If you look down in the “Sponsors” section of The Simple Dollar, you’ll see that most of the links that used to be there are gone. I’ve basically decided to severely trim the number of advertisers on here, even though they pay me relatively well. The ones that remain are ones that exist due to long-term agreements I made, which I am honoring, but once those are gone, the “Sponsors” section will disappear entirely. Why am I trimming them? I took a look at the content of many of the sponsor links (many of whom were sold by a third party that I signed up for long ago) and I didn’t like what they represented - mostly, some very shady “get rich” type schemes. So, even though it meant more cash for me, I got rid of them because I didn’t like the organizations. I guess we’ll see if I regret that in the future.

You also might notice that I cleaned up the list of links to other sites, getting rid of several sites that no longer update and adding a few of my newer favorites. It might be worthwhile to check some of them out.

Why We No Longer Work With Text Link Ads Amazingly, We’re In Debt came to the exact same decision on almost the exact same day entirely independently. (@ we’re in debt)

Why You Should Hang On Tight Even During This Stock Market Drop The stock market burped about 6% in the last week. As many of you might expect, I bought in on Friday (very similar to my move in March). If you don’t understand the stock market, though, this article provides a great visual explanation of why you should just stick with stocks and ride it out. (@ moolanomy)

3 Ways I Live Frugally Without Being Deprived Basically, a nice little collection of frugal things that also bring joy into his life. (@ my money blog)

The Simple Dollar Retro: Are Your Friends Always Spending Money? Ten Frugal Activities - And Advice On How To Suggest Them Weirdly, almost all of my friends are at least as frugal as I am. My best friend is actually far more frugal than I am (he chooses to live in a dirt cheap apartment in a scary part of town so he can bike to work). So, thankfully, I don’t have to follow this advice very often - but it’s useful when I need it.