Carnivals I was involved this week

Carnival of Personal Finance #102 - Money Smart Life

75th Festival of Frugality - Blogging Away Debt

Carnival of Credit Card #14 - Credit Card Lowdown

Carnival of Financial Planning - The Skilled Investor

Posts that caught my eye

My Wealth’s Builder’s article on Risk Allocation in Wealth Portfolio is probably one of the best personal finance post I have come across. In fact I was about to write about this topic and he has beaten me to the punch. It looks like I have to do more research and expand on what he has said. I am really surprised this post was not at all on the Editor’s Choice List at the Carnival of Personal Finance.

8 Different Ways to Diversify and Manage Risk by SVB from The Digerati Life is a similar post to the one I made on Is your portfolio diversified?. I urge you to read her post as I think too many people do not have a diversified portfolio and reading her post will reinforce this point.

How Frugal Are You? by Grad Money Matters is an insightful post on how frugality is relative to one’s situation.

How to get a free membership at Costco? by Fil-Ma Words intrigued me because being an American Epxress Platinum Card member, I have just received Costco Coupons! But I do not have a Costco Membership. Now it looks like I may have found a way to get one for free!

I missed linking back to the last 2 week’s carnivals which I was involved. So here is a quick recap. Please check these out if you are not at the beach!

Carnival of Personal Finance 101 Edition at Fire Finance.

75th Festival of Frugality was hosted by JD Roth at Get Rich Slowly.

Carnival of Ethics, Values and Personal Finance at Tired But Happy.

Carnival of Credit Card #13 at Credit Card Lowdown.

Festival of Under 30 Finance at Money for the Rest of Us.

Festival of Frugality #74 at Millionster.

Carnival of Personal Finance at My Open Wallet.

Fav Post from the past 2 weeks

Check out Smart Money Daily’s real life Jouney from Bankruptcy to a 700 Credit Score. I really enjoyed this post because it was coming from a real person. If you are in a similar situation, you will learn a lot about rebuilding your credit history.

JD Roth’s advice to an employed person about Coping with Unemployment : Blogging is not the answer is a sound one. My take on this : Start a Blog when you are employed!

Grad Money interviews Single Ma about 5 Money Questions : I won’t tell you exactly what it’s about, but I can say for sure you’ll learn something from this.

Finally, SVB of The Digerati Life talks about 10 Ways to save on your wedding cake. Lot of pics - but I don’t really fancy of these wedding cakes! But being Star Wars fan (and given that they have just celebrated their 30th anniversary), I was pleased to see a Star Wars wedding cake. But come on SVB, Kit Fisto? How about Han Solo and Princess Leia (with her outfit when she was captured by Jaba the Hut!)

That’s It! Happy Memorial Day.

Welcome to the Mother’s Day Edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction. Today, you will not get any sales pitch on things to buy for Mother’s Day. But rather, we will pay tribute to good old Mama’s advice on money and life and for once, I will use pink in my post (tell me if it goes with my light blue!). I will always remember Mama’s advice given to me throughout the years. Personally, here are a few snippets of what my mom personally told me :

1. Always have your own bank account (this was actually what she told her daughter-in-law Mrs Credit Card!)

2. You do not have to ever support me when I’m old, but don’t you dare borrow money from me!

3. Always save…save…save.

4. If you ever lend money to your friends, do not expect to get a single cent back.

Well, today’s carnival will contain some age old Mama’s advice. So, pay attention and stay tuned.

There is no free lunch. If it’s too good to be true, something smells fishy

Search Light Crusade post resonated with me the most - Mortgage Loan Advertisements : Horrible and Getting Worse. I cannot agree more with this post. Worse of all, these ads appear on mainstream internet like Yahoo. Check out Yahoo and see if you cannot find the following ad : Mortgage rates fall again - $145,000 for $499 a month!

Me : Mommy, I heard that our principal will be leaving at the end of the year.
Mama : Well, uncle Harry works for the school commisioner. Let’s call him to find out what is going on !

Free Money Finance post on The Mortgage Mess : In the Eyes of An Account Executive will really make you angry at what is going on in the mortgage industry. This is an insider account of what is really going on in the subprime mortgage lending world. I recently attended a Dan Kennedy/Glazer meetup group. These folks are famous for their direct marketing. During the session I attended, there was this mortgage broker (who must have been about 25 years old) who stood up and presented on how he was using direct marketing tactics (newsletters etc) to get sub-prime clients. He makes about $15,000 per loan approval!

