Gather Little by Little

My fellow blogging and non-blogging citizens: I write here today, grateful for the trust bestowed up on me to host this 1st edition of the revived Carnival of Money Stories. First and foremost, I welcome you to the carnival and also  to Gather Little by Little. Similar words of welcome have been spoken throughout blogging history: during rising tides of prosperity and still waters of peace…

Ok, ok…I’ll stop trying to carve this whole carnival out as an inaugural speech. I’m a PF blogger anyway, no way I could even come close to drafting a decent political speech in he first place! BUT, what I will do is share some interesting inaugural trivia questions with you as we go through the carnival. Answers to the trivia questions will be at the very bottom.

I’d like to thank Adam from Money Relationship for taking the initiative to restart the carnival. It was missed by a number of us who really like the more “personal” aspect of personal finance. If you’re interested in hosting, head over and let Adam know.

So let’s get to the carnival shall we? I received more than 50 entries, but only 36 made the cut and met the criteria: “The article should be a personal money story or experience.”  You’ll find these 36 entries below. Make sure you spend some time reading through each and everyone as they are all interesting reads!

Editor’s Pick

Out of all of the great money stories, three stories in particular were the greats of the great and received the honor of being Editor’s Picks:

• A Five Year Old Gets It, We Don’t – This story submitted by WC from the Writers Coin shares a story of a little boy that really get’s it: He understands the true value of money and of giving. Do you?
• Taking the Buyout Plunge – Dave Ozment shares his personal story of being faced with the decision to take a buyout, just a few days before Christmas.
• Managing Your Money While Deployed, One Soldier’s Story – Turns out, Jeff Rose served in Iraq. In this article, Jeff shares his personal story about managing money while serving. Thanks Jeff for your service. We appreciate you protecting our freedom. We’re very grateful.

Trivia Question #1: After 8 inches of snow fell on the morning of the inauguration, the Army used flamethrowers to melt snow and ice from Pennsylvania Avenue. Which president was this done for?

Business

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents The Best Business Opportunity Can Be the One You Don’t Take posted at Cash Money Life.

Trivia Question #2: His inauguration was in March (they didn’t start inaugurating in January until FDR), and, at 4 degrees, it turned out to be one of Washington’s coldest March days ever. Cadets and midshipmen who took part in the parade collapsed after standing outside without overcoats for more than 90 minutes. The food froze at the unheated inaugural ball, and canaries that had been intended to fly gracefully among the dancing guests died in their cages. Which president is this referring to?

Debt

• Baker presents The Real Price of Spending While In Debt: $6.25 Footlongs”¦ posted at Man Vs. Debt.
• Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Pay Off Credit Card Debt: A Success Story posted at The Digerati Life.
• The Happy Rock presents DD’s Monthly Expenses – April 2009 posted at The Happy Rock.

Trivia Question #3: The oath of office is just 35 words long and has not changed in more than 200 years. It says: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The president has the option of saying “I do solemnly affirm” rather than “I do solemnly swear.” But only one has done so. His 11-year-old son, Benjamin, died in a train accident shortly before Pierce was to take the oath. Some sources report that Pierce believed his son’s death was punishment for his own sins, and he would not swear on a Bible while taking the oath of office. Who was he?

Investing

• The Budgeter presents The Bill Collector’s Calling Again posted at Keep Your Cash.
• Steve Patterson presents SSO June Calls Reentry posted at FastSwings.com – Steve Patterson.
• Ryan Suenaga presents What’s in My Portfolio: Vanguard GNMA Fund posted at Uncommon Cents.

Trivia Question #4: John Marshall, the chief justice of the United States, began the tradition of having the chief justice swear in the president with the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson in 1805. Which president later became chief justice?

Credit

• PT presents My Mortgage Refinance and Credit Situation posted at Prime Time Money.
• Jeff@StretchyDollar presents Disputing a Charge On Your Credit Card posted at StretchyDollar.
• Darwin presents Start Investing Today: An Amazing Comparison of 25 vs 35 Year Old Starters posted at Darwin’s Finance.
• Mr Credit Card presents My Mom Used My Credit Card And Racked Up $8000 In Debt. What Should I Do? posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Trivia Question #5: Dating at least from Lincoln’s time, a top hat or stove-pipe hat was a common sight on the presidential noggin during the inauguration (and in Lincoln’s case, lots of other times). Who was the last president to wear a top hat at his inauguration?

Housing

• Adam presents We’re Moving! Well, Sort of”¦. posted at Your Money Relationship.
• That One Caveman presents We Won Our Property Tax Appeal! posted at One Caveman’s Financial Journey
• Single Guy Money presents I Saved Over $900 By Getting A Second Opinion posted at Single Guy Money.

Trivia Question #6: Where was the first inauguration held?

Shopping

• Mrs. Micah presents As Seen on TV – Does It Work? posted at Mrs. Micah: Finance for a Freelance Life.
• SimplyForties presents Want vs. Need; or Opportunism? posted at SimplyForties.
• FMF presents One Bad Experience Can Ruin a Company posted at Free Money Finance.
• Kyle presents Comparison Shopping – A Real Life Example posted at Suburban Dollar.
• Dan presents Savings Tips Consumer Reports Style posted at Everyday Finance.
• Alan Schram presents Wedding Expenses: How We Saved Money on the Wedding Bands posted at Saving For Serenity.

Trivia Question #7: Which president had the shortest inaugural speech on record?

Other

• Lorraine Edwards presents Global Domains International posted at In My Humble Opinion.
• FinancialHealthGuy presents Expense Logging: March Example Analysis | financialhealthguy.com posted at financialhealthguy.com.
• vh presents Bankbooks and Financial Records: Things people say about themselves posted at Funny about Money.
• Money Beagle presents A Tale Of Two Garbage Bins posted at Money Beagle.
• Jeremy presents Consider the Impact On Your Finances When Taking a Paid Leave of Absence, FMLA, or Disability From Work posted at Generation X Finance.
• J. Money presents Health Insurance 101: Gallbladders are Sexpensive. posted at Budgets are Sexy.
  SaveIt presents Currency Exchange For Travel Guide posted at Spending It.
• The Smarter Wallet presents Eat Well for Cheap! How To Eat Out For Less posted at The Smarter Wallet.
• Patrick @ Military Money presents Watch Out For Stimulus Check and Government Grant Fraud! posted at Military Finance Network.
• Kelly Whalen presents emergency fund saves the day (again) posted at the ¢entsible life.

Trivia Question #8: Which president has the distinction for both the longest inaugural address and the shortest presidency? Despite an ice storm, he refused to wear a hat and delivered an 8,495-word speech that took two hours; he developed a pneumonia and died one month later.

Answers: Q1: John F. Kennedy, Q2: Ulysses S. Grant, Q3: Franklin Pierce, Q4: William Howard Taft, Q5: Kennedy, Q6: New York, Q7: George Washington (his second one), Q8: William Henry Harrison