Welcome to the last edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance for 2009! In today’s edition, I will share what I have enjoyed the most during the last 2 weeks of the year.

#1 Editor’s Pick: This is my Favorite Holiday!

I actually love Christmas time (who doesn’t?). This is the special period of the year where everything is touched by magic. We spend time with our families, we play with the kids outside and we are able to watch the world through the eyes of a child especially to see the amazed look on their faces when they unwrap their gifts. Definitely, this is my favourite time of the year. So here are my favourite articles for this Carnival:

J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents 3 Simple Steps To Rock Your Finances. Those are 3 easy steps that everyone should follow. I particularly like the third one: ACT NOW!”

J.D. Roth from Get Rich Slowly presents The Basic Law of Frugality, and says, “Frugality doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. And it doesn’t have to mean you never buy anything you want ever again. You can’t always get what you want — but you can sometimes!”

Jim from Bargaineering presents Automating Your Finances is an Expensive Mistake.

Madison from My Dollar Plan presents Top 10 Financial Stories of the Decade. This is great financial review of the past decade

#2 Frugality and Debt Management: The Month of January is the Best Month for Deals!

The end of the year is the perfect time to save a few bucks. While you shopped for your gifts during Christmas time, you probably identifed what you need in stores and may wait until the first week of January. For those who are Canadian (or shop online), you don’t even have to wait for the January rebate as they have the Boxing Day (looks like Black Friday in the US). Everything is on sale right after Christmas (starting December 26^th). The key is to find great deals and then transfer your purchase to a zero percent balance transfer credit card Seriously, you would be better to leave your credit cards at home if you go shopping! So here are the frugal and debt management articles of this Carnival:

WellHeeled from Well-Heeled Blog presents Old Cars: Unsung Heroes of Personal Finance, and says, “Old cars lack the flash and dash of new models, but they are wonderful for your personal financial situation. I drive an old car, and I love it. ”

Elle from Couple Money presents Saving on Pet Care, and says, “Being frugal doesn’t mean being skipping on vet visits and buying low quality food (which in turn can aid a pet in gaining weight and developing other problems). It means saving money in case a serious problem comes up and you don’t worry about paying the light bill or your dog’s surgery.”

Helen from Science and Money presents How to Reset Your “Check Engine Light”: OBD-II Code Readers, and says, “How I saved $1,800 and became the most popular person in my office.”

David from Credit Card Offers IQ presents List of Credit Card Foreign Currency Transaction Fees, and says, “Most credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee when the card is used outside the United States. ”

DR from Dough Roller presents Consolidate Debt with LendingClub or Prosper, and says, “LendingClub recently launched a new section of its website that lists statistics about borrowers and lenders.”

Clint from Accumulating Money presents Wholesale Mortgages, and says, “Thanks”

Matt from One Million and Beyond presents Overspending at Christmas – Now What?.

ElizabethG (Modern Gal) from Modern Gal presents Maintaining the Saving and Investing Momentum.

LeanLifeCoach from Eliminate The Muda presents The Saving Game – Save To Splurge, and says, “Another way to control your spending habits is to make a game out of saving. If you have ever worked a job on commission or in a retail environment you’ve likely been exposed to some type of incentive. I take this idea from the world of business and how incentives are used to drive desired behaviors.”

mbhunter from Mighty Bargain Hunter presents Pay off your car loan before paying off other debts?, and says, “Yet another method for paying off multiple debts”

#3 Money Management: The Time to Establish Goals

During December, I always take a few hours to look at what I have accomplished financially in 2009. I updated my balance sheet, looked at my net worth, my salary and my debt load! Then, I establish financial goals for the next year. I have been doing this for the past 3 years and it has helped me a lot, helping me grow my net worth and prioritize paying off my debts. In order to get some tricks about money management, here are the articles about this topic:

MLR from My Life ROI presents General Tips to Avoid Fast Depreciation, and says, “Purchasing a car can be a huge financial mistake. Often times the factor that makes it a mistake is the depreciation cost. If you can offset the depreciation cost as much as possible, you may be able to justify a new car purchase.”

Fabulously Broke from Fabulously Broke in the City presents Researching Rental Cars, and says, “Comparing rental cars against each other based on a set of criterion:

1. Daily Rates mean nothing. Final total is more important.
2. Not all discounts for car rentals and airplane flights make the rental or purchase cheaper
3. Cutting down on expenses by getting a credit card with no fee that can cover your rental insurance saves you $16.95 – $25.95 each day you rent p>

pfstock from PFStock.com presents Yodlee: A Love/Hate Relationship, and says, “This is my personal experience with Yodlee’s account aggregation website.”

FIRE Finance from FIRE Finance presents Americans Living Without Bank Accounts?, and says, “Last weekend we were wondering how many Americans live without bank accounts. Our first thought was not many. Curious to know the facts we started researching on the web. We were stunned to find that 17 million Americans have no bank accounts! And 18% of the rest of the population that do have bank accounts use non-traditional banking services like pawn shops and payday lenders.”

Adam from Money Relationship presents Big Changes and An Even Bigger Confession.

Kris Bickell from Debt Tips presents Credit card interest – how high is high?.

Dr Dean from The Millionaire Nurse Blog presents Mega-Consumer, or Careful Consumer-Dr Dean’s Rant.

FT from Million Dollar Journey presents 3 Ways to be More Like Scrooge

Austin from Foreigner’s Finances presents 8 Money Tips I Learned from Clark Griswold and Christmas Vacation, and says, “A look at my favorite Christmas movie – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – and the money tips that can be learned from it.”

