Carnival of Financial Planning

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Carnival of Financial Planning.  The carnival is a rotating spotlight of posts in the PF blogosphere.  To participate in the carnival, submit a post via the carnival submission form at Blogger Carnivals.

Here are some of my top picks, leave a comment and let us know what you thought.

Editor’s Picks

Joe @ cheapautoinsurance.net writes How Choices You Make Affects Your Auto Insurance Costs – Every choice you make has a cost and affects your personal finance. If you make the decisions with the costs in mind you maximize your savings and make your money go further.

Mom Cents @ Mom Makes Cents writes How to Get Bank Fees Refunded By Simply Asking – The power of asking goes a long way! Banking institutions understand that the rare mistake can happen to anyone. As long as it is the exception and not the norm, simply asking can get those expensive fees reversed.

The Shrike @ The Shrike’s Domain writes 7 Reasons Why Saving Money Is Stupid – Don’t waste your money by putting it in the bank. Read this article and learn what to do with it instead.

Jack @ Money Saving Ethics writes Planning for Retirement? Keep in Mind that it’s Not All About the Money – If you were lucky enough to have been advised to start planning your retirement early, and you did, you’ll know that saving for retirement can take a number of decades.

Matt @ Budget Snob writes How to Meet Your Retirement Goals – Retirement is an all too elusive goal for many people today.

Danielle @ Saving Without a Budget writes How to Start Taking Advantage of Online Coupons – The couponing craze is definitely a big trend these days and, with the cost of food going through the roof, it’s not a surprise.

Bob @ Dwindling Debt writes Getting ready to Grill? Here are some Tips to help you Save Money – Another Fourth of July has passed us by, heralding the start of the summer season and the grilling season as well.

Erastus @ Sprout Wealth writes How Much Do You Need to Save Before Having Children? – Having a child is expensive. Children cost a lot of money to raise. How much do you need to save before having a child? We answer that here.

BUDGETING

Harry Campbell @ Your PF Pro writes How Much Can You Make Driving For Lyft and Uber in OC/LA? – Even though I’m now a registered Uber and Lyft driver I haven’t had much time to drive for both platforms at the same time. I wrote about my first weekend doing both a couple weeks ago and the rides were overwhelmingly Uber. Even though I’m a part time driver, I really don’t have any set times that I like to drive though. I kind of just head out whenever I feel like it or whenever I’m bored.

Alexa @ Single Moms Income writes Gender Roles, Money, and Choosing the Right Partner – I firmly believe there is no one-size-fits-all financial solution.

Brad @ Enemy of Debt writes Don’t be sloppy with your money: make sure to get what is due to you – I lived with debt for quite a few years before we reached a crisis point and dealt with it once and for all.

Larry @ KrantCents writes Don’t Envy the Rich! – The rich are different from you and me. Yes, they have more money.

Monica @ Monica On Money writes The Top 10 Tips for Finding Extra Work to Pay off Debt – If you want to pay off debt, finding extra work is a great way to go about it.

Natalie @ Debt and The Girl writes How I Got Duped by a Lady with Perfect Make-up – What really happened is I was a little blind sighted by some pretty convincing store salesmanship.

Justin @ iPlugin writes Old Apple Chargers Pose a Risk – Apple has offered to exchange specific models of their older iPhone USB adapters because of the potential risk found of them overheating.

Danielle @ TeacHer Finance writes Top 5 Ways to Save $100.00 this week, and every week – These days $100 might not seem like a lot of money but, if you are able to save $100 a week, at the end of the year you would have $5200 that you could put towards paying down debt, putting towards an emergency fund or towards your 401(k) or IRA.

Aaron @ Aaron Hung writes Traveling a lot for work? These Tips will help – Many entrepreneurs spend an awful lot of time on the road and, if you are one of them, you know how grueling it can be.

Justin @ Edward Antrobus writes The Habits of the Rich, Part 2 – Unless you’re part of the 1% of people that are born into wealth, there’s simply no way to become wealthy by accident.

Marissa @ Thirty Six Months writes 5 Outdoor Jobs that Break the 9-5 Grind – If you are over the monotony and constraints of working 9 to 5 in an office, the prospect of an outdoor job will probably interest you greatly.

Marissa @ Finance Triggers writes What is the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) initiative? – The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a global initiative that aims to create a global reference data system that can identify each individual legal entity or structure that is party to a financial transaction, whatever its jurisdiction.

Sam @ The New Business Blog writes Top Marketing Tips for the Small Business Owner – As an entrepreneur it’s no doubt that you are constantly searching for effective but economical marketing tools to find new customers and generate sales.

Katie @ IRA Basics writes When and How to Start IRA Withdrawals – Hopefully, when you went to open an IRA, you did so with the intention of using it for long term retirement needs.

Andrea @ So Over This writes The Two Job Town – I recently just went through an almost three month period where I worked two jobs, one full-time, one four days a week and just about fulltime.

Hadley @ Epic Finances writes Three Sectors to Invest in Now – Experts say that here in the United States a manufacturing renaissance is beginning to take off.

