Searching for Ideas

I subscribe to two personal-finance magazines and read many related publications and blogs on money and finance. I like to jot down notes and thoughts for follow-up when reading through everything. But in the past I found it somewhat difficult to follow up. Now with this journal I think I'll have a vehicle to stay focused and track my progress.

Now I'll start with the November issue of Kiplinger's (one of my subscriptions), which I just finished reading. There were a few nuggets worth pursuing:
- Check out columnist Andrew Feinberg's blog. Is it worth a regular visit? (10/27: No. It's too stock-oriented.)

- Fund an environmental project based on my level of personal auto pollution. The suggestion is to calculate individual carbon-dioxide emissions and back a corresponding donation. Check out www.terrapass.com, www.blueskyenergy.us or www.carbonfund.org. These are sites that take donations to fund renwable-energy projects. I need one or two more charities this year anyway, so this could be worth a look.

- The special report on real estate addressed my situation: the search for a second home. I tend to be conservative, and the article supports that. "Financially, the key to a successful move up is not to lose your perspective." But I don't want to settle, either.

- Study neuroeconomics, or how the brain responds to financial situations. And by extension, study my habits. My main lesson is that I need to take emotion out of the economic equation.

- Is Leucadia National the next Berkshire Hathaway?

- Check out a university class's stock research. (10/27: Done)

- Check out Rosetta Stone (from an ad) for the guaranteed fastest way to learn a new language. I've been wanting to brush up on Spanish and become more fluent.

- Is the Rabbit corkscrew (from an ad) really worth a $10 rebate? How much is the Rabbit? (10/27: No. Why get rid of perfectly good corkscrews and spend more money?)