What’s Sizzling? – May 1st Edition (and The Best of April)

Thanks for stopping by! Since it’s the first day of May, I thought I would combine my regular Friday link post with my review of Fiscal Fizzle in April. Enjoy!

April in Review

I’m very pleased with my third month blogging, and my overall site statistics. Since February, traffic at Fiscal Fizzle has doubled month over month (over 3,000 unique visitors in April and 10,000 page views), and I’ve noticed a marked increase in comments. I’m so glad that many of you are choosing to share your viewpoints with me and each other!

The 5 most popular posts in April were:

• How to Handle a Pay Cut (Financially Speaking) – Tips for dealing with a decreased income. This post was graciously mentioned on the MSN Smart Spending Blog.
• 5 Ways to Motivate Your Savings – Tips for increasing your savings rate using some simple methods.
• Using a Monthly Report to Discuss Money With Your Spouse – I shared a tool I use with my wife to communicate about money. It’s also my first published tool template.
• 7 Ways to Stop Eating Out From Killing Your Budget – Tips on how you can cut back your restaurant spending and tame your budget.
• 4 Unexpected Expenses You Can Count On – If you think all unexpected expenses are just that, this post may change your mind. Start saving!

Thank you to all the bloggers out there who take the time to link to my writing. My top referring blogs this month were:

• MSN Smart Spending Blog
• My Money Blog
• Mighty Bargain Hunter
• Wide Open Wallet
• Wise Bread

What’s New in May?

I have an exciting month ahead with many new ideas for the blog. I’ll be running a couple of giveaways, continuing with my Personal Finance Series, and I have many many more fantastic posts that I can’t wait to share with you. Make sure you’re signed up for my RSS Feed or daily email updates to get in on the fun!

Now, for some Weekend Reading

Here are my favorite personal finance posts from the week:

• Check out this week’s Carnival of Pecuniary Delights, hosted by Money Ning. Another great post from the same blog talks about 20 areas to think about when you’re looking to save on auto insurance.
• Read about “The Costco Debate” at Million Dollar Journey. The post covers positive and negatives of shopping at wholesale clubs, and gives some useful tips on the subject. Or, read my thoughts on the same debate: Are Wholesale Clubs Really Worth It?
• At Gather Little by Little, you can educate yourself about how to keep your car longer. The post gives some very practical tips. You can also read my set of car tips from March.
• Many people are looking to start vegetable gardens as a way to save money and become more “organic.” Look no further than this post about money saving tips for starting your own garden, published at Passive Family Income.
• Money Energy has a post this week about why you should consider having 4 emergency funds. This idea makes a lot of sense and helps you compartmentalize your savings very well.
• Two posts from Shrinkage is Good caught my attention this week. The first is a glossary of recession terms, and the second shows us 12 ways that companies are reacting to the recession.
• Over at Amateur Asset Allocator, you can read about how to outfit a home gym without breaking the bank (and you get to cancel your gym membership forever!).
• Finally, a guest post at Get Rich Slowly gives us 14 tips for purchasing life insurance.

Enjoy your weekend!