Carnival of Personal Finance

Lenten thanks, Day 24

′Tis the blogosphere we’ll be thankful for today: a great, spectacular tapestry woven of human thoughts stretched like a shimmering multicolored fabric all around the globe.

Welcome to the 303rd Carnival of Personal Finance! Funny is honored to host this week’s edition. If you’re a new visitor, I hope you’ll take some time to explore the site and to enjoy the many excellent posts listed here. Almost 100 bloggers submitted articles ranging in tenor from highly informative to highly entertaining. I think you’ll find them very enjoyable.

Editor’s Choice

♥♥ At Passive Income Now, MD offers some well thought-out questions about Americans’ growing infatuation with self-employment. Anyone who’s contemplating a small business start-up, home-based or not, should think these matters through carefully.

♥♥ Lawyer Cathy Moran demystifies the realities behind a threat to take you to court, and explains why such a threat should not terrify you or stampede you into making an unwise decision.

♥♥ Posting at Get Rich Slowly, Donna Freedman explains, with a touch of humor, how to prepare for a major emergency on a shoestring.

♥♥ This article caught my attention when it first appeared, so I’m happy to see it at the Carnival: Nicole’s reflections on the role of government, at Grumpy Rumblings of the Untenured.

♥♥ Here’s an unusual subject: pay-for-play matchmaking. Flexo reflects on this phenomenon at Consumerism Commentary.

♥♥ In the don’t-people-drive-you-nuts department, brace yourself and read this amazing story from Investor Junkie.

♥♥ When I first saw the title of this post from Bret (Hope to Prosper) in the carnival’s Gmail inbox, I thought ho and hum…another jeremiad. But no! This is truly a nice piece of writing: makes several excellent points about the way our assumptions affect our financial lives, and does it succinctly.

♥♥ Here’s something to bookmark: a huge, wide-ranging Credit Report and Credit Score Consumer Bill of Rights posted by Marjorie at CardHub. Couldn’t have come at a better time for Funny…I intend to use this information in the coming battle with Macy’s.

Education

In a subject near and dear to my heart, md  Challenges Conventional Wisdom on Education at Studenomics.

At Live Real, education begins at home, where Jason is teaching his son the lost art of negotiation.

Bankman offers some real words of wisdom about financing higher education, over at High Yield Savings Accounts.

Entrepreneurship

Miranda at Personal Dividends reflects “that for the most part, entrepreneurs don’t just happen.” She identifies 5 Qualities Shared by Successful Entrepreneurs.

In a similar vein, Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff considers the effect of success in The Rising Salary and a Love for Cash—A Future Entrepreneur’s Two Worst Enemies.

If you’ve been wondering if you can build a side income by trading on eBay, check out Lindy’s post at Minting Nickels: eBay for Beginners: Setting up Your Listing.

Who needs eBay when we’ve got Facebook? At One Money Design, Jason explains How to Make Money on Facebook.

Practice makes perfect! RJ Weiss at Gen Y Wealth suggests that people who get really good at making money do so because they practice at it: How to Practice Making Money.

Over at Experiglot, Mike continues his business plan series with  Start Up Business Plan: Day #2, in which he describes SMART business goals.

Investing

Darwin’s Money writes an interesting piece on what some people seem to regard as a morbid trend: Life Settlement Investment—Scam or Legit? and elicits a fair amount of comment on the subject.

So you think you ought to hedge against disaster with a nice portfolio of gold? Think again: Dividend Growth Investor from Dividend Growth Investor injects some common sense with Gold versus Dividend Stocks, arguing that “there are very few reasons to own gold.”

Networth Journey asks Is Luck an Important Part of Good Investing?

At THE Canadian Personal Finance Site, Big Cajun Man ponders whether following the crowd is safe.

If you’re just getting into investments, you may want to learn what you actually need to know to get started. At Oblivious Investor, Mike Piper suggests a few questions for new investors to ask

D4L from Dividends Value indulges in some PF blogger humor with Why Dividend Stocks Are Evil. Yes! Clams got feet and PF bloggers got a sense of humor.

