Before I start the link fest, I'd like to announce the winner of "Fast Profits in Hard Times". Out of the 103 comment entries (all of which made me hungry), Lyu was randomly chosen as the winner. Congrats! If you like these book giveaways, stay tuned, we'll be giving away another book next week. 

Onto some articles from around the blogosphere: 

• MDJ had the honor of guest posting on Get Rich Slowly this week.  This time it was a post about how our net worth went from -$40,000 to $285,000  in 5 years.

• Quest for Four Pillars had a busy week where they hosted The Carnival of Personal Finance AND The Carnival of Money Stories.  Great job on both carnivals.

• Thicken My Wallet took the time to review the VISA IPO documentation and gives his summary and insights.

• Consumerism Commentary has a great article on teaching financial skills to teens with learning disabilities.
  

• Canadian Capitalist evaluates various popular tax software packages and explains all the pros and cons of each.

• Lazy Man and Money defines Alternative Income.  Basically what it means to him is that the position isn't paid hourly, salaried positions that don't require "face time", and it shouldn't be an exhaustible item. 

• Canadian Dream explains that when he first graduated from university he was considered part of the working poor.  The highlight of the post was that he was perhaps the happiest during this time.

• Digerati Life has an insightful article about serious savers who died very wealthy.  It just goes to show that frugality to some is a lifestyle and not a means to an end.

• Generation X Finance has a guest post about 3 options strategies that may help in this volatile market. What are options?  Here is a primer about How Call Options Work.

• The Sun's Financial Diary writes about how your tap water may not be as clean as you think.  I wonder if this is true for our Canadian water sources.

• Money Smart Life writes about the cost of raising a child.  I've also written about baby expenses a few times before.

• Brip Blap explains why cash is king in his article "Gimme my Cash Blankee".

photo credit: PPDIGITAL