Another week, another Carnival I’m hosting.  It seems like I’m spending almost all my time putting together collections of other peoples’ writing.  If I didn’t get the opportunity to read so many great posts, I’d start to get upset about the whole situation.

This week, I’m taking the reins of the Best of Money Carnival from Free Money Finance.  The hardest part of the whole thing was narrowing down the list of submissions to the top ten posts that were offered up.  Trying to find the ten best posts from the many good ones that were contributed made for the quite the agonizing choice.

It would have been much easier if I could make the decision based on a purely on the basis of a mathematical, quantifiable measure, like the top grossing movies of all time (adjusted for inflation, so they’re not all from the past two decades).  So, enjoy the top ten posts in the world of money blogging, as well as the top ten grossing movies of all time, as we work our way up to the top of both lists:

10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Released: 1937; Worldwide Gross: $784,000,000; Best Known For: Starting the Disney movie empire, as well as endless amounts of ‘Princess’ marketing

Joe Plemon presents What to do With $60,000 posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “A senior citizen couple has $60,000 in a passbook savings account. What should they be doing with the money?”

9.The Exorcist Released: 1973; Worldwide Gross: $796,000,000; Best Known For: Scaring the Bejeesus out of an entire generation of people, and making Linda Blair a household name (she’s a household name, right?)

RJ Weiss presents Where to Start Investing: Asset Location for Gen Y posted at Genyweath.com, saying, “When I started investing, I made a lot of wrong moves. If I would have followed this simple flowchart, I could have saved myself a lot of time and money.”

8. Doctor Zhivago Released: 1965; Worldwide Gross: $894,000,000; Best Known For: Being a deep, complex story without an almost impossible to spell title.

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Traditional IRA or Roth IRA for Young Investors? posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Should young investors open a Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA? Find out the advantages and disadvantages of each.”

7. Jaws Released: 1975; Worldwide Gross: $922,000,000: Best Known For: Scaring a generation of swimmers away from the beach, and particularly skinny-dipping.  Thanks for that, Jaws!

Darwin presents Do You Invest in Companies You Find to be Morally Repugnant? posted at Darwin’s Finance, saying, “Do You Invest in Companies You Find to be Morally Repugnant? An examination of whether investing with your integrity or your wallet is the best way to go.”

6.Titanic Released: 1997; Worldwide Gross: $924,000,000; Best Known For: Filling the romantic dreams of every Generation Y girl I know, and making Leonardo DiCaprio a household name.

LeanLifeCoach presents Don’t Bank On Statistics posted at Eliminate The Muda!, saying, “You cannot rely on statistics when it comes to investing. Using the principles of Lean Management you can improve your odds of making the best investing and money management decisions.”

5.The Ten Commandments Released: 1956; Worldwide Gross: $943,000,000; Best Known For: Giving Charleton Heston something to do before he started running the NRA.

Evolution Of Wealth presents 4 Reasons to Talk to Your Creditors posted at Evolution of Wealth, saying, “The natural reaction to getting a call from a creditor is to avoid it, don’t answer, don’t call back. Today more than ever creditors know that they need to work with you in order to get some money. They’ve learned some is better than none. It can definitely be in your interest to talk to your creditors.”

4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestial Released: 1982; Worldwide Gross: $943,000,000; Best Known For: Reminding us all of the importance of phoning home

Neal Frankle presents 5 Best Mistakes I Ever Made posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources, saying, “The vast majority of the “mistakes” I made turned out to be the most helpful moves of my life. The same might be true for you too.”

3. The Sound of Music Released: 1965; Worldwide Gross: $1,025,000,000; Best Known For: Providing a helpful reminder of the ‘Do, Re, Mi’ musical scale, and telling us that the hills are alive.

vh presents Seven painless ways to save | Funny about Money posted at Funny about Money, saying, “Funny, surprised to discover about $16,500 hiding in various checking and savings accounts, describes the way this “found” money came about.”

2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Released: 1977; Worldwide Gross: $1,282,000,000; Best Known For: Inspiring generations of geeks everywhere in a way only rivaled by Star Trek.  Nerd Power!

Mike Piper presents How to Retire on Half as Much Money posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, “Cutting your investment costs may halve the amount of money you need saved in order to retire.”

1. Gone With The Wind Released: 1939; Worldwide Gross: $1,455,000,000; Best Known For: Being the highest grossing movie (adjusted for inflation) ever, and ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.’

FIRE Getters presents What is the Current Unemployment Rate? posted at FIRE Finance, saying, “Unemployment has been a rising concern since the US economy went into recession. At present, the US government is telling us that the economic stimulus is working which implies that the recession is over.  But if we take a look at the the unemployment numbers, can we arrive at the same conclusion? In most reports concerning the US economy, the unemployment rate is frequently mentioned. But many are at a loss for understanding what this number really means.”

That concludes this edition of the Best of Money Carnival.  I hope you enjoyed the short review of film history, and you enjoyed even more the wonderful contributions to the carnival from all the great bloggers.  Thanks for the opportunity to host this, and I’ll see everyone tomorrow!

(All images taken from Amazon.com.  All rights to the movies reserved to their respective creators and owners.  All jokes made in good fun.)

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Welcome back for yet another edition of the Carnival of Twenty-Something Finances.  This time around, we’re going to do something a little different, highlighting not only some of the best personal finance advice directed at young readers, but also one of the most prominent archetypes in pop culture: the evil clown!