When Mama found out I was dating, she always asked me the following :

Who is she?
What is her name?
What is her major in school?
Can I see her picture?
Where does she live?

Uhhh!! I used to hate those questions! But when it comes to major decisions and purchases in life, you can never ask too many questions. Is Debt Management Plan Right For You? from BB Consumer Education contains 17 questions you should ask before you think about enrolling in a Debt Management Plan. The title should be 17 Questions To Ask Before You Enroll in a DMP. These are very good points though and anyone in this situation should definitely check this out.

When I was 13 years old, I asked Mama to get me the latest BMX ‘Diamond Black’ bike. Why do you need it? Just use your old bike!

PF Advice wrote about the 10 Reasons Why He ditched His Car. Let me guess - totally eliminate your auto loan debt? But seriously, this is a nice post. And you know it is nice when a comment is as long as the post! If you could really do without a car, you will definitely save a bundle from not paying any auto loans.

Mama says : First, you write your daily allowance on the right column. Then you add your expenses on the left. Then you subtract the left column from the right column. The difference is what you saved

Aside from teaching me about budgeting, Mama also taught me how to fry an egg, tie my shoe laces and many other stuff. She would approve of the next post. 5 Steps to Debt Management is a summary of steps that My Credit Score has developed to help you manage your debt.

How to Get Out of Debt Fast by Kennubo is a very brief summary of steps you can take to get out of debt. This post could use a little more detail and elaboration though.

Never owe anybody money or they control your lives

How I plan to help my children avoid the credit trap documents the steps No Credit Needed Blog is taking following Mama’s advice on teaching your kids about money. Unlike, most who believe their kids have to learn the value of money and figure things out themselves, No Credit Needed is thinking about helping their kids more generously to prevent them from getting into debt.

Finished your homework? Well, don’t just do nothing, find something useful to do!

Mama would never allow me to waste my time doing silly things. Even when I’m done with my homework, she’ll find something useful for me to do. Your Credit Cards are paid off. Now What? is a thought provoking question posed by Tricia from Blogging Away Debt. What do you do when you have eliminated your credit card debt. Listen to what Mama says : Don’t just do nothing, find another debt to eliminate (student loan? Mortgage?). Well, the answer I would say is to give yourself a pat on your back and then move on to reduce your other debt as soon as possible. Keep going and before you know it, you’ll be in financial nirvana. Find out what Tricia thinks.

Mama will always love you no matter what

My Two Dollars plays Dr Phil this week with this personal development type essay for those in debt - Having Debt Does Not Make You a Bad Person. If you have negative self image about yourself, then perhaps this Dr Phil type article will inject some postitive energy in you.

Mom Screams : Why did you have 3 lollipops? Have some self control !

Control Your Spending from John Place Online is a short satire of a woman he knows that has her spending out of control. Spending is not the only thing that people have no self control on. We sometimes spend too much time on the computer, TV etc. But when you actually spend too much money, your finances will suffer. Do not make the same mistakes as the person in the following post.

Confessions of a Compulsive Shopper from Newly Frugal is a true account of a shopperholic. Please read this account carefully. If you are like what this, then you’d better do something about it.

Momma said : Son, You’re a smart and a good boy. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Prosperity and Abundance is Your Birth Right from Abundant Lifestyle is certainly not about debt reduction. But I guess if you do not think enough about prosperity, then you may find your debt reduction efforts pretty tough mentally. I totally agree with this post. Too often, all we talk about and advice those in debt to focus around saving, budgeting etc, which are all good things. But that is only half the equation. Program your mindset to accept abundance is the other often neglected half.

Mama says : Son, I want you to form good habits. When you get up, change, brush your teeth, put your school bag at the front of the door. Before you do to bed, brush you teeth, prepare your clothes for tomorrow and read your book.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers from Edith Yeung is certainly not about debt reduction. But if you follow these habits, you probably would not be in debt anyway.

Mama says learn from other peoples’ mistakes. Don’t make the same mistakes again

Blunt Money has written a series of post on common financial mistakes. Common Financial Mistakes - Part Eight highlights a couple of interesting points.

Mama says : When I say be home by midnight, it means I want you in the house by MIDNIGHT! Not a minute or second later! In life, never be late for anything - meetings, paying your bills, ANYTHING.

Mama would be very unhappy with Frugal Law Student’s very late submission of his Book Review of Generation Debt. The post was submitted at 9:53pm EST. Fortunately for him, his FICO score will not be affected. But be warned. Never be late for your court hearings.

