It’s nearly the end of January, and there hasn’t been much snow so far, which is always an odd thing for Pennsylvania.  It makes me a bit, you know, paranoid.  The last winter the weather had been this nice this far into the season, it ended up being all the worse for the rest of the season.  It makes me a bit nervous, thinking that the next time I have to travel somewhere, I might have to dig my car out from five feet of snow to do so.

Of course, there are advantages to the winter holiday; it’s much more acceptable to spend most of your day inside when the weather is so cold and there’s so much precipitation to worry about.  And when you’re inside, most of the day, you can spend more of your time online, catching up on all the great articles that have been written and posted.  Of course, a particularly good source of articles is the Yakezie network.  Want some examples of just the sort of articles in the Yakezie network (as well as from those writers who want to join the group)?  Well, read on, and enjoy a TON of such articles:

Yakezie Carnival Posts

Penge Snak! – Hybrid Cars: Are They Worth The Hype?  ”Think we’ll ever see a gallon of gas at $1.89 again? Probably not.
Sales of hybrid cars has gone through the roof in recent years and the popular notion is to save money … but do you actually save money buying a hybrid? Is it worth it compared to cheaper high-milage cars?

The Frugal Toad - How Frugal Living Can Build Wealth  Frugal living does not mean shopping in thrift stores and having soup every night for dinner. Being frugal simply means being deliberate in how you spend money, not impulsive. There are many ways to be frugal but the key to making frugal lifestyle changes permanent is to find ways to save money that will work for you.

Money Cactus – Wealth Creation and the Secret to Happiness  Money can buy a lot of things, some say it can even buy happiness. Here is my definition of the secret to happiness, how does it stack up to yours?

Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance – WHY YOU NEED FEEDBACK FOR SUCCESS  THIS ONE DISCUSSES HOW THE PAINFUL COMMENT….”You may not like what I’m going to say,” is a blessing in disguise. Take feedback well and prosper.

TotallyMoney – The two savings accounts you must have  Simple budgeting and saving tips for the new year.

Thad Thoughts – Scanning and Evernote  Using Evernote as a destination point for scanning adds incredible value to your MFP and provides ready access to your scans. This article explains the values and the processes for getting scanned documents straight in to Evernote.

The Loonie Bin – Buying to impress Most people let spending define who they are. One has to break free from this mindset and the key is to start small and improve slowly.

See Debt Run – The debit-only strategy Reasons why it is better to avoid using cash entirely, and instead favor entirely electronic payments (debit).

My Journey to Millions – My American Express Spending: December to January Last month I almost had a panic attack when I ran these numbers and found out I spent over $5,400 on my American Express Card. (Probably closer to $4,400 after being paid back and rebates receives). This month’s $3,100 is still much too high for my tastes and it seems it comes from one main expenditure: FOOD.

Invest It Wisely – Problems with Askimet? Try These Great Free Alternatives  Akismet was once the only game in town, but this is true no longer. Here is a list of plugins that can improve upon or even replace Akismet entirely.

Money Cone – How to Cancel DirecTV without Paying a Penalty Yes I actually did cancel DirectTV before the end of my contract without paying a fee and without even asking (at least not directly)!

Living in Financial Excellence – My (Lame) Debt Free Story Last week I was interviewed by Jon White on his Debt Free Living podcast about how my wife and I got out of debt and how we live without debt today. I’m pretty modest and I don’t think we have a sensational story, but it’s still worth sharing since we don’t talk about the specifics a whole lot on our show.

Live Real, Now – Insurance Thankfully, I sock a bit of money away every month to cover things that break. It’s my warranty fund. That, combined with a good(hopefully) find on eBay, means that losing my phone, while irritating, isn’t going to break my budget. It won’t actually touch my budget in any way.

Beating Broke – Are Personal Loans a Scam?  Truthfully, there is very little different between a personal loan and a payday loan.

Newlyweds on a Budget – Taking control of our finances How one young couple hopes to take control of their finances, pay off debt and save money in 2012.

Smart Family Finance – Get Your Family Out of Debt  Being in debt can feel like you are being held captive by your finances. Many find that once they begin getting into debt, it begins to spiral out of control. There are ways to get out of debt if you put your mind to it, and focus on being debt free.

The Ultimate Juggle – Efficiency for your Business If you are trying to be more efficient at work, you may be curious of ways to maximize your time and lower your costs. Jester and I certainly value the importance of multitasking, but sometimes this just isn’t an option.

MoneySmartGuides – Live A Life of Wealth If I were to ask you to describe what being wealthy means to you, how would you answer? A young me (late teenager) would have answered that question as follows: Wealthy to me is a huge house with an outdoor pool, but now I see wealth differently.

Financial God – Immigrant Workers Are Coming to a Shore Near You to Steal Your Jobs! Silicon Valley has been put on notice: A new startup, Blueseed, plans to set up ship just 12 miles off the coast. These ships will hold hundreds of bold and creative entrepreneurs from countries such as India and China. They will circumvent immigration laws and restrictions by placing their ships just outside of the territorial! admin@financialgod.com

Beating The Index – Hyperion Exploration Carries Strong Operational Momentum into 2012  Hyperion Exploration exited 2011 with a bang; the company was able to exceed its exit guidance by spending less capital than anticipated. I believe this strong operational momentum will carry into 2012 with the upcoming operational update and the 2012 capex program due at any day before the end of this month. Find out why!

Money Spruce – Making Space For Roommates: Are the Savings Worth the Hassles? Sharing an apartment with roommates can save money, but it often means making other sacrifices too. I weigh the pros and cons of roommates for my next move.

My Broken Coin – Stop Being Cheap and Invest In Yourself The following post was featured in a blog swap in November 2011 at My Personal Finance Journey. Now, that I have many more readers and much better exposure, I decided to publish it on my blog. I am a spender. But even big spenders like me have their limits.

The Penny Hoarder – How People Buy Real Estate with “No Money Down” Some of my favorite infomercials include the ridiculous No Money Down real estate videos. If you haven’t already wasted your $360, allow me to spill the beans.

KrantCents – Term Life Insurance Is My Choice! Term life insurance is my choice, should it be yours? We all know that life insurance is important, so it is a matter of choice which one is right for you. If you are young, healthy and expect to stay that way, term life insurance should be your choice.

Funancials – Are You A Mental Accountant? I hope most of you have had a chance to read my previous article about The Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe. If you haven’t, go back and read it. It’s a prerequisite for continuing this post. I anticipated what the responses would be in the comments before they came rolling in.

Passive Income To Retire – My Blog Owning Strategy Find out my blog owning strategy that I am using to approach building up my multiple blogs.

Finance Fox – 5 Rules to Teach Your Kids About Credit Cards Some parents think that credit cards are evil and that keeping kids on the other side is the only way to keep them safe. My parents just never had the time or true knowledge to share anything with me about credit cards.

Darwin’s Money - Mortgage Activity Gone Wild Due Record Low Rates – Are You Taking Advantage? Last week, there was a 20% surge in mortgage activity driven primarily by refinancing activity from record low rates. The mortgage banker’s association said seasonally adjust refinances were up 26% while home purchase loan activity was up 10%. Something’s Working! What are you going?

Your Finances Simplified – Can I Survive At the Poverty Line? I completed my interview with 107 WINA on Sunday December 18th concerning my article on “Can you survive the poverty line?”. I would like to thank Wendy Edwards for reaching out to me and giving me the opportunity to conduct the interview.

101 Centavos - Nickel-Plated Trailers: a Centavos Dividend Portfolio Update With the last portfolio update back in November, we’re about due for another one. Some new additions to the lineup: United Mobile Homes (UMH), read more to find out my lineup!

Money Reasons – Are Famous Personal Finance Authors Too Rich To Understand You? Do rich personal finance authors forget what it’s like to live in the middle? Do you think personal finance bloggers walk the walk and talk the talk better?

Sweating the Big Stuff – Should Tax Evaders Be Given A Safe Haven? The IRS has given tax evaders who have hidden money in offshore accounts a chance to avoid jail time, netting the IRS at least $4.4 billion.

Broke Professionals – Need a $100,000 a year Job? Be a Butler and Earn Big Bucks The job market has been bad for a very long time, but there are high paying careers out there. Apparently being a butler is one of them! Free room and board plus up to a hundred thousand dollars a year why not consider being a butler? You don’t even need a college degree, and Need a $100,000 a year Job? Be a Butler and Earn Big Bucks!