Why are evil clowns so common in popular media?  I’m no expert (it’s been years I picked up a sharp knife and slapped on a bright red nose), but I’d say that it has to do with the combination of innocence and horror.  By confronting the terror that lies underneath the goofy facade, we are able to confront the terror that besets us during childhood.

In the same way, by confronting the troubles we have with money, we are able to grow and move past our previous problems, building up our knowledge and skills as we grow.  (See?  I tied in the theme, just as I always intended to do.)  To help you get the most out of your money, enjoy the following articles, complete with information on some of the best evil clowns in history.  Let’s start with the best articles from under the big top!

Best Show Under the Big Top

The Dark Knight (c) Warner Bros.

It’s hard to have any discussion of evil clowns without mentioning the Joker from Batman comics.  Besides being of the oldest evil clowns in pop culture, he’s also had a recent revival thanks to the release of The Dark Knight last year.  A complete catalog of all his depraved schemes over decades of comic book, television, cartoon, and movie appearances would fill this article many times over, but make no mistake, this is the clown by which all other evil clowns are judged.  In the same way, the articles below represent the best of the personal finance world, and the cream of this carnival’s crop:

How to Use Credit Cards Without Bankrupting Yourself – I’m as much a fan of credit card usage as the next guy, and I prefer using my credit card to debit or cash whenever possible.  That said, it’s important to follow rules, such as those laid out on the Canadian Finance Blog, to ensure that you use the credit cards, and not the other way around.  Otherwise, you could end up as a statistic about the overuse of credit in the Western world.

21 Tips to Save Money in College – A wealth of tips for saving money during your college years from 21 and Broke.  Most of them are very good for the poor student trying to make their money stretch to the end of the semester.  I only wish that I had known more of these tactics when I was in school (and had access to things like Hulu and Skype).

EverBank Review – On The Digerati Life, there is a review of EverBank, an online bank.  One of the more interesting offering is CDs denominated in foreign currencies, one possible way to diversify your holdings in case the dollar continues to decline world-wide.  The yields aren’t half bad, either.

The Long Road to Getting Life Insurance – If you have dependents who rely on your income, it’s good practice to have life insurance.  Unfortunately, getting a life insurance policy can be a long process, as noted by PT Money.  If you want to know what needs to be done to get your coverage, be sure to check it out.

More Discussion on the Homeschool Issue – Stew of Gather Little by Little answers some questions about home school in general, and his decision to home school his children in particular.  It’s an interesting idea, although being public schooled myself and a few years away from having children (if all goes according to plan, at least), I haven’t done too much research into the issue yet.  Something else to consider when I have little rugrats, though.

Budgeting and Money Management

Sideshow Bob (c) Matt Groening and Gracie Films

He might not be the most obviously insane clown, but make no mistake: Sideshow Bob is evil, pure and simple.  He’s also smart, and dutifully plans ahead.  From his plans to frame Krusty to his campaign to become mayor, he makes sure to create a plan and then follow through.  Too bad he keeps getting foiled by children… For some non evil ways to plan ahead, consider the following articles:

Considering a Health Savings Account – Trying to figure out whether to open a health saving account, as with many important financial situations, can be a tricky decision.  Luckily for you, some of the pertinent data on health savings accounts can be found on Peak Personal Finance.

The Best Free Online Budget Tracking Tool – On MoneyStance, you’ll be able to get a full review of the MoneyTrackin tool, as well as seeing just how said tool works.  Not a bad looking tool, and good luck to MoneyStance on meeting the goal of a half million dollar net worth!

The Basics of Building Wealth – A short, pretty basic article on how to get your finances in shape, courtesy of Finavigation.  If you’re new to getting your finances in order, this will be a good place to get a broad overview; if you’re a seasoned pro, consider it a helpful review to keep you on track.

Money Management as You Approach Retirement – Most of us hope to retire, and here we have some advice on how to manage our money as we approach retirement from Associate Money.  Although actually, most of the advice (like investing for the future and avoiding credit card debt) makes sense for just about every age group.

Saving Money

Pennywise (c) Stephen King

One of the most horrifying characters from an author specializing in terror, Pennywise the clown was the ‘It’ from Stephen King’s It.  It’s worth mentioning that the name is actually taken from an old saying, ‘Penny Wise, Pound Foolish’, indicating someone who pays close attention to the small expenses but allows the big ones to overtake him.  If you want to be ‘Penny Wise AND Pound Wise’, you’ll need to pay attention to all your spending, and take advice like this below to cut your expenses whenever possible:

Coachsurfing to Save Money and Make Friends – Apparently when I wasn’t looking, crashing on the coach of a complete stranger went from being completely unacceptable to a popular way to travel cheaply.  True Adventures in Money Hacking shares a story of sharing houses in Costa Rica, as well as provides some links to resources if you want to have some adventures of your own.

The Argument Against Frugality – It sounds almost blasphemous, making an argument against frugality on a personal finance website.  Well, don’t panic; The Sun’s Financial Diary is actually making a point that most of the arguments made against being frugal are actually incorrect.  Check it for some ammunition the next time your friend tries to tell you there’s nothing wrong with splurging a little.

Black Friday Wisdom – A bit late for this year’s shopping orgy, at least by the time this carnival will go up, but perhaps the tips shared by the Personal Finance Analyst can help you out for next year.  Better yet, just spend the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas avoiding any shopping center (save for grocery stores or drugstores) and save yourself a lot of trouble.

