Carnival of Financial Planning – Way Too Hot Edition #246

Everyone I speak with tells me they are suffering record heat waves and it’s no different for me and my family. Well, at least we’ve got running water, air conditioning and lemonade. That’s a lot more than most people have. Makes me very grateful for life actually and all the gifts. I hope you too can tap into your gratitude when the thermometer starts breaking heat record levels. (I also hope you get some lemonade!)

On the the Carnival of Financial Planning!

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Welcome to the July 20, 2012 Edition #246 of the Carnival of Financial Planning.

The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. We focus on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

Enjoy!

The Skilled Investor, Editor

Budgeting and Economics

Miranda presents Is It Worth It To Pay Someone Else to Complete Some of Your Everyday Tasks? posted at Wallet Hub, saying, “Is time worth your money? When considering paying someone else to do the things you can do yourself, you should consider a few things first. ”

Teacher Man presents Hidden Costs of Owning a Dog or Cat posted at My University Money, saying, ” It’s interesting to see how blind we often are to expenses that are tied to emotional attachments. Some people “love” their sports team and wouldn’t think twice about multi-thousand dollar season tickets. ”

Young presents How To Get Your Employer to Pay For School posted at Young And Thrifty, saying, “The decision on whether or not to go back to school to upgrade your skills (whether you are talking about a graduate degree, a diploma, or a certificate program of some kind) often hinges on the financial viability of it. ”

PITR presents Saving Up for a Rental Property posted at Passive Income To Retire, saying, “Find out how saving up a down payment for my first rental property will provide me extra security in quitting my day job. ”

Dan presents Wall Street Markets posted at Wall Street Stocks , saying, ” From the days when front-running involved actual running to the “Victorian Internet era” brought on by telegraphy, we can learn a great deal from looking back at a simpler era.”

Corey presents How to Get a Promotion posted at 20s Finances, saying, “Managing your career in this economy can be a difficult thing. With companies going out of business and people being laid off left and right or so it seems, thinking about advancing within your organization may seem like a stretch. I know what you’re thinking: It’s one thing to keep your job and quite another to get a promotion. ”

Financial Planning

Jeremy presents How Airline Credit Cards Cost You More posted at Modest Money, saying, “If you are going to be using a credit card to make purchases, its a no-brainer that youll want to earn some kind of reward in return. For many people, the obvious choice is an airline miles credit card. Unfortunately that credit card choice may actually be costing them more money to use. ”

A Blinkin presents How I Got Engaged: A Love-Love Story Part II posted at Funancials, saying, ” If you’re already sick of reading about my blossoming love then come back tomorrow as I’ll have some fresh new content focusing on how you can improve the relationship between you and your money. ”

Hank presents Five Ways To Save Money At The Movie Theater This Summer posted at Money Q&A, saying, “There are tons of great ways to save money at the movie theater this summer. Here are several of my favorites to save money at the movies. ”

Jen presents Moving in July-Escaping the Crappy Apartment posted at Master the Art of Saving, saying, “July is turning out to be a crazy month for us. The craziness is bringing change, both good and badand its really stressing me out. One of the biggest changes is that we are moving out of our apartment in July. ”

John presents US Bank Internet Banking posted at Married with Debt, saying, “US Bank Internet Banking is a great way to save money, time, and keep your finances organized. Click through for my personal review. ”

Ashley presents The Power of Dollar Cost Averaging posted at Money Talks Coaching, saying, “Dollar cost averaging is when you decide how much money you are going to invest each month and then chunk it into the market each and every month no matter ”

Jester presents Should You Finance a Business Idea? posted at The Ultimate Juggle, saying, “As I have been thinking long and hard about making a living on my own, I have come a difficult decision.”

