The Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #30

Budgeting

Matt presents Budgeting for Beginners: How to Get Started posted at Living in Financial Excellence, saying, Your first budget can be very intimidating. If you’ve never attempted one before, it’s often overwhelming just figuring out where to start. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The budgeting process is actually pretty simple in theory. The good news is, it’s simple in practice too.

Dr Dean presents 100 Words On How To Become “Well To Do!” posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog, saying, Want to be financially successful? Check out this short mantra, and repeat it daily.

Emily presents The Slippery Slope of Separate Money posted at Evolving Personal Finance, saying, If you have individual discretionary spending money, how do you decide what should be paid for with individual money and what with joint money?

Sean presents Gym Memberships – Using Money to Motivate You posted at One Smart Dollar, saying, All of us need ways to motivate ourselves to get things done. One of the biggest motivators is money. Thank you for your consideration.

Glen Craig presents What Would You Do with a Cash Windfall? posted at Free From Broke , saying, Who wouldn’t love to have a cash windfall come their way? But what would you do with a cash windfall? See three options you can take with the money.

Mike Piper presents How Much Do I Need to Save Per Year? posted at Oblivious Investor, saying, It’s a common question — and an important one. But it’s remarkably difficult to answer precisely.

Jeremy presents Establishing Spending Priorities posted at Modest Money, saying, Depending on your financial situation, you may need to make some sacrifices. At the same time, you don’t want to let your budgeting prevent you from enjoying the things you love. To stay happy you need to establish spending priorities and spend a bit where it makes you happy.

Business

Darwin presents Senate Rejects Buffett Rule – Fighting Stupidity with Logic posted at Darwin’s Money, saying, Obama’s proposed “Buffett” rule explained – and why it’s a horrible idea for America.

Janet presents Here’s What to Do BEFORE You Call Customer Service posted at Credit, Eh, You might be surprised to learn that what you do before you make the call can have a great deal of influence on how successful your call to customer service will be. Here are some things to do prior to picking up the phone.

Eddie presents Tools to Boost Small Business Growth posted at Finance Fox, saying, There are many tools available to help small business owners grow their businesses, but like many newly formed business money becomes the biggest constraint.

Career

Glen Craig presents Should I Climb The Corporate Ladder Or Start My Own Business? posted at Free From Broke , saying, Is it worth climbing the corporate ladder? By starting you own business you have much more potential. See how Steve at MyWifeQuitHerJob.com started his online business.

Philip Taylor presents 10 Alternative Online Job Search Sites posted at PT Money Personal Finance, saying, Gives 10 unique, more targeted alternative sites to the big-named job search engines like Monster and CareerBuilder.

PITR presents Is Passive Income only for the Rich? posted at Passive Income To Retire, saying, Can only the rich create passive income or is there another way besides investing money that you already have to create passive income.

Corey presents How to Get a Job without Experience posted at 20s Finances, saying, Are you looking to switch careers or get a new job? If you are just graduating from college and are trying to get a job in this economy it may be pretty difficult. There is a lot of competition out there and even if you had a job in college, odds are that there is someone with longer work experience.

Daisy presents Start Off On The Right Foot: Tips for Interns Or Newbies in General posted at Add Vodka, saying, How to do well at an internship and impress your boss.

Roger the Amateur Financier presents Book Review – Eat That Frog! posted at The Amateur Financier, saying, A review of the book Eat That Frog! The book focuses on overcoming procrastination and getting more accomplished in life.

Credit

John presents Debt Payoff Calculator – How to Use One posted at Married with Debt, saying, A debt payoff calculator takes your debts owed and interest rates and tells you how long it will take to pay them off. An important tool.

Debt Guru presents Use Incentives to Pay off Debt posted at Debt Free Blog, saying, Paying off debt can be a lot easier when you use incentives to motivate yourself.

Jeremy Waller presents 5 Reasons to Keep Your Credit Report Up To Date posted at Personal Finance Whiz, saying, Many people think that their credit reports reflect only up-to-date, accurate information, but unfortunately many people would be wrong. About 79 percent of reports contain some type of error, with 25 percent containing errors serious enough that lenders will deny you new lines of credit.

Education

Pam Whitlock presents 12 Favorite Books to Start the Money Conversation with your Child posted at The MoneyTrail Blog, saying, Books are a great way to initiate financial conversations with your child. Here are my 12 favorites for kids and teens.

PPlan presents What is Rich? What does it Mean? posted at Provident Plan, saying, Defining what is rich and/or wealth alters our understanding of ourselves and our mission in life. Find out why.

Tim presents What is a 529 College Savings Plan? posted at Faith and Finance, saying, Saving for college? You could have some major tax savings along the way! For families looking to send their children to college, a 529 plan is a must. Here’s the rundown on a 529 College Savings Plan.

