Mothers Day Edition – Carnival of Debt Reduction #87

Welcome to the Mother’s Day Edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction. Today, you will not get any sales pitch on things to 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.