Carnival of Financial Planning May 3rd Edition

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Welcome to the May 3rd edition of the Carnival of Financial Planning. Enjoy.

BUDGETING AND ECONOMICS

Jules Wilson @ Faithful With a Few writes Changing My Mind About Money – People often ask me why I became so interested in personal finance when I was only sixteen years old. My first answer? I don’t know. Second answer? I’m a nerd and I can’t help myself. But this really got me to thinking… Why am I so interested in handling my money responsibly? What is it that happened that gave me such an interest?

Deacon @ Well Kept Wallet writes Save Money With A Refillable K Cup for Your Keurig – I drink coffee almost every day and it can be an expensive habit. If you own a Keurig, which is a single cup coffee maker, then you know how pricey it can be for just one cup of coffee. I was at a Starbucks yesterday and a 12 pack of Pikes Place K-cups was $11.95 which comes out to about $1 per cup of coffee.

Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents writes Should I Pay Off My House Early? – Pros and Cons – Should we pay off our house early? What about the next house? Don’t worry guys, we haven’t bought our next house just yet. We’re keeping our current one for at least another 12 months. However, we have been thinking about whether we should pay off our current house quickly (we have been debating whether we want to rent it out or not – if we decide to sell then we of course wouldn’t pay off the current house quickly) and even whether or not we should pay off our next house quickly as we

Martin @ Studenomics writes The Economics of Your Love Life in Your 20s — The Article Nobody Else Will Write – What’s better for your wallet?

Robert @ The College Investor writes 7 Investment Ideas To Get The Most Out Of Your Tax Refund – If you received a tax refund from Uncle Sam this year, you shouldn’t celebrate just yet. Aside from the fact that it was your money to begin with (not a friendly gift from the government), you may have some adjusting to do before next tax season rolls around.

John @ Fearless Men writes Minimum Balance Nightmare: Why It Pays to Overpay [Infographic] – Credit card debt is racking up in many households, and people want to be set free from it. It can kill a man’s present–and future. Don’t get sucked into the cycle of only paying the minimum balance-that’s a nightmare. It pays to overpay, and the below infographic will tell you why.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Spring Budgeting Tips – Now’s a great time to check your goals, tweak your budget, and get serious about the rest of the year. Easier said than done, right?

CAREER AND INCOME

Maria @ The Money Principle writes 5 Ways to Make Money before you Start University – Going off to university is expensive; if you make money and set up a ‘university nest egg’ before you start you will find it much less financially stressful.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Freelancers: Making Sure You Don’t Owe Uncle Sam In 2013 – If you do freelance work – or any type of second job – it can be tough to pay the right amount of income taxes. A worksheet on your W-4 can fix that.

Mike @ The Financial Blogger writes Getting Rid of Google Once and for All – It’s time to switch gears and move away from Google.

MR @ Money Reasons writes How Much Money Is a Lot of Money? – Money has changed meaning to me as I grow older. Read some of my funny history around how I viewed money, and what a lot of money is to me today.

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes 3 EASY JOBS TO GET WHILE IN COLLEGE – Make money in college. 3 high paying jobs for college students.

DEBT AND CREDIT

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes How Much Debt Is Too Much Debt – Most people have some kind of debt. It might be a mortgage, an auto loan, a student loan, or even a credit card balance. Having debt isn’t a bad thing as long as you are taking steps to pay it off. It’s having too much debt that can cause an unhealthy financial life.

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes Understanding the Future of Your Credit Score After Saying “I Do” – On your wedding day, when you recite your “I do’s,” you’re not only agreeing to a life together for richer, for poorer, through sickness and in health, but also to a life in which you share nearly everything. You’ll share your house, cars, friends, and family, and you may even inherit your spouse’s Chihuahua and last name.

LaTisha @ Young Finances writes Car Leasing for Businesses – Business owners have started to consider car leasing as a new financial vehicle. This is because auto leasing is going to save them thousands of dollars.

 

INVESTING AND SAVING

John S @ Frugal Rules writes Online Brokerages I Use: OptionsHouse Review – There are many online brokerages to use as you look to invest in the stock market. The good ones are there to meet your needs and help make sure you’re doing what you can to be investing for things like retirement.

Jon @ Novel Investor writes TD Ameritrade Review – The Best Online Broker? – TD Ameritrade could be the best online broker around. It’s great for beginners, long term investors, and has the advanced tools any trader needs.