Biking to Work is Not Only Good for Your Health, but Your Wallet – It’s probably obvious, but the less gasoline you personally burn traveling, the less money you have to spend.  As Michal on Energy Saving Gadgets notes, biking to work (assuming it is possible, of course) is a great way to get your exercise and keep more money in your wallet simultaneously.

How to Buy Craft Supplies on eBay – While the article from Craft Stew focuses pretty squarely on craft supplies, the advice listed is pretty good no matter what type of item you’re planning to buy or what online store you intend to use.  It’s definitely worth a read through, even if the closest you get to crafting is to walk by the craft store when you’re at the mall.

Getting Out of Debt Is Lonely -  Debt Kid shares more about his financial life with his blog readers than with many members of his family.  I can relate; I put my net worth online, but barely talk to anyone in my extended family about my financial goals.  Anyway, keep up the good debt eliminating work, Debt Kid, even if most of your friends know nothing about it!

Credit

Buggy the Clown (c) Eiichiro Oda

As you might know from my previous stints hosting this Carnival, I like Anime.  Anime has its own evil clowns to handle, including Buggy from One Piece, who has the power to divide his body into individually controlled pieces (yes, it’s just as weird as it sounds).  Similarly, when dealing with credit card debt, your best tactic is to divide and conquer, taking each debt in turn (while paying the minimum on the rest, of course).  For more good advice on handling credit, read on:

Best Credit Card – Which credit card is the best is the source of some long, if not particularly heated, debates.  Luckily, Financial Highway has a list of items to look for when considering which credit card to take.  His last comment, on remembering to be responsible, is important no matter which credit card you finally choose.

Are 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards for Life Possible? – An interesting question posed by Money Ning, about a card that would be the holy grail of many less than responsible credit users if it really existed.  As noted in the article, though, recent changes in credit card laws mean that such cards, will likely cease in the near future, if by some odd chance you could find them before.

Capital One Classic Platinum Credit Card Features – A review of the Classic Platinum Credit card from Capital One, as written by One Mint.  My personal favorite feature is the ability to put your dog’s picture on your card.  I just have to ask, how many people really need that feature?

Visa Black Card Review – Another credit card review from Ask Mr. Credit Card, this time of the Visa Black card, a prestige credit card.  The $495 annual fee is a bit high for my taste, but if you want to take advantage of some the special services offered to card holders (like 24 hour concierge service), it might be worth a look.

Gift Cards

Killer Klowns (c) The Chiodo Brothers

With the holiday shopping season upon us, you’re going to be looking for gifts for some of the people on your list for whom you don’t have any good gift ideas.  In those situations, why not go for one of the great classics of American cinema, like Killer Klowns from Outer Space?  Or, if your recipient has any taste, consider a gift card, after you read the cautions listed below:

An Argument for Giving Gift Cards – Bob of Christian PF takes on the increasing popular trend of giving gift cards, as well as Joel Waldfogel’s advice (which seems to be everywhere this year) that giving gift cards makes much more economic sense than actually choosing a gift.  While that might be true, I (and Bob, judging by his comments) would hate for Christmas giving to be determined by economic expediency.

New Regulations for Gift Card Holders – Speaking of gift cards, it’s important to know what sort of penalties or other restrictions are attached to the cards.  As American Consumer News notes, new rules to control such penalties will be in place by 2010’s holiday season, but for now, you still need to watch for such ‘gotchas’ when you purchase gift cards.

Investing

Violator (c) Todd McFarlane

Investing is the process of putting your time, treasure, and effort into building up your assets.  One evil clown who has plenty of experience in this process is Violator from the Spawn comics.  Charged with the task of training Hellspawn to serve in Satan’s army, he has plenty of experience in growing his ‘assets’ over time.  Hopefully, you’ll take a less diabolical route when it comes to your investing, and some ways to do so can be found below:

Investing with Stock Trading Services That Teach – So, you want to learn how to trade stocks?  Then head to The Smarter Wallet, young man, and you’ll find plenty of good advice on learning to trade via online communities and stock trading communities.

Ten Myths About ETF Investing – A very thorough, very complete guide to ETFs from the ETF Database.  While having an obviously pro ETF stance, the commentary is solid, and the advice on ETF uses and benefits is sound.  If there’s anything you heard about ETFs you want to confirm as true or not, this is a good place to start your research.

Miscellaneous

Krusty (c) Matt Groening and Gracie Films

More apathetic and greedy than truly evil, Krusty the Clown from the Simpsons is the stereotypical lifelong showman who’s long since begun to phone in his performance.  (I’m including him simply because I need another clown, and I’m a big Simpsons fan.)  The lessons that can drawn from Krusty’s appearances are many and diverse, from the importance of always paying your taxes to the impact of celebrity endorsements on product sales.  In the same way, these last few articles are diverse and show a variety of different themes.  Read on:

Sccusesufl Peosrnal Finnace Deos Not Riqueire Perftceion – If you can read this title, congratulations!  You just proved research from Cambridge University correct, showing that not all the letters in a word need to be in the right order for it to make sense.  Similarly, The Dough Roller reminds us that we don’t need to get every detail of our personal finances right in order to succeed financially, as long as the big things are done right.

IPodMeister: Trade your CDs for an iPod or iPhone… legally? – Now, this is an interesting one.  Lazy Man and Money raises a few very good questions about digital copies and Apple’s copyrights while using a service called iPodMeister.  Frankly, with as many questions as he raises, I’m inclined to avoid this service for the foreseeable future, at least until any potential Napster-esque legal battles get settled.