Financial Success for Young Adults – Some Unusual Savings Tips If you find yourself short of cash when it comes time to add to your ISA, it may be time to consider a few money saving tips for individual savings accounts.

Thousandaire - My Budget Spreadsheet is Too Much Work My budget spreadsheet is too complicated. I’m making things easier on myself and switching to Mint.com

Money Q&A – How I Recently Invested In A Rock Band There are tons of other great projects on Kickstarter that you can invest in like the new Crowfield album. Kickstarter is a great way to invest in a rock band and other awesome projects.

20s Finances – Confessions of a Street Canvasser Have you ever been walking down the street in New York City, Boston, DC, Chicago, or San Francisco and been stopped by a young person carrying a clipboard and wearing a charity t-shirt? This strange phenomenon has a name street canvassing.

My Retirement Blog – How Much Should You be Saving? The following is a guest post. When you are young, retirement seems to be a lifetime away. Being told that you should save for that day is difficult to comprehend. But the fact of the matter is that even if we are young and healthy and fit, we have parents and grandparents who are older. So the question is how much should you be saving?

The College Investor - Using a Brokerage as your Bank Have you ever considered using your brokerage as your bank? Here are some reasons why you should!

My Multiple Incomes – Top Blogging Verticals A look at some of the top blogging verticals.

Entrepreneurship Life – Are Office Politics Killing Your Business? A look at how office politics can kill your business.

The Dividend Ninja – What Should I Invest In for 2012? Part-2 I originally set out to write a wrap-up of investing strategies for 2012. While I was writing this post, the thought occurred to me why not ask the other well known bloggers and financial writers what they think? Here’s what I asked them: “What do you think is the most important lesson investors need to remember going into 2012? Where do you think the best investment opportunities for investors will be?”

MoneyGreenLife – Read The Fine Print When Applying For Balance Transfer Credit Cards Balance transfer cards can be godsend for those who have outstanding credit card debt, especially if the fee to transfer the balance is waived and the interest on the transferred balance is 0%. But read the fine print!

Bucksome Boomer – Recession Romance: Frugal Recipe to Show Your Love There are plenty of frugal date ideas to make Valentine’s Day special without tearing your wallet to shreds. But for me, the recipe that hits the heart every time has three simple ingredients – Appreciation, Care and Respect.

Money Beagle – Making One Good Decision Is The Key To Everything One good decision leads to another and to another and so on…

Smart Wealth - Can You Eliminate PMI? Until recently, I always thought that you had to get to 80% loan to value by either paying down your mortgage, or hoping that your home’s value rises and then refinance to eliminate PMI.

Money Is the Root – Blog Goals and Updates, 2012 – #3 Reach earnings of $30,000 from all blogging related activites in 2012. (This is $2,500 per month average, I’m at $1,735 through so far, can I do it?)

Sustainable Life Blog – The Easy Workout Want to start going to the gym but having a tough time getting motivated? Here’s how I handle that.

American Debt Project - I Want to Invest in Real Estate #1: Here’s How I’m Getting Started A beginner’s take on jumping into real estate. Tread slowly and out more money down!

Married (with Debt) – Talk About Money: How to Do It the Right Way We all talk about money, but how we do it with the people we love can have a big impact on how our advice is taken. Let’s explore when it’s appropriate to talk about money, and to whom we should give advice.

Free Money Wisdom - The Legend of the Three Magic Spells for an Inexpensive Date Although the girl was by no means of high social status, tradition dictated that he demonstrate his fondness for her in a manner which in some fashion involved the spending of money in a substantial amount. Still, as a gentleman, chivalrous to a fault, he was unwilling to consider an solution which involved her having to surrender any of her earnings, even if it was small.

Thriftability – You Don’t Have to Live on Less – Ask for a Raise When it comes time to ask for a raise, there are many details to consider. Here are several tips to follow.

Money Talks Coaching - 5 Myths of Budgeting Everyone can and should budget their money. The budget is the starting point of all things financial. You can’t make informed decisions about your money until you are know (and ideally are controlling) where you spend your money

Cash Flow Mantra - What Would I Do with $50,000 “Recently, Joe over at Retireby40.org discussed his options for a $50,000 emergency fund, and I must confess that I thought they were rather poor. Now Joe has certain requirements, and I am not trying to change his mind regarding them. But he did ask the question posed in the title and since my answer was going to be longer than could be held in a comment, I thought I would write a post about it.

Frugal Confessions - How to Save Money on Dieting Comparing diet program costs is one way to maximize the amount of money you have to spend on dieting (or to make you run the other way with your hard earned money), see how they stack up against one another!

Master the Art of Saving – Everybody Can Have an Emergency Fund! If you don’t have an emergency fund at all, then why not start with a goal of $100? Sure it’s not going to be too helpful should a big financial emergency.

Young Family Finance – Cheap Movie Alternatives It isn’t uncommon for young families to be strapped for cash. When you are looking for creative ways to save money without making a huge sacrifice, it is time to get creative. With the popularity of motion picture, it is hard to give up movies. Yet, going to the movies is not getting cheaper.

Stock Trend Investing – Are You Missing the Rally with Your Stock Market Strategy? How to avoid impulsive investment decisions when stock markets fluctuate as much as they have done recently? Here is a tip.

Squirrelers – Will Less Teens Driving Today = Fewer Expensive Car Purchases in the Future? Becoming of age to drive a car was once a rite of passage. Is that changing, based on recent data? Also, will these trends lead to fewer expensive car purchases in the future?

CultOfMoney – Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) Portfolio “My overall goal is to maximize my returns give a few conditions. I want “limited” risk, I want low draw downs (aka low downside volatility), and I don’t want to spend hours and hours every day managing my money.  The theory that I am using is based in relative strength or momentum. The academic research shows that there are lasting affects that I am trying to harness. Therefore, my model weights the top performing sectors more heavily than the poor performing sectors. As you can see above, Large Cap Domestic currently gets a 15% portfolio weighting, while Foreign Emerging Markets only get 5%”

Personal Finance Whiz – How Much Should I Have Saved For Retirement By Age 30?  For the past 5 years I’ve been systematically investing 6% of my income with a 50% employer match each month. But is that enough? What amount do I need in my retirement accounts by age 30 to be confident that I will have enough to retire on?

Everything Finance Blog – Itemized Deductions Vs. Standard Deduction To determine if you should file with itemized deductions or the standard deduction, you also have to look at the cost of filing the long tax form (itemized deductions) vs. the short tax form (standard deduction only). It costs an extra few hundred dollars to fill out the longer tax form, so you want to make sure the overall worth of your itemized deductions will cover the extra expense.

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff – Hanging with Blogging Buddies – Just What I Needed I spent last weekend in Los Angeles, California hanging out with my close blogging buddy, Suba from Wealth Informatics, and meeting up with a bunch of other bloggers along the way. It ended up feeling like I was just hanging out with my friends back home – it was that relaxing and awesome.

Saving Money Today – Homer Simpson’s Top Ten Business Ideas Time and again Homer Simpson has tried to start his own business to help support his family. These are the best of his ideas.

The MoneyTrail Blog – Books for Kids & Teens that are Great for Teaching about Money I absolutely love using literature as a method for teaching kids and teens about money. Here are some of my favorite books for young readers and teens.

Meal Plan Rescue – Food Waste is a Choice I’m always shocked by how much food gets wasted so I’ve shared some tips to help people use the groceries they buy. No reason to throw money in the wastebin!

Off-Road Finance – Adjusting to Market Volatility This article looks at what market volatility is, how it’s measured, and how it impacts you as an investor or trader.

Prairie Eco Thrifter – What Buddhism Teaches Us about Personal Finance The Buddhist lifestyle is one of self discipline, self improvement, motivation, self empowerment and mindfulness. This is exactly how I want to live. All of these principles can also be applied to our own situations, even when it comes to managing our personal finances. Today I want to explore what Buddhism teaches us about personal finance.

Saving Advice – Trying to Lose Weight? Don’t Get Scammed There are many products and companies that play to this desire for quick, easy weight loss, but almost all of them are scams or at least worthless junk. If you want to lose weight but keep your money, here are some things to look for to avoid getting scammed.

Narrow Bridge Finance – How I Ripped People Off With Store Credit Cards In high school, I worked after school and on weekends as a cashier at a large retail chain. Despite my working less than half the hours of my full time counterparts, I consistently managed to reach the top of our weekly credit card signups contests.

