The Friday Feast ~ the 1st of April

The personal finance community is filled with so many talented writers and inspiring families in search of something better out of life than the traditional society-approved plan of buying lots of stuff and retiring in your 60s if you're lucky.

Here is a look at the best of this week's personal finance blogs.

In this episode of Friday Feast: MrFireStation, Blonde On a Budget, Retire Before Dad, Modest Money, Frugaling, Retire 29, Income Surfer, Debt Discipline, DivHut and Dividend Diplomats.

Hooray, another Friday!  Today, we are officially moving into our Airstream. We picked up the trailer yesterday and drove it straight to the house. Today, our goal is to move the stuff that we initially need into the trailer, then move her down to our new campsite. Monday, the house goes on the market.

Exciting times around here! And speaking of exciting times...

Congratulations are in order for MrFireStation, who's last day of full-time work is today. It's awesome that you've achieved this milestone, my friend. You are another testament to how powerful saving money and living below your means can be. Enjoy retirement!

Elsewhere around the blogosphere, Cait from Blonde On A Budget wrote a post this week about the true cost of getting wasted, and the costs can easily amount to a small fortune. "I’ve spent approx. $35,712 on partying; that’s $2,463/year for 14.5 years," she wrote.

My favorite post of the week

My favorite post this week comes from Retire Before Dad who wrote an awesome blog post that talks about 5 truths about traveling the world in your 20s.

"Traveling on a strong currency like the US dollar will take you very far for a surprisingly small amount. You don’t need a costly round-the-world flight to see the world. Buy a one-way ticket somewhere." Preach, brother!  Travel is not as expensive as it may seem, and you might as well do as much of it while you can.

"Like riding motorbikes helmet-less through insane traffic in extremely congested Asian cities. Bad idea, but incredible experience."

More from the personal finance community

Modest Money talks about two easy ways to pay less for your new car (if you have to buy new in the first place!).

And if you're looking for a used car instead, Sam over at Frugaling has you covered with his frugal guide to used car buying.

And at Retire 29 we get to read a comparison of Roth vs. Traditional IRAs and which one is truly better. You agree?

Lastly, Income Surfer reflected on the sweet taste of financial independence and early retirement after finally calling it quits last February. Extended road trip, anyone? Road trip!

Honorable mentions: Debt Discipline talks about sharing his journey to get out of debt, DivHut offers advice on payday spending and lastly, Dividend Diplomats explains why he is in no hurry to buy a house.

Photo of the week

This photo was taken in our backyard of a cactus flower in full bloom. The cactus itself is no more than 6 inches tall, but the flowers that it produces in the spring are outrageously bright and colorful. It's been "springtime" in southern Arizona for quite some time, but this guy finally made his appearance last weekend.

Coming up in the week ahead on ThinkSaveRetire: On Monday, I remember the time that I very nearly got laid off at work and what that experience taught me about work in general. Then on Wednesday I will probably reflect on our move into the Airstream and talk about our initial impressions, challenges and successes.

Thanks for reading, and cheers to another financially productive week ahead!