Clarence Haynes from Personal Finance Analyst presents Robert Kiyosaki, Another False Profit in the Financial Guru Game .

#4 Investing: The Time to Review Your Portfolio

This is the perfect time of the year to look at your stock portfolio and see if there are any capital losses you should take advantage of. You can review your investing strategy while looking at an  investment guide. I always take a few hours to balance my portfolio and make sure I am ready for next year. Here are some great investment articles:

Zina from Tonka Beans Blog presents 2012: End of the World? Or the End of Your Target-Date Fund? (Part 2/3), and says, “This is part two of a three part series on Target Date Funds. In the first part of this three-part series we reviewed the fundamentals of target-date funds. What are they? Why do they exist? How are they different from other mutual funds?

Paula Wethington from Monroe on a Budget presents What’s happning to the scholarship funds?, and says, “I gave examples appropriate to my local audience, but this post works just as well for the national readers.”

Carlos from Tiny Money presents Stock market of the 2000’s: Worst ever?, and says, “Why the poor performance of the stock market in the 2000’s doesn’t mean much, and why stocks are still the best way to invest over the long term”

D4L from Dividends Value presents Best Stocks For 2010, and says, “This is the season for stock predictions! Virtually every financial writer will pen an article selecting his or her top picks for the upcoming year. I enjoy reading them and the logic behind the picks and sometimes there is a gem to be found.”

Susan Tiner from Brain Dead Simple! Financial Organizing presents Expected Return of Income Property, and says, “Follow-up to Mike Piper’s post on computing expected return for a home purchase for a real estate investment property.”

Darwin from Darwin’s Finance presents Study: Smart Investors MUCH Better Stock Pickers than Dumb Investors , and says, “A surprising study sheds light on how investor IQ is correlated with actual stock-picking performance. Results, analysis and what you should consider as an investor in common equities.
”

Craig Ford from Money Help For Christians presents How To Become An Accidential Millionaire, and says, “Saving to become a millionaire only requires a simple, disciplined investing plan implemented early in life. ”

The Smarter Wallet from The Smarter Wallet presents A 529 College Savings Plan As A Child’s Gift, and says, “On opening a 529 college savings account for your kid.”

The Dividend Guy from The Dividend Guy presents Contributions Matter (Most), and says, “No matter what you do as an investor, the more money you put into your account the more money you will end up with in the end.”

Revanche from A Gai Shan Life presents On the non-retirement investments front.

The Dividend Guy from The Dividend Guy presents Dividend Safety and Warnings, and says, “There are a number of warning signs that suggest potential problems to your dividends. Here is a summary of a few of them.”

#5 Others: Take Some Time Off and RELAX!

While shopping and visiting are 2 activities that require a lot of time, it is also important to take a few days off and relax. We used to take a day in pyjamas and watch movies all day long (usually the 26th!). So for all the other things, here are the rest of the articles of the Carnival of Personal Finance:

TIP Guy from TIPBlog.in presents Year 2009: A Bit of Nostalgic Reflection, and says, “It is not necessary to reflect back only on your professional goals. You can also look at your personal life or your hobbies or your side projects or extra curricular activities. Do you reflect back like this?”

FMF from Free Money Finance presents Four Things I Like About Quicken, and says, “I’ve used Quicken for years and love it! Here’s why.”

Henry Stern, LUTCF, CBC from InsureBlog presents Look, Overhead!, and says, “Summary: What happens to your business if you’re disabled? InsureBlog explains how business overhead insurance works, and why it’s important.”

Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Employment Discrimination, The Glass Ceiling & The Gender Wage Gap

vh from Funny about Money presents Bumhood: The Fruits of Financial Freedom, and says, “An interview with a practicing idler: How a man quit his job at 47 and lived happily ever after in “Bumhood.”"

Jason from One Money Design presents Christian Giving: When to Give to Christian Ministries, and says, “This post explores when we should give to Christian ministries in our overall giving plan and also MinistryWatch.com which is a helpful tool in deciding if a ministry is worthy of financial support.”

Curt from PennyJobs.com presents The True Author of Economic Stability Is None Other Than Jesus Christ.

Kyle from Suburban Dollar presents T’was the Night Before Christmas.

Author: Mike.

Image source: the suss man, Duncan Rawlinson, lululemon, bramu, eye of enstein

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Hey! Another Carnival at GLBL! Don’t worry; this is the last one until the Carnival of Personal Finance at the end of the year

Along with the Carnival, I’ve decided to share a few of my money successes. After sharing my money flaws last week, I also wanted to share some financial achievements from the past year. Handling personal finance is not always easy and it is important to acknowledge our failures yet it is even more important to acknowledge success!

But before we start, here are a few good readings from GLBL:

- 15 Uses for Coffee Filters

- Dave Ramsey’s Gazelle Budget

- Homemade car cleaning products

- Switch to zero percent balance transfer credit cards

#1 Editor’s Picks: My Biggest Money Achievement (creating an alternative source of income)

During these rough economic times, we are all seeking job security. Unfortunately, we have little to no control (besides doing your job right) over our employer’s decision. Therefore, the best way to improve your financial stability is by having an alternative source of income. Through my web company, I have been able to create an additional source of income; my plan B. While it doesn’t generate enough money to allow me to quit my day job, it would provide me sufficient cash flow if anything goes sour at work. This piece of mind is priceless. So here are the best articles of this carnival:

d. ninja presents Bring it on haterz posted at Punch Debt In The Face.

MoneyNing presents Take Some Time to Make More Money posted at Money Ning.

debt kid presents How To Stop Money From Ruling Your Life posted at Debt Kid.