Faith and Finance – 16 Great Jobs For 16 Year Olds We’ve all known what’s it’s like to be a 16 year old looking for a good job. Here are 16 job ideas that any 16 year old can do to make some extra money.

Redeeming Riches – 4 Easy Ways to Winterize Your Car Winter is upon us and if you haven’t winterized your car, you should be thinking about it soon. Use these tips to keep your car running strong in the winter.

My University Money – Afraid of Life? Grad School Isn’t the Answer Many have of course moved on to jobs, others to careers, and still others are pursuing leisure travel or other whims. One option I am seeing taken more and more is to go back to grad school.

Investor Junkie – Why Your Small Business Should Offer a 401k The following are six reasons that your business should offer a 401K program to its employees.

HowToSaveMoney.ca – Buying on Sale: Are You Really Saving Money? It seems that everybody loves a good sale, but the real question is when you buy stuff on sale are you really saving money? Well, sure, you are saving money off the regular price of that particular product at that particular store, but is that even meaningful?

Frugal Living – Financial Software for Your Computer Whether you are running a small business, creating a family budget or filing your taxes, there is a myriad of computer software available to serve your financial needs. Many of these programs not only help declutter that mess of financial papers you may have lying around, but also allow you to see exactly where your money is coming from and where it’s going.

RamblingFever Money – Should You Get a Loan for Your Car or Pay Cash? In this hypothetical example, two sisters pay the exact same amount monthly for their cars over a five year period. One sister ends up with a 1-year old car worth $20,000 and the other sister ends up with a 5-year old car worth $11,000. How is this possible?

Don’t Quit Your Day Job… – How Did Mitt Romney Get a $20.7 Million IRA? Mitt Romney, almost unbelievably, has an IRA worth between $20.7 and $101.7 million. How is that possible? DQYDJ crunches some fake numbers and attempts to answer the question!

Little House in the Valley – Mint.com for My Significant Other I don’t intend to relinquish my obsession, I mean responsibility, with our finances, but I realize it’s important for my significant other to know what bills we (I mean “I”) pay, when they’re due, and how to pay them. I’d hate for something to happen to me and my SO to be completely clueless as to what to do next. So, I signed up for Mint.com – for his sake.

Mom’s Plans – Debt Snowflake Challenge #4, Get Your Food Costs Under Control Just like you should plan when you go out to eat, you should also plan to curb your grocery expenses. Hopefully you regularly make a menu plan. You might want to consider implementing freezer cooking too.

The Millionaire Nurse – You wanna be work-happy? Or work sad? Burnout is the commonly used term for those whose “giver” got up and left. Here are some tips to keep work from getting the best of you.

PT Money – The Costa Concordia Tragedy and the Need for Travel Insurance Uses the cruise ship tragedy as a springboard for a discussion on the necessity of travel insurance.

One Cent At A Time – 8 Tricks to Get Cheap Flight Tickets Over the years, I learned to be more observant, practical, and strategic with my flight ticket purchases. They became some of my techniques in looking for cheap flights. If you want to get them at a bargain, take note of these tips.

The University Of Money – Best Gold ETF for 2012 Gold is the safest asset class in these tough economic times and gold ETF make it simple to invest in gold.

Stock Market Basics - Best stock market apps for iphone and Ipad With tablets and smartphones becoming a rage you will need these apps to keep track of your portfolio and help analyse the stock market.

Thirty Six Months – Think you can’t afford to budget There is always a hard to budget and it is easier than you think.

Free From Broke - TurboTax Online Review TurboTax has become the industry standard for online tax preparation. See the different tax software editions are available and which one is best for you in this review.

Parenting Family Money – How to Save on Groceries When You Have a Food Intolerance “When you discover you have a food intolerance, your diet has to change. But you’ll find that groceries get expensive. Save with these tips.

Watson Inc – Goals Are NEVER Enough: 3 Reasons You MUST Cultivate Your Desires Having a strong desire towards high goals is a phenomenal way elevate your performance. Here are 3 reasons to cultivate your true desires.

There you go, more articles than you can shake a stick at.  Enjoy reading through some truly impressive articles!

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #221 – January 27, 2012

Welcome to the January 27, 2012 Edition #221 of the Carnival of Financial Planning.

The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. We focus on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

Enjoy!

The Skilled Investor, Editor

Enjoy the Incredible Selection of Great Personal Finance Articles! – Roger, the Amateur Financier, and your host for this carnival.

Budgeting and Economics

Bob presents How to Make A Budget: An exhaustive Guide posted at ChristianPF , saying, “I set out to create a guide that would help anyone create a budget – the disciplined who want a complex budget as well as the lazy folks out there. This guide should help each extreme and everyone in between.”

Jon the Saver presents How to Raise Kids to Be Wise with Money posted at Free Money Wisdom , saying, “Today’s children still need to be taught good financial habits so that they end up more like Millennials and less like Millennials’ Gen X parents and Boomer grandparents. That’s why I’m sharing a few things you can do to teach your kids about good personal finances:”

Pam Whitlock presents Teaching Your Kids about Money: January Edition posted at The MoneyTrail Blog , saying, “What sources of income are available for kids and teens? We kick off our Teach Your Kids about Money series by examining common resources for kids, from allowances to part time jobs.”

D.J. presents Tips for Feeding a Family on a Budget posted at The Family Wallet , saying, “We use a lot of different methods to keep the family fed without spending more than we have to spend. A few things that have worked for us are these.”

Janet Russell presents Personal Budgeting Spreadsheet posted at Best Financial Retirement Planner, saying, “If you do not understand how much you spend and how much you are saving and investing, you simply do not have a financial plan. This situation dramatically increases your family’s long-term financial risk.”

Ashley presents 5 Myths of Budgeting posted at Money Talks Coaching , saying, “Everyone can and should budget their money. The budget is the starting point of all things financial. You can’t make informed decisions about your money until you are know (and ideally are controlling) where you spend your money”

Sunil presents Negative People Will Impede Your Progress – Act and Respond Accordingly posted at The Extra Money Blog , saying, “The world is full of skeptics and negative people. Just the other day we met a couple at a friend’s house who was extraordinarily vocal about their negativity, so I thought I’d take a quick break from entrepreneurship, internet marketing, blogging and personal finance to discuss this topic, which can impede your progress toward achieving your goals and objectives in the endeavors you choose to embark on.”

Sustainable PF presents The Real Reason Nobody Is Buying Electric Cars posted at Sustainable Personal Finance , saying, “Thus far, the Volt electric car has been a giant flop. There are all sorts of reasons why, all of which are different symptoms of the same root problem. Let’s see if you can figure it out.”

Estate Planning

Don presents Live A Life of Wealth posted at MoneySmartGuides , saying, “If I were to ask you to describe what being wealthy means to you, how would you answer? A young me late teenager would have answered that question as follows: Wealthy to me is a huge house with an outdoor pool, but now I see wealth differently.”

MR presents Are Famous Personal Finance Authors Too Rich To Understand You? posted at Money Reasons , saying, “Do rich personal finance authors forget what it’s like to live in the middle? Do you think personal finance bloggers walk the walk and talk the talk better?”

Financial Planning

Teacher Man presents Pay Off Debt Fast or Build Assets? posted at My University Money , saying, “Yes, I would rather have all my currents debts paid off than be in my current financial position… because then I could turn around and put myself in much better debt all over again!”

Walter Binkle presents Fixed Income Bond Funds posted at Fixed Income Investing, saying, “The bond investment fund market is no place for an individual investor to try to beat the market and get higher returns through attempts at clever fixed income investing. Even professional bond market money managers do not beat the bond market.”

Jeffrey presents Money Lessons from Aesop’s Fables posted at Saving Advice , saying, “Many of Aesop’s Fables deal indirectly with financial topics. As an adult it’s fun to go back and re-read some of these tales. Knowing what I know now, I see how spot on many of the author’s observations were. If you ever want some snippets of inspiration or instruction about personal finance, go back and re-visit some of these tales:”

Larry Russell presents Personal ID theft protection posted at Personal Financial Planning, saying, “As a threat to your financial security, you should take the potential for identity theft very seriously. Identity theft sometimes entails a loss of your money, but whether or not you lose money, it can take a very large amount of your time to rectify. Taking these steps to prevent an occurrence is prudent.”

Miss T. presents What Buddhism Teaches Us about Personal Finance posted at Prairie Eco Thrifter , saying, “The Buddhist lifestyle is one of self discipline, self improvement, motivation, self empowerment and mindfulness. This is exactly how I want to live. All of these principles can also be applied to our own situations, even when it comes to managing our personal finances. Today I want to explore what Buddhism teaches us about personal finance.”

