Carnival of Personal Finance

Welcome to this week's edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.

I'm sticking with my usual method of hosting a carnival -- listing a summary of each piece with the author's reason for submitting the post to the carnival (for those that submitted one) and/or a bit of the post itself as a summary -- so you readers know what to expect before you get to the post.

With that said, here we go:

• Treasury Securities: A Survey of What's Available - I’ve recently gotten interest in the possibility of investing in Treasury securities. Thus, I thought I’d start compiling information on the topic as I learn more about them. What follows is a quick survey of what’s available when it comes to investing in Treasury securities.

• PFCollege: Establishing Credit - Establish a strong credit history as early as you possibly can.

• Federal Reserve cracks down on competitive money - Don't spend those Liberty Dollars just yet!

• My Wealth Builder: Getting Motivated To Save - Saving is tough to do. Getting rewarded is energizing. Here are the top five rewards that keep me motivated.

• Your Salary - Get paid what you are worth - A post about how to determine what your salary level should be and how to increase it.

• How to Get Paid to Go to College - A free college education. Sounds great, right? Not if you compare it to the college education I received. You see, I got paid to go to college. I mean, a lot of money. Like, five figures over four years.

• Abundance vs. Scarcity - realising that the world is a place of abundance is an incredibly powerful thing, and it’s well worth investing some time and effort into cultivating this mindset.

• Teaching a Six Year Old to Save - We’ve developed a fairly effective allowance system for our kids. Not only has this system been good math practice for them, but it also gives them a bit of pocket change, and it’s worked wonders when it comes to keeping them form begging for stuff when we’re at the store.

• Why Investing Hypes Never Work - The hottest investing method/class of asset that is chosen by most is more likely to have below average return.

• Money does contribute to happiness, but... - People often feel that the answer to personal and financial problems is having more money. But is it true? 

• Adding a Position Growth Rule to Constant Value Trading Systems - At some level (i.e. the position and/or portfolio level), any system based on constant value investing has to have rules for growth, otherwise you lose the power of compounding.  My trading system and AIM both grow at the portfolio level, but not the position level.

• Gift of Tithing - Part IV - The forth gift of tithing is allowing energy to move. It is about creating a world that we want.

• Would You Travel Overseas for Cheap Surgery? - The Christian Science Monitor has an article describing how more people are traveling out of the country for healthcare, where service is less expensive. Some small companies are suggesting, requiring, or providing incentives for their employees to avoid the expensive United States healthcare system.

• Two extra paychecks per year for you - Whether you make $19,000 per year or $105,000 per year this article will show you how to get two extra paychecks per year.

• How to teach kids about personal finance - I was really inspired by the podcast of a woman who teaches parents to teach their kids about finance the other day. One of the tools she uses is a four-chambered piggy bank to teach kids about the four main areas of personal finance: investing, saving, spending, and donating.

• Making of a Rough Budget - Learn how to budget the right way.

• Finance is Self-Discipline - Personal finance may really be a conceptual metaphor for personal discipline.

• 5 Reasons I Started A 529 For My Unconceived Child - Reasons why I started a 529 plan even though I have no children.

• Getting Bargains at Estate Sales - A post on how to compete with the professionals to come away from an estate sale with good deals.

• Cars and Money - The fewer cars you can live with the better. Of course most people require at least one car, but does your family really need two cars?

• Can You Spare 10 Minutes to Save $138? - Demonstrating the ability to save money by asking the companies you do business with for a discount.

• Buy Real Estate with Fake Money - A set of observations on lessons from Monopoly.

• Investing – Riding the Recession with Awareness, Planning and Investment - Let us assume the worst-case scenario that the recession does come through due to the collapse of the housing sector which in turn would bring down the economy in a ripple effect. Now the question that arises and needs to be addressed is: "How do we take care of our investments and our daily needs during a recession?"

• Living on the Edge - Learning to identify and exploit edges is the key to financial prosperity.

• Teaching Kids About Money - Now that my wife and I are getting ready to have a child, I have been thinking alot about how we plan to educate him/her, especially about money, saving, and investing.