I Believe These Events Are Inevitable – I’ll be completely honest: I don’t agree that everything on this list from My Wealth Builder is an inevitability, particularly the health care related predictions.  That said, I will gladly admit that I may be wrong, and certainly it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for the worst, even if it never comes to pass.  Better to be caught with an umbrella on a sunny day than without one when it pours, after all.

Multiple Intelligences: Why You’re A Green Rock Star but Suck at Saving Money – A discussion of the different types of intelligence and how they affect our ability to manage money, from Tyler of Frugally Green.  Understanding how you live, learn, and grow is vital to being the best you can at developing your skills, whether we’re talking money, music or anything else in life.

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Welcome back my friends and followers, as well as anyone who’s interested in personal finance advice directed at Generation Y.  It’s time for another Carnival of Twenty-Something Finances, where this week I gather up all the great articles written by young bloggers, add my own special (read: crazy) thematic touches, and present you with a carnival that’s educational, informative, and fun!  This time around, I’m skipping the nerdy pursuits and opting for cuddly ones instead; that’s right, this Carnival of Twenty-Something Finances is going to the dogs!  Unlike your typical dog show, though, we’re going right to the top performers:

Best of Show

The Toy Fox Terrier is one of the cutest, sweetest, and most adorable dogs ever.  How do I know?  It happens to be the breed of dog my fiancee owns, and since I (unlike a normal dog show judge) have no qualms with awarding a prize to someone I know, I’ll just go right ahead and hand over the trophy to Toby (the name of her dog) now.  For some more ‘Best of Breed’ material, please check out all the best articles submitted to this carnival:

Low Interest Rate Credit Cards To Lower Your Debt – You, like me, may have heard of doing a balance transfer in order to lower the interest rate you pay on credit card debt.  If you, like me, like the idea but didn’t know how to put it into practice, then you, like me should enjoy this offering from the Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life.  It will cover all the details you need, and more.

Using Secured Credit Cards to Develop Your Credit History – Between people who have damaged credit as a result of past mistakes and those who never had the chance to develop good credit, there’s a great number of folks who find themselves unable to get credit in a world where credit is king.  If you are amongst them, one good way to get back into the good graces with potential creditors is using a secured credit card.  Tim Parker shares all the details you’ll need on The Smarter Wallet.

PocketSmith: A Calendar Based Financial Planner – One thing I’ve found especially helpful while attempting to manage my finances has been to connect future income or payments to a specific date.  That way, I’ll know whether I’ll have the money I need when I need it.  A similar tool has apparently been created, and PT Money provides a useful guide and review of this new financial planner.

How to Become a Successful Businesswoman – If you’re a female trying to make your way in the business world, you’re going to have to face a number of challenges, at least a few related to your gender and how everyone perceives you.  Emily writes on the Higher Education Weblog of some of the conferences and boot camps available to women who have entrepreneurial aspirations but need a little help reaching their goals.

Money and Finances-Young People’s Biggest Concerns – Well, this is a bit sad; while finances are a major concern of young people, we also have a tendency to not talk about them.  J. Money of Budgets are Sexy shares the results of an AARP survey about young people’s attitudes toward money, showing that we care about them greatly, but would rather discuss almost anything else (including our weight).  The good news is that those young people who seek advice online tend to be much more confident in their abilities as a result.

Abysmal Survey Results: Americans Don’t Understand Basic Financial Concepts – On the subject of surveys that make me sad inside, Darwin of Darwin’s Finance reports on another survey, showing that most Americans are effectively financially illiterate.   Any more bad financial news, and even cute puppies won’t be able to cheer me up.  And on that note…

Eight Reasons Why It’s Hard to Get Rich – Let’s be honest, short of inheritance or crime, there are no quick and easy ways to get rich.  (And if your parents don’t have millions to pass on to you, then the inheritance boat has already sailed.)  On Dual Income, No Kids, several of the barriers you’ll have to get by in order to achieve wealth are documented.  Read if you dare, but try to stay optimistic about your own wealth building.

Okay, enough of the sad and depressing stuff; let’s lighten the mood with a cute collie before we continue onward.  If memories of Lassie aren’t enough to brighten our day, I’m afraid that nothing will do.  Everyone feeling a bit happier now?  Good; let’s continue with the individual categories.

Saving Money

There are a lot of ways to save money, some good, some bad, and some just plain odd.  For an example of the latter, consider this: you could save hundreds of dollars in dog food over the years by downsizing your St. Bernard to a Chihuahua.  Of course, you might lose some prestige as a result… For some more (and better) advice on saving, consider the following submissions:

Free Printable Calendar 2010 – If you want to have a calendar next year but don’t want to go to the expense of buying one, good news: there are printable calendars in a variety of styles just waiting for you.  I think Alex of Home Life Weekly has just helped me solve all my calendar needs for the coming year…

Frugality is the New Black During This Recession – A few years ago, when home prices were zooming , trying to be frugal would have gotten you mocked and teased mercilessly as a cheapstake; now, people are almost trying to outdo each other based on how little they are spending.  Yup, frugality is fashionable again, as Hank of Own The Dollar notes; be spare (with your spending) or be square!

Don’t Pay The Geek Squad: Extended Warranty is Free Through Visa – As the Christmas shopping season fast approaches (or is already here, if you listen to some advertisers), you’re likely to be faced with the question of whether to purchase an extended warranty to cover a major purchase.  As noted on the Master Your Card blog, though, making that purchase with most credit cards will automatically increase the length of the manufacturer’s warranty.  No need to pay for what you can get for free!