Darwin presents Are You Able to be Happy for Friends and Family That are Wildly Successful? posted at Darwin’s Money , saying, “Ask yourself seriously – if you have a fried or family with unbridled success, are you happy for them or jealous? Here’s a tale of 2 incredible success stories and utter jealousy – see where you land on the spectrum. ”

Kyle presents 5 Ways to Earn & Save Money on College Costs posted at The Penny Hoarder, saying, “Your college tuition bill offers you four ways to earn money. ”

PFP presents Tax Management posted at Pasadena Financial Advisor , saying, ” You should also consider how to “locate” your investment asset allocation with respect to more optimal taxation.”

Martin presents The 8 Golden Laws of Money For Dudes in Their 20s posted at Studenomics, saying, “The secret tips to succeeding financially in your 20s. ”

Green Panda presents How to Save Money on Transportation in College posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “We look at different ways you can actually get to college without going broke. ”

Income

John presents Should Small Business Owners be Worried About Their Money in December 2012? posted at Wallet Blog, saying, “Will small business bank accounts still be Federally insured at the end of the year? What could it mean for the local banking industry if the extension is not passed? Is it best for small business owners to transfer funds to larger banks or is that a misconception? ”

Insurance and Risk

Jeff Rose presents What is the Best Life Insurance Policy? posted at Life Insurance By Jeff, saying, “So, it is time for you to search for life insurance, and you are wondering which one you should choose. The process can be a bit daunting. If you have not shopped for life insurance before, you should first learn a bit about the different types that are available. ”

Lawrence presents ID theft protection posted at Best Financial Planner, saying, “As a threat to your financial security, you should take the potential for identity theft very seriously. Identity theft sometimes entails a loss of your money, but whether or not you lose money, it can take a very large amount of your time to rectify.”

FMF presents Why You Don’t Need Long Term Care Insurance posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “There is so much discussion about long term care insurance these days. It makes sense to take a hard look at this and see if you really need such a policy or not. But the reality is you may in fact not need this expensive insurance. Let’s take a look to determine if this insurance is a good fit for you or not. ”

Investing

J.P. presents Market Order Vs. Limit Order posted at Novel Investor, saying, “For the average investor out there, when it comes down to market order vs. limit order, one offers more advantages than the other. ”

Kanwal presents When is the best time to buy stocks? posted at Simply Investing, saying, “When is the best time to buy stocks? Should you try and time the market? No, market timing doesnt work. It is always a good time to buy quality dividend paying stocks when they are undervalued. No one can predict the future. Analysts, financial experts are no good at predicting the future than you and I. ”

Pierre presents One Type Of Bond That I Would Buy posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “I share the only bond I would consider investing in. ”

Pinter presents No Load Bonds posted at Cheap Bond Funds, saying, “Investment research overwhelmingly shows that lower cost fixed income funds tend to yield higher bond investing returns.”

Dividend Growth Investor presents How to generate income from your nest egg posted at Dividend Growth Investor, saying, “For my own retirement, I am using the dividend retirement strategy, which focuses on producing dependable income and solid total returns over time. ”

Geoffrey @ Financial Highway presents RRSP vs TFSA posted at Financial Highway, saying, “When Canada introduced the TFSA into the mix of registered and non-registered investment accounts, it made an already difficult decision even harder. How do I allocate my investments between my TFSA, RRSP and non-registered accounts? We’ve prepared a number of examples below to help investors understand the tax treatment of different investment types and the optimal account mix for their portfolio. ”

TSI presents Morningstar Ratings posted at The Skilled Investor , saying, ” Individual investors and their advisors appear to make investment decisions that are heavily influenced by the Morningstar Rating system. Because the stars are very widely used and often misunderstood, these are articles to help investors make more rational decisions about the stars.”

Janet presents Simple Investments Anyone Can Make posted at Credit, Eh, saying, “The good news is that there are plenty of investments that are fairly simple and easy to understand. ”

FMF presents Taming the Stock Market posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “When it comes to investing, there’s a lot that you can’t control – the economy, the price of oil, your cousin Bobby’s constant flow of “can’t-miss” investment advice. However, there’s also a lot that you can control, and that’s where to focus when navigating the often-wild world of investing. Before you start investing, you should be using a budget, be completely out of debt except a reasonable mortgage, and have an adequate emergency fund. Assuming those steps have been taken, here are three core controllable factors for successful investing. ”

Kelly presents Investment risk tolerance posted at Investment Risk, saying, ” Individual investors with different levels of investment risk tolerance for financial risks tend to be more satisfied with risk management strategies, which are better aligned with their financial risk and return profile.”