• Accounting for Accrued Expenses in Quicken - If you are looking for a way to account for accrued expenses in Quicken, here's a tutorial that goes through the steps.

• My Ever Confusing FICO Score - An in-depth look at my recent FICO scores pulled from the three credit reporting activities.

• Ten Money Questions for Dan Savage - Dan Savage writes a nationally syndicated sex-advice column called “Savage Love” that is read by more than 4 million people each week. Sex is the juicy part, but often times, financial compatibility can be just as significant in the success of a relationship. Here are a few questions for Dan about money, couples and kids.

• Are You Leaving Money On The Table?  Review Your Benefits! - The bottom line is: If you aren't using these benefits, you are paying more taxes than you should be. You are literally leaving money on the table.

• Vacation days: do you use them or lose them? - How many vacation days do you get?  And do you take all those you're entitled to?

• Secrets To Spending Money - My last post was about some secrets to saving money. This one is about spending money wisely, so that you either save, or make an investment that pays off later.

• The Mechanics of Inheriting Real Estate - How do you transfer house ownership after someone dies and leaves you the house in a will?

• Googling Your Retirement Number - Using Google's calculator to come up with a quick and dirty retirement number.

• Stop it, stop it right now! - Private debt collectors are now tracking down delinquent taxpayers, but if some Senators get their way, the collection process will stop ASAP.

• 5 Reasons Why Robert Kiyosaki Is Wrong - These are 5 things Mr. Kiyosaki teaches that I think he is wrong about.

• What Is Your Financial Exit Strategy? - I ask every financial advisor I talk with today what their exit strategy is-How are they going to replace their current income with passive income on a monthly basis.

• How to Build the Habit of Saving - An update on the Million Dollar Savings Club.

• "Nightmare Mortgages" -- What Business Week didn't report - Business Week highlighted Option ARMs and called them "Nightmare Mortgages".  Here is the side of the story that Business Week didn't report.

• Life Insurance Audit - The Life Insurance Audit is a process designed to ensure that you have the best life insurance solution available at a given time. The process doesn’t cost anything but some time. An audit consists of five parts and should be done every five years.

• My Retirement Account:  AKA Stuff I Don't Usually ... - I realized that in over a year and a half of blogging, I've never really talked about my retirement. So, here are the basic details.

• Cash flow & Capital Gain, 2 points that you must focus to achieve financial freedom - See how you can use the theory of Capital Gain and positive Cashflow to achieve financial freedom.

• 5 Steps to Avoid Foreclosure on your Home - Dave, I am behind in my mortgage payments!  What should I do?  I don't want to lose my home. HELP!

• Bad company - Problems with The Company Store.

• Debt Can Actually Make You Rich - Debt is not always bad. Debt can be your friend if it's used correctly. The problem for most people is that they don't do so. For the majority of people, debt is a mortal enemy to be slain like a medieval dragon. It's either your financial health or your debt, only one can survive. The key to making debt your ally instead of your enemy is proper debt management. Your debt must be working for you. Used correctly, debt can indeed make you wealthy and financially secure.

• A Floor (and a Ceiling) for Semis - According to Eric Savitz, Morgan Stanley is out touting semiconductor companies on the basis of the Freescale (FSL) bidding war.

• Discount Plan Crack Down - Often sold, incorrectly, as a subsitute for real health insurance, medical discount plans are coming under increased scrutiny.

• The Week Ahead: Your Financial Roadmap for September 18 to September 22, 2006 - A look at the upcoming economic indicators that will drive markets for the week ahead, Treasury auctions and select earnings reports. Updated through the week as economic indicator results become available.

Thanks for visiting the Carnival of Personal Finance!

Comments

[Flexo]

Thanks for hosting!

[Steve Mertz]

Great Job-Thanks again for hosting

[hgstern]

 
Outstanding job...well organized and helpful.

Thank you for hosting!
 

[FIRE Finance]

Great job, thanks for hosting the Carnival. All 47 posts were of great quality and very informative indeed !
Thanks once again.
FIRE Finance

[MillionDollarCountDown]

Beginners question...how do you participate in carnival? Thanks in advance

[FMF]

Go to www.blogcarnival.com, look over carnivals that interest you, then submit your posts to be considered.