Frank Bertin presents Top Index Funds posted at Best Investment Strategies, saying, “Short-term mutual fund trading is a zero sum game played against other very well informed mutual fund traders and other securities market traders. On average, higher mutual fund turnover is far more likely to result in lower investment fund performance — instead of superior risk-adjusted performance.”

Aubrey presents Discovering Adulthood.: My Plan for the Next Five Years … posted at Discovering Adulthood, saying, “I know I SHOULD be saving, I SHOULD have some kind of a plan, but when you’re 19 its okay to make mistakes. I am, however, done with living like that. I am the kind of person who needs to know where I am going.”

Financing a Home

Madison presents Pay Off Your Mortgage with a Credit Card posted at My Dollar Plan , saying, “Paying off your mortgage with a credit card may sound risky but, if done correctly, it can save you a lot of money in interest paid!”

Kyle presents How People Buy Real Estate with “No Money Down” posted at The Penny Hoarder , saying, “Some of my favorite infomercials include the ridiculous No Money Down real estate videos. If you haven’t already wasted your $360, allow me to spill the beans.”

Matt presents Home Buyers: Do You Feel the Power? posted at Living in Financial Excellence , saying, “Although sellers stand to lose a healthy chunk of money when they move out of their home, they also stand to gain a lot on the other end when they buy a different home. Home prices are really low, which means there are a lot of bargains out there.”

KT presents How People Buy Real Estate with “No Money Down” posted at Personal Finance Journey , saying, “Some of my favorite infomercials include the ridiculous ‘No Money Down’ real estate videos. If you haven’t already wasted your $360, allow me to spill the beans.”

Evan presents Can You Eliminate PMI? posted at Smart Wealth , saying, “Until recently, I always thought that you had to get to 80% loan to value by either paying down your mortgage, or hoping that your home’s value rises and then refinance to eliminate PMI. ”

Lisa presents The Frugal Home Buyer’s Guide posted at Thriftability , saying, “Taking a look at your financial situation, you can save money to reach this goal of a new home. Here is some advice on how to shoot for this goal, as well as knowing if it is the right time.”

Cash Flow Mantra presents Eliminating Private Mortgage Insurance – An Update posted at Cash Flow Mantra , saying, “Since I earned over $1000 with blogging in December, I thought I would try to pay off some principal on a rental house and eliminate private mortgage insurance (PMI) since I had read that once you had paid off the loan to 78% of the purchase price, you could do so”

Financing Education

Forest Parks presents Hidden College Costs posted at Frugal Zeitgeist , saying, “Education is expensive enough as it is but on-top of all the obvious fees college tends to bring up a lot of extras. This article looks at some of the areas you should be aware of.”

Dr. Dean presents Educate Yourself: Free! posted at Dr. Dean’s TheMillionaireNurse.com Blog, saying, “The cost of a college education is outrageous. What about all those free courses offered by some of those same terrifically expensive institutions? That’s right. Free courses. Sometimes a free course or two or more might be just what the doctor ordered. Read all about it!”

N.W. Journey presents Teaching your Children about Money posted at Networth Journey, saying, “Tips for teaching children about money”

Financing Healthcare

Lisa Belkin presents The 10 Best Countries for Maternity Care posted at Medical Billing and Coding Certification, saying, “In a perfect world, maternity care would be at a similarly excellent level for all moms and babies around the world, but the fact is that some countries just seem to do better than others.”

Income

PITR presents My Blog Owning Strategy posted at Passive Income To Retire , saying, “Find out my blog owning strategy that I am using to approach building up my multiple blogs.”

Suba presents Need a $100,000 a year Job? Be a Butler and Earn Big Bucks posted at Broke Professionals , saying, “The job market has been bad for a very long time, but there are high paying careers out there. Apparently being a butler is one of them! Free room and board plus up to a hundred thousand dollars a year ‘ why not consider being a butler? You don’t even need a college degree, and Need a $100,000 a year Job? Be a Butler and Earn Big Bucks!”

John presents What Is the Best Source of Passive Income? posted at Passive Family Income , saying, “One income stream that does not require a lot of my time are dividend paying stocks. In my opinion, these investments offer the best source of passive income possible”

Everything Finance presents Advance in the Career that You Enjoy posted at Everything Finance , saying, “While you may not be forced to do manual labor or work horrible hours, are there financial pressures at work that you give into because of the current state of the economy?”

Brad presents Upgrade Your Resume By Going Back To School – Just Remember To Bring Along Your Tablet posted at RESUME Mag , saying, “With the launch of the newest app for the iPad, iBooks 2, Apple has set out to reinvent the textbook. Here are five ways that this makes it easier to go back to school and upgrade your resume.”

Investing

JP presents Asset Allocation And The Benefits Of Rebalancing posted at Novel Investor , saying, “How your money is invested, its asset allocation and consistent rebalancing will be the most important decision you’ll make as an investor.”

Marissa presents The importance of investing in the new year posted at Thirty Six Months , saying, “Discusses why you should make investing a top priority this year.”

Mike @ Green Panda presents When You Should Not Get into Dividend Investing posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “Dividends are not always a great investment.”

Intelligent Speculator presents How I Caculate Returns For Long And Short Tech Picks posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “How do you calculate returns?”

Craig Ford presents What Your Financial Advisor Won’t Tell You About How to Successfully Reduce Your Nest Egg posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, “What Your Financial Advisor Won’t Tell You About How to Successfully Reduce Your Nest Egg”

Dividends4Life presents 6 Industrial Strength Stocks With Growing Dividends posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, “Companies in the Industrial Sector are often referred to as members of the “smokestack industry” and are classified as cyclical stocks. A cyclical stock is one that rises and falls in step with the economy. The Industrials Sector consists of companies that manufacture products or provide business services. The products are sometimes inputs into another manufacturing process.”

Janet Russell presents Investment fund manager performance posted at Personal Investment Management, saying, “The effort to find those few supposedly superior money managers willing to sell their services sufficiently cheaply is a costly, time consuming, and futile, “Where’s Waldo?,” searching exercise for the individual investor.”

Mich presents Hyperion Exploration Carries Strong Operational Momentum into 2012 posted at Beating The Index , saying, “Hyperion Exploration exited 2011 with a bang; the company was able to exceed its exit guidance by spending less capital than anticipated. I believe this strong operational momentum will carry into 2012 with the upcoming operational update and the 2012 capex program due at any day before the end of this month.”

Echo presents Using Tax Free Savings Accounts In Retirement posted at Boomer & Echo , saying, “While young Canadians are looking for ways to save inside their TFSA, older Canadians must consider strategies for using Tax Free Savings Accounts in retirement. Here are three approaches to consider:”

Finley Merriwether presents Index Bond Mutual Funds posted at Low Cost Bond Funds, saying, “Vanguard dominates this low cost United States bond mutual funds marketplace for direct purchase accounts with both low and high minimum deposits. Investment research overwhelmingly shows that lower cost fixed income funds tend to yield higher bond investing returns.”

Barbara Friedberg presents Biggest Money Story of 2011 or How to Get a Decent Return on Your Cash posted at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance , saying, “MSN Money selected their Top Money Stories of 2011. Initially, I began to dissect their list and intended to write about them all. But, I got stuck on the low interest rates for savings. ”

Maxim Kazawy presents Companies Raising Dividends in January 2012 posted at Best Dividend Stocks, saying, “It has been a great start to the year 2012 with the S&P 500 up 4.6% year to date while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has racked up 4.12% in gains. The corporate business climate in America is improving with unemployment claims falling below 350,000 which is the lowest it has been since April 2008. In this bull market, I am searching for the best dividend paying stocks that are raising distributions. Let’s start off with companies operating in the energy distribution and storage businesses.”

Justin presents Investing to Beat Inflation posted at Money is the root…of all things GOOD!, saying, “I’ve noticed that many people are content to keep their money in savings accounts, checking accounts, or even under their mattresses. It amazes me how obsessed people become with clipping coupons to save pennies, but they allow inflation to eat away at their life savings without a flinch.”

Jack Ping presents Top Noload Mutual Funds posted at My Investment Funds, saying, “There are over 60,000 different mutual fund investment share classes sold worldwide. Some mutual funds and ETFs must be better than others, but which ones are they? How can you tell before the fact?”

