The Friday Feast ~ Rockstar sells, Christmas looms

The Friday Feast is my attempt at picking out a few things from the personal finance community that I found interesting this week. It's also a chance for me to keep you fine readers updated on where we are in the U.S.

Here's what's up in the personal finance community

Well, it's almost here. Christmas. It seems every time I hear a Christmas song I think back to the days when I was a child and when, sadly, the holiday meant something special to me (but probably not for the right reasons - it was all about the gifts!). I remember lying in bed, excited. Waiting for the big day. Always with family. And, the cold. Yeah, I remember the cold too!

We're heading up to the Phoenix area again this year to spend some time with family. How many are traveling for the holidays this year?

And, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the big news that was made public this week - J. Money selling Rockstar Finance to John of ESI Money. In case you were living under a rock this week, here's the announcement on Rockstar, here is J's take on his blog and here is John's post on his.

For those who may not know, I also made an offer to buy Rockstar, and here are my feelings on how everything went down. I'm giddy about the future of Rockstar.

Now, onto some awesome content in the PF blogosphere.

First, Our Next Life is done. Like, done done. They've officially retired from full-time work and woke up all this week without an alarm clock.

Next, remember that article I published about your personal business card? Mystery Money Man took me up on it and posted an awesome reply. I bet you'll like the word he came up with that best describes what makes him go.

Physician on Fire explains why so many doctors live paycheck to paycheck.

Also, Budget on a Stick gives us the scoop on why everyone wants you to be in debt. Everyone. "It isn’t just car dealerships but banks, the government, and your friends/loved ones. The first two were obvious but you didn’t see that last one coming did you? Yes, everyone."

What happens when frugality doesn't work? The Frugal Gene takes a crack at that one and explains what we could do instead.

Oh, did you see the one where Frugal Asian Finance revealed five embarrassing money facts about her? "I got my first cell phone when I was a freshman in college." Umm, wow! I'm impressed.

Lastly, I couldn't resist but post this 8-year-old article from Paul Graham about why, in the clearest terms possible, meetings royally suck if you're a "maker", like a writer or software developer.

P.S. If you haven't seen J.D. Roth's writing shed, take a look. Love it. Whenever my wife and I settle down from traveling and get a house, I'd love to build my very own writing studio. Probably not that big, though!