If you are new to WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com, every Friday I run a post called “A Lap Of The Blogs” which provides links to articles I found interesting and think that others may want to read for themselves. I also sometimes include some commentary on what’s going on in my personal life and a weekly “racing video” since my former life was in the auto-racing industry. The name “Lap of the Blogs” is in reference to “A Lap Of The Gods” which is an old video series which chronicled on-board footage of the world’s greatest F1 drivers lapping various racetracks from around the world. NOTE: you have to visit the actual website to see the embedded video – it may not appear in your email. Just click on the title of the email to see it…

I’m on my second week of the Stronglifts 5×5 program which is a free-weight strength training program I decided to try out since it’s been over two years since I’ve worked out (I had a health scare in 2006 in which I honestly didn’t know if I would be able to walk in a straight line among other things, but symptoms have slowly been dissipating since.) The program has a rigid set of rules, such as starting out with an empty barbell for some exercises. The first workout is fine, everyone thinks you’re just warming up. But the second workout is funny because since you add 5 lbs per workout you are using a hulking olympic barbell with dinky 2.5 lb weights on each end and it just looks funny. If you are interested in this program, you’ll certainly need to check your ego at the door. The first main goal of Stronglifts 5×5 is to squat 1.5x your bodyweight. According to the spreadsheets (provided), I should be squatting 250 lbs by the end of October. Personally, I would be amazed to squat 200 lbs by the end of the year! If you want to learn what Stronglifts is all about, check it out here.

From Around The Blogosphere

Thicken My Wallet explains why it might be easier to raise taxes than cut spending programs.

Canadian Capitalist posits that with large deficits, tax increases may not be too far away.

Michael James on Money talks about the disadvantages of changing your asset allocation, or failing to rebalance, after severe market movements.

Mark Wolfinger explains how one would learn how to trade options.

Four Pillars talks about the TRUE cost of your vacations. It might be less than you think, but in the end is not a determining factor for many people anyways. An example: You go away for a week, you don’t spend $100 in groceries, $100 in gas, and $50 in parking. This reduces your net cost of your vacation because you have some expenses that you don’t pay while you are away.

Million Dollar Journey explains the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and the GIS clawback.

This Week’s Racing Video

…is not a racing video. This is a jumbo jet landing on one of the trickiest runways in the world with a dose of high crosswinds thrown in. Just incredible. Enjoy your weekends everyone!