Dan presents New “Death Cross” Tactical ETF Chases Alpha and Beta posted at ETF Base, saying, “Check out this new “Death Cross ETF and see whether it’s trying to beat the market by investing in it. ”

Managing Debt

Sustainable PF presents How to Negotiate Anything posted at Sustainable Personal Finance, saying, “The Negotiation! You negotiate with your friends and family all of the time over countless topics, such as what movie to watch or whose turn it is to wash the dishes. When it comes to negotiating with strangers, however, you may fall apart.Negotiation is a skill anyone can learn. Like anything else, some are better at negotiating than others. ”

CCS presents Avoid the Credit Card Minimum Payment Trap posted at Credit Card Smarts, saying, “That credit card minimum payment looks pretty alluring, doesn’t it? Pay only that much and you have more money to spend. But watch out, it’s a trap. ”

Don presents Improve Your Credit Score posted at MoneySmartGuides, saying, “If you’ve embraced a new, responsible financial future, it can be troubling to find you’re still not getting the credit you need, when you need it. ”

Liana presents What Binding Credit Card Arbitration Means for Your Wallet posted at Card Hub, saying, “What is “Binding Arbitration, and what does it mean when it comes to your contract with a credit card issuer? You could be in for a surprise if you think you can take your dispute to court. ”

Real Estate

SFB presents My Dirty Mortgage Qualification Secret posted at Simple Finance Blog, saying, “Despite the fact that I’m in the market for a new home, I’ve yet to secure a mortgage qualification. No, I’m not lazy – I’m just self-employed. ”

Jason presents 5 Reasons to Buy a Home in This Market posted at Work Save Live, saying, “Should You Buy a Home? It’s argued that buying a home is one of the best investments that one can make. ”

Corey presents Is a Home Warranty Worth Having? posted at Steadfast Finances, saying, “Find out if a home warranty is worth the costs. What are the benefits of a home warranty? The downsides?”

Retirement

Jeff Rose presents Avoid the BIGGEST Mistake of Early Retirement posted at Good Financial Cents, saying, “Being a financial planner comes with a certain amount of stress. Most would contribute the schizophrenic stock market as the leading culprit of the high stress levels. And that is absolutely correct. Dang you market! Coming in at a very close second is helping a client strategically plan for their early retirement. ”

Knowles presents SandP 500 Funds posted at Large Cap Index Funds, saying, “The no load index fund strategy of the Schwab S & P 500 Index Fund tracks the S and P 500 stock index. This no load index fund was listed as one of the top 25 lowest cost index mutual funds in a research study.”

Franklin presents Traditional and Roth IRA posted at Retirement Planning , saying, ” Many taxpayers puzzle over whether to contribute to traditional versus Roth tax-advantaged retirement plans. For most people, contributions to traditional tax-advantaged plans will probably provide a higher net present value over their lifetimes.”

Savings

Echo presents 35 Ways To Save Money posted at Boomer & Echo, saying, “We all know there are plenty of ways to save money, but some things are so obvious you can classify them as common sense rather than smart spending. ”

Freedom presents Savings Rates posted at Financial Freedom Plan , saying, ” Understand how your current savings rate and retirement withdrawal rate would affect all of your retirement assets.”

Taxes

Paul presents Retirement Planning posted at Tax Planning Software, saying, “Retirement planning software should automate the development of lifetime projections that incorporate tax laws and rules associated with tax-advantaged retirement investment incentive programs such as traditional IRA, Roth, 401k, 403b, SEP, Keogh, and other retirement plans.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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