Beating Broke presents Sharebuilder Returns Update posted at Beating Broke , saying, “Overall, there really isn’t much comparison of the returns between the Lending Club and Sharebuilder accounts. Taken on their face, Lending Club wins hands down.”

Managing Credit and Debt

Stephen Vanderpool presents The Easiest Way to Raise Your Credit Score posted at NerdWallet , saying, “Raising your credit score requires diligence, but we have a neat credit-building trick that requires little time and no upkeep. While it’s important to make punctual payments and stay below your limit, establishing credit doesn’t have to consume your life. Here’s a cost-free, time-efficient technique for increasing your FICO score.”

Shaun presents Get Your Family Out of Debt posted at Smart Family Finance , saying, “Being in debt can feel like you are being held captive by your finances. Many find that once they begin getting into debt, it begins to spiral out of control. There are ways to get out of debt if you put your mind to it, and focus on being debt free.”

Evan presents My American Express Spending: December to January posted at My Journey to Millions , saying, “Last month I almost had a panic attack when I ran these numbers and found out I spent over $5,400 on my American Express Card. (Probably closer to $4,400 after being paid back and rebates receives). This month’s $3,100 is still much too high for my tastes and it seems it comes from one main expenditure:”

Eddie presents 5 Rules to Teach Your Kids About Credit Cards posted at Finance Fox , saying, “Some parents think that credit cards are evil and that keeping kids on the other side is the only way to keep them safe. My parents just never had the time or true knowledge to share anything with me about credit cards.”

Erika presents Taking control of our finances posted at Newlyweds on a Budget , saying, “How one young couple hopes to take control of their finances, pay off debt and save money in 2012.”

Darwin presents Mortgage Activity Gone Wild Due Record Low Rates – Are You Taking Advantage? posted at Darwin’s Money , saying, “Last week, there was a 20″

Marie presents Best Ways to Pay Off Credit Card Debt posted at Money Spending Mommy , saying, “Here are the best ways to pay off credit card debt to get you on the road to financial freedom.”

Peter presents 10 Ways to Protect Your Financial and Personal Information When Shopping Online posted at Bible Money Matters , saying, “There are a variety of ways that you can protect yourself from hackers, criminals and identity thieves when shopping online.”

Liana presents Credit Card Delinquency posted at Card Hub , saying, “Be proactive, protect yourself by knowing how credit card delinquency works!”

Mike presents Scotia Rewards Program Review posted at Rewards Cards Canada , saying, “The Scotia Rewards program is a points-based system where members are awarded one Scotia Rewards point for every $1 in purchases charged to your ScotiaGold Passport Visa account or ScotiaGold Passport for business Visa account.”

Mike presents Create A Plan To Earn More Rewards Points posted at Rewards Cards USA , saying, “One of the biggest complaints that many people have regarding their credit card rewards is that it takes too long to earn the requisite number of points to redeem for anything worthwhile.”

The Financial Blogger presents January Net Worth + 14.62% It’s Payback Time! posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “Time to pay off debt.”

Miscellaneous

Kevin presents My Budget Spreadsheet is Too Much Work posted at Thousandaire , saying, “My budget spreadsheet is too complicated. I’m making things easier on myself and switching to Mint.com”

Corey presents Confessions of a Street Canvasser posted at 20s Finances , saying, “Have you ever been walking down the street in New York City, Boston, DC, Chicago, or San Francisco and been stopped by a young person carrying a clipboard and wearing a charity t-shirt? This strange phenomenon has a name ‘ street canvassing.”

101 Centavos presents Nickel-Plated Trailers: a Centavos Dividend Portfolio Update posted at 101 Centavos , saying, “With the last portfolio update back in November, we’re about due for another one. Some new additions to the lineup: United Mobile Homes UMH, read more to find out my lineup!”

Jester presents Efficiency for your Business posted at The Ultimate Juggle , saying, “If you are trying to be more efficient at work, you may be curious of ways to maximize your time and lower your costs. Jester and I certainly value the importance of multitasking, but sometimes this just isn’t an option.”

Joe Morgan presents Want to Build Wealth, and be Secure? Focus on Learning Instead of Earning! posted at Simple Debt-Free Finance, saying, “Many people focus on the details of financial planning and increasing their wealth, but often time forget this simple 1st rule..”

Jeri Ford presents Southwest Companion Pass: How to Get Two Years of Free Southwest Flights in 15 minutes posted at Help Me Travel Cheap, saying, “Southwest Companion Pass: How to Get Two Years of Free Southwest Flights in 15 minutes”

The Skilled Investor presents Investment Timing Strategies Do Not Work posted at Financial Management, saying, “You must have your money invested and at risk to get risk premium returns. Jumping out and in or “timing the markets” doesn’t work.”

Jeffrey presents Making Space For Roommates: Are the Savings Worth the Hassles? posted at Money Spruce , saying, “Sharing an apartment with roommates can save money, but it often means making other sacrifices too. I weigh the pros and cons of roommates for my next move. ”

Aloysa presents Stop Being Cheap and Invest In Yourself posted at My Broken Coin , saying, “I am a spender. But even big spenders like me have their limits.”

Hank presents How I Recently Invested In A Rock Band posted at Money Q&A , saying, “There are tons of other great projects on Kickstarter that you can invest in like the new Crowfield album. Kickstarter is a great way to invest in a rock band and other awesome projects.”

YFS presents Can I Survive At the Poverty Line? posted at Your Finances Simplified , saying, “I completed my interview with 107 WINA on Sunday December 18th concerning my article on ‘Can you survive the poverty line’. I would like to thank Wendy Edwards for reaching out to me and giving me the opportunity to conduct the interview.”

Brockton Eaton presents IRA Retirement Calculators posted at IRA Account Investing, saying, “Whether or not to make investments into “traditional” tax-advantaged employer accounts and IRAs versus investing in “Roth” tax-advantaged employer accounts and personal IRAs is never a straightforward nor simple financial planning decision.”

A Blinkin presents Are You A Mental Accountant? posted at Funancials , saying, “I hope most of you have had a chance to read my previous article about The Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe. If you haven’t, go back and read it. It’s a prerequisite for continuing this post. I anticipated what the responses would be in the comments before they came rolling in.”

FG presents Immigrant Workers Are Coming to a Shore Near You to Steal Your Jobs! posted at Financial God , saying, “Silicon Valley has been put on notice: A new startup, Blueseed, plans to set up ship just 12 miles off the coast. These ships will hold hundreds of bold and creative entrepreneurs from countries such as India and China. They will circumvent immigration laws and restrictions by placing their ships just outside of the territorial!”

Jen presents Everybody Can Have an Emergency Fund! posted at Master the Art of Saving , saying, “If you don’t have an emergency fund at all, then why not start with a goal of $100? Sure it’s not going to be too helpful should a big financial emergency.”

Amanda L Grossman presents How to Save Money on Dieting posted at Frugal Confessions , saying, “Comparing diet program costs is one way to maximize the amount of money you have to spend on dieting or to make you run the other way with your hard earned money, see how they stack up against one another!”

Wayne presents Cheap Movie Alternatives posted at Young Family Finance , saying, “It isnt uncommon for young families to be strapped for cash. When you are looking for creative ways to save money without making a huge sacrifice, it is time to get creative. With the popularity of motion picture, it is hard to give up movies. Yet, going to the movies is not getting cheaper.”

Retirement Planning

Philip Taylor presents 2012 Traditional and Roth IRA Contribution Limits posted at PT Money Personal Finance , saying, “A list of the 2012 IRA contribution limits to help readers plan their retirement savings this year.”

Frank Knight presents Low Cost S&P 500 Mutual Funds posted at Best Mutual Funds, saying, “The no load index fund strategy of the Schwab S & P 500 Index Fund tracks the S and P 500 stock index. This no load index fund was listed as one of the top 25 lowest cost index mutual funds in a research study.”

Andy presents How Much Should You be Saving? posted at My Retirement Blog , saying, “When you are young, retirement seems to be a lifetime away. Being told that you should save for that day is difficult to comprehend. But the fact of the matter is that even if we are young and healthy and fit, we have parents and grandparents who are older. So the question is how much should you be saving?”

Carlos Sera presents An AARP Tale | Financial Tales posted at Financial Tales, saying, “For all those who may be interested in purchasing an immediate annuity from AARP and New York Life, please read this tale. I apologize to my younger audience but remember one day, this may apply to you and you must know the difference between the payout rate and the rate of return.”