Philip @ PT Money writes Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House or Rental Property? – It may be a good time for you to buy a house or rental, but you need to pay attention to a few things first.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Have You Heard of Kickstarter Yet? Hubby is a Fan! – Have you heard of the site, Kickstarter? It is used to get creative projects funded. Projects like board games.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Understanding Risk Tolerance – In order to be a successful investor and meet your long-term goals, you need to understand your risk tolerance so that you stay invested in the market.

Lauren @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes Is it FOMO? Or just me being afraid people will like me less? – Oh, you know FOMO? Fear of Missing Out? I thought it was ruling my life and my wallet lately, because even though I have been whining about my full financial plate this month, I still kept saying yes to each and every invitation thrown my way.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes How to Reap High Happiness ROI – Many of us have learned over the years that physical things do not make us happy.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes First Quarter Business and Personal Finance Goals Update – it’s been 3 months since I set my 2013 goals. Here’s how I’m doing so far.

Robert @ Entrepreneurship Life writes Increase Your Income with Technology – Do you keep up with technology today? It’s definitely a fast-paced industry and there are always new gadgets coming out every single day. The real question is, “How important is it to keep up with technology today?” The simple answer? Incredibly important.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes 10 Things You Don’t Know – You Don’t Know, Math, Soft Skills, Food, Personal Finance, Love, Women, Men, Mind, Animals, Future, Self -Assessment

MMD @ My Money Design writes Another Reason Why You Need Emergency Money – For Stupid Car Repairs – If you think having $1,000 of emergency money is going to cut it, think again! This week I’ve spent more than I ever anticipated on stupid car repairs.

REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY

Greg @ Club Thrifty writes Mortgage Prepayment Calculator: Murder Your Mortgage – Club Thrifty introduces its Mortgage Murder Spreadsheet, a handy little tool that will help you determine how adding extra payments will affect the length (and interest) of your mortgage.

Darwin @ Darwin’s Money writes Here’s How Homebuyers Get Screwed By Getting Emotionally Attached to a Desired Property – How far would you go to get your dream home? Would you endure mold? Thousands more than asking price? Anything the seller commanded? Here’s a true-life story of how getting emotionally attached to a home can cost big bucks.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Spring Cleaning: How to get rid of clutter – It is quite amazing how quickly clutter can grow around the home. Those old, unwanted things just seem to multiply, taking up the already limited living space you have. That’s the problem when clutter builds up. When it comes to getting out that feather duster, the simple task of cleaning becomes torturous.

Lance @ Money Life and More writes Buying a Home: Is a Small Down Payment Actually a Big Deal? – When you don’t have a large down payment of at least 20% and you’re trying to buy a house, FHA loans are one option that has been popular in the last few years due to the low minimum down payment of 3.5%. Unfortunately, these mortgages have a ton of fees and they’ve recently drastically increased.

Tushar @ Finance TUBE writes Is Now The Right Time to Buy A Home? – Today i will be talking about Is Now The Right Time to Buy A Home? According to the media now is the perfect time to buy a house. Housing prices may be free from the laws of gravity but they are not free from the laws of economics.

RETIREMENT AND TAXATION

MMD @ IRA vs 401k Central writes Is a Self Directed 401k Plan Right for You? – What do you do if you’re self employed or you want more than what your employer’s retirement plan offers? You apply for a self directed 401k.

Carnival of Retirement- April 22nd Edition

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Welcome to the April 22nd edition of the Carnival of Retirement. Enjoy. :-)

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes The Real Reason I Am into Personal Finance – I assessed my ‘life values’ and financial success did not come out on top – find out what did and how that value motivates my interest in PF.

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes Few Ways to have More Spring break Fun with Less Budget – If you want to enjoy spring break, it is time to implement the best practices. Fresh aromas and fun times are in the air and you should be already shaking off your winter blues. As you may know, few days before Spring break, prices start to increase. You can still spot fabulous deals online. And you can save money from the allocated budget!

Lance @ Money Life and More writes How to Write a Check – There are just some times when you don’t have many other options other than writing a check. I think I’ve written a whole two checks this year. Since I’ve graduated from high school I haven’t even used a full book of checks. You may think I’m kidding but I’m not. So, today I’m going to teach you how to write a check because not everyone knows how.

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes Simplified Savings for UK Workers – One of the hottest topics right now in the world of employment is workplace pensions, not least because of the major new scheme launched last year by the government. The Workplace Pension Scheme was launched in 2012 with much fanfare, and was designed to help simplify saving up for retirement thanks to auto-enrolment.

