A post over at Free Money Finance about growing your net worth, got me thinking about my emergency fund. I had sorta forgotten about it – in a good way, because I've had it running on autopilot for the last several months. I have my direct deposit split so that $200 per paycheck goes into my emergency fund account, and the rest is split among other budget categories. It's nice to see that I'm now about 30% toward my goal (I updated the meter on the right).

Ever been surprised at your own efficiency? I was this morning when I went to pay my American Express card.

I use the American Express Open for Business card for all of my gas purchases because I get 3% cash back (was 5% until just recently). Anyway, I had set up a reminder to pay my card today, so I logged in to do so. But apparently I already paid the bill, back in June right after I got the statement.

So, I finally broke down (in the metaphorical sense) and got myself an E-ZPass. For those who don't know, E-ZPass is an RFID-based electronic system for paying tolls on various state and interstate roads, bridges, etc. E-ZPass is currently accepted in a number of Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West states. Other states have similar systems, such as Massachusetts' "Fast Lane" (compatible with E-ZPass) or California's "FasTrak."

While I was flipping through the latest issue of Forbes, a particular article caught my eye. It was called "A Tax Even Libertarians Can Love" by Robert H. Frank. Given that I consider myself a libertarian, I could not pass up the chance to take a gander at such an evasive, incredulous creature.

Almost two years ago, I wrote about the different types of financial wealth calculations and which one a person should focus on depending how far along he or she is on their financial journey. My thesis is that one should focus on the lowest numbered calculation and determine an appropriate goal before moving on to the next calculation. The progression I proposed was:

I've been wanting to try some options trading for awhile, but have not gotten around to doing it until now. I just finished entering my first covered call.

This is something of a big step for me. I've been "in the market" since about August 2006, and semi-actively trading for about two years. A little while ago, my step-father told me about his regular use of covered calls to generate income and bring down the cost basis of his investments, and I thought it sounded like a neat idea.

A clever YouTuber (would that be a Potato 2.0?) came up with a brilliant way to demonstrate the effect of Obama's proposed "cuts" of $100 million compared to the $3.5 trillion proposed budget. (Thanks to Randy Barnett at the Volokh Conspiracy for sharing.)

The Carnival of Debt Reduction: It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint Edition! is up over at Man vs. Debt, and they've added a link to my post about being (mostly) short-term debt free.

Take a look at the carnival and some of the great posts about fighting debt.

Today marks the first paycheck I've received that I do not have to put money toward old credit card debt. And boy, does that feel good.

It's been more than two years since I started a concerted effort to pay down my debt completely. Like many journeys, I haven't exactly taken a straight path. I meandered a bit, threaded my way between the trees, climbed over some logs, splashed in a creek, pushed through nettle-bushes, wound around.... Okay, I suppose you get the picture. Despite my diversions, there's always been one general direction, one destination, one goal. Now, I've reached it.

Ever thought of keeping your money in Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFJ? Or maybe the National Bank of Kuwait? If not, you might want to think again – according to CNBC's Safest Banks in the World, these two financial institutions are members of an elite list of exceptional banks.