Roger White presents Making 401k Withdrawals posted at 401k Calculator, saying, “If you are thinking about making a 401k withdrawal, you should consider the choice very carefully. This blog post highlights some of the risks of making a withdrawal.”

Whitney Broad presents Retirement Savings Calculator Worksheets posted at Retirement Savings, saying, “By looking at wealth as a lifetime pattern of sustainable expenditures within one’s budget, then people who are indeed wealthy cannot be identified solely by their current assets or income. While personal wealth should measure current financial investments and other salable assets, it should also measure your ability to sustain your household budget, build up your investment portfolio, and weather potential financial risk and misfortune across your lifetime.”

FIRE Finance presents Three Good Habits of Successful Retirees posted at FIRE Finance , saying, “Vanguard’s chairman and CEO Jack Brennan has nearly three decades of valuable experience in investing at this great firm. He has observed that successful long term investors share some common traits. Here is our spin to his observations.”

Risk Management and Insurance

krantcents presents Term Life Insurance Is My Choice! posted at KrantCents , saying, “Term life insurance is my choice, should it be yours? We all know that life insurance is important, so it is a matter of choice which one is right for you. If you are young, healthy and expect to stay that way, term life insurance should be your choice.”

Lisa presents Saving Money on Insurance: Simplify by Bundling | posted at Thriftability, saying, “As the quest continues to save money on insurance premiums, individuals and families may be overlooking a common method to doing so. Going with one company could just be the ticket, not only for the health of your bank account, but also to make things just a bit simpler.”

Rachel C. presents Insuring a Teenage Driver: Mitigating the Cost posted at Auto Insurance Quotes, saying, “Insuring a teen driver is extremely expensive. Depending on the age of the driver, the type of vehicle driven and applicable state restrictions, adding a teen driver can increase insurance rates as much as 100 percent or more. With the cost of insuring young drivers so high, it’s surprising that parents are even willing to license their teens.”

Savings

Jason presents Overbanked posted at Live Real, Now , saying, “I find it’s simpler to keep track of my savings goals by moving the money to separate accounts than to track everything in a spreadsheet.”

John presents Money Market Funds vs. Money Market Accounts posted at Wallet Blog , saying, “What’s the difference between Money Market Funds and Money Market Accounts? Determine which may be best for your individual financial needs.”

Andrew Boyd presents The 7 Best Money Saving Extensions for Chrome posted at Edugree, saying, “If you use Google Chrome to browse the web, then take a moment to browse these money saving extensions (all available for free).”

Joe Plemon presents 7 Weird Ways to Save in 2012 posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “There are undoubtedly several ways to save that you haven’t considered. You might find some in this post.”

Paul Vachon presents How Frugal Living Can Build Wealth for the New Year and Beyond posted at The Frugal Toad , saying, “Frugal living does not mean shopping in thrift stores and having soup every night for dinner. Being frugal simply means being deliberate in how you spend money, not impulsive. There are many ways to be frugal but the key to making frugal lifestyle changes permanent is to find ways to save money that will work for you.”

LaTisha presents Some Unusual Savings Tips posted at Financial Success for Young Adults , saying, “If you find yourself short of cash when it comes time to add to your ISA, it may be time to consider a few money saving tips for individual savings accounts.”

Taxes

Everything Finance presents How to Claim the Adoption Tax Credit posted at Everything Finance , saying, “Did you adopt a child in 2011? If so, you know how expensive and time consuming the entire adoption process can be. However, to offset some of the costs, you are eligible for the adoption tax credit, which was to be phased out in 2010 but has now been expanded and extended thanks to the Affordable Care Act.”

SB presents all you need to know about 2012 taxes posted at One Cent at a Time , saying, “All you need to know for filing income tax for the year 2011, which is needed to be filed on or before April 17, 2012. Contains links to relevant IRS notices and web pages for you quick reference.”

Mr. Money presents Should You Itemize Your Tax Deductions? posted at Smart on Money , saying, “If it looks like you will have a larger number than the standard, it’s a good idea to itemize in order to increase your tax efficiency.”

Paul Tabbet presents Retirement Planning Software posted at Retirement Worksheets, saying, “Retirement planning software should automate the development of lifetime projections that incorporate tax laws and rules associated with tax-advantaged retirement investment incentive programs such as traditional IRA, Roth, 401k, 403b, SEP, Keogh, and other retirement plans. Retirement calculators hides the complexity of the tax laws that are associated with these various personal retirement plans and employer-sponsored retirement plans.”

Glen Craig presents 10 Common Overlooked Tax Deductions posted at Free From Broke , saying, “Don’t pay more taxes than you have to. Take a look at these ten common overlooked tax deductions and see how you can save on your taxes.”

Daniel presents Should Tax Evaders Be Given A Safe Haven? posted at Sweating the Big Stuff , saying, “The IRS has given tax evaders who have hidden money in offshore accounts a chance to avoid jail time, netting the IRS at least $4.4 billion.”

Sandy presents Applying All the Right Deductions to Increase That Return posted at Yes, I Am Cheap , saying, “Many people rely on their tax return to once again give them a savings account or an emergency fund for the New Year. To help you get the most out of your tax return, make sure to not miss out on these useful deductions.”

Steve presents What are Our Income Taxes Used For? – 2008 Taxes – Free Tax Filing Options posted at 2008 Taxes, saying, “No one likes to pay taxes. In fact, you may even wonder where your hard earned money goes”

Steve presents Essential Tax Tips for Freelance Writers – 2009 Taxes – Free Tax Filing Options posted at 2009 Taxes, saying, “The career of a freelance writer can be very rewarding. However, the career can quickly lose its appeal when tax time arrives and you owe several thousand dollars”

Robert Moore presents Romney Has Investments Funds In Cayman Islands posted at 2011 Tax, saying, “It might not be immediately obvious, but Mitt Romney has millions of his fortune in investments funds in the Cayman islands, an infamous tax refuge.”

Robert Moore presents The Brownback Plan For 2012 Taxes Is Not Well Thought Out – 2011 Taxes – Free Tax Filing Options posted at 2011 Taxes, saying, “The Brownback plan for 2012 taxes has not been thought out very well by the Kansas Governor.”

Mark Roberts presents How To Choose The Right Filing Status posted at Tax Brackets, saying, “This blog post looks at how to choose the correct filing status for your situation.”

Jessica Bird presents Taxing Your Car posted at CarTaxBands.org, saying, “If you need to pay tax on your car, this blog post will outline three important documents that you will need.”

Jackson presents There?s an App for That: Taxes from Your Phone posted at 2009 Tax, saying, “We do pretty much everything from our phones these days, turns out, taxes are no different.”

Al Peters presents Self Assessment Tax Return 2011 Deadline Approaching posted at TaxFix Feed Update, saying, “The tax return deadline is fast approaching. If you have earned income or had taxable gains in the UK then don’t forget this important deadline.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Hello, Amateur Finance readers, fans, and other visitors.  Today, I have the great honor of being able to host the One-Hundred and Ninetieth Carnival of Financial Planning.  There are a great deal of very interesting looking blog entries included, so please take the time to check them out!

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #190 – June 24, 2011

Welcome to the June 24, 2011 Edition #190 of the Carnival of Financial Planning.

The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. We focus on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

Enjoy!

The Skilled Investor, Editor

Budgeting and Economics

David Leeman presents Cheap Vacation Ideas, Family Vacations on a Budget, Frugal Vacations posted at Financial Freedom Advantage, saying, “Everyone needs some time to relax and decompress. These cheap vacation ideas help you get away without detouring off the road to financial freedom.”

Financial Planning

Joel Ohman presents How Long Before a Hybrid Car Pays for Itself? posted at Car Insurance Comparison, saying, “Is a hybrid really worth it? Here’s how you can calculate.”

Dr. Dean presents Money Management: 9 Ways Golf Can Help! posted at Dr. Dean’s TheMillionaireNurse.com Blog, saying, “Golf and finance.”

Frank Knight presents Investment Asset Allocation posted at Retirement Planning Software, saying, “When you are already there and invested in an asset class, you are following a passive asset allocation strategy. Tactical asset allocation strategy advocates suggest that you can anticipate the crowd, but flow-of-funds studies show that almost all tactical asset allocation fund flows are late money flows that chase performance after valuations have already moved.”

BIFS presents How I Budget posted at Budgeting In the Fun Stuff, saying, “Looking over your finances monthly.”