J. Money presents My Wallet Gets Beer Goggles Too. posted at Budgets are Sexy.

#2 Money Management: Living in a Single Income Household

Back in May 2009, my wife quit her job to take care of our 2 children. While it is the best situation in terms of family lifestyle, it is far from being good news on the financial side. We have learned to manage our money differently in order to make sure that we have enough to pay all the bills. Here are the money management related articles:

Emily Simmons presents How to Make a Budget That Works posted at Be In Health Now.

Peak Personal Finance presents 5 Financial Rules for Women posted at Peak Personal Finance.

Madison presents Understanding Health Savings Accounts posted at My Dollar Plan.

Studenomist presents Finding The Perfect Debt Elimination Plan For YOU posted at Studenomics.

Chris Holdheide presents How The John Cummuta Transforming Debt Into Wealth System Works posted at StumbleForward.com.

Hank presents Five Steps To Get Out of Credit Card Debt Now posted at Own The Dollar.

Tyler presents Stop Feeling Guilty and Go Do Something Awesome posted at Frugally Green.

#3 Investing: Buying my First House Through Leverage

As I have mentioned before, I am a big fan of leveraging. While borrowing to invest is not for everyone and should not be advertised abroad, this is how I managed to buy my first house. I borrowed $20,000 from my line of credit back in 2003 and I bought my first house with my investment profit in 2006. Technically, I didn’t take a penny from my own pocket into my property. Here are the investing articles:

The Financial Blogger presents 10 Trading Lessons for Free! posted at The Financial Blogger.

Intelligent Speculator presents Will commodity ETF’s exist a year from now? posted at Intelligent Speculator.

Hank presents Use Insider Information The Legal Way To Pick Winning Stocks To Invest In posted at Own The Dollar.

Manshu presents S&P 500 ETF List posted at OneMint.

Jeff Rose presents Good to Know Rules and Limits for the Traditional IRA posted at Jeff Rose.

D4L presents 4 Stocks With Higher Dividends posted at Dividends Value.

Matt_SF presents Charles Schwab Might be the Best Choice for Passive Investors posted at Steadfast Finances.

#4 Frugality and Debt Management: Consolidating all my debts in a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit)

Frugality refers to saving money and spending diligently. One of the best ways to achieve both side of frugality is to manage your debt correctly. You can save money on interest and spend less in order to avoid maxing out your credit cards. A few years ago, I decided to put all my debts together using my home equity line of credit. While debt management has become much easier with only one account, I also pay less interest. Here are other ways to save money or to manage your debt:

Craig Ford presents 10 Tips For Saving Money While Raising Kids posted at Money Help For Christians.

Darwin presents Why Do People Pay More Money for the Top of the Line Model? Incremental Value Analysis posted at Darwin’s Finance.

Barry presents 7 Tips To Save Money On A Vacation posted at Associate Money.

J.D. Roth presents Creative Cleaning with Everyday Products posted at Get Rich Slowly.

freefrombroke presents Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit May Not Be Good For Existing Buyers posted at Free From Broke.

David presents How Much Can You Save with a 0% Balance Transfer for 12 Months posted at Credit Card Offers IQ.

MatthewPaulson presents Best Coupon Sources Online posted at Fine Tuned Finances.

Billeater presents Mortgage Options You Can Afford to Pay posted at Billeater.

Mr Credit Card presents Chase Sapphire Card Review posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Top 15 Ways to Save Money on Heating Your House posted at Canadian Finance Blog.

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Frugal Thanksgiving Dinner Tips posted at Financial Highway.

PT presents Upromise Review: A Little Extra Savings for College posted at PT Money.

#5 Other: Making a Career Move

2 years ago, I decided to get my financial planner title and switch jobs to become a full time financial planner. The first year was rough and I didn’t manage to increase my pay check. In fact, I would have received a bigger bonus if I didn’t leave my previous job. However, this year has been fantastic and I am not only increasing my income but my bonus will compensate for what I had lost last year. You never know if your career moves are good or bad until you do them. I guess this time I made the right choice. Here are the other articles from the carnival:

Jeremy J. Ulmer presents Need Sales Coaching? Top 10 Questions You Should Ask Before Hiring a Sales Coach posted at Sales Coaching.

Miss M presents Financial Literacy Finally Gaining Attention posted at M is for Money.

Bucksome presents Three Electronics That Make Me Drool posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement.

Paul Williams presents Beneficiary Designations – Mistakes to Avoid posted at Provident Planning.

FMF presents How to Make Money as a Soccer Referee posted at Free Money Finance.

Author: Mike.

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If you are new to Gather Little by Little, you should read the following articles:

- How to build a compost bin

- How to get your finance under control

- Simple ways to make money online

- zero percent transfer balance credit card

Money Flaw #1: Having Spendthrift Moments

The current recession and the recent read of In Cheap We Trust got me thinking about my spending habits. While I am frugal in several aspects of my life, I am having a hard time spending less on food, clothes and cars. I don’t go shopping often, but when I go on a shopping frenzy, I can spend my whole pay check on clothing… I am actually worse than my wife when it comes to shopping . In order to control my spendthrift moments, I am continuously asking “will I regret it?”. Thinking twice about what I am about to buy reduces my bill at the end of the month considerably;-).

Ben presents Open Enrollment deadlines posted at Money Smart Life.

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Save Money By Selling Your House Without A Real Estate Agent posted at The Canadian Finance Blog.

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Save Money on Auto Insurance Rates posted at Cash Money Life.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents My Retirement Plan Or What I Plan To Do When I Retire posted at The Digerati Life.

