Carnival of Money Stories

Welcome to the 96th edition of the Carnival of Money Stories! Once again we have a great selection of tales of the financially savvy and the financially challenged. I hope you have as much fun reading these posts as I did.

Truth to tell, the carnival received quite a few other excellent articles that I have not shared with you, because they’re not stories. Despite much intrinsic interest and some very good writing, a large number of submissions to the Carnival of Money Stories are actually lists, how-to’s, guides, editorials, jeremiads, and various other often entertaining and informative documents. I take “story” in its literary sense, not as a piece of journalistic jargon (where anything that hits print, including advertorial and the restaurant guide, can be called a “story”). For the purposes of the C of Money stories—at least when Funny is hosting—a story is a narrative in which a series of actions occurs, leading to a climax and ending in a dénouement. Nonfiction stories can follow this classic structure, just as traditionally linear fiction does.

Nonfiction presented in the form of a narrative story is sometimes called “creative nonfiction” or “new journalism.” Some bloggers are very good at this, as you can tell from your editor’s nominations for the Pulitzer. If your submission didn’t make it into this week’s picks, chances are it wasn’t because your article was uninteresting or poorly written, but only because it was not a story. Please submit those posts to other carnivals, and meanwhile, come on back andtell us a story. Check out the entries below to see how it’s done.

Pulitzer Prize Nominees

*Jim O’Donnell
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity
Do You Love What You Do?
This story, a guest post at Blueprint, is a real winner. Don’t miss it!

*Miss M
M Is for Money
Even Your Friends Can Screw You
Wow! Here’s a financial tale to tell around the campfire. Unfortunately, all too many fellow campers will have similar scary stories to share.

*The Happy Rock

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