How to get Free Shipping – Bob of Christian PF provides a few ways that you can get free shipping on items you buy online.  Just in time for the Christmas shopping season, when any way to save a little money on your gift expenses is sure to be well appreciated.

Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful – With the coming of colder weather (and soon, snow) in much of the country, the advice on Gather Little by Little as to how you can cut down on your heating costs is likely to be just what you need.  And if you live in an area of the country where it doesn’t get too cold, I just have to ask: can I come to live with you?  It’s already chilly here…

7 Tips to Save Money on a Vacation – Admit it, between the crummy weather, the upcoming holidays, and the general stresses of work, you’re probably ready for a vacation.  If so, you’re in luck: Barry of Associate Money has seven tips to help you get the most out of your travel dollars.

Frugal Thanksgiving Dinner Tips – One of the greatest pleasures of Thanksgiving for me is the week of turkey sandwiches that follows it (what can I say, I like turkey).  The suggestions from Ray of Financial Highway is right up my alley, with a list of tips to make sure your Thanksgiving is both frugal and tasty.  I especially like the pot luck dinner suggestion; that’s how my family usually handles dessert during the holidays.

Investing

If you’re looking towards retirement or any other long-term goal, you’re going to need to be dedicated to reach it.  This trait is commonly associated with the bulldog, like this grumpy looking fellow here.  If should also be your goal as an investor; if you lose track of your goal or don’t have the dedication to keep moving towards it, how can you ever hope to reach it?  On that happy note, here’s some more investment advice to keep you on track:

Choosing Between a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA – Patrick at the Military Finance Network provides a guide to deciding between Roth and Traditional IRAs when choosing where to invest for retirement.  Both have their pros and cons, but Patrick leans toward Roths (as do I, actually).

2009 IRA Contribution Limits – On Four Pillars, you can find out the limits on IRA contributions that will apply in the coming year.  It looks to be the same as this year, although not having a terribly high income, I can’t say anything for certain about the phase out ranges for contributions.  It’s worth a look as you plan for your retirement contributions this year.

Traditional IRA Rules 2010 – It must be that time of year, when young men’s thoughts turn towards… the income limits for IRAs next year.  A guest post from JoeTaxpayer on the Good Financial Cents blog provides the income limits and other rules for traditional IRA accounts next year, as well as a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of IRAs compared to 401(k) accounts.

New trade: Long Baidu(BIDU)/Short Amazon(AMZN) – The Intelligent Speculator explains the rationale behind one of his newest positions.  I’m not much of a speculator, but being able to explain your rationale to an audience before you make a trade seems like a good way to make sure you’re doing the smart thing.

The Definitive Silver ETF Guide – If you’re looking to invest in glittery metals but don’t want to just rely on gold to meet your needs, you’ve come to the right place.  Eric Dutram writes on the ETF Database about some ETFs that will enable you to quickly and easily diversify into silver.

Credit

It’s hard to believe the simple, unassuming dachshund (AKA, the sausage dog) is actually considered a member of the Hound group by the American Kennel Club, but you need to recall that they were originally bred to hunt badgers and needed to be small, tenacious, and able to squeeze into tiny holes.  Having that same tenacity when you are paying off credit card debt is absolutely vital.  For some more perspectives on handling credit, let’s see what the contributors had to say:

Balance Transfer Credit Cards -  The Dough Roller provides some advice on which balance transfer credit cards to choose as well as some of the salient features of each one.

Card Issuers Forced to Reorganize Their Businesses – The credit crunch hasn’t only been tough on less than perfect borrowers attempting to get a loan; as noted by Credit Card Assist, it’s also impacting the credit card business itself.  They are facing new regulations, lots of defaults, and a poor economic climate.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens to them.

Quicken Rewards Visa® Credit Card – There are a wide variety of credit cards out there, and numerous bloggers have taken on the task of reviewing the features and flaws of the.  Credit Card Offers IQ provides the first review on our list, of a Visa Card associated with Quicken.

Macys Visa Credit Card Review – If you’re like me, one of the first credit cards you ever used was associated with a particular store.  Mr. Credit Card provides a review of the one offered by Macys, and provides some alternatives for those who want rewards from more stores.

Disney Rewards Visa Credit Card – You didn’t expect a company as big as Disney to stay out of the credit card field, did you?  Manshu of One Mint provides a review of the Disney Visa card, which seems to be a good (if limited) deal if you frequently visit the Disney theme parks.

Chase Blueprint Review – Chase has introduced a new payment program known as Blueprint for many of its credit cards, and CreditShout gives it a review.  The new plan and its variety of features get largely positive reviews, making it easier for card holders to pay down their debt.

Banking

You know, it’s awfully hard for me to associate any breed of dog with banking; dogs are sweet and innocent, after all.  So, let’s have a basset hound doing his impression of the average investor opening his 401(k) statement last year.  Yup, that sad, droopy face pretty much sums it up.  For some ways to make banking less painful and more profitable, let’s turn towards:

How Much Money is Your Checking Account Making For You? – Debbie Dragon (and no, I’m not making that up) of DepositAccounts.com provides some excellent advice on choosing where to keep your checking account money.  Follow her advice on what considerations should play a part in your checking account decisions, and you’ll be sure to earn a hefty profit on your checking money.