Frank Vertin presents Index Funds posted at Top Index Funds, saying, “Top ten no load index funds that track the Standard and Poors 500 composite index in terms of lowest costs.”

Income

The Financial Blogger presents May Monthly Income Report posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “The income report for May.”

The Financial Blogger presents How I Went From 30K To 100K In 5 Years Part 2 posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “How to increase your income”

Investing

Dan presents Pandora IPO Is Coming – RUN!!!! posted at ETF Base, saying, “Pandora’s IPO bombed completely this past week. Here’s what we can learn from these tech IPOs – there will be more.”

DGB presents Covered Call ETF High Income, Low Risk? posted at The Dividend Guy Blog, saying, “A look at the risk involved here.”

Intelligent Speculator presents Improving My Trading Results posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “Fixing up your trading results.”

FMF presents Relax with a Gone-Fishing Portfolio posted at Free Money Finance, saying: “Summer is here. It’s time to go fishing or take a trip or do wherever else you enjoy while on vacation. Unless your interests lie in investment management or you have a trusted fiduciary watching over your investments, consider having a portfolio designed to allow you more time to relax.”

Pasadena Financial Planner presents Vanguard Index Funds posted at Top Investment Funds, saying, “Compares Vanguard’s actively managed mutual funds and Vanguard’s passively managed index mutual funds. Vanguard investors should read and understand this study.”

Peter presents 401k Contribution Limits And Rules For 2011 posted at Bible Money Matters, saying, “What are the contribution limits for 2011 for those who will use a 401k?”

Mike @ Green Panda presents Everything You Need to Know About Automatic Savings Plans posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “Automating your savings goals.”

Mike @ DNW presents Debt Management Solutions: Leverage to Gain an Advantage posted at Do Not Wait, saying, “When debt can benefit you.”

Dividends4Life presents 4 Dividend Stocks Turbo-Charging Returns With Increasing Dividends posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, “It is a well-documented fact that a significant portion of the historical equity returns are a result of reinvested dividends. In Triumph of the Optimists: 101 Years of Global Investment Returns (2002), the authors looked at equity returns from capital gains and dividends from 1900 to 2000.”

FMF presents Revisiting the Advice to Buy Real Estate posted at Free Money Finance, saying: “Markets can turn quickly. There’s still blood in the street. Don’t miss this opportunity to look for a great real estate deal.”

Managing Credit and Debt

Jeff Rose, CFP presents Beware of the Enemy: Credit Cards That Will Eat You Alive posted at soldieroffinance.com, saying, “Here is are a selection of credit cards that everyone should avoid, no matter how bad their credit.”

Tim Chen presents What are the Best Store Credit Cards? (We Compare 18) posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch, saying, “Store credit cards, or retail credit cards, are not typically the most financially-friendly options for consumers. We look at a slew of them to point out the pros and cons.”

Jeff Weber presents June 2011 Report on Balance Transfer Credit Cards posted at Smart Balance Transfers, saying, “In June, the average length of balance transfer offers increased to more than 12 months for the second time in 2011 and fees on balance transfers decreased. However, many consumers still have limited options due to the lack of depth in the market.”

Miscellaneous

Darwin presents PEAK OIL. It’s Here. We’re Screwed. [CHART] posted at Darwin’s Money, saying, “The world has finally hit peak oil and here’s the chart to prove it. It’s important to assess the implications and how your future is about to change.”

Dr. Dean presents Hidden Danger Of The Status Quo! posted at Dr. Dean’s TheMillionaireNurse.com Blog, saying, “As you get older you have to protect against obsolescence by adapting to the now.”

Mike @ Green Panda presents Click, Pay, and Deliver: The Advantages & Benefits of Online Shopping! posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “How you can save money shopping online.”

Jason Price presents Perkstreet Update: $100 in Perks Have Arrived! posted at One Money Design, saying, “We made the decision to switch checking to Perkstreet Financial and are really pleased with the results. Learn about our experience and how we received $100 in perks!”

The Skilled Investor presents Market Timing Does Not Work posted at Personal Financial Management, saying, “Always stay invested to earn risk premiums. You must have your money invested and at risk to get risk premium returns. Jumping out and in or “timing the markets” doesn’t work.”

Joe Plemon presents Get Back On Track With Your Resolutions posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “Have those New Year’s resolutions become long forgotten good intentions? Don’t give up. This post will help you get back on track.”

Mr. Money Smarts presents 10 Regular Expenses That You Should Re-Examine To Find A Better Deal posted at Smart On Money, saying, “There are a lot of regular expenses that we just pay every month without even thinking about it that we should be re-examining on a regular basis.”

Retirement Planning

Mike @ DNW presents The Pension Advice Series: How to Build Your Own Pension Plan, Part II posted at Do Not Wait, saying, “More details on building your pension.”

Consumer Boomer presents Saving Enough Money for Retirement posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “To determine if you are currently on track for retirement, complete the following steps…”

Jim Wilkerson presents No Load Index Funds posted at No Load Funds, saying, “Very young stock and bond mutual funds are more likely to put you into the position of being an experimental guinea pig of mutual fund companies and the ETF industry.”

Consumer Boomer presents The Self Directed 401K Plan – Is It For You? posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “This article gives you some helpful information regarding Self Directed 401k plans and whether or not it will work for you.”

Risk Management and Insurance

AutoInsurance presents Why do some people say dont buy Progressive auto insurance? posted at Auto Insurance, saying, “You may be thinking you’ll switch to Progressive to save some dough but check this out before you do.”

Consumer Boomer presents Whole Life Insurance Advice- When Should You Purchase? posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “When shopping for life insurance, the options between permanent, or whole life insurance and term life insurance can be confusing. Here’s some helpful information to help you.”

James presents Insurance Fraud ? Biggest Insurance Scams in History posted at Insurance Providers, saying, “Fraud is no plan!”

Savings

retirebyforty presents Save By Sharing One Car posted at retireby40.org, saying, “American and Canadian families spend a large portion of their paycheck on transportation. Usually, we spend most on housing, transportation, and food in that order. One of the best ways to reduce that big slice of the expenditure pie is to share one car.”

Charles Chua C K presents 10 Effective Ways to Save Money posted at All About Living with Life.

Walter W. Fouse presents Large Cap Mutual Funds posted at Mutual Funds, saying, “This table of low cost top 10 S&P 500 mutual funds has been organized with the lowest cost index fund first. Nevertheless, each of these S & P 500 index funds is among the least costly on the market.”

Taxes

Financial Freedom presents Roth Contributions, posted at Retirement Spreadsheet , saying, “The Roth tax optimization puzzle for asset conversions, as well as for annual Roth contributions during working years, is one of the most complex decisions that the ridiculously complex US taxation and retirement planning system forces upon individuals.”

Tommy John presents Former Clients Feel Betrayed By “Tax Lady” Roni Deutch posted at 2010Taxes, saying, “Roni Deutche may have taken millions of dollars in fees for not providing the debt relief services she advertised.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of financial planning, blog carnival.

Thanks very much for reading, and here’s hoping you enjoyed this very impressive selection of blog entries!

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It’s spring time, that time of year when the birds come back, the bees start buzzing, and everything starts to take on a more beautiful hue.  With the whole world coming back to life this time of year, it’s no wonder that more than a few couples decide to join their lives together in the spirit of holy matrimony now, beginning a new life together when the world around them is also filled with new life.  That’s why Sondra and I will be getting married next June, exactly one year from today!

So, with the sound of wedding bells filling my head, I figured that I could do my duty to my fellow Yakezie by making a kick rump Carnival post, while at the same time, sharing a bit of wedding trivia with everyone.  Since getting the Yakezie Carnival hand-off from The Saved Quarter, I’ve been wondering how to put my own personal twist on it.  It seems hard to be a good ‘wedding’ episode!  So, let’s get started with our first piece of wedding trivia:

The phrase ‘tying the knot’ comes from tying the hands of the bride and the groom together to demonstrate their commitment to each other and the start of their new  life.  This tradition is found in numerous cultures, including Celtic, Hindu, and Egyptian weddings.

Best of the Carnival

Three Reasons Why I Squirrel Away My Money is one of those interesting posts that looks at WHY we do things like try to save.  Kevin of Invest It Wisely delves into his own psyche to explain why he saves, looking closely at the reasons why we bother with money at all.  Plus, it involves squirrel pictures!