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes Updating My Dividend Investment Portfolio for April 2013 – Every few months I update my watch list for my dividend investment portfolio. I’ll take the Dividend Champion list which has 100+ members and start screening each company, by hand, for certain metrics.

LaTisha @ Young Finances writes 9 Principles of Success – How to achieve success in your personal and professional life by following nine simple principles.

Tushar @ Finance TUBE writes 6 Ways To Teach Your Kids All About Money – Today I will be telling you about 6 Ways To Teach Your Kids All About Money. Kids are fast learner so one of the best lessons that we can teach them is money management. However money management is often heard from an adult tribe.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Will Our Kids Have Wealth Building Opportunities Like We Had? – Are there less wealth building opportunities for kids in the future? I think this is a possibility and explain why I think so.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Have you paid off your Christmas bills yet? – Piling the bills for the summer holiday over the debts built during Christmas may not be the way to go if one is to be better with money.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Four Debunked Financial Myths – Though you’ve heard much about them, the following four financial myths need to be taken with a grain of salt and skepticism.

Cash Flow Mantra @ Cash Flow Mantra writes I am Getting a Financial Windfall – I am working on paying off debt and feel that I am in a good frame of mind to be able to accept this money and not do anything stupid with it. I plan on using the funds (since they weren’t expected) to pay off one of my credit cards and to pay the property taxes on the commercial building that will be coming due in May.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Tiny House Love – The more I read about housing market news (the bubble returning, investors snatching up affordable houses, etc.), the more I think living in a tiny or small house might be my future.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes The Benefits of Locking Up Your Money for Longer – We all know how important it is to manage our money in the best possible way. Ideally this means building up an emergency fund to cover three months’ worth of outgoings in case we should need it, and then maximizing the rest of the available cash we have.

MMD @ My Money Design writes Using the Dividend Payout Ratio to Help Evaluate Stocks – The dividend payout ratio helps to reveal not only how a company uses its earnings, but also the potential for increasing dividend payments.

MMD @ IRA vs 401k Central writes What Does IRA Stand For Anyways? – If you’re wondering “what does IRA stand for”, then you may be surprised to find out that the IRS defines it as an “individual retirement arrangement”. This is slightly different than the common definition of an “individual retirement account”.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Should You Have To Pay for Public School? – In our new school district, parents have to pay school tuition for full-day kindergarten. Is it justifiable given the economy, or an undo burden?

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Is Gen Y Really That Bad Off? – I don’t want this post to come off sounding that I think being a recent college graduate and finding a job is a piece of cake. I am simply questioning everything I am reading so that hopefully we can have a discussion. With that said, I think the media is overblowing this entire crisis.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes 5 Money Saving Tips for Savvy Shoppers – This is a guest post by Mike Collins, who is obsessed with building sustainable streams of income online and achieving financial freedom so he can live life… Read his 5 money saving tips!

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes The 5 Steps to Living Money-Stress Free – If you feel that what you are earning is not enough or if you do not have enough left for luxuries or for emergencies then maybe you should start studying the way you spend.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Best Time to Buy Christmas Lights – Right now is the best time to buy Christmas lights. Did you know that? Get in on the savings today so you don;t waste money come December!

MR @ Money Reasons writes Investing Is Like A Skill Based Game – I describe how investing is like a game and that you should realize that losing is part of winning.

Mike @ Personal Finance Journey writes House swap vs couch surfing – a frugal vacation! – Simple out of the box ideas to having a frugal vacation and saving money with accommodation. How do you save money when traveling?

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes We Finally Did Our Taxes – Sheesh! – We didn’t make as much in 2012, but we paid about the same amount in taxes anyway thanks to having to pay the self-employment taxes on everything. YUCK!

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Reader Writes: Retirement Worries – The following is am email from a reader named Jim: We’re about to send our youngest off to law school in about 3 months. Read why he’s worried about retirement, and rightfully so.

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes 3 DEBT LESSONS FROM DEAD POETS SOCIETY – Debt Heroes inspire you to get out of debt. Become debt free.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes Four Rules Of Thumb That Are Thumbs Down – For many years I have seen articles galore in the major magazines giving consumers -rules of thumb- about making financial decisions.