Financial Advice

Everything Finance presents What They Won’t Tell You about Paying Off Debt posted at Everything Finance, saying, If you’ve been focused on paying off your debt, or perhaps saving for a big life event such as a wedding or buying a house, you may reach a point where you’ve just had enough. This is what they won’t tell you when it comes to paying off debt: sometimes it’s okay to take a break from finances.

Robert presents Interesting Ways to Boost Your Bottom Line posted at The College Investor, saying, Instead of the standard routes to boosting your bottom line that can have a major impact on your schedule (taking on a part-time job, working overtime), what if you amassed a variety of side gigs and odd jobs based on your various hobbies and interests that could make an impact on your ability to pay down debt, save, and spend as you would like to? Here are just a few interesting ways to bring in extra income that can fit into anyone’s schedule:

Penny Thots presents Picking a Winning Team for Financial Success posted at Penny Thots, saying, When you work towards goals on your own, there is only so much one person can do, physically, mentally and even time wise. This can lead to burn out, and without support of others, a person is far more apt to quit before a project has even left the ground. A team can help keep your focus on the target, and motivate you to keep going.

Paul Vachon presents Retirement Age and When to Collect Social Security posted at The Frugal Toad, saying, Deciding when to retire can have financial consequences for you and your family for many years. Delaying retirement age and taking Social Security Benefits later not only increases your monthly benefit but may also allow you the opportunity to employ powerful benefits management strategies.

Little House presents Have You Changed Banks Recently? posted at Little House in the Valley, saying, The reason I haven’t consolidated all of my accounts to one credit union or online account is that it just seems like a huge hassle to switch over all to one primary bank. Especially since I have a bunch of accounts that serve particular purposes.

TRL presents Why Investing in Real Estate Takes Time posted at The Retired Landlord, saying, Investing in real estate is a long-term approach to building income. Understanding that it takes time is important to realize now.

Control Your Cash presents Hop on and rotate. posted at Control Your Cash, saying, You can’t be so stupid as to gamble, can you? Maybe you can. Here’s why the odds are stacked against you.

Sandy presents Money Traps You Should Never Give In To posted at Yes, I am Cheap, saying, When trying to work your way out of debt, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel can seem impossible. Feeling like the debt is endless is a typical feeling, and because of it, many people are quick to look for extreme options to put cash back in their pockets. A few major money traps to avoid include…

FamilyMoneyValues presents Riches to Rags Part Two posted at Family Money Values, saying, One book changed my thinking about wealth and the direction in which I am trying to guide my family. That book is Strategy for the Wealthy Family by Mark Haynes Daniell.

Frugality

Steve Zussino presents Saving Money with the Best Canadian Shopping Apps posted at Grocery Alerts Canada, saying, Not only do the following 5 apps help save you money when it comes to showing you the best savings via coupons and price comparisons; they also enhance the overall shopping experience by saving you time with things like user reviews, match capabilities, and shopping math for frugal shoppers on the go. Plus, they are all completely free too!

Lina Zussino presents Top 5 kids clothing stores & some savings tips posted at Baby Alerts Canada, saying, There are quite a lot of choices when it comes to buying your kid’s clothing. Here are my top 5 choices for kids clothing stores, and some tips on how to get deals and discounts there.

Echo presents 10 Fees That Are Worth The Money posted at Boomer & Echo, saying, Some fees just can’t be avoided, but that doesn’t mean every fee is designed to rip you off. You can feel good about paying fees when they provide enough benefit to justify the cost. Here are 10 fees that are worth the money:

Steve Zussino presents How to save money with Tankless Water Heaters posted at Canadian Personal Finance, saying, While tankless water heaters will save you anywhere between 20 and 50 percent on utility bills, they also come with a host of other benefits as well.

MMD presents What Would You Do With An Extra $1,000? posted at MyMoneyDesign, saying, Having just received $1,000 from my previous escrow balance, should I totally blow it or do something responsible? Let’s explore the options and see all the things you could do with an extra $1,000.

Suba presents Give Yourself Financial Hope posted at Broke Professionals, saying, Saving for a rainy day, being frugal with your money and following your budget are all great things to do to keep your financial aspirations on track – but they do get old.

Maria presents Zen and the art of motorcar ownership: how much are our car ownership costs, really ? posted at The Money Principle, saying, Read about the Zen car concept, perhaps it could work for you too!

Paul Vachon presents Save Money With These Easy DIY Projects posted at The Frugal Toad, saying, Hiring a professional does not always guarantee a quality job. There are many DIY Projects that you can tackle yourself and save yourself some money at the same time.

