The Carnival of Financial Planning #225

Welcome to the February 24, 2012 Edition #225 of the Carnival of Financial Planning.

The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. We focus on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

Enjoy!

The Skilled Investor, Editor

Budgeting and Economics

Lazy Man presents Financial Thoughts on a Maui Vacation posted at Lazy Man and Money , saying, “This past week my wife and took a vacation for the first time in over a year. Most years we’ll use our timeshare in Aruba. However, we decided to take advantage of living on the left coast and opted for Maui instead. What we discovered is that Maui is expensive, with only a few bargains to be had.”

Jeffrey presents 20 Ways NOT to Teach Your Kids about Money posted at Saving Advice , saying, “Here are 20 ways that you shouldn’t be teaching your kids about money and personal finance.”

Janet presents Living Expenses posted at Independent Retirement Planner, saying, “If you do not understand how much you spend and how much you are saving and investing, you simply do not have a financial plan..”

Jason presents Teaching My Child about Money in a Way I Was Not Taught posted at Live Real, Now , saying, “Now that I am the parent, I am one of those “awful” parents who makes her kids save. My son knows when he gets his allowance, some goes to save, some goes to donate, and some goes to spend.”

Financial Planning

Craig Ford presents Learning Personal Finance: A Guide to Successful financial Health: Part II posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, “Important personal finance action items that make can really affect your financial health.”

FMF presents Where Do You Stand on These Financial Ratios? posted at Free Money Finance , saying, “Dough Roller lists a set of financial ratios and gives guidelines on where each of us should stand in relation to them. These can be used as a sort of financial check-up to see if you’re on track.”

Walter presents Best Bond Funds posted at Fixed Income Investing, saying, “The bond investment fund market is no place for an individual investor to try to beat the market and get higher returns through attempts at clever fixed income investing. Even professional bond market money managers do not beat the bond market.”

Chelsea Prescotti presents 15 Ways Financial Stress Affects You Physically posted at Insurance Quotes Blog, saying, “The state of the economy has left many people and families worried about money. From paying bills to finding a job to coping with high medical costs, it can be hard to think of anything else when financial woes come your way. It’s no secret that stress from finances can play a big role in changing your mental state, causing mood swings or even depression, but many may not realize what a marked effect it can also have on your physical well-being. Stress, whether from finances or
other conflicts in your life, can do a number on your overall health, often in ways that you may not even realize are related to stress. If you’re going through a stressful financial situation, make sure you take good care of your body, take time to relax, and get help to make sure these harmful physical effects don’t take a toll on you.”

Larry presents ID theft protection posted at Personal Financial Planner, saying, “As a threat to your financial security, you should take the potential for identity theft very seriously. Identity theft sometimes entails a loss of your money, but whether or not you lose money, it can
take a very large amount of your time to rectify.”

Erika presents How will moving affect our budget? posted at Newlyweds on a Budget , saying, “Moving into a bigger place is going to put a big dent into our budget. As a somewhat personal finance blogger, I feel like I need to justify this expense and our decision to move. And while I know that
people may have several different opinions, we know this is whats best for us and maybe you too!”

Frank presents Best Index Fund posted at Individual Investment Strategies, saying, “Short-term mutual fund trading is a zero sum game played against other very well informed mutual fund traders and other securities market traders. On average, higher mutual fund turnover is far more likely to result in lower investment fund performance — instead of superior risk-adjusted performance.”

W. Wise presents The 10 Commandments of Growing Wealth posted at Wealth and Wise , saying, “Follow these wealth-creating rules and you’ll be light-years ahead of the financial planning game.”

Financing a Home

Madison presents What is Your Target Refinance Rate? posted at My Dollar Plan , saying, “Over the last few weeks, mortgages rates reached record lows, AGAIN. But what’s the rate at which it’s worth another refinance?!”

MyMoneyDesign presents Which is Better – Points or No Points on Your Mortgage? posted at My Money Design, saying, “Will buying points when you get a mortgage or refinance save you a lot of money, or should you pass on them? I’ll show you how to calculate the difference and even share my Excel worksheet to help you decide for yourself!”

Income

Martin presents What You Need to Get Your Online Biz Started With a Bang posted at Studenomics , saying, “The only tools you need to get going right now.”

Steve presents Is Blogging the Path to Wealth? posted at Money Infant , saying, “Making money blogging is a subject I am familiar with and over the years I have often considered writing about it. So, I thought it was time to get this out of my system.”

Investing

Dan presents Epic Rally Ensues as Europe Burns. Haven’t We Learned Yet? posted at ETF Base , saying, “People pay too much attention to the headlines. If Greece and the PIIGS scared you out of the market, you’re missing an epic rally. Lessons Learned?”

Mich presents Xtreme Coil Drilling: Undervalued Drilling Company on the Cusp of Strong Growth posted at Beating The Index , saying, “XDC is currently trading at about 0.6x of Book Value which makes it one of the most undervalued stocks in the energy services sector. But wait, there’s more, analysts are forecasting a 70 percent increase in rig operating days in 2012 fueled by a 50 percent increase in its average fleet size.”