DR presents 10 Simple Steps to Buying a Car or Truck on eBay. posted at The Dough Roller.

Michal presents Tips to Creating a Green Home Theater posted at Energy Saving Gadgets.

Peter presents This Blogger Fell Into The FICO Trap, But Saw The Light And Became Debt Free posted at Bible Money Matters.

PT presents Results of a Week Without Spending posted at PT Money.

Money Flaw #2: Procrastination

In my opinion, procrastination is my worst money flaw. The problem with procrastination is that it often doesn’t show. You barely notice that you are losing money because you don’t take care of something. It’s like water dripping from a leaky faucet; you are losing water but you won’t notice the damage until something breaks and you see the big hole under the counter! I try to send myself emails (it’s a Gen Y thing, so says conspiracy theory man) and leave notes everywhere of what needs to be done (like looking at my insurance coverage for example or analysing how much interest I pay on debt). I am slowly getting better when it comes down to take care of my personal finances.

RJ Weiss presents How I Saved $1,925 By Picking Up The Phone! posted at Genyweath.com.

Mrs. Accountability presents The Time I Almost Married An Amway Salesman | Out of Debt Again posted at Out of Debt Again.

Julia Kingston presents Taking the Life out of LIFO posted at Gray Matters

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Ode To Prosperity posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

CreditCardAssist presents Card Issuers Find Loopholes Before New Law Takes Effect posted at CreditCardAssist.com.

Peak Personal Finance presents 6 Types of Financial Apps for Your Smart Phone posted at Peak Personal Finance.

David Carlson presents Dual Income No Kids: DINKs Buying Silver & Bonds posted at Dual Income No Kids.

KCLau presents Caring for the Elderly posted at KCLau’s Money Tips.

Tyler presents What?s Your Environmental Net Worth? posted at Frugally Green.

Money Flaw #3: Looking to increase my income continuously

While aiming for a bigger salary is not a bad thing by itself, I would say that continuously looking towards the next promotion, working more hours to make extra bucks or spending time and energy on a sideline (like starting an online store) will gradually take away from the most important things in life: your family and friends. Since I have finished my MBA, I have decided to cut down on my hours at work and spend more quality time with my beautiful wife and children. I definitely don’t regret my choice!

FMF presents How to Buy a New Furnace and Air Conditioner posted at Free Money Finance.

Steve Patterson presents FastSwings – Blogs – Federal Reserve Holds Rates as Expected posted at FastSwings.

Darwin presents The Truth About Rewards Credit Cards – But, Is it Really True? posted at Darwin’s Finance.

Jeff Rose presents Should You Buy Life Insurance at an Early Age? posted at Jeff Rose.

Aussie Investor presents How To Buy Shares In Australia posted at Australian Stock Market Investing Blog.

Diane Laine presents The Definitive Inverse ETF Guide posted at ETF Database.

jim presents Tips for Buying Used College Textbooks posted at Bargaineering.

Money Flaw #4: High tendency to leverage

I have mentioned it before, I have a high tolerance for risk and I don’t mind borrowing money in order to increase my assets or income over time. This is what I call “having productive debt”. However, good or bad, a debt is a debt. If things turn sour, my tendency to leverage everything might blow up in my face as I am taking a lot of risk. I haven’t found any tricks to reduce this “bad” habit. I just hope that I will continue to make money from it I guess!

chris presents Credit Score Factors posted at Real Estate Money Matters.

freefrombroke presents My Experience Switching To Cable/Digital Phone Service posted at Free From Broke.

J.D. Roth presents Knocking Out the Beliefs That Hold You Back posted at Get Rich Slowly.

Baker presents Budgeting Ups and Downs: October and Beyond posted at Man Vs. Debt.

MatthewPaulson presents Tips For Using Your 401k posted at Fine Tuned Finances.

Braudis Lee Pegram presents Goodbye Capital One posted at The koH Resources Blog.

Madison presents Make the Most of Open Enrollment posted at My Dollar Plan.

Mr. ToughMoneyLove presents Does Las Vegas Deserve a Recovery? posted at Tough Money Love.

Money Flaw #5: Fighting with my Budget

While I have no problem sticking to my budget (besides a few spendthrift moments ), my biggest problem is to keep track of each expense in order to be able to analyse them. I did enter each dollar earned or spent for 2 years in Microsoft Money software. But since starting my basement renovations, I have completely lost count and never went back to my original budget again. While I know that, overall, my assets are increasing and my debt is decreasing, I can’t pinpoint where to concentrate my efforts in order to get rid of my debt faster.

Austin Morgan presents The Best $100 I Ever Spent posted at Foreigner’s Finances.

Chris Lang presents Property and money: 20 tips any married woman must read (part 1). posted at Home I Own.

Mike presents The Finish Line posted at Minting Pennies – Personal Finance, Investing, and Microfinance.

TC presents Who Funds Non Profit Debt Help Organisations? posted at How To Eliminate Debts.

Bucksome Boomer presents The Trouble with Rebate Cards posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement.

Matthew Paulson presents Thefts at Open Houses Return to Real Estate Market posted at American Consumer News.

Mr Credit Card presents Should I Get Another Credit Card Before Moving Overseas? posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

The Smarter Wallet presents Secret Bank Accounts And Marriage Don’t Mix posted at The Smarter Wallet.

Miss M presents Hit and Run! posted at M is for Money.

Super Saver presents Part Time Job Situation is Improving posted at My Wealth Builder.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my money flaws along with the articles in this carnival!

Author: Mike.