At The Dividend Guy Blog, Div Guy follows his reasons-to-be-bullish post with a devil’s advocate piece, 5 Reasons to Be Bearish on The Market.

Pat S. at compounding returns offers some basics of Finance and Investing for Military Members.

George from Fat Pitch Financials looks at the Cheapest Stocks on the S&P 500,  based on price-to-book ratio and current ratio.

What happens if you contribute too much to an IRA or a 401(k)? At Outlaw Finance, Outlaw explains the consequences and what you can do about them.

Sean Smarty from Growing Money presents is enamored of solar energy and suggests some companies to invest in.

Jim Yih, on the other hand, has a good discussion about the advantages of investing in life insurance company products, over at his Retire Happy Blog.

At The Military Wallet, Ryan Guina considers whether one should roll over a thrift savings plan into an IRA.

John Kiernan devotes a Wallet Blog post to discussing dollar cost averaging and explaining why it’s a good investment strategy.

Real Estate

AtPayoff.com—Fund Your Dreams, Paul Van Slembrouck  brings a fresh point of view on two solidly held popular beliefs about homeownership.

And the fresh breeze continues to blow at Back Nine Finance, where Bogey gets real about income/housing cost ratios for residential real estate buyers.

Mighty Bargain Hunter points out the fundamental wackiness of people’s fascination with the mortgage interest deduction. Right on, MBH!

In the debate over the preferability of a 15-year or a 30-year mortgage, Len Penzo comes down on the side of the 30-year loan, and he explains why.

The Squirrelers get a great conversation going over the question of whether to buy a nicer home or to buy into a better school district. Which do you think is preferable?

Taxes

Suspicions confirmed! In True March Madness: Every idiot who blindly uses TurboTax and TaxCut, Adam from RabbitFunds compares the results from TurboTax with an accountant’s, remarking “I don’t hate the months of March and April because it’s tax time, but rather, I hate it because it’s ‘Praise the Intuit Gods’ month.”

Philip from PT Money explains How to track your mileage and get credit for your miles on your taxes.

Ken from Spruce Up Your Finances offers a good, clear description of five education-related tax credits and deductions.

Finding yourself a little embarrassed to come up with the cash to pay this year’s tax bite? Check out Miranda Marquit’s post at Cash Money Life, suggesting several options to help cover the bill.

Debt

Fanny at Living Richly on a Budget advocates a strict budget to get yourself out of debt, having acknowledged that “getting into debt is easy. Getting out of debt is the hard part.”

IS from Intelligent Speculator surveys people’s attitudes toward debt.

Money Beagle engages the timeless argument about “good debt” and “bad debt” in this week’s post.

And speaking of debt, what if you’re the creditor? Neal Frankle from Wealth Pilgrim presents how to collect debt using small claims court, offering some pointers I wish I’d known about some years ago.

RC at Think Your Way to Wealth explains why you could regard paying off credit card debt as a kind of investment.

Along similar lines, Cecil Dellison at the Clear Choice Credit Card Blog advises commonsensically on whether you should pay off credit debt or invest the money instead.

Credit Cards

Did you know there are experts at gaming credit card rewards, some of whom profit nicely? Nathan Richardson from ComplexSearch describers How the experts maximize their points and rewards on their everyday purchases.

And speaking of credit card rewards programs, Madison from My Dollar Plan describes new 2nd Quarter 2011 5% rotating cash rewards credit cards.

On the same topic, Anisha, writing for NerdWallet Credit Card Blog recommends one of the best gas rewards cards out there.

At The Dough Roller, Michael argues that every small Business should have a credit card and offers five reasons why.

Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents explains what you can expect if you default for one reason or another on your credit card card debt.

Over at Money Smart Life, Ben reviews a David Bach’s Debt-Free for Life and in the process delivers some very interesting and valuable information about lowering your credit-card interest rates.

Jim from Bargaineering discusses a kind of game called Credit Card Roulette. Amazing!