Mr.CBB @ Canadian Budget Binder writes My Debt Story: How I Paid Off $100,000 In Debt (And How You Can Too) – Having Debt and lots of it on your plate can be lots to handle for just about anyone. This is a story about one man who takes paying down debt seriously and shares just how he went about it. Walking the path towards debt freedom is possible with discipline and motivation

John S @ Frugal Rules writes Is Your Retirement Planning Frightening? – Looking at the statistics, many people are behind in a big way in terms of saving for retirement. Don’t allow yourself to be another statistic and start now, even if small and it will help that discipline of saving money over time.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Why Socially Conscious Investing May Be Costing You A Lot Of Money – Socially conscious investing may seem like a great idea for investors, but it limits your pool of investment choices, has high fees, and may not be a great investment after all.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes How to Use Credit Cards Responsibly – Too many people have credit card debt! As of December, 2011, according to Capital One there was $801 billion total U.S. revolving debt. 98% is credit card debt! The total U.S. consumer debt is $2.5 trillion as of December 2011. The average credit card debt per household with credit card debt is $15,799.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes You WILL NOT Save More Later – If you’re a recent college graduation, you think you’ll save more later – just as soon as you get married. If you’re recently married, you think you’ll save more later – after you travel the country. If you have children, you think you’ll save more later – as soon as they get older.

Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank @ Monster Piggy Bank writes How Getting to Work Costs Money – A post about some of the various costs associated with going to work.

Buck Inspire @ Buck Inspire writes My First Taste Of Haterade – I’ve always stayed below the radar and not ruffled feathers. Recently I’m coming off the sidelines and getting into the game. Not surprisingly, I also encountered my first taste of Haterade.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes The Average Age of First-Time Home Buyers – In 2009, the most recent available data, the average age of home buyers was 31 according to one study and 34 according to another. But what is normal?

Philip @ PT Money writes How to Retire Early – Let’s Run the Numbers – Ever wonder exactly how much you need saved to retire early? There is a way to figure it out and make early retirement possible.

Jules Wilson @ Fat Guy,Skinny Wallet writes A Recap of March 2013 for Fat Guy – I know that this post is very late. My life has been so busy over the last few months, and it has only increased lately. So that means that I haven’t had time to sit down and reflect on them.

Paul Vachon @ The Frugal Toad writes Frugal Travel Tips: Save Money on Your Holidays – Holidays are a special time to get away, relax, and have a bit of an adventure. However, many of us put off big trips perennially due to cost and budget restrictions. With several ways to save before you go and once you’re on the road, you don’t have to let finances stand in the way of your dream trip.

How to pick films for your kids

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The following is a guest post.

Picking films for your kids to watch can be a little difficult. A good movie for kids is usually judged on whether adults can enjoy it too. There are plenty of good children’s films out there, but you don’t want your kids watching the stupid stuff – what you want is a film that is entertaining but educational at the same time, and that will prompt your kids into wanting to discuss it with you.

If you want to get rid of all the bad films lying around your home, sell them online at musicmagpie.com and then start looking for some better ones. This article includes some tips on how to pick the best movies for your kids.

Read reviews

Going by reviews these days is a bit tricky, considering how many sponsored reviews are out there, masquerading as honest ones. It’s all about knowing where to look. If a kids’ movie has made it into the review list for a reputable newspaper, it’s probably worth looking at, unless, of course, the review has absolutely slated it.

There are now dedicated websites where parents go and review films for each other, with helpful ratings according to how much harsh language, violence and sexual suggestiveness is included in the film.

Pre-screen the movie yourself

This is the best way forward if your kid is dead-set on watching a particular film, but you’re not sure if it contains some unsafe material. You can skip through the scenes quickly to get an overall feel and to spot the parts that might not be suitable.

Once you’re watching the movie, you will know if a particularly violent or scary scene is coming up and you can get your kid to close his or her eyes, or fast-forward past the scene in question.

Discuss with other parents

Everyone has different ideas of what is suitable for their children. You may be surprised that some parents would allow their kids to watch a James Bond film, for instance, due to the sexual content and violence.

Other parents might feel that as long as the violence is stylised, it’s okay for their kids. Still, discussing a film with them can give you a better idea of whether the film is suitable for your children or not.

Talk to your kids

This is the most important factor when choosing movies for them. There’s no point in censoring what they see unless you actually explain to them why. If they’re about to watch something that may contain a scary scene, sit them down and explain to them why it’s scary and why you think it’s not suitable for them.