Image source:

松林Ｌ

ucurami

steve wampler

brandon godfrey

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Welcome to the #201 Festival of Frugality!

If you are new to Gather Little By Little, I can suggest a few of our great posts:

- How to open an online store

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This edition is about life stages and home ownership. When we are young, most dream of owning our first home. It may be small, it may be old, but once it is ours, it’s the most beautiful place on earth to live!

The Condo:

Condominiums are perhaps the most frugal way to become an owner. While it doesn’t cost much more than an apartment on a monthly basis, you can build equity while paying down your mortgage and the condo should grow in value. After a few years, you may be interested in leaving the condo, take the equity from it to buy a townhouse and rent out your condo! Here are the best Frugal Tips of this carnival:

Craig Ford presents How to Avoid the Restaurant to Save Money posted at Money Help For Christians.

Mr Credit Card presents Why I Collect Miles posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Peter presents How To Get The Best Deal When Signing Up For Cable Or Satellite TV posted at Bible Money Matters.

J.D. Roth presents Pay Yourself First posted at Get Rich Slowly.

MoneyNing presents Help Your Children Visualize Money Mangement with the Four Jars Approach posted at Money Ning.

The Townhouse:

Half condo, half house, it is the perfect size for a young family that wanted a backyard but didn’t want to spend 50% of their monthly budget on a mortgage payment. This is definitely another frugal way to become an owner.

Kris presents A Beginner’s Guide to Beans, Plus 42 Bean Recipes posted at Cheap Healthy Good.

Paul Williams presents Do It Yourself: Why Your Time Is Not Worth As Much As You Think posted at Provident Planning.

Make it from Scratch presents Homemade Herb Blends posted at Make It From Scratch.

Baker presents 92 Quotes About Debt That’ll Make You Think, Laugh, & Tweet! posted at Man Vs. Debt.

Northern Cheapskate presents Flexible Spending Accounts Help You Save posted at Northern Cheapskate.

Jeff Rose presents Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps Explained posted at Jeff Rose.

The Family CEO presents Another Way to Make Money with Mr. Rebates posted at The Family CEO.

FMF presents Help a Reader: Asking for a Discount posted at Free Money Finance.

The Bungalow:

Usually a bit older than new constructions, bungalows are perfect when you need space and you want to raise a family. You now have a great backyard to play with the children and enough room for a pool if you like. While the bungalow provides a good standard of comfort, it is normally less expensive than the 2 storey cottage.

Tyler presents I Am Responsible for the Corporate World’s Waste, or A Lesson in Micro Economics posted at Frugally Green.

Joe B presents Take that Call posted at TheCreditToolBox.com.

Canadian CC presents How a Good Credit Score Can Make You Save Money on Credit Cards posted at Canadian CC.

Sarah Eliza presents Wallet-Friendly Ways to Make a Difference TODAY, aka “Broke” and “Charitable” can still go hand-in-hand! ;P posted at Devastate Boredom.

The Debtress presents Seasonal Spending Habits posted at - The Debtress Blog -.

MLR presents Budgeting Worksheet for Teens posted at My Life ROI, Getting the Best Return On Life.

scheng1 presents How healthy is your personal finance: How to save money part one posted at How healthy is your personal finance.

Cecil Dellison presents Tougher Credit Card Situation Helping Pawn Shops | Clearchoicecreditcards posted at Clear Choice Credit Cards.

2 Storey Cottage:

We are now getting into bigger and nicer stages of homes and as expected, the payments become much higher too! If you don’t have a 2 income household, you may have a hard time going on vacation and maintaining this type of house, Doctors and stock brokers notwithstanding. While this option provides you with more comfort, this is definitely not the most frugal choice of property!

freefrombroke presents Make Extra Money Cleaning Homes posted at Free From Broke.

Madison presents 10 Surprising Things You Can Turn Into Cash posted at My Dollar Plan.

Cecil Dellison presents Do Consumers Need to Worry about Credit Card Processing posted at Clear Choice Credit Cards.

FIRE Finance presents Top 5 Freebie Websites! posted at FIRE Finance.

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents How Much Does Raising A Child Cost? | The Canadian Finance Blog posted at The Canadian Finance Blog.

Banker Saver presents Money Saving Strategies During Hard Times posted at Banker Saver.

Bucksome presents Did the Ice Cream Shrink? posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement.

Kyle presents Frugal Neighborhood Food and Fun posted at Suburban Dollar.

The Smarter Wallet presents Buy Electronics On Discount At These Shopping Sites posted at The Smarter Wallet.

The Luxury Home:

Hey congrats! Everyone looks at your house when they walk through the neighbourhood. However, there is a very important question you must ask yourself: can you afford your desires?

SVB presents MyPoints, MemoLink, MySurvey Online Shopping Sites For Point Rewards posted at The Digerati Life.

Ben presents Furnance Repair Bill posted at Furnance Repair Bill.

Kristia presents Four Money Saving Swap Ideas for the Winter and Holidays posted at Family Balance Sheet.

Elle presents Emergency Kit For Your Car posted at Couple Money.

Miss M presents Pet First Aid posted at M is for Money.

Patrick @ Military Money presents 2009 Veterans Day Discounts posted at Military Finance Network.

Studenomist presents Payday Loan Marketing Tactics posted at Studenomics.

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Gold Investment posted at Financial Highway.

DR presents Blockbuster Review – Online and Brick and Mortar Style posted at The Dough Roller.

The American Dream:

Based on luxury or tax saving purposes (you heard from your accountant that your mortgage interest payments were tax deductible, didn’t you?), you now have a huge house. You can almost call it a mansion. But there is just one problem; there is a foreclosure sign in front of it!

