Believe it or not, today we are one quarter of the way through 2011. It’s funny how January seems to drag on forever, interminably, until the end of time; and then, boom! you turn around and the clocks are changing and spring has arrived.

A good way to keep your finances in check and ensure you are in-line to meet your goals, is to schedule some regular check-ups throughout the year. And being a quarter of the way through the year, today seems like a good a time as any! …

Over the past month I have featured a series of guest posts from some of my favourite personal finance bloggers to celebrate my new FruGal blog design. I asked each blogger to contribute a post on a money matter close to their heart, and was so excited to share these posts with you.

I’m now wrapping up the series and want to send out a big THANK YOU to all the lovely and talented money-wise ladies who contributed posts. It was a pleasure featuring your writing on my blog and …

The twelfth Totally Money Blog Carnival went live today at Debt Free Divas. I hope to see you again next week!

Without further ado, here were the Editor’s Picks for this week:
Fanny presents 10 Smart Tips on How to Make Your Money Work for You posted at Living Richly on a Budget.
Financial Uproar offers a witty look at finances from an unlikely source. Everything I Know About Money, I Learned from Homer Simpson
Jason of Live Real, Now has some tough talk on a sensitive subject. Filing Bankruptcy: Pride or Shame?
Self-Help Happiness Blog shares a short inspirational message from …

This week’s guest post comes from Viviana over at The Lean Times. Viviana is an ex-Manhattanite who has been living in London for over ten years. She works in the world of fashion photography, and being a freelancer where the money comes and goes and goes: she knows you must always be prepared for The Lean Times. Her blog shares tips on lush living with thrift, and she has also written an Ebook called Even LEANER Times Ahead (and how to survive them), which is available to buy …

What have you been up to this weekend, dear readers? I have spent the afternoon baking red velvet cake from the Hummingbird Bakery’s cookbook. It’s still in the oven, so don’t know if it’s been successful or not, but the cake mixture was delicious (yes, I am 29 years old and I still lick the bowl. Don’t judge me). You can find the recipe here if you want to try it out.

Other fab things happening ’round the web this week included:

Keep young kids busy this weekend with this …

I have noticed that in the last couple of weeks the gym seems to have emptied out of the huge waves of people that were swamping it in the first couple of months of the year. It looks like most of those people who made New Years’ resolutions to become fitter and more fabulous have finally lost motivation and returned to their couch potato ways.

Not that I’m complaining – less waiting around for equipment makes me happy! But I feel for anyone who has given up less than three months …

I read something that made me laugh out loud today; it was so good I had to share it with you. According to research by The Journal of Consumer Research and the University of Chicago, the simple act of clenching your muscles can shore up self-control.

What’s that? I hear you ask. Stay with me.

The study put participants through a range of trials that involved accepting immediate pain for long-term gain. And it showed that by tightening their muscles at the moment of being faced with a self-control dilemma, they were …

Having just returned from a gorgeous break in Miami’s sunny South Beach, I can safely say that a bit of winter sun is by far the best way to celebrate surviving another winter. More than that though, knowing that the holiday was planned and booked played a big factor in keeping my spirits high during the long, dull month that is January. Sometimes it feels like looking forward to a holiday is almost as satisfying as being on the holiday. I said almost…

Travel has always been my most favourite way …

Ah, Sunday. Don’t you just love it? I have spent the day in a state so relaxed it could be easily mistaken for a coma. And what a cracker of a day today. It really is clear that spring is just around the corner – the clocks even change next weekend! Here are some great reads from around the web this week.

Some interesting ideas for making the most of your money with investing (via Stylist Magazine)

Helpful tips for families looking for ways to reduce their debt, increase their income, and optimize their spending with the Family Finances …

One of the hardest things about trying to stick to a budget is the effect it can have on your social life. Trying to cut back on entertainment costs can be difficult if you and your friends are in the habit of splashing the big bucks on your nights out in expensive bars, clubs and restaurants – not to mention if the other half of your time together is spent shopping.

It can also be embarrassing to tell your friends that you’re trying to stick to a budget or repay …