Carnival of Personal Finance #90!

Welcome to the 90th Carnival of Personal Finance! Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope you enjoy this week’s selections. I have personally chosen and grouped articles for you to read. If you are new to my blog I am especially happy to have you.

My original plans for the Carnival fell through. I was going to pull all the articles I liked and make a Carnival from it, hoping that submissions would overlap with my choices, and the non-editor’s picks would be added on as sideshows. However, there was absolutely no overlap in the articles that I liked and what people submitted. Therefore, I did a traditional carnival, divided into sections. The articles I picked, are an Alternative Carnival of Personal Finance #90, instead of titled the usual ‘Articles I Liked This Week.’

The sections do have a bit of logic and purpose.

#1) The Big Top Carnival – represents my editor’s picks.
#2) Intermission – blatant publicity for two good blogs but stuff I might normally reject
#3) Balance Transfer Booth – a natural grouping of posts
#4) Carnival Sideshow One – articles I liked a lot but not quite ready for the Big Top
#5) The Parking Lot – another natural grouping of posts
#6) Carnival Sideshow Two – all the rest of accepted articles.

I did reject quite a few that were more investing oriented. There is another carnival for that. And while some submitted articles could apply to personal finance, because they were not written for a personal finance audience and directly making those connections, I rejected them.

Next week’s host is The Sun’s Financial Diary. Please use the form at the Carnival’s website for submission.

(As I pulled this together on Sunday night, the Big Broadcast at WAMU tonight had Fibber McGee and Molly going to the circus. Coincidence? I think not!)

Big Top Carnival! Center Ring! (Let’s go here first!)

InsureBlog presents $5k Crunch. How much is TOO much for health insurance, and can you afford NOT to have it? InsureBlog’s Bob Vineyard explains how mandatory coverage could affect YOUR bottom line. Timely article.

My Two Dollars presents Finding Out Your Parents Financial Situtation Can Be Stressful..

Mom Advice presents DIY project on refurbishing your Dining Room Chairs

Queercents does a recap of Suze Orman’s coming out. My comment’s still the same. Who cares? She’s got a creepy tan! But the commentary by my Queerfriends on the matter is rather interesting.

The Digerati Life presents Outsourcing Romance for $100,000 A Year: Love and Matchmaking 2.0

Searchlight Crusade on the harsh truths about getting a mortgage. His entry is called Magical Thinking About Mortgage Loans.

Clever Dude presents Frugal Lunch. Clever Dudette is a registered dietician and has put together a week’s menu of frugal meals for Clever Dude. Note this was prepared before the Peter Pan/salmonella recall.

Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket presents How I Create (and Re-Create) My Own Kitchen Convenience. I liked this one because there are actually some NEW tips in there which I haven’t read other places.

Ask the Advisor at Your Credit Advisor presents a rockin’ list, 136 Tips for Saving Money in College. It’s got GREAT advice, like shopping military surplus for stuff while you are in college. I still have a passion for milspec clothes from shopping at I. Goldberg’s in Philly. It’s good advice for everyone on frugal living.

Getting Green presents 14 High Yield Savings Accounts Reviewed , and says, “A royal rumble of 14 different online savings accounts. Learn which is the best combination of customer service, security features, and interest rate.”

Wisebread has a great post for job survival. How to survive (and thrive!) in a job you hate. If you are in a job you hate or even mildly dislike, READ THIS POST. Make your choice actively. Know your intentions. Make your crappy job serve YOUR purpose.

Bankruptcy Law Network give us Relationship Banking: Who is it good for?. I really like this one. I’m not a big fan of banking all in one place. Here’s a great justification of why you shouldn’t. Of course, I’m not planning on a bankruptcy either. But something to think about. (And remember, the FDIC only insures you up to $100K in deposits.)

Intermission

Poetry Contest at Aridni! Contest ends on March 31. Here’s something I think should be submitted by Mad Kane. Special shout-out to Wanda at Well-Heeled. She’s got some haiku.

NCN from No Credit Needed presents NCN On
Oprah And Friends Radio, and says, “I was interviewed by the Jean Chatzky, the money editor for Oprah.com.”

Balance Transfer Booth (Stop for some refreshment)

FiveCentNickel presents How to Profit from 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers.

Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog presents 0% Financing DealsAre Best For People who Do Not Need It.

Dogberry Patch presents App-o-Rama – Long-Term 0% Balance Transfer Strategy, and says, “3rd in a series on using 0% credit card balance transfer offers to make money”

Carnival Sideshow One (On to the next tent!)

Blunt Money presents Why I bought a condo at 21. A nice personal story for personal finance.

Debt Be Gone presents The day to day numbers..

Tricia from Blogging Away Debt presents Reducing Debt – Where Did We Start?

LAMoney Guy at It’s Just Money presents Eating in Orlando for $50 a day. He spent several days in Disney and Universal theme parks, home of the overpriced coke and cheeseburger. Yet managed to spend well under $50 per day on food for two people.

Broke A$$ Student writes Investing Prudently and Other Tidbits.

My Financial Journey presents 20%+ guaranteed return on your money in 2 easy steps.

MoneyWalks has Different Forms of Taxes. It’s quite a list. Did you realize you were paying these?

Free Money Finance presents Consider Total Compensation When Evaluating Job Offers, and says, “Be sure you consider ALL compensation when comparing one job offer to another.”

Donna Jean at The Weight of Money presents Procastinating: throwing away money, and says, “Getting a refund? Then file already!”

