book out.  Check below for the full list.

Welcome to Frugal Fridays where we share money saving tips, discuss living frugally and generally talk about personal finance issues.  

Thanks again to plf515 for guest hosting last week and thanks in advance to AnnieJo and blue jersey mom for taking on next week and the week after.  I'm still looking for other guest hosts for the future.  If you are interested, email me: frugalfridays (at) gmail.com.

I keep coming across articles on 10 tips for this or 5 tips for that.  I am jealous of all the good ideas that these authors come up with, but rather than put the effort into researching and writing my own list of helpful hints, I thought it would be just as helpful (and a lot easier on me) to link to some of the ones I've found most interesting.  So, without further ado, I present the ultimate list of financial tips: my List of Lists.

Welcome to a special Mojo Friday/Frugal Friday joint edition.  In case you are wondering what either of those things are, Frugal Fridays is a regular diary series where we share money saving tips, discuss living frugally and generally talk about personal finance issues.  Mojo Friday is TexDem's series where we all gather on Friday mornings to trade jokes, stories, pictures/videos (please wait till after 300 comments) and whatever else tickles our funny bones.  This week he has graciously let me host this extravaganza, so come on in, sit yourself down and pour yourself a nice tall glass of mojo.

In case you are really jonesing for some financial discussion, don't worry, it's here too.  If you haven't yet filed your tax forms, check below for some last minute tax tips.