All right, that’s it for this week’s carnival. Happy Mothers’ Day to all pf bloggers who are Mommys.

Here are this week’s highlights in the world of personal finance and money. Money Matters and Musings hosted the 99th Carnival of Personal Finance. A couple of posts caught my attention. Lazy Man and Money wrote about how blogging has helped him. If you are thinking of starting any blog, perhaps this would be enough motivation. You should also check out Free Money Finances’ being paranoid over giving his credit card over the phone at the airport. But hey, precaution and prevention is better than cure.

For a good laugh, check out SVB’s post on 5 Money and Currency Facts your History Teacher did not teach you.

Money Smart Life did a unique thing with this week’s festival of frugality. Rather than coming with a fancy theme, he simply listed all the articles he accepted. It is a short post and festival, but you can see all the headlines at a glance. So to keep it simple, simply head over to his site.

Journey to Financial Freedom was the host of the 86th Carnival of Debt Reduction. A headline from a post Debt Free isn’t what it’s cracked up to be from Queercents caught my attention. I head to the site and realized that the post is actually about making sure you build a credit history. I thought that the headline was a little misleading because I have no credit card debt or any other debt except a mortgage and yet have good credit scores and I get tons of credit card offers. I think where this article’s advice would be useful is to those who have no credit history or those who have been bankrupt before and refuse to use a credit card again.

Please also head over to the 12th Carnival of Credit Card. Though this is a credit card carnival, I’m finding lots of non-credit card, but personal finance type post.

Finally, I will be hosting next week’s Carnival of Debt Reduction. Summit your post no later than 6pm EST here.

Alright, here is this week’s roundup on carnivals. The 98th Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted at We’re In Debt. As usual, there were lots of post. But the on post that really stood out (and is related to credit cards) is from No Credit Needed who painstakingly listed car rental policies on using debit cards. If you are a debit card holder and want to rent a car, you just might to check this out.

The Tao of Making Money was the host of the 85th Carnival of Debt Reduction. Frugal for Life was the host of this week’s Festival of Frugality. The one post that caught my eye was from Pro Bargain Hunter on Online Shopping Comparisons Tips.

For the last few weeks, SVB’s post from The Digerati Life had always caught my attention and I have been highlighting them over here. I did not find her post in any of the carnivals this week. But when I headed over to her site, I found another interesting gem. I don’t know about you, ut I personally get hundreds of spam mail in my bulk folder and new spam seems to be getting into my Inbox. SVB wrote a post on a cheap and effective way to stop email spam. I might actually soon be implementing this.

Alright, another week goes by and here are this weeks’ carnivals that I participated in and some highlighted post.

The 84th Carnival of Debt Reduction was hosted at Finance is Personal. The post that caught my eye was from Fire Finance. It was about Investing in Indexes and which one to choose. This is one of the rare articles I have seen that looks into this topic. It gives a good introduction but much more needs to be explored.

Meanwhile at Endless Gibberish, the 97th Carnival of Personal Finance was taking place. Wise Bread wrote about the 7 Deadly Sins of Consumerism, which I really enjoyed. I think you should definitely check out this post.

Golburu at The Art of Making Money hosted the 71st Festival of Frugality. The post that I really enjoyed was How to decorate your son’s room for under $60 fromTricia of Blogging Away Debt. It just goes to show you do not need to spend too much if you get creative. I’d only wished she had posted a below and after photo for us to see.

The Skilled Investor hosted the Carnival of Ethics, Values and Personal Finance. This is a carnival that I recently discovered and has a few interesting post. I also participated in the 4th Carnival of Debt Relief, the 9th Carnival of Debt Managment, and the 10th Carnival of Credit Cards.

Post of the Week

Finally, I have saved the best for last. This week’s post of the week comes from SVB from The Digerati Life. She wrote about the True cost of owning a car. This post is really well written with facts and figures and also a great photo - a real quality article. Be sure to check this out.

So that’s it for this week. Have a great week ahead.

Alright, here is a list of carnivals that I was involved in this week.

The 83rd Carnival of Debt Reduction was hosted at Wise Bread. My pick from this carnival is from Trent of Simple Dollar : To invest or pay off debt.

The 8th Carnival of Debt Management had a few interesting debt related post. My pick from that carnival is from Matthew Paulson who tells us how he’s getting married for under $3,000.

The 9th Carnival of Money Stories took place at Fire Finance. There were a few post that I really liked. But the one that really caught my attention wasn’t about money, but about the fanciest and most desirable easter eggs in the world. I wish I had those! See how beautiful they are.