Lenny @ Best Money Saving Blog writes Planning for Retirement – There are many different definitions of the American Dream, some say it’s a great job and nice house, others say it’s comfortably raising a family, yet my definition varies a bit from those.

Amy @ Money Mishaps writes Windows or A/C? Annual Summer Debate – A gallon of gas is just about four dollars anywhere you go in the United States, meaning that families will be shelling out more money this summer when they hit the road for summer vacation.

Jay @ Daily Fuel Economy Tip writes Do your Tires really affect your gas Mileage? – Did you know however that the size of your tires, their weight and the type of tread that they have all impact fuel efficiency as well?

Oscar @ Money is the Root writes Thinking of Retiring? Consider This – Let’s just go over some brief facts about Social Security to get you started.

Daniel @ Make Money Make Cents writes How Online Trading Platforms Work – If you’re taking your very first steps as an online trader then you’ve probably already come across trading platforms, but you may be wondering exactly what they are and how they work.

Karen @ 724 Credit writes What Type Of Mortgage Should You Get For A New Home? – Very few people are able to pay cash upfront for one of the largest purchases they will ever make. Some don’t even want to pay in cash because sometimes your interest rate on your mortgage can be very low, and if you are strategic with your financing then this may work out in your favor.

Harry @ The Rideshare Guy writes How Much Did I Make Driving For Lyft & Uber on a Saturday Night in the OC/LA? – Even though I’m now a registered Uber and Lyft driver I haven’t had much time to drive for both platforms at the same time. I wrote about my first weekend doing both a couple weeks ago and the rides were overwhelmingly Uber. Even though I’m a part time driver, I really don’t have any set times that I like to drive though. I kind of just head out whenever I feel like it or whenever I’m bored.

Mario @ Debt BLAG writes Can Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s new e-book service save me money? My math – Amazon recently unveiled Kindle Unlimited — a program that lets you read as many e-books as you want for $10 a month; but is it worth it?

 

BUSINESS

Mr. 4HWD @ The Four Hour Work Day writes How to Keep More Cash in Your Pocket by Bootstrapping Your Side Business – All businesses, big or small, on the side or full-time, come with expenses. They could just be startup costs, or you might need to account for ongoing or reoccurring expenses. Either way, the money you need to spend to keep your side business running has to come from somewhere.

 

CAREER & EDUCATION

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes How Video Conferencing Can Improve the Business of Education – While in education, video conferencing can be used from elementary to university levels to enrich students’ experiences in the classroom. Video conferencing can also be used to great effect in assisting in the administrative procedures of a school, allowing various school executives to meet with internal staff and faculty or with outside partners and businesses.

 

FINANCIAL ADVICE

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Poverty of Mind and Money: Security Through Family – Poverty is a state of mind as much as it is a reflection of your current bank balance.

Gretchen @ Retired by 40! writes Going Back to Your Roots – in Finances and Health – What value is there in “returning to your roots” both to refocus on your financial goals, and to jump start weight loss?

Harry Campbell @ Your PF Pro writes My Latest Credit Card App O Rama Nets 250,000 Points and $200: Applying and Spending – This is part two of our two part series about my latest credit card App O Rama and how I netted 250,000 points and $200. Part 1 covered preparation and strategy for an App O Rama of this kind of magnitude and today we’ll talk about how the application process and spending works.

 

FRUGALITY

Mario @ Adventures in Frugal writes 10 hummus recipes and variants, that keep the process easy and inexpensive – Hummus is so easy to make and so inexpensive that I use these hummus recipes to do it on my own rather than spending a chunk of change on the pre-made stuff

Cat @ Budget Blonde writes If It’s Not Working, Change Your Methods – What used to be a nice, organized life and business has turned into total chaos.

Gretchen @ Retired by 40! writes Combat The Rising Cost of Target Shooting – Firearm and ammunition prices are on rise! What do you do when target shooting is a favorite hobby?

Brock Kernin @ Clever Dude writes How Much Cheaper Is It to Drink at Home? – It’s cheaper to eat at home, so it must be cheaper to drink at home, right? Yup, but you won’t believe just how much cheaper….

Brad @ How to Save Money writes Smoking Costs Money – Uncovering direct and hidden expenses of smoking

 

INVESTING

Alexa @ Defeat Our Debt writes Should You Take a Vacation if You’re in Debt? – Your debt is stressing you out. Work is stressing you out. And you just need a little break from the normal day to day grind.

Lily @ Paying Debt Down writes What to do if you run out of cash before payday – Many people are finding it difficult to make their money last until they next get paid.

 

SAVING

Erastus @ Wise Dollar writes 10 Ways to Save Money at Home – There are ways to save money at home, you just have to get creative. I share 10 simple tips that can result in thousands of dollars of money savings.

 

OTHER

RJ Weiss @ The Insurance Protection Blog writes Home Insurance: Sewage Backup Insurance 101 – A common misconception about home insurance is that it includes coverage for flood. As many homeowenrs have found out the hard way, flood insurance isn’t included. But then, what happens when there’s no flood but water is in your home? Are you covered?

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Guest Cottages as an Alternative to a Larger House – As long as the lot was large enough, my thinking is, even if the main house is small, I’d add a guest cottage in the back yard!