New York is probably one of the most popular tourist cities in the world. And no wonder– there is so much life here! I’m sitting just off Times Square as I write this, in the sweltering heat of New York summer. New York is a city of extremes– and I’m not just talking about the weather. On 5th Avenue, I saw an older woman wearing a giant black hat and Chanel walking alongside a twenty-something woman wearing shorts and flip-flops.

In staying with the theme of the overall blog, which is essentially all things money, I am adding this new post, detailing my top five budget travel blogs.

In the coming week, I’ll have a few posts up about budget travelling in New York City, talking about cheap eats, street vendor food, things to do and of course, where to buy the best replica designer purses.

Until then, I leave you with my top five budget travel blogs.

Enjoy!

1.  The NY Times has a Frugal Traveller Blog which takes you around the world. This summer, the blog’s author Seth Kugel appears to be touting the merits of budget travel in South America.

I recently wrote a story for Reuters-FindLaw and it spoke to the horrors of cheap plastic surgery. On a blog that talks about saving money and cheap celebrity fashion tips, I had to address this dark issue.

A woman nearly died in New York City, after having a liposuction performed by a 27 year old manicurist.

Okay, perhaps “manicurist” is not the right word, but the spa owner who performed the lipo was licensed to perform hair, nails and waxing. She was not licensed to perform invasive plastic surgery.

Here’s a look at this week’s posts from The Prudent Purse blogs:

Affordable Luxury: The Prudent Purse- A blog on money issues and personal finance for everyone!

• Tina Fey is Sarah Palin Again! Read about Sarah Palin’s views on socialism. Was her governence in Alaska “socialism”? Did she spread the wealth in Alaska? What is socialism, anyway?
• Livablity: Will living near public transit solve America’s economic problem as well as the environmental problem? The Obama Administration is putting millions into promoting transit-oriented development. In fact, a study has shown how foreclosure rates are related to car ownership. So does this mean that less cars equal less foreclosure?

Tina Fey took the stage last night in her role as Sarah Palin. In the midst of the comedy, questions on the Palin philosophy come to mind again, and after the laughter and sensationalism, one can’t help but ask: Where does Sarah Palin stand on economic issues and more importantly, where does she stand on socialism?

Let’s step back a bit and ask the big question: What is socialism?

According to the Socialist Party of Great Britain, the main idea behind socialism is “common ownership”, where the citizens participate in and own the resources, collectively making decisions that will help them.  So essentially, the people share in the wealth.