Investing

Beating Broke presents Lending Club Returns 1Q2012 Update posted at Beating Broke, saying, If you’ve been following along, you know that I’ve been performing a bit of an experiment. I’ve been taking 10% of my earnings from this and other online ventures and splitting it evenly between Lending Club and Sharebuilder accounts. The idea was to see what kind of returns I could get from the two, and to test for stability. I’ve been running the experiment for a little over 6 months now, and I’m calling it done. The difference has been so drastic, that I don’t think there’s any point in running it any longer.

J.P. presents Greater Fool Theory: Investing For Suckers posted at Novel Investor, saying, At some point everyone gets to play both sides of the greater fool theory. It’s inevitable. The hope is that when it’s our turn to be the greater fool, we don’t get burned too badly.

Ryan presents About The Baby Boomers Already Flocking to Retirement posted at Early Retirement Investments, saying, The Baby Boomers Are Already Flocking to Retirement! Read more to find out!

TRL presents Why Investing in Real Estate Takes Time posted at The Retired Landlord, saying, Investing in real estate is a long-term approach to building income. Understanding that it takes time is important to realize now.

Corey presents Common but Avoidable IRA Tax Mistakes posted at Steadfast Finances, saying, Learn more about common IRA tax mistakes. Find out if you are making avoidable mistakes.

Investor Junkie presents Investing Internationally posted at Investor Junkie, saying, American investors have traditionally favored domestic investments over international stocks. The reasons for domestic investment are varied, but the prevailing reason may just be that the US markets are international – the American stock markets are the largest in the world by assets. Investing internationally is an excellent way to improve your total portfolio diversification.

Mich presents Marquee Energy: Undervalued Oil Junior with Strong Production Growth Ahead posted at BeatingTheIndex, saying, Marquee is currently trading at a substantial discount compared to its peers even though it is one of a few oil weighted junior companies with strong production growth ahead.

Young presents A Peek Inside My TFSA Trading Portfolio 2012 posted at Youngandthrifty, saying, It seems customary that I share what my purchases were for the year in terms of my TFSA Trading Portfolio with Questrade.

Other

SB presents Basics of Insurance: Why we Need Insurance? posted at One Cent at a Time, saying, What is insurance? Insurance is all about playing defense, where as an investment is an offense. You protect yourself and your asset by having insurance and investments take care of future needs.

SB presents American Express Serve Platform Review – Let it Serve You posted at Finance Product Reviews, saying, American Express Serve is a new generation payment platform for your peer-to-peer money transfer needs. Will serve be able to edge past Google wallet and PayPal? What are the features for Serve platform?

Jocelin presents The Importance of Teamwork! posted at One Money Design, saying, No matter, the simpleness or complexity, working as a team makes any load much lighter.

CF presents Complacency is the enemy posted at The Outlier Model, saying, It’s tempting after the long haul of post secondary education, to settle in to the first job you get and relax for awhile. It’s important to be aware that this can lead to complacency which can have negative financial impacts down the road.

YFS presents Stop paying your mortgage today!… and be a victim! posted at Your Finances Simplified, saying, A few days ago a friend of mine placed a very interesting link on my wall and included this message: This story made me think of your blog. Dominique, I would love to hear your opinion on this.

krantcents presents The 3 L’s of Success posted at KrantCents, saying, The 3 L’s of Success is the twelfth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.

A Blinkin presents Should You Sell Your Timeshare? posted at Funancials, saying, Timeshares soared in popularity over the past 15 years, but recently, as the economy has dipped; many individuals are reconsidering whether owning a timeshare is really worth it. During boom years, people thought timeshares were a great investment, similar to owning a vacation home, but without all of the other costs associated with it.

Don presents Saving Money By Negotiating Health Care Costs posted at MoneySmartGuides, saying, My last post was about how the country could save money if everyone was more conscious of medical costs and limited their use for times when they really needed a doctor.

KT presents Save Hundreds of Dollars a Year by Making These Four Drinks at Home posted at Personal Finance Journey, saying, We spend a lot on beverages. Take a typical Saturday – you may grab some coffee in the morning and spend anywhere from $2 to $6, depending on the drink you buy.

FG presents Why Are Environmentalists Against North American Oil & Gas? posted at Financial God, saying, I don’t understand why environmentalists are supporting regimes that are well-known for their corruption and human-rights abuses, like Iran or Venezuela.

Hank presents Benefits Of High Deductible Health Insurance Plans posted at Money Q&A, saying, A high deductible health insurance plan is designed to provide for catastrophic coverage in case something happens to you, providing good coverage for a decent price.

MR presents Are You Trying to Become Financially Independent? posted at Money Reasons, saying, I admit it, I wasted time on wasteful activities, but now I want to be rich and I’m changing my direction. Now I have a plan, do you?

