OK January is well underway. Well sort of. Things seem to be off to a slow start - everyone taking their time getting back up to speed. So be it.

For me it's time to take a critical look at the old portfolio and do the old rebalancing thing. You know, buy more of the stuff that's down and sell off some of the stuff that's up.

The theory goes that the stuff that's hot is probably too hot, so it's a good idea to sell some and lock in some profits. The laggards (they're still good equities, right?) are just taking a breather or working through some short term issues. They'll be back, so buy more of it now while the prices are good.

I do this for the first time each year in January. Is that a big deal? I don't know, maybe. Some say to do it in December, but I don't understand that thinking. If everyone else is doing this in December then I say don't. I just like to be different that way.

Not only that but I like to have all my gains and losses fairly well balanced out ahead of the December spruce up your portfolio season. December is just another buying opportunity.

Rebalancing in January gives me 11 months' head start on managing my year's capital gains.

I happened to stumble across this article in today's NY Times about compact fluorescent lightbulbs. I guess we're one of those early adopter families. These CFL's, as their known among those in the know, have been in use around our house for years.

According to the NY Times, WalMart has jumped on board and is bound and determined to sell 100 million compact fluorescent lightbulbs. They're sold on them and they think we should be too.

Why are compact fluorescent lightbulbs a good investment? Since you didn't come here to read through a detailed ROI analysis (did you?) let me just cut to the chase. They cost more up front, but because they cost less to use and last about 8 times longer than regular bulbs, you end up saving a ton of money using them.

But that's not why I use them.<!--break--> I use them because I hate changing light bulbs all the time. Vibrations kill regular bulbs. We used to go through tons of them in ceiling and wall-mounted fixtures. Too many vibrations in this old house. Since making the changeover to compact fluorescent bulbs I hardly ever have to change bulbs.

The convenience alone is worth it to me. Compact fluorescent light bulbs save me time and frustration. They save me money on top of that. Unbeatable.

This is it. I have officially cut the cord with Microsoft Money. I'm not going back.

Since installing Ubuntu Linux on this box and coming to really like it, I've been looking around trying to figure out how to get away from all those Windows-only applications whose functionality I can't live without. Managing the family finances is one of those applications.

I have used some form of money management program since the mid-80's. Anyone remember Managing Your Money? I still have floppy disks with MYM data archived from those early years. Some years ago I decided I'd keep them, despite their uselessness. It's a link to the past, the way things were and will never be again, thank goodness.

It's GnuCash for me now. I spent this past weekend downloading and installing it, and then learning how it works.

Let me tell you, this is strong stuff. I'll elaborate on why I am so impressed with GnuCash in future posts. The reasons are far too numerous to go into right now. Not only that but I'm still discovering new wonderfulness every time I use it.