Protect Your Own Money: 4 Steps for Responsible Consumers – As Austin notes on Foreigner’s Finances, the best person to look after your finances is you.  While some of the chances in bank rules currently making their way into law may make it easier for you to follow your financial situation (and harder for banks to use ‘gotcha’ style rules against you), the responsibility for your money and the rules to which it is subject is ultimately yours.

Miscellaneous

Well, we’ve reached the end of Carnival; there’s only time for one more dog picture before we call it a day.   Since all we have left to cover are the posts that didn’t fit into any other category, let’s have a dog that’s a bit unusual as well.  The pug, the oddly adorable puppy that my sister adores, makes a good mascot for the unusual posts we have to finish off this carnival:

Tips to Creating a Green Home Theater – If you’re looking for a way to save money and energy, while still having a kicking home theater system, you’re in luck!  On Energy Saving Gadgets, there’s a useful guide to creating a green home theater, which will help you to save cash and the planet while still getting a great home theater system out of the deal.

Online Insurance Quotes – Tom of the Canadian Finance Blog provides a few resources for checking your auto insurance quotes online.  I’m not familiar with the companies he mentions, but perhaps they’re big in Canada.  Definitely worth checking out if you’re a Canadian who needs insurance.

What Are Your Salary Expectations? – The Job Interview and Career Guide website provides a valuable guide to how to deal with some of the toughest questions at a job interview, the ones related to salary.  There are many ways this question could arise, and this guide shows you how to deal with many of them using a combination of grace and tact.

$8,000 First Time Home Buyer Credit Extended – As you may have heard, the popular tax credit for those buying a home for the first time has been extended to help shore up a still-soft housing market.  As Madison reports on My Dollar Plan, if you sign your contract by April 30th and close by June 30th, you can get a $8,000 credit if you are a new home buyer.  It almost makes me wish I was in the market for a home.

Stop Feeling Guilty and Go Do Something Awesome – Besides being one of the best title for a blog entry I’ve heard in a long, long time, this post by Tyler of Frugally Green makes a very good point.  If you aren’t doing something you enjoy when you become more frugal (or go green, for that matter), you’re not going to give it all your effort, and the end result will be less than spectacular.  Instead, find something that truly interests you, and go all out.

When Complaining Isn’t Rude – One of the toughest things for a shy person like me to deal with in a retail setting is complaining about poor service or crummy products.  The Debtress provides several instances where the discomfort and trouble is greatly outweighed by the need to voice your troubles, as well as how to involve the government for really egregious cases.

All adorable dog pictures taken from JustDogBreeds.com.  For a cute puppy of your very own, please visit your local animal shelter and rescue a pet in need.  That’s it for this Carnival; have a great night, everyone!

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Welcome to all my friends, fellow bloggers and lovers of personal finance information.  You are in for a treat today: a brand-spanking new edition of the Carnival of Twenty-Something Finances!  Whoo!  Since you’re in my neck of the woods now, I thought I would combine this week’s edition with one of my other loves: Anime!  (For those of you who aren’t big dorks like me, anime refers to Japanese animation or cartoons; although they cover a lot more ground than your typical American cartoons.)   As you read through some of the great financial posts for twenty-somethings that came out recently, enjoy some recommendations of my favorite anime series, as well.

Now, let the commencement beginulate with the best posts from this crop of submissions!

Best of the Best

One of my favorite anime series would have to be Azumanga Daioh, a comedy focused on a group of Japanese high school girls and their wacky misadventures.  It is easily one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched, and one of my goals in life is to get everyone in the country hooked on it too.  I’ve already got my girlfriend ensnared, now it’s time for all of you… What follows are six articles (well, five articles and one video) that were nearly as good as Azumanga Daioh; read them, enjoy them, and perhaps consider following the authors for their assuredly good future works (I know I will):

Credit Scoring Variations: FICO vs Vantage Score – On The Digerati Life, there’s an explanation of how different companies calculate your FICO score (or related credit scores).  Given the importance of credit to our society, knowing how to improve and protect the number banks and other sources of credit see is a vital part of getting your financial ship in order.

Lending Club Review: Lending Money for Profit – Millie Kay G. writes on The Smarter Wallet about Lending Club, the service that allows you to lend money to other people and profit from the interest they pay.  She covers both sides of the process (lending and borrowing) in enough detail to help you through the process.  (An addendum to what she included: if you are a member of a state where you are not allowed to lend directly (yet), you can still invest by buying existing notes from other people.  That’s what I did.)

Could the US Dollar be Replaced as the World’s Reserve Currency? – If so, it will have some big implications for investors in the US and abroad, most of them negative (at least for me and my fellow Americans).  Darwin of Darwin’s Finance details why this might occur, what would replace the dollar, and why we don’t have to worry about this happening quite yet (although, knowing what could happen will make it easier to handle when the time does come).

Stop Trying to Time the Markets! – Baker from Man Vs. Debt comments on the market speculation that is sure to result from the emphasis we’ve put on this ‘magical’ 10,000 Dow Jones number. The only ‘markets’ in our lives worth speculating on… are our own personal ones.  (Baker did a pretty good job of summing up his point on the ‘milestone’, so I just quoted him verbatim.  His video is well worth the few minutes it takes to listen.)

Quit Worrying About 80% of Your Life – It’s easy to get bogged down in all the details and confusion required of us on a daily basis, and lose track of the big picture.  At times like that, it’s good to take a page from Tyler of Frugally Green, look over our life, and re-prioritize on the most productive things we do towards what we hope to accomplish, whether those accomplishments are financial, environmental, or, for us blogging types, literary.