Sustainable PF presents Public Service Compensation – The Next Bubble? posted at Sustainable Personal Finance, saying, Is public service compensation the next bundle? Opinions will vary.

Jeffrey presents Famous Money Movie Moments and Lessons with Video! posted at Money Spruce, saying, Money movies are entertaining, but you can learn something from them, too! Here’s a few of the best moments that are not only funny but also have great lessons.

Amanda L Grossman presents Guests are Coming: Does the Entertainment Book or CityPASS Offer More Savings? posted at Frugal Confessions, saying, We are so excited and feel very blessed that our home was chosen for a Grossman reunion.

101 Centavos presents Building Raised Garden Beds, Part 1 posted at 101 Centavos, saying, Here is an article on how to build a raised garden beds!

Wayne presents The Price of Being Organized posted at Young Family Finance, saying, Find out what it cost me to buy a new desk and become more organized.

Kevin presents What If I Don’t File My Taxes On Time? posted at Thousandaire, saying, If you can’t file your taxes on time then you can file for an extension and save yourself a lot of penalties and interest.

SFB presents Birth Control for the Financially Frugal posted at Simple Finance Blog, saying, I’m trying to figure out which birth control method is the most cost-effective. Tubal ligation? IUD? Pills? The answer isn’t as simple as you’d think.

Daniel presents You’re Emancipated From Paying Taxes…At Least For A Few Days posted at Sweating the Big Stuff, saying, In 2012, taxes aren’t due until April 17th, two days later than usual. But do you know why?

Aloysa presents Save Money by Shopping in Pawn Shops posted at My Broken Coin, saying, Learn how to save money by shopping in Pawn Shops.

Lazy Man presents The Hidden Cost of Your Technology Buying Decisions posted at Lazy Man and Money, saying, Whenever I buy into technology, I always factor in the decision to migrate away from the technology. I ask myself, “If this company were to disappear or become prohibitively expensive, am I in a position to switch to something else?”

Kyle presents It’s Raining Cash! We’re Giving Away $550 bucks…. posted at The Penny Hoarder, saying, Welcome to the $550 It’s Raining Cash Giveaway hosted by Giveaway Promote and The Penny Hoarder.

Steve presents Our Bangkok Budget posted at Money Infant, saying, At last the much hyped and long awaited Bangkok budget! Keep in mind that this budget is for 2 adults and a 2 year old living in what is considered one of the better areas of Bangkok.

Princess P presents Why Females are Better Investors posted at Portfolio Princess, saying, Women are better investors because they take a calculated approach to risk and investing in the stock market. Low volatility portfolios come with patience.

Jon the Saver presents Avoid Starbucks and Make your Own Gourmet Mocha Coffee! posted at Free Money Wisdom, saying, Use this awesome mocha recipe to avoid Starbucks and help you save money. it is not only tasty but fun to make, now go grab some coffee!

Ashley presents Ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau posted at Money Talks Coaching, saying, I came across a new new to me anyways government site that has a ton of financial information on it. It’s called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Shaun presents 10 things Entrepreneurs can learn from watching Ghostbusters: Top Ten Family Finance Posts #6 posted at Smart Family Finance, saying, Ghostbusters is a classic ’80s comedy, but it also teaches us a lot about entrepreneurship.

Jason presents Should I Sell My Wife’s Wedding Ring? posted at Work Save Live, saying, Some say that a home is where you make it However, reality is that we get attached to our homes and they end up being a place where memories are created and live forever. Instead of a house being a shelter as theyre intended they become our identity.

SB presents Foursquare Local Networking for your Money – A Review posted at Finance Product Reviews, saying, Can Foursquare local networking coupled with games and deals be useful for your money? Read to know more about the application

Paul presents FDIC And Your Money posted at Make Money Make Cents, saying, Did you know that you can have over 2 million dollars insured by a bank? Have you ever wondered how FDIC works? How about who pays for it? Here’s a little insight to answer those questions.

Saving

Jen presents Having Only One Car Saves Us Money-Even Though it Sucks posted at Master the Art of Saving, saying, It’s been over two years now since my husband’s car broke down for good. It was a sad day, but sometimes things have an upside. I have realized that there are other ways that having only one car saves us money, aside from the obvious ones.

Peter presents PerkStreet Cash Back Changes Go Live Today. Why I’m Sticking with Perkstreet Despite Earning Less Cash Back posted at Bible Money Matters, saying, Despite the drop in cash back rewards, and the snafu with the announcement of the changes, I’ll be sticking with Perkstreet for a few reasons.

We were also in the following carnivals

• Carnival of Personal Finance
• Financial Simplicity Carnival
• Yakezie Carnival
• Carnival of Wealth
• Festival of Frugality
• Totally Money Carnival

Thats it! Have a great weekend!