2013 Carnival of Financial Planning

It’s a big one today folks… Enjoy! 🙂

P.S. Do you like the picture I took out walking yesterday?

BUDGETING AND ECONOMICS

John S @ Frugal Rules writes Saving Money with Comparison Shopping – There are many ways you can save while shopping for various items. Comparison Shopping is one angle you can take to make sure you get the best price. This can be done through looking at ads, looking online, or using your smartphone.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Splurging on Myself to Save My Feet – With the holidays now behind us, it’s time to take inventory of our personal finances; pay down those credit cards, save more money, map out a savings goal, etc. But, before I do any of this (except maybe the first one) I need to splurge on myself a bit. I’m in dire need of some really great shoes that will support many hours on my feet and walking.

Green Panda @ Green Panda Treehouse writes The Year End Financial Slap Across The Face – How well did your finances do in 2012?

James @ Free in Ten Years writes The hidden psychological stress of work and why I want out – Working is bad for your mental health if you work in a bad working environment. Most people do. Opt out by planning for an early retirement.

John @ Card Hub Blog writes Ask the Experts: Why Do We Make New Year’s Resolutions (And How Can You Keep Yours This Year)? – The New Year’s resolution phenomenon is largely a social construct, but that’s certainly not to say our intended changes are arbitrary. No, experts and common sense agree that we make resolutions because there’s something about the way we live our lives that we’d like to change.

 

CAREER AND INCOME

md @ Start Freelancing Now writes Two Major Issues That New Freelancers Will Face & How You Can Crush Them! – How to get going with freelancing.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes Progress Is Never a Straight Line! – Progress is forward movement toward a destination or goal. In education, changes are made often and the results are mixed! Have test scores increased from the changes? If they did, that would be progress. We need progress in everything we do. Business and your personal life are based on achieving goals.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Should You Relocate to Find a Job? – There are some great reasons to relocate and some really really bad ones. Make the move wisely and lessen the burden on your finances.

 

DEBT AND CREDIT

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes 4 Ways Plow Your Way Out of Debt – If you find yourself deep in debt, you may feel hopeless, but know that you have the tools to get yourself out of debt and recover financially. Here are some steps to follow that can help you get out of debt quickly:

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Harley Davidson(R) Visa Credit Card Review – The Harley Davidson credit card boasts great rewards, Visa Signature perks, and no annual fee.

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes When Can You Eliminate Private Mortgage Insurance? – Hate PMI, don’t know what it is? Read more on when you can eliminate it!

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Why Solar Power Rocks – Solar energy has become one of the most popular alternative methods for providing power to a home.

Matthew Allen @ The Pay Off Credit Card Network writes Can I Pay My Credit Card with Another Credit Card? – Are you wondering, can I pay my credit card with another credit card? The answer is a two-fold yes! There are two parts to the answer because the person asking the question could be wondering one of two different things.

Joe @ Midlife Finance writes Getting A Loan: Fast – Money’s short. Too short, in fact — you have a payment coming due. Where can you come up with the money — fast?

 

INVESTING AND SAVING

Marvin @ Brick By Brick Investing writes How I Invest In Municipal Bonds – A brief description of how I invest in municipal bonds and earn a tax free 5% yield with very low risk.

CAPI @ Creating a Passive Income writes Passive Income: So, You’ve Won the Lottery?! – If you win the lottery, you need to know what to do with it. Poor financial planning has ruined many previous winners, so don’t let this happen to you.

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes WHAT IS WEALTH? – Can you get rich and still buy what you want? Yes. Find out how.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes The Best of The Money Principle 2012 – The Money Principle – The Best of The Money Principle 2012Couple of days ago I was casually browsing the internet; one of these sessions when you have no purpose and keep your expectations low – this way you won’t be disappointed when most of what you come across ranges from the trivial to the absurd.

Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder writes Free Stock Trades – Many of the major brokerages are offering free online trades, either as part of a promotion or for meeting certain account criteria.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes Tips for Choosing High Yield Mutual Funds – If you are considering investing some cash in mutual funds, it makes sense that you’d want to invest in the best ones you can find. So called high yield funds are the best ones to look for, since they provide you with the opportunity to enjoy the highest possible yield you can.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes My New Years Resolutions – While some people may hate new years resolutions, I have come to enjoy them. In the past two years, my wife and I have accomplished a lot more because of resolutions or goals, if that’s the term that you prefer to use. Most people associate resolutions with weight loss.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes Where Will You Be When The Bond Bubble Bursts? – Over the last 30 years (since about 1980), interest rates have declined steadily. The inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices means that – as interest rates fall, bond prices rise. This also means that – as interest rates rise, bond prices fall.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes What Should You Do With Your Unwanted Gift Cards – What should you do with unwanted gift cards? there are several alternatives that you can use to get rid of those unwanted gift cards and either earn cash or exchange them for gift cards that you do want.

Pete @ Intelligent Speculator writes Risks Of Dealing In Emerging Markets – What to be careful of with your investments.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Five Quick, Easy, and (Relatively) Inexpensive Gift Ideas – It’s almost here! Yes, Christmas comes tomorrow, the day that many of us (particularly those of us who are under age twelve) wait for all year.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Yes Virginia, You Can Change Your Own Oil – Perhaps it is just me, but it seems that a lot of us no longer do any type of maintenance on our own cars anymore – especially us girls! If you have a vehicle and are strapped for cash, you can still care for your car well by handling a few fairly straightforward maintenance tasks yourself.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Settling in at Home – Pictures as Promised – After some requests, here are some new photos of our house and some pictures of me as a Chick-Fil-A mascot cow.

Tushar @ Earn More and Save writes Unconventional Investment Series: Investing in Art – This week’s Earn More and Save -Unconventional Investment Series- covers investing in art.

Roger Wohlner @ The Chicago Financial Planner writes 5 Financial Resolutions for 2013 – As I write this the pending Fiscal Cliff and Washington’s inability to reach a compromise also dominates the news. None the less 2013 is upon us. Here are 5 timeless financial resolutions to consider for 2013.

MMD @ My Money Design writes My Stocks with High Dividends Income Report – December 2012 – Stocks with high dividends are a great way to create passive income, lower tax payments, and retire early. Here is my 2012 Quarter 4 performance report.

 

RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE

Tushar @ Finance TUBE writes Why It Makes Sense to Convert Annuities into Cash? – Today I will be talking about why it makes sense to convert annuities into lump sum of cash. The easiest way to understand an annuity is to think of insurance in reverse.

 

REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes Potentially The Best Christmas Gift Ever: Mini Survival Kits – Usually for Christmas we buy presents for our household and for anybody that we’ll be celebrating Christmas with. For example: last year, we went over to my parents house for Christmas dinner, so we got presents for each of them.

 

RETIREMENT AND TAXATION

Michael Kitces @ Nerd’s Eye View writes What’s The Real Value Of Deferring Capital Gains? Less Than Most People Think… – We may be grossly overvaluing the actual benefit of deferring capital gains, and the unwillingness to harvest capital gains may be part of a broader tendency to allow the tax tail to wag the dog far more than it should!

MR @ Money Reasons writes Year End Investment Portfolio Analysis – Read how well my accounts have done during these past 4 years with my Year End Portfolio Analysis calculation! Personally, I was pleasantly surprised!