Janet presents Investment manager
performance posted at Personal Investment Manager, saying, “The effort to find those few
supposedly superior money managers willing to sell their services sufficiently cheaply is a costly, time consuming, and futile, “Where’s Waldo?,” searching exercise for the individual investor.”

Green Panda presents Alternative Investments – Going Online to Get a Better return posted at Green Panda Treehouse , saying, “Some different investment options to look into.”

Frank Pinter presents No Load Bond Funds
posted at Lowest Cost Bond Funds, saying, “Investment research overwhelmingly shows that lower
cost fixed income funds tend to yield higher bond investing returns.”

101 Centavos presents Buying Uranium When It’s in the Gutter posted at 101 Centavos , saying, “The March 2011 Japanese nuclear disaster gutted the uranium mining industry, but is it now a time buy?”

Ken Faulkenberry presents Making Probability Theory Practical for Investment posted at AAAMP Blog , saying, “Anyone who tells you they know what the stock market will do
in the short term is either a fool or a liar. Understanding investment probability theory will help investors avoid short term prognosticators and concentrate on a long term investment plan.”

Jack Parker presents Top NoLoad Funds posted at Preferred Investment Funds, saying, “Some mutual funds and ETFs must be better than
others, but which ones are they? How can you tell before the fact?”

Dividend Ninja presents Website Income Versus Dividend Stocks posted at The Dividend Ninja , saying, “Ive written a guest post for Young and Thrifty on passive income, titled Website Income vs Dividend Stocks: Which One Comes Out On Top? Once I started seriously investing in divided paying stocks, I was amazed in such a short period of time how quickly dividend income can build a portfolio. For me dividend stocks are a great investment.”

Managing Credit and Debt

Liana presents Chargeback Policy Report posted at Card Hub , saying, “What happens when you disagree with a charge on your credit card? Find out how networks and issuers may respond to some common “chargeback” scenarios and see which credit card companies were found best for customers when disputing charges!”

Odysseas presents No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Cards Are Back, But Are They Here to Stay? posted at Wallet Blog , saying, “No balance transfer fee credit cards-no longer a thing of the
past. But can issuers make enough profit to continue to offer them in the future? As the Magic 8 Ball may say “Don’t Count on It!” Consumers may only have a limited window to take advantage of some new offers out there.”

Matt presents A Lesson Learned by My First Trip to Las Vegas posted at RamblingFever Money ,
saying, “Have you ever experienced the horror of owing a friend a great deal of money? Did you borrow the money for something really stupid like I did? See how I had to learn the hard way – why not to borrow
money from friends or family.”

Ben Feldman presents How Bad Are Payday Loans? posted at blog.readyforzero.com , saying, “Within the credit industry, no one is more reviled than the payday loan companies. They are notorious for high interest rates and for beckoning some consumers into a self-destructive cycle of debt from which they will never recover. So really, how bad are payday loans? We explore the answer in this article.”

Investor Junkie presents Small Business Financing Options posted at Investor Junkie , saying, “There are a number of options available to small business owners that they may not be aware of. Let’s take a look at a few traditional and non traditional means of obtaining access to credit for small businesses.”

Miranda @ Financial Highway presents How to Improve Credit Score posted at Financial Highway , saying, “More and more, your credit score is being used to make judgments about your ability to handle your finances. If a low score seems to indicate that you are irresponsible, it will be difficult for you to take advantage of the best offers and loan terms in the world of finances. If your poor credit score is holding you back, here are some things you can do to boost your financial reputation”

MR presents Wealth Myth – Stay Married to Become Wealthy posted at Money Reasons , saying, “Staying married to become wealthy is a myth! It really depend on the couple and if one a unstoppable spender or not.”

Lisa presents Bankruptcy: Will It Help Your Financial Situation? posted at Thriftability , saying, “Some of us are pushed into looking at bankruptcy. With a few poor decisions and tough breaks, it may simply not be feasible to continue on the same path. You may need a fresh start. Thankfully, bankruptcy can give you just that – a second chance.”

Miscellaneous

Dr Dean presents Productivity, Success, and Happiness, What the Hell? posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog , saying, “How much time do you spend doing things that don’t contribute
to your success? Defining success goals will guide you to your most productive behavior. Join me in a discussion of goals that lead to success.”

Darwin presents Insane Success Stories That Drive Me Crazy…But Shouldn’t posted at Darwin’s Money , saying, “Each time you hear an incredible success story and think “that could be me!”…consider how Survivorship Bias is influencing you!”

krantcents presents The 3 D’s of Success posted at KrantCents , saying, “The 3 D’s of Success is the fourth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal. What are your goals? I know you thought about it! You know, it is your dream, wish or resolution you made! Before you can get to where you want to be, you need to know where”

Jeffrey presents I’ve Lived on Food Stamps – and Couldn’t Wait To Get Off posted at Money Spruce ,
saying, “Getting free money for food isn’t nearly as awesome as it sounds. In fact, you may just be even more driven to get off the food stamps program and earn more instead.”