David presents Credit Card Offers for Pet Lovers posted at Credit Card Offers IQ.

Wojciech Kulicki presents Eat Well, Lose Weight, and Save Some Money posted at Fiscal Fizzle.

The Everyday Minimalist presents How to deal with and stop bad gifts posted at The Everyday Minimalist.
Matthew Paulson presents Cash for Appliances is Coming – What Consumers Need to Know posted at American Consumer News.

Andy presents Frugality and Location posted at Tight Fisted Miser.

Sometimes, you are better off living happily in a simple home and keep it than impressing everyone with a huge mansion albeit only for a few months! I hope you have enjoyed the carnival!

Author: Mike.

Image source: compujeramey, ohad, corydalus, reno tahoe, respres

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Hi there and welcome to the Best of Money Carnival #5!  What? You’ve never heard of the Best of Money Carnival?  Well, I’m sure you’re not the only one.  The Best of Money Carnival is a fairly new blog carnival  that features the top 10 articles submitted each week.  Not only does it make for a shorter carnival, but it also gives you the very best of the best out of all the articles submitted that week.  Now of course the downside is on host (that’s me), as picking out the top 10 is tough!

So, without further adieu here are the top 10 best articles submitted from last week:

10 – Which variable impacts your investment return the most?

FMF shares the 3 basic variables that impact the return on your investment, then goes into detail to help you determine which of the 3 is the MOST important.  Not being an investment guru myself, I always enjoy reading a good introductory investment article.

9 – Save money on groceries

This topic has been covered more times than I can count across the personal finance blogosphere, but Lazy Man does an excellent job breaking it down and ends up creating a top notch reference article for saving money on groceries.  With 6 kids in our home, this is something we’re always looking to do!

8 – How debt settlement works

Ever wonder how debt settlement works?  Wonder no more.  Jim provides a thorough and well researched article on the topic that will definitely explain the whole process.  Really good read and I learned tons.

7 – 5 money tips for travelers

Travel is expensive, regardless of how far you go, but when traveling abroad every penny can make a huge difference.  PT shares some tips for saving money based on his recent trip to Ireland.  This article is full of great and unique tips.

6 – How to save on your property tax

Ugh…taxes.  I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t want to find ways to save on our taxes!  Jeff’s article tells us how to go about saving money on our property taxes, which for most of us is our heaviest tax next to our income.  Jeff shows that just a little effort and research can go a long way to saving us money on our property taxes.

5 – Honeymoon planning tips

Getting hitched sometime soon, or know someone that is?  The Financial Highway definitely has an article here you should read or pass along.

4 – Start a side business in the lazy days of summer

A side business, one of my passions.  I love the idea created side and passive income with a side business.  Money Smart Life encourages us to utilize some of our summer downtime to start one.  No time like the present right?

3 – Three magic words to “manipulate” your spouse into total financial submission

While I don’t personally care for the use of “manipulate” or “submission” when discussing your spouse, I do think this is a good article.  Focusing on the positives of anyone’s perspective is always a good way to find common ground in a conversation, especially one where the two parties disagree.  Sound advise, but I’d suggest you avoid “manipulating” or causing your spouse to “submit”.  Neither of these are going to pave the way for a sound relationship in the long run.

2 – Sustainable kitchens: Getting the most out of our appliances

A large portion of your monthly electric bill is the result of appliances in your home, and in particular your kitchen.  Frugally Green shares a thorough and helpful article on how to best utilize your kitchen appliances.  Excellent read.