Money Beagle has a simply wonderful story, I Refused to Pay Someone What I Was Charged.  I won’t spoil the story for you (although, I will note that I greatly misjudged what the article was about based on the title and cursory reading of the first few paragraphs), but it definitely is the sort of story that should be shared much more broadly and widely in our modern world.

As long time readers will know, I’ve had plenty of unemployment stints since I graduated from my university.  If I had a good guide on what to do in that situation, something like Don’t Think It Can Happen To You? from Money is the Root, I think I’d have spent much less time trying to find a job.  On the other hand, that time enabled me to do things like start this very blog…Interesting predicament.

This probably won’t come as a surprise to just about any of you, but Americans are HORRIBLE with Money.  I’m sure we could fill the comments with stories of friends, neighbors, and of course, celebrities who have made some truly bad decisions with their money, but having a study confirm all that just makes it worse somehow.  (We all hope that people we don’t know are smarter than people we do, I guess.)  Thanks, I guess, to Darwin of Darwin’s Money for bringing this up.

I enjoy reading about new ideas in finance, and the idea of Insuring with Friends, forming a group of friends you select who can help keep down the cost of insurance, sounds like an interesting one to me.  So far, it’s only available in Germany, but if it’s a success, as Krantcents notes, could the US be far behind?

Apparently, there’s a Bridemaid’s Curse: ‘Thrice a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride’.  Don’t panic yet, though; apparently, you can reverse the curse if you are a bridesemaid a total of seven times.  No word on whether the count starts all over again after seven…

The Other Great Posts

Outlaw Finance shares an incredibly in depth and useful Online Stock Broker Comparison for Do-It-Yourself Investing.  Even if you think you’ve got a pretty good handle on the major players in the discount brokerage field, it’s worth checking out; there were a few companies included that I had never heard of before, let alone had a chance to thoroughly research.

Ever think that your would-be clients would keep better track of your business cards if they could use them for a practical purpose like, say, hanging their kid’s homework on the fridge?  You could have the chance to put that theory to the test; Super Frugalette is working with Uprinting to give away business card magnets to one lucky winner.  You’ll have to hurry, though; the contest is ending soon.

Barbara Friedberg asks, ‘Is Holding a Garage Sale Worth It?‘  In her case, the answer is rather emphatically ‘NO’, as she notes ‘I do not like holding garage sales’.  I’ll be the first to admit, that can be a tough one, but well, I DO like garage sales, so perhaps it’s all a matter of personal taste.

As you might have learned just from reading along with this blog, there’s a lot of power in the written word.  The College Investor points out some of the times when a physical letter is still required in our modern times, and explains The Power of a Well Written Letter.  Particularly when it comes to legal matters, the pen is indeed mightier than the sword (and sometimes mightier than the word processor).

Seeing a lamb, frog, black cat, spider or rainbow on the way to the ceremony is supposed to be a sign of good luck.  (Perhaps asking your aunt with all the cats to come to the wedding isn’t such a bad idea after all.)

There’s a very interesting Ode to Vinegar to be found over on the Sustainable Life Blog.  If you think that vinegar is only for cooking and the occasional elementary school science project (that is, to create a baking soda and vinegar volcano), then there’s much you need to learn about the handiness of of this little chemical.

While we’re on the subject of useful chemistry, how does Turning Plastic into Oil strike you?  Well, if the inventors of the Envion Oil Generator have their way, we might just be doing that in the not too distant future.  Be sure to check out Beating Broke’s article to see an example of such a generator in action.

Sometimes, it just doesn’t pay to follow the rules. As Investor Junkie has learned the hard way (is there really any other way to learn these types of lessons?), at times following the rules and playing in the bounds set out by society can end up causing you more trouble than if you went against the rules.  In other words, It Does Not Pay To Be Responsible.

When you attempt to be frugal, you sometimes straddle a fine line between being thrifty and being cheap (or doing something outright illegal).  The people observed by Tight Fisted Miser at the movies, though, leaped over that line and kept right on running.  Please, Stealing at the Movies isn’t Frugal, and if you do the things in this article, don’t expect anyone to want to attend the theater with you, ever.

Apparently if you are Fijian male, you must be married before you die if you hope to make it into heaven.  The god Nangganangg, protector of marriage, will not let you enter if you are a bachelor, and instead will turn you to ash.  (Pretty harsh treatment for a guy who might just need to find the right girl…)

Even as the housing bubble has collapsed, we still need places to live.  Asking ourselves Are you paying too much for housing? has become almost second nature as we attempt to find the best places to live.  Accountant by Day covers some housing costs from around the country, hopefully helping to put it all into perspective.

Can you have fun AND reduce debt?  Well, if Money Reasons is to be believed, the answer is yes.  Debt Reduction and the 3 Steps for Creating a Repayment Plan that is Almost Fun makes the argument that by sticking with a simple plan, it’s possible to pay off your debts and not stress too much while doing so.  (Fun, though, I think is still a bit of a stretch.)

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that all this fun technology we play with has an impact on the world we live in.  Prairie Eco Thrifter helps to put things into perspective, using a graphical display to demonstrate Technology and the Environment – What’s the Connection?

It’s nice to see that innovation isn’t dead yet; companies like Betterment are coming up with unique and different ways to help people invest.  This Betterment Review (subtitled We’re All Investors Now, which is certainly true for those of us who’d ever like to retire) from PT Money definitely makes me consider Betterment, if not for myself, then to suggest to some of my friends and relatives who don’t spend all their free time reading and writing about personal finance.

One of the original roots of bridesmaids and groomsmen in weddings were so they could serve as decoys for angry demons (or roaming barbarians who would try to kidnap the bride; more on them below).  They were supposed to dress similarly to the bride and groom to confuse any vengeful demons.  (Try telling that the bride if she tries to get you into a hideous bridesmaids’ outfit rather than a tasteful dress.)

Are You Worried About Online Security? I certainly am, but there are ways to protect yourself, as long as you use your head and don’t take any unneeded risks.  As My Personal Finance Journey notes, you can keep your personal information safe if you are smart in your online transactions.

It’s always interesting to see what employers might look at in making hiring decisions.  Case in point, Should a Prospective Employer Be Able to Check Your Credit Score? I can see why they would want to, although I agree with the article from Free From Broke that such a report loses a lot of nuance and possibly distorts the picture they get of you.

We all need to eat, which is one reason why this list of 10 Refrigerator Essentials could be quite useful.  It’s always good to have a ready supply of food so you don’t need to rely on restaurants to keep yourself fed.  (And now you’ll know exactly what to feed to the Bucksome Boomer when she comes to visit!)

Some of you readers out there find our blogs via the craziest methods; as noted by Squirrelers, there seems to be an endless array of New Crazy Keywords.  I’m partial to ‘allen iverson no longer in turkey’, myself.  Clearly, I could make my Google search terms much crazier, and still end up on some pretty interesting blogs.

As we weren’t always as gentile in the past as we are now, many weddings used to performed when the groom would abduct his intended bride, hide her away from her family, and then force her into marriage.  As this did not sit well with bride’s family, the groom usually employed a warrior friend to help take the bride and fight off any attempts by her family (or other would-be husbands) to take her back.  And so began the tradition of having a ‘best man‘.

When I look into making a side income, as I do occasionally, on possibility that always seems to come up is mystery shopping.  Much of what is out is there are scams, sadly, but luckily there are legitimate opportunities as The Saved Quarter notes.  The Mystery Shopping to Make Extra Money post helps to demystify the process and allow you to get into mystery shopping on the up and up.

Bond.  Treasury Bond. If you want your investing life to be neither shaken nor stirred, a healthy dose of Treasuries will help you add stability to your portfolio.  Trust in La Tisha of Financial Success for Young Adults to help point you in the right direction, as you learn the does and don’ts of Treasuries.

Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best.  Late Payments Ruining Your Credit?  Automate Your Payments; if you take your memory out of the equation, it won’t be that hard to keep up with the payments you need to make.  Just follow this method from Little House in the Valley, and those late payments will be a thing of the past.

It’s rough when your job puts restrictions on what you can and cannot do with your money.  Evan of My Journey to Millions finds himself in just such a situation with his job, and is reaching out for some advice on what to do in Need Help Choosing an Online Discount Broker.  Any thoughts for the man?

We can thank Pope Nicholas I for the modern custom of gold engagement rings.  In 860, he declared that such rings must be made of gold, to signify a financial sacrifice on the part of the groom.  (No word on his position on ‘bling’.)

That’s all for this week’s Yakezie Carnival; be sure to check out Not Made of Money next Sunday to see the next edition!

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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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