11 Unbelievable Glittering Golden Objects – I like to believe I’m pretty hard to surprise.  Yet, sometimes I come across something so odd it just makes me pause.  This post, from Linda on Money Compare, had me pausing at least half a dozen times.  If you were ever wondering where all the gold in world ends up, here are a few of the most bizarre places.  (Also, according to Linda, my blog is quirky, which seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black after reading this post.)

Investing

Fullmetal Alchemist is set in an alternate reality where alchemy developed into a thriving, powerful force, with numerous alchemists able to transmute one material into another (like the classic lead into gold).  You might wonder how, in a world where a small (but substantial) number of residents can literally make money from trash, how does the economy keep from collapsing?  Well, in the anime, a law against making gold is vigorously enforced, so alchemists have to go and earn money the old fashioned way.  Similarly, in our world, you have to learn how to grow and invest your money, but luckily, you have some help in that department:

Scottrade Discount Brokerage Review- By Money Blue Book, providing a review of the services and features provided by Scottrade, the online stock trading site.

Stock Picking Pros and Cons: Should You Buy Individual Stocks? – A question that most investors ask themselves at one point or another.  Francis Investor of Investing Toolkit covers both the pros and the cons of individual stocks, and there are many.

How to Begin Investing in the Stock Market- Jeff Williamson of Before You Invest provides some information to help the would-be stock investor get acclimated to the process of buying and selling stocks.

The Definitive Guide To Natural Gas ETFs: Natural Gas ETF Investing 101 - The name says it all; everything you could want to know about investing in natural gas productions and distribution via ETFs, as discussed by the ETF Database

Calculating Capital Gains and Capital Losses – If you’re going to be investing in a taxable account, you’ll need to be able to calculate your gains and losses.  Luckily, the ABc’s of Investing has you covered with a short guide to the math involved.

Credit

Even anime characters need spending money, and like real life, some people have all they can handle, and some struggle to get by.  The heroes of Cowboy Bebop are in the latter category; although set in a futuristic reality, they can barely bring in enough money from bounty hunting to keep their space station in orbit.  They’ve also got an uncanny knack for having bounties not being paid, reminding us to never count the money we’re owed before it’s paid.  For more advice on handling credit, let’s turn to some of the finest personal finance bloggers from our time:

Low Score Got You Down? How to Establish or Rebuild Your Credit – By PT Money, who includes several ways to improve your credit, as well as several ways NOT to improve your credit score.

Prepaid debit cards to control spending – One way to cut down on your credit card spending is opt for a prepaid debit card instead, as noted on One Mint.

Is It the End of the Credit Card Era?- Credit Card Assist discusses some of the recent signs showing the downturn of credit card use as of late, and brings up prepaid debit cards as an alternative.  (Suddenly, prepaid debit cards seem to be becoming quite popular.)

Looking at Charge Offs and the Health of Consumer Credit – Sadly, the bad news on the credit front keeps on coming; the number of charge-offs (outstanding balances that credit card companies have written off as noncollectable) has increased by more than 60% since last year, as noted by Clear Choice Credit Cards.

R1 Credit Rating: How to Keep it- Mike of Gather Little by Little provides some explanation of credit ratings, as well as tips to help you keep yours as high as possible (including having a budget and making sure to call if you are going to be late with a payment).

Top 8 Credit Card Terms – A list of several of the most important terms to know when discussing or researching credit cards, all with easy to understand definitions provided by Learn Credit Cards.

Insurance

Somtimes, unpredictable things happen in life; cars break down, loved ones get sick, alien women riding on mopeds strike you in the head with a guitar causing a bump that turns into a giant robot.  Alright, that last one probably isn’t going to happen (unless you’re Naota from FLCL), but the fact remains: you need to protect yourself from the unexpected things in life, including moped-related accidents.  That’s where insurance comes in:

Insurance You Can Do Without-Credit Life Insurance – To quote Tom of The Canadian Finance Blog, “Credit life insurance is purchased so that the balance of your car loan or credit line would be covered if you die before your debt is paid.”   As his title says, this is insurance you can do without.

LifeLock Review: Can The Program Really Protect My Identity? – A review of the Lifelock system provided by the Sun’s Financial Diary.  Some details of the program are provided which I hadn’t previously known (particularly about the one million dollar guarantee they’re so big on hyping).

College

There’s so many manga series about going to college that it’s hard to choose just one.  Still, one of my personal favorites is, was, and will probably ever be Love Hina, a romantic comedy involving long forgotten promises, eternal hope, and true love.  Oh, yes, and repeated attempts by our hero to get into Tokyo University (the Harvard of Japan).  If you are able to get into the school of your choice, here’s some help in paying for it all:

Saving For College – A few considerations when deciding whether to help your child(ren) with college expenses is covered by Travis on Christian Money Mountain.

Student Loan IBR Income Based Repayment Plans -  Jim on Bargaineering discusses some of the features of the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan for paying off college tuition, which would save most graduates, particularly lower income graduates, money over the long run.

Debt Management

You might be tempted to think that you’re having a hard time repaying your debt; it just seems to keep piling up, higher and higher.  Hopefully you won’t be tempted to take the path chosen by Hayate’s parents, who sold his organs to mob in order to pay off their gambling debts.  Luckily, he happened to save a passing heiress from being kidnapped, and she paid off his debt… in exchange for his service as a butler for the next hundred years or so.  If you don’t want to rely on the kindness of strangers (or indentured servitude) to pay down your debts, here are a few tips to help you out:

Balance transfer option off of the table?- Raj Patel of DebtGoal.com writes about alternate ways to help pay down your debt, in light of harder to obtain balance transfer options.