Credit

At Free From Broke, Glen riffs off David Bach’s Debt Free for Life in explaining what bankruptcy is, when to use it, and how it works.

Now that you know that, visit Kyle Berks at Integrated Loans to learn 10 ways to improve your credit score after bankruptcy.

Money Management

Michal from Phone Reviews Plus considers some currently hot personal finance apps for iPhone users.

FruGal does some spring financial housecleaning in her quarterly annual check-up.

She’s not alone in that: Kaye from Mrs Nespy’s World also says it’s time for spring cleaning on your finances.

Over at MomVesting, Jessica discusses money and relationships: treats, remarking on the importance of the occasional indulgence.

Writing for Moolanomy, Miranda Marquit asks if it’s possible to go through life without ever using credit or debt.

Shaun from Stand Strong Research would like to replace the traditional socieoeconomic distinctions of upper, middle, and lower class with the 3 stages of financial success, based on our basic financial goals.

Financial Uproar meets an old fellow who didn’t plan so well for his retirement and reflects on the reasons Why I Want To Be Wealthy.

Never did figure out what those instructions on the back of your bank statement meant, did you? Well, Megan Taylor at The Finance Geek helps out with a clear, easy-to-follow guide to balancing your checkbook.

Frugal Maneuvers

At Help Me Travel Cheap, Jeri Ford offers an exceptionally smart and easy idea for protecting yourself against potential hassles when signing up for promotions.

If credit-card roulette is a little over the top for you, check in with Miss Moneybags, who discusses how to split a check at a restaurant.

Did you know you can get Free audiobooks? Matthew Paulson from Audiobooktopia provides a list of resources on the web that offer freely downloadable audiobooks.

Jeff Cambron at Freeshipping.org’s Go Frugal Blog surveys 70 travel destinations for the most cost-effective times to visit.

And to complement that strategy, Charles of CreditDonkey Tips offers some smart tactics for avoiding airline fees.

Money Thinker reveals the three C’s of saving money online at Money Thinking.

Hmmmm…. Watch out, ladies: if your guy says he prefers “interesting” food, he could be a frugalist! Thousandaire’s Kevin McKee explains how a young fellow can stay frugal and still land a hot babe.

Budgeting

At Christian Personal Finance, Bob suggests that seasoned professionals as well as budget newbies should take time to revisit five essential budgeting categories.

Fabulously Broke, proprietor of Fabulously Broke in the City has a very interesting article comparing what in two earnings brackets spend in an average budget.

Knowing that a lot of folks would like to buy real estate while prices and rates are still good, Wojciech Kulicki at Fiscal Fizzle describes how to save money for a house.

Money Gal, having had to draw down her emergency savings to deal with a recent family emergency, strategizes some ways to replenish the emergency fund.

Spending

At Free Money Finance, FMF reflects in awe upon the amazing costs of being bridesmaid asking “Really? Do women actually spend $1,000 on average to be a bridesmaid?” Some of his readers’ answers will take your breath away.

The Great Costco Debate continues, as Kara from Frugal In My Forties plunges in with why I love Costco. Where will this discussion go next?

At The Year of Shopping Detox, recovering shopper Ann shares her (too true!) confessions of a former shopaholic.

PF Blogger, writing at Personal Cents, advises a little rationality when it comes to panic buying ahead of predicted storms.

Over at Tom Drake’s Canadian Finance Blog, a guest blogger writing as the Car Negotiation Coach reveals a half-dozen secrets Canadian car dealers would just as soon their customers didn’t know. Five of them apply in the U.S., and one will warm the cockles of Yankee buyers’ hearts.

Stupid Cents founder Matt gets serious at trying to figure out which is less budget-busting, a home gym or a health club membership, and he wants your opinion.

And finally, my contribution: What Does It Mean to Be Rich?

Next week the Carnival of Personal Finance will be hosted by Blogging for Change. Be sure to submit your favorite recent post by next Sunday afternoon.

Image: The Roue de Paris Ferris wheel. Boris23. Public Domain.

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