1 – Identify & overcome money anxiety & stress in relationships

My number one pick goes back to relationships.  Matt shares some absolutely excellent article that just might help you deal with anxiety and stress related to money in your relationship.  I’d have to say that Matt and his wife’s experience is exactly what my wife and I where dealing with a few years back as well.   Excellent article and highly recommended!

~~~~~

Thanks to everyone that submitted!  There were lots of great articles.  If you would like to submit an article to the next Best of Money Carnival, check out the details on how to submit a post.  Make sure you read through the rules though or you won’t qualify.  Unfortunately this happened to a number of people that submitted last week.

The next Best of Money Carnival will be hosted by my friend and fellow Christian personal finance blogger: Pete from Bible Money Matters!

Photos by: TheTruthAboutMortgage.com, Doug Orleans, amandabhslater, bdunnette, chidorian, pizzodisevo, Lincolnian, lumachrome, gregoryjameswalsh, AlastairMoore

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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

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My favorite blog carnival, The Carnival of Money Stories,  dropped off the face of the earth a few months back.  I loved this carnival because it shared posts that involved personal stories about people and money.  I love factual and helpful articles, but the articles that really motivate and inspire are the personal stories shared by others.  The Carnival of Money Stories focused on the Personal aspect of Personal finance.

I am happy to announce that thanks to Adam from Your Money Relationship the Carnival of Money Stories is back!.  Adam contacted me and I have the honor of hosting the inaugural edition of the Carnival of Money Stories 2.0 on Monday May 11th!  If you’re curious about the types of articles included, take a look at the articles I hosted as part of the 92nd edition.

Adam is looking for hosts, so if you’re interested let him know.   If you have a money story you would like to share in the carnival, head over to the new carnival website and submit your money story.  The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Sunday May 10th.

Thanks Adam for giving me the the opportunity to host edition #1 and for restarting the carnival.  Many of us missed it.

Photo by: daz smith

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Welcome to the 162nd Edition of the Festival of Frugality. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Festival of Frugality, it’s a blog carnival that spotlights all of the excellent ideas floating around the blogosphere that help squeeze a few extra pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters out of every dollar.

I’m your host Glblguy (also called Gibble) and I’m the founder of Gather Little by Little. If you’re new here, thanks for visiting and I’m really glad to have you.  If you’ve been here before, welcome back!

This weeks carnival had 84 article submissions of which 64 awesome frugal articles are included below. While it may take you a while to read them all, it will be time well spent. Trust me, I read each and every one of them (all in one night I might add).

Glbguy’s Favorites

Below are my favorites out of the whole lot:

• The Fun of Frugality posted at MoneyTheory.
• How to save $$$ when – Grocery Store Edition posted at My Frugal Front Porch.
• 50 Ways to Budget Travel and Save Money on Vacations posted at Money Ning.
• The perqs of pinching pennies posted at Funny about Money.

Other great stuff

While these didn’t make editors picks, they are still great articles.

• Nickel & Dime Tips For Young People posted at Studenomics.
• Frugal Wedding Tip: When Should You Have It? posted at Your Money Relationship.
• Rerun: Skipping EVEN MORE Nickels and Dimes for Bigger Savings posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.
• Best 0% APR Credit Cards posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
• Budgeting Basics: Budgets Matter posted at My Family’s Money.
• Tangled Hill: 50 Small Steps toward Frugality posted at Tangled Hill.
• When To Use Your Emergency Fund posted at Master Your Card.
• Save Money By Not Going Abroad For Your Holiday This Year posted at Reading UK.
• Start your New Year Right .. and Green « Manely Montana posted at Manely Montana.
• Look At the Prices, Not the Name of the Store posted at The Penny Daily.
• Unorthodox Ways to Save Money posted at Debt Reduction Formula.
• Grocery Savings – How To Save $100s posted at FSC Blog.
• Top Ten Paid Survey Sites to Make Extra Money posted at FIRE Finance.
• Can You Pay for a Costco Membership by Eating Free Samples? posted at Free Money Finance.
• Price Match Guarantees posted at My Wealth Builder.
• The really obvious thing we all forget when borrowing money posted at Monevator.
• Five Frugal Foods (that are actually good for you) posted at Financial Reflections.
• Finding Frugality posted at Wide Open Wallet.
• Want A FREE Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaning Bag? posted at The Greenest Dollar.
• Luxury Goods Are the New Porn posted at Watson Inc.
• A New Budget For a New Year? Five Pitfalls To Avoid posted at Jeff Rose.
• Couples and Money : Issues and Expectations posted at Saving to Invest.
• Should you pay off debt, save or invest? posted at Military Finance Network.
• File Your Income Taxes Online for Free posted at No Debt Plan.
• Why Costco Works For Us posted at This Wasn’t in The Plan.
• Read Your Credit Card Statement – Detail is Important posted at Passive Family Income.
• Heat Therapy Bags ~ A Valentine’s Gift posted at Make It From Scratch.
• Why You Should Never Be A Part Time Writer posted at Isaac Yassar’s Overture.
• Free Home Budget Software For Beginners posted at Money Galaxy.
• Free stock trades at Zecco posted at Cash Money Life.
• Is it frugal to split meals? posted at LivingAlmostLarge.
• Gaming For Less: Play The Best Video Games On A Budget posted at The Digerati Life.
• Frugality is the fastest way to a better bottom line posted at Mighty Bargain Hunter.
• Sacrifice and Save Money with Store Brands posted at The Happy Rock.
• 5 Ways to Save With Your Bank posted at Debt Free Destiny.
• Don’t Treat Your Credit Card Limit as Income posted at CreditCardAssist.com.
• Is a No Limit Credit Card a Good Idea? posted at Apply4-credit.com.
• Borders Coupons Leave Money for Chai Tea Lattes posted at Personal Finance Analyst.
• The frugal single posted at Coffee For One.
• Tips on Saving Money When Buying Tires- and Making Your Vehicle’s Tires Last Longer posted at Think Your Way to Wealth.
• Low Cost Entertainment for the Kids on a Budget posted at The Family Wallet.
• I Refuse to Pay Fees to Change My Name! posted at My Dollar Plan.
• Tips to Increase Your Chance of Selling Your Home posted at How to Sell Your Own Home.
• When Spending is Frugal posted at Uncommon Cents.
• Why Balance Transfer Offers and Cash Rewards Don’t Mix posted at Credit Card Offers IQ.
• Limited to 20 Euro ATM Withdraws in France from US Bank, Why? posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.
• Sports with Debt posted at DebtGoal.
• Use IRS Free File to e-File for Free (Even with a High Income) posted at Prime Time Money.
• Making Due posted at Out of Debt – Christian Finances and Debt Help.