My Financial Journey hosted the Festiva; of Under 30 Finances. Silicon Valley Blogger once again takes center stage with this Primer of how to resign from yoru job!. I seldom see an article like this - you should check this out even if you have no intention of quitting your job!

I also participated in the Carnival of Student Finance and the 10th Carnival of Credit Cards.

That’s is for this week. Have a great week ahead.

Here are this week’s carnivals that I participated in during the hectic tax week. While most of my friends are busy with their turbo tax software, I just leave it to my accountant and save time and lots of headaches! So here we go :

No Credit Needed Blog did a double duty last week by hosting both the 94th Carnival of Personal Finance and the 82nd Carnival of Debt Reduction. From the carnival of personal finance, I’ll pick one whose theme is about credit cards and that article that caught my attention was from Broke Ass Student who wrote about unscrupulous credit card tricks.

Meanwhile over at Silicon Valley, The Digerati Life life hosted the 69th Festival of Frugality. The post that really caught my eye was from the Frugal Law Student who probed what does it mean to be frugal when you are wealthy?. Let’s just put it this way : I know many millionaires who still cut coupons! This is a great article from the The Frugal Law Student. Just from reading posts on his blog, I’m sure he’ll make a very good lawyer someday.

Smart Money Life was the place for the 7th Carnival of Ethics, Values and Personal Finance. The article that caught my eye was from Nina of Queer Cents who asked if you would pay your children for good grades?. My answer is no, but check this post nevertheless.

Debt Consolidation Lowdown hosted the 8th Carnival of Debt Management. The post that caught my eye was from Grad Money Matters, who gives 5 questions you should ask before lending money to friends and relatives.

Well, that is this week’s roundup. Do not forget to send in your tax forms!

Alright, here are this week’s highlights from various carnivals that I participated in.

Firstly, No Credit Needed hosted the 94th Carnival of Personal Finance. I enjoyed the post about Money Lessons about Credit Card from Endless Gibberish, (which has a related theme to this blog) and I suggest you check out this article. If you are looking for a cheaper wireless provider, Pro Bargain Hunter tells you how to screw your wireless service provider!. This is a must read post for the serious bargain hunter.

Meanwhile, Credit Card Lowdown took a break from hosting the regular Carnival of Credit Card and passed the torch to Fire Finance for the 8th Carnival of Credit Card. As usual, there are a few interesting post related to this blog (ie about credit cards).

I would also like to thank Money Walks for including my post as the first article in his Editor’s Choice List at the 81st Carnvial of Debt Reduction. The one article that I truly enjoyed in this carnival is from John from Queercents who talks about how using cash rather than his credit card resulted in him saving money and thinking differently about spending and ads directed at us from merchants.

Today is also the first inaugural debut of the Carnival of Money, Growth and Happiness. The best article in my opinion came from Silicon Valley Blogger of The Digerati Life. His post on 9 reasons why he loves his credit card resonates with me. Too many posts have been written about why credit card stinks. Well, just like fire, you can either cook a good meal with it or burn the house down. I totally agree with SVB on this issue. If you think credit cards are evil, you should check out his post.

MapGirl was the host of the 68th Festival of Frugality. This festival really cracked me up. Firsly, Troy Bradley wrote about 3 Cheap Ways to win over ladies at Wise Bread. SVB cracked me up again with his post The Economics of Cosmetics - Should you invest in your looks or skimp on your makeup. Dude - I want my lady to look great - period (no skimping for me). But if you want to look at some pretty pictures and have a laugh, head over to the Valley!.

I also participated in the 6th Carnival of Debt Management over at Debt Consolidation Lowdown. Money Crashers was also the host of the 23rd Edition of the Festival of Under 30 Finance.

OK - That’s is for Easter Links . Enjoy.

As usual I participated in a few carnivals last week. Below are the carnivals which my post appeared in and some favorite posts I came across.

Tired But Happy hosted the 93rd Carnival of Personal Finance. The most interesting and relevant (to credit cards off course) was an article by the Sun’s Financial Diary comparing the BabyMint and Upromise college savings program.

Millionster hosted the 80th Carnival of Debt Reduction.

Meanwhile, The Weight of Money hosted the 6th Carnival of Ethics, Values and Personal Finance. One of the posts that caught my eye was cheating on your taxes by Queercents, which had a few interesting views on taxes.

Credit Card Lowdown was once again the host of the carnival of credit card (this time, it is the 7th Edition. If you are interested in reading about credit card related articles, this is one carnival to check out.