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).

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:

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.

Recently, Suze Orman announced what some have considered to be a stark reversal of her advice to consumers.

In October 2007, I speculated whether easy money deals were drying up. True or not, I certainly did not take advantage of as many deals in 2008 as I did the previous year. Here's a brief rundown of my deals for the year:

I came across a Reuter's article today that explains what deflation is and why people fear it. Like most popular journalism, it's a little scant on some of the details (there's no single agreed-upon definition or indicator of deflation), and it beefs up the FUD.

I have been meaning to start education savings plans for my two daughters now for some time. I have approximately $2,000 saved up for one and $1,300 for the other, just sitting in a high-yield bank account earning interest.

Let's face it: Banking is a cutthroat business. Banks are constantly fluctuating their rates and giving away everything from cash to gift cards to iPods in an effort to snag those few customers who for some unknown reason don't already have a bank account. Of course, just like dolphins in fishing nets, they also tend to snag a whole host of financial equivalents to those people who stand outside Best Buy the day after Thanksgiving so they can get a shot at one of the 10 "free after rebate" DVD spindles – A/K/A "rate chasers."

Okay, I'm going to admit something that is a little embarrassing. It probably even will seem a bit dangerous – and stupid – to many people, especially to any fellow personal finance bloggers out there.

I don't have an emergency fund.

Hopefully you did something better than what these guys suggest.

For my part, I put the money into a high-yield savings account to put toward 0% balance transfers once they expire.