• Why Saving is Like Dieting, Part 2 posted at Modern Gal.
• Credit Card Debt It Is Not Always Your Fault posted at Finance Tips 101.
• The Argument for Spending More on Food posted at Cheap Healthy Good.
• Is Frugality Totally For Me? | The Strump posted at The Strump – Financial Blog.
• Eliminate the budget-busters from your weekly shop posted at FruGal.
• Review of WT Direct Online Savings Account posted at The Dough Roller.
• Go on, cut that cable! Websites for Watching Free TV Full Episodes, Movies and News Online posted at Pecuniarities.

Thanks to all of the bloggers who submitted articles and to he Festival of Frugalityy for having such a great carnival.  Most importantly, thank you for visiting.

Photo credits: Ian Muttoo, Pear Biter, sunciti_sundaram, icathing

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My favorite blog carnival is the Carnival of Money Stories.  Everyone loves a great story and I love reading the different stories people have about their money situations.  Some are sad, some make me a bit angry, some make me feel a little better about the “dumb decisions” I’ve made in the past, and most just give you hope.  Regardless of the the money story, they really put the “personal” in personal finance.

Once again, I have the honor of hosting the Carnival of Money Stories and specifically edition #92.  I a total of 45 entries and the 23 that made the cut are included below.  Most of the articles were great reads, but weren’t money stories.  I selected articles for inclusion based on whether they told a personal story or not.

There are some really great articles included below.  I read each and every one of them.  I’d highly recommend you spend some time over the next week reading through them.  If you see something you particularly like, take a few minutes to add a comment to the authors blog and/or submit the article to your social media network of choice to share it with others.

If your article is included below, make sure you don’t forget to link back to the carnival!  Thanks to everyone that submitted and for supporting such a great carnival.

Editor’s Pick

Trisha from Empowering Mom submitted a top notch excellent article called: Are You Waiting For Your Ship to Come in? This was by far the best article submitted this week and I’d encourage everyone to read it.

The article a wonderful reminder that life is short, often shorter than we might expect it to be.  The article is very well written, and deeply personal.  It’s  wonderful reminder that we should really think through putting off our dreams and desires until tomorrow or later, as tomorrow or later may not come.

Other great articles

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents MacBook Vs. PC: Why I Chose PC posted at Cash Money Life.

Green Panda presents Our Financial Goals For 2009 posted at Green Panda Treehouse.

Ben presents New Years Action Plan posted at Money Smart Life.

Skyler Reep presents 30 Days for 30 Dollars Manifesto posted at 30 Days for 30 Dollars.

vh presents Making less…less posted at Funny about Money.

Isaac Yassar presents 2 Requirements Of Definite Success posted at Isaac Yassar’s Overture.

Raymond presents My 2009 Stock Market and Real Estate Predictions posted at Money Blue Book.

FMF presents Don’t Let Shipping Fees Sour a Good Deal posted at Free Money Finance.

Jeff Rose presents Client’s Personal Story on Long Term Care Insurance posted at Jeff Rose of Good Financial Cents.

Jim presents Total Cost of Owning A Dog posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

pfincome presents Personal Finance Goals (2009) – version 1 posted at Passive Family Income.

J. Money presents How we’re putting the Mrs. through grad school! (so far so sexy) posted at Budgets are Sexy..

Mary@SimplyForties presents Rooms to Let, Fifty Cents posted at SimplyForties.

Mr.CC presents My Letter To American Express posted at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Debt Elimination Tips: How To Reduce Debt With These Dos and Don’ts posted at The Digerati Life.

Ryan Suenaga presents What Counts as an Emergency? posted at Uncommon Cents.

Sun presents How To Become A Millionaire: Actually It Is Quite Easy posted at Earn More and Invest Wisely at The Sun’s Financial Diary.

MoneyNing presents Do You Switch “Frugal Mode” On When You Come Back from Vacation? posted at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning.

Super Saver presents Financial Shuffling posted at My Wealth Builder.

Amanda presents My 25% Grocery Savings Rule In Action-Part 2-Planning and Resources | Value For Your Life posted at Value For Your Life.

FIRE Finance presents Rule of Thumb for Investing posted at FIRE Finance.

Steven Lohrenz presents Expertise Equals Income posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Photo by: Sugar Pond

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Welcome to the Carnival of Debt Reduction #170. I am  Glblguy, author of Gather Little by Little and I’m very happy to be the host of this edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction.

‘This particular edition received 37 submissions of which only 15 were included. There were lots of great articles submitted, but many of them weren’t on “getting out of debt, personal debt reduction progress reports and posts about reducing debt.” which is what the Carnival of Debt Reduction is all about!

Without further adieu…

Editor’s Picks

Two of the articles in particular caught my attention. The first was an awesome poem on going to college, going into debt, and suffering the long term consequences. The second was a very thoroughly researched and well written article on student debt (hmmm, I think I see a pattern here).

• Coupon Artist presents My Debt Poem: A Law Students Lament posted at Art of the coupon.
• Mr. ToughMoneyLove presents The College Student Debt Machine: A National Disgrace posted at Tough Money Love.

The rest…

While the articles below didn’t make Editor’s Picks, there are some really great reads here. So get comfy, grab something nice and warm to drink and get dig in!

• Anthony Delgado presents Learn to Pay Off Debt posted at Need Extra Cash?.
• Credit Shout presents Balance Transfer Options for Credit Card Consolidation posted at CreditShout.
• TCT presents Do Consolidation Loans Affect Your Beacon Score? posted at The Credit Tool Box.
• Michael Bass presents Will debt follow you abroad? posted at Debt Prison.
• Ryan Healy presents No Easy Way Out posted at Debt Reduction Formula.
• The Smarter Wallet presents Got Debt Over The Holidays? How To Eliminate Debt Quickly posted at The Smarter Wallet.
• The Happy Rock presents Student Debt…How Much is Too Much? posted at The Happy Rock.
• Scott Crawford presents The “Good Debt” Fallacy: Part 1 (Mortgage) posted at DebtGoal Blog
• Tristan presents How to get out of debt quick posted at Find Financial Freedom.
• Laura presents 385 days to go to debt free living posted at No More Spending
• Mr. CC presents Falling Behind On Student Loans posted at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog.
• RC presents Going from Debt to Wealth- A Closer Look at Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps Plan posted at Think Your Way To Wealth.
• Cindy Morus presents Fiancee has Lots of Debt posted at Mend Your Money.

Photos by: Strevo

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