Make Your Nut presents Dispelling Popular Myths about Credit Scoring, Volume 1, and says, “Public perception of credit scoring methodology is filled with half-truths and oversimplifications that, if taken at face value, can actually lead you to lower your credit score despite your good faith efforts to raise it.”

The Finance Buff presents Bank CDs by Auction: Name Your Own Yield, and says, “First online auction for bank CDs open to individual investors in the United States.” I find this a really interesting article, since you get to do your own bidding, like on eBay or Prosper. I won’t touch it, since I’m a nervous nelly about my finances, but go have a look if you are interested in broadening your investment options.

Golbguru from Money, Matter, and More Musings presents A Tricky Net Worth Problem; Who Is The Richest Of Them All?, and says, “So we think we can understand our net worth? Here are a few examples that wil show that it’s not as simple as you think.”

Grad Money Matters presents An Interview with Trent (The Simple Dollar), Jim (Blueprint for Financial Prosperity) and J. D. (Get Rich Slowly) , and says, “This interview is a part of the “Ethics, Values & Personal Finance” week at Grad Money Matters and discusses with some of the prominent bloggers their views on issues related to “Ethics, Personal Finance and Blogging”.”

Debt Free presents How The Wealthy Invest, And What You Can Learn From Them.

The Frugal Law Student presents How Eating Out Can Kill You and Your Budget. Nothing really new here, but look at the photos and then go try to eat your lunch. A bunch of PF bloggers are trying to lose weight, so I offer you this one.

Get Rich Slowly presents Cheap Alternatives to Cable TV. Various strategies, which work, even for a person like me who HAS NO TELEVISION AT ALL. How does that work? Read the article and find out! (All things being equal, get rid of your TV.)

Money Smart Life presents Ten Reasons Why You Should Become an Entrepreneur Today, and says, “Personal development, relationship building, and learning the value of money are a few of the reasons I give why everyone should have the experience of being an entrepreneur.”

My New Choice gives us Financial Accountability.

Ask Uncle Bill writes about Taxes and the Three Martini Lunch. Click-through for a martini recipe. Nice and dry. However, he makes it with yucky gin. BLECH.

King of Debt at We’re In Debt presents Day 292: Coinstar Is Paying Off Our Debt & Paying For Our Laundry. Drat. Still have to take my coins in. This isn’t a bad alternative though.

The Fair Parking Lot (A swing through the parking lot to drop off your prizes)

Wanda from Well-Heeled: twentysomething life & money presents No new car smell

Buford Twain from The Tortured Mind of Buford Twain presents My Car has more Miles than Your Car!, and says, “On how NOT to have a car payment.”

Personal Finance Advice presents Why Newer Cars Don’t Save You Money. Jeffrey plays devil’s advocate here and writes, ‘Many people believe that once a car surpasses 100,000 miles or so, the costs of having to repeatedly fix the vehicle aren’t worth it, and that it makes more sense to trade in the old car and buy an almost new one. This may not be the best strategy for saving money.’

Carnival Sideshow Two

Simple Guru from Simple Guru presents Merging Lives, Merging Money, and says, “Story and advice for couples trying to financially co-exist”

Credit Cave presents 10 of The Biggest Financial Security Breaches

Pediascribe presents Chief Financial Officer, and says, “This article is about my husband and me starting our debt reduction journey.”

Trent at The Simple Dollar presents a spreadsheet for calculating your net worth. He recommends an open source spreadsheet or MS Excel. My advice? Try using MS Works. It’s usually bundled for free on your PC. Works fine for me and I paid for it already. Or else try using NetWorthIQ’s website.

The Dividend Guy Blog writes about Saving Too Much For Retirement.

Brad’s Bits presents try to get your appliances rolled into your mortgage, and says, “I wish I had tried to get my washer and dryer rolled into my mortgage rather than purchase outright.” I admit, I had a problem of a broken dishwasher when I went to settlement. (It had worked ok at the inspection 2 weeks prior.) I feel like I should have pushed harder to get more money to replace it.

Steve from Sushi Money presents What is a safe investment?

My Wealth Builder presents Lessons From My Dad – Create Guaranteed Income Streams

Nigel Swaby presents Tricks For Making An Offer On A House

Growing Money presents Review: Fidelity Investment.

Seeking Wealth presents How I build my spending plan.

plonkee money presents money
scripts: house buying, and says, “Explanation of why being slightly irrational on my house purchase has helped me sleep better at night.”

My Financial Awareness presents Is Giving/Being of Service the Key to Prosperity?, looking at why giving/being of service is more important to becoming prosperous than focusing on making money.

Living the Dream presents a long article,Real Estate is a Business.

Today’s Ten offers you Top 10 Money Tips For Almost Everyone.

Breaking the $hackles of the 9 to 5 presents Forest Whitaker Reminded Me of a Key to Success: A Burning Desire.

MyPocketChange presents The Housing Trade Off: High Prices Now or High Interest Later?, and says, “We’ll work out some numbers to explore the trade off between buying over-priced houses at low rates and under-priced houses at high interest rates.”

The Real Estate Guide offers some advice, Choosing a Good Lawyer Helps. “Not only are real estate lawyers better at the transaction, they usually charge far less than other lawyers do for handling a real estate transaction.”

Shadox from Money and Such presents 6
Reasons to Roll-Over Your 401(k). How about #7? If you don’t, I’ll take it from you! ALWAYS ROLLOVER YOUR 401K TO A PRIVATE IRA. Don’t leave your money in someone else’s control.

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