Am I Debt Management Suitable? – One Advice of the UK provides some commentary to help you decide if you are suitable for debt management.

Working

If there’s one thing that’s certain in this world, it’s that there will always be the need for people to do work.  Even as machines do more and more of the tasks in our offices and homes, there’s still the need for human intelligence to control them.  Although, in the future, the line between human and computer might start to get a little blurry, as in Ghost in the Shell, where anyone (and nearly everyone) can be a cyborg, and robots can make better philosophers than most humans.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your outlook), we’re not there yet, so there’s still plenty of work to be done:

Back to Work: It’s Expensive to Make Money – By a.b. on Modern Tightwad, covering some of the expenses as he (I’m guessing) rejoins the work place after a period of unemployment (I especially sympathize with the cost of commuting).

Don’t Kill Yourself Over a Job – A reminder that your life should not be entirely about your job is provided by The Investor on Monevator.

The Ugly Jobs Scenario From A Ground Level View – If you’re reading the Carnival of Twenty-Something Finances, chances are that you are a young person.  If so, you’re probably aware that the entry-level job market…sucks, to put it bluntly. The key is to keep moving forward, as 20s Money highly recommends.

Declining a Job Offer after Accepting It – If you are able to get a job offer in this economic climate (and good for you if you can), you might not be inclined to give it up; but if you do have your reasons to decline a job offer you’ve already accepted, Nissim Ziv of The Job Interview Site has some advice.

Retirement

It’s hard not to sympathize with Excel and Hyatt; two down on their luck girls who work tirelessly toward their final goal, their ultimate dream: helping Lord Illpalazzo take over the world!  Well, it would make for one interesting retirement, at least.  Assuming your retirement plans don’t involve global conquest, it might be worthwhile to consider some alternate plans:

SEP-IRA Retirement Plan for the Self-Employed – Jill on My Dollar Plan provides a short (but sweet) introduction of Simple Employee Pension or SEP IRA plans, one retirement plan for self-employed and small business people.

Best Companies to Retire From- Apparently, there are still companies that provide excellent retirement benefits to their employees, and My Retirement Blog lists them.

Roth 401K vs Regular 401K – Some of the differences between a Roth 401(k) and a Traditional 401(k) are brought up by Roth IRA Rules, including the fact that employer contributions can only be added to a traditional and not a Roth 401(k).  (Which makes sense, as you would never be taxed on that money if it was added to a Roth.)

Banking

With the way the banking industry has been acting lately, it’s hard to tell if you’re still on Earth.  Reputable banks are closing, bank failures are dragging down the whole economy, and bank executives seem more worried about keeping their bonuses than preventing the second Great Depression.  If you feel you’ve fallen into Wonderland, you’re not alone: Miyuki-chan could certainly tell you a thing or two about what that’s like.  Of course, her Wonderland was filled with lots of cute girls (who had the bad habit of hitting on her), while ours is filled with bankers who get rewarded for doing things that would cost your retirement.  Since we’re already down the rabbit hole, let’s see what advice we can get on surviving around here:

The State of the Banking Industry vs. Economic Recovery – On Banker, Saver, there is a discussion of how the banking industry is recovering (or not) from the economic downturn.  Of particular note is how the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is faring after all the recent bailouts.  (Not too good, although you should click through to find out all the bloody details.)

Why You Should Only Bank at FDIC Insured Banks – Patrick on the Military Financial Network reminds us that even if it is having trouble at the moment, FDIC insurance is major safety net for anyone who holds money in a bank (which is most of us); if your bank is not ensured, a bank failure would be even more devastating.

Miscellaneous

Fruits Basket rounds out my list of recommended anime; it’s about a family who has a curse: several of its members turn into animals from the Chinese Zodiac when hugged.  From that odd plot comes one of the most popular girls’ anime ever; sometimes the most unexpected start can lead to the best end.  On that note, enjoy these articles that I couldn’t fit anywhere else; sometimes unique is a very, very good thing:

25 Ways to Save on Craft Supplies – My younger sister would never let me live it down if I didn’t include this article from Craft Stew, which details numerous ways to be crafty AND frugal.

Probate- Why and How to Avoid Probate Fees – If you’re a twenty-something, chances are that you are more likely to be receiving an inheritance than gifting one to your heirs.  Still, Ray gives a few suggestions on avoiding probate on Financial Highway, which you may wish to pass onto your parents or grandparents (try to do it in a way that doesn’t make it seem like you’re hoping for their deaths…)

My “Worst” Buyer’s Remorse Story… - J. Money of Budgets are Sexy shares his biggest case of buyer’s remorse: choosing to buy his house instead of continuing to rent.  (He doesn’t regret it for financial reasons; rather, it’s being tied to one place that seems to get to him).

How to get the best deal on your next rental car- Bob of Christian Personal Finance is going on a trip shortly, and uses the opportunity to give some advice on finding an inexpensive rental car. (Hint: shop around)

‘Bailout’ blues falling on deaf ears- As Connie Prater on Taking Charge tells us, the recession has even hit the novelty song industry; we can only hope that ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic will still be in business by year’s end.

Alright, that’s it for this Carnival; pack up the tents, grab the last of the cotton candy, and let’s call it a day!

(All manga featured here (c) the respective owners)

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