Jen presents To Tip or Not to Tip-The Crappy Waitress posted at Master the Art of Saving , saying, “I should probably start off by saying that I have been a waitress before for a few years, so I know how it is. Also, the state this waitress worked in isnt one of the states where the waitress gets a buck or two an hour and depends on their tips to pay the bills.”

Ryan presents Learn How to Monetize Anything by Understanding the Value Proposition posted at Early Retirement Investments , saying, “Learn How to Monetize Anything by Understanding the Value Proposition.”

Jeremy Waller presents The True Risk of Investing: Understanding the Types of Investment Risk posted at Personal Finance Whiz , saying, “In my last post I talked about the fact that there is no such thing as a risk free investment. Specifically I talked about how some of the investments that are traditionally considered safe are some of the riskiest. Many people dont really understand risk which skews their perception of risk.”

Don presents How Long To Keep Financial Documents posted at MoneySmartGuides , saying, “This time of year, as many people go through their clutter of receipts and statements from the previous year, I always get asked: -
how long should I keep my statements – or – do I need to keep this for any reason -?”

Kevin presents What Are The Most Annoying Co-Worker Habits? posted at Thousandaire , saying, “I need help writing my next song. What are the most annoying coworker habits?

Brock presents Best Retirement Calculators posted at IRA Account Investment, saying, “Whether or not to make investments into “traditional” tax-advantaged employer accounts and IRAs versus investing in “Roth” tax-advantaged employer accounts and personal IRAs is never a
straightforward nor simple financial planning decision.”

Retirement Planning

CultOfMoney presents President’s Day – What you can do with each dead guy in your wallet | Cult Of Money posted at CultOfMoney, saying, “Honoring the Presidents of the past with ideas on how you can use each denomination for furthering your goals and saving for retirement regardless of your income.”

Super Frugalette presents Why We Are Opting for 401k Over Debt Reduction posted at Super Frugalette , saying, “Normally the mantra for personal finance is: pay off debt, and then save. I agree with this about 95% of the time, but sometimes financially it does not make sense. For the upcoming 2012 tax year, we are opting to put money in 401K vs. paying off debt.”

Hank presents Strategies To Stretch The Travel Budget posted at Money Q&A , saying, “One of the best strategies to stretch your travel money and to save money on a vacation is to visit locations during their off
seasons.”

Frank Knowles presents S&P500 Funds posted at Best Large Cap Funds, saying, “The no load index fund strategy of the Schwab S & P
500 Index Fund tracks the S and P 500 stock index. This no load index fund was listed as one of the top 25 lowest cost index mutual funds in a research study.”

PITR presents Motivation for Early Retirement posted at Passive Income To Retire , saying, “Find out what my motivation for early retirement is and how this might influence your retirement plans.”

Whitney presents Retirement Savings Worksheets posted at Retirement Savings,
saying, “While personal wealth should measure current financial investments and other salable assets, it should also measure your ability to sustain your household budget, build up your investment portfolio, and weather potential financial risk and misfortune across your lifetime.”

Risk Management and Insurance

Joe Plemon presents Are Extended Warranties Worth It? It Depends. posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “Although I normally shun extended warranties, I recently opted for one — and I am glad I did.”

Glen presents Should You Buy Life Insurance for Your Child? posted at Parenting Family Money ,
saying, “Most people don’t like thinking about life insurance and they are even more hesitant when it comes to a child. Buying life insurance for your child is something to at least think about.”

Savings

J.P. presents Set Up Automatic Saving For Success posted at Novel Investor , saying, “An automatic saving plan will successfully end all the worry and procrastination we have with our finances and force habit change.
Let’s work smarter and start automating our savings.”

FIRE Finance presents 10 Smart Money Saving iPhone Apps posted at FIRE Finance , saying, “The app store has some great personal finance apps that can help you save a lot of money. Here are some tips that can help you make good use of your iPhone apps and also stick to your budget.”

Wayne presents Emergency Savings Fund posted at Young Family Finance , saying, “Building an emergency savings fund can be difficult when you are strapped for cash. Find practical ways to create an emergency savings fund.”

Taxes

Super Saver presents Deal with IRS Notices Immediately posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “When ever I get an IRS notice, I deal with it right away. Procrastination doesn’t work with the IRS, even when one is right. When one doesn’t respond or make payment, the IRS assumes noncompliance and
escalates the matter with a second notice, then penalties and interests, and finally a collection agency.”

Paul Tabbet presents Retirement Software posted at Tax Planning Worksheets, saying, “Retirement planning software should automate the development of lifetime projections that incorporate tax laws and rules associated with tax-advantaged retirement investment incentive programs such as traditional IRA, Roth, 401k, 403b, SEP, Keogh, and other retirement plans.”

Super Saver presents Where’s My Refund? posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Delays are a common occurence this year.”

Evan presents Never Trust Your Tax Forms posted at Smart Wealth , saying, “I know mistakes happen, and people make mistakes, and maybe I’m just taking it out on Bank of America because of their “great”
reputation but I really learned a lesson. Never trust the forms you are getting and try to have a second way to double check the numbers.”

J.P. presents How Tax Brackets Work posted at Novel Investor , saying, “We can’t go through tax season without covering how federal income tax brackets work.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.