Carnival of Financial Planning

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment
Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #201
- September 9,
2011

Welcome to the September 9, 2011 Edition #201 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

DJ presents Money Saving Ideas on the Weekend posted at The Family Wallet, saying, “There are many different educational, economical and fun ways your family can have fun together.”

Barb Friedberg presents Current Economic News and Your Investments posted at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance.

Everything Finance presents Budgeting Tips for Couples posted at Everything Finance,
saying, “The days where your biggest decision as a couple was what
movie you were going to watch are over. Now, you are taking a new step
as partners – perhaps you have recently moved in together, or are
considering starting a family.”

Rogan Seager presents Retirement
Savings Calculator posted at Retirement Savings
Calculator,
saying, “Valuable future investment portfolio assets and future
investment returns slip through many people’s fingers at the checkout
stand every day, because they spend beyond their long-term means.”

Paula presents How Much Do I Earn a Year? posted at AffordAnything.org,
saying, “Paid vacation is an illusion – a clever ‘marketing’ ploy that
makes your total compensation FEEL higher than it actually is. Doesn’t
“paid vacation” sound more appealing than “getting paid in installments
for work I’ve already done”?”

Financial Planning

Marie presents How to Calculate Your Net Worth posted at Money Spending Mommy,
saying, “Figure up your net worth today, then do it again in a year.
This will tell you whether or not you’re moving in the right financial
direction.”

My Journey presents September Net Worth Update–Nominated for a Plutas Edition posted at My Journey to Millions, saying, “•From August 1, 2011 to September 1, 2011 my net worth has increased 2.82%
•From January 18, 2011 to August 1,2011 my net worth has increased 50.98%”

Crystal presents A Splurge May Turn into Lifestyle Inflation posted at Budgeting In The Fun Stuff,
saying, “When you make a plan to save a certain amount of money, and
follow that plan, you can reap great rewards from your labors. When
your labors start making more than you imagined, your plan may expand
to spend more on quality in your life but don’t let that throw you
completely off track.”

Frank Knight presents Investment
Asset Allocation posted at Retirement Planning
Software, saying, “When you are already there and invested
in an asset class, you are following a passive asset allocation
strategy. Tactical asset allocation strategy advocates suggest that you
can anticipate the crowd, but flow-of-funds studies show that almost
all tactical asset allocation fund flows are late money flows that
chase performance after valuations have already moved.”

Philip Taylor presents Five Personal Finance Habits of the Past that Must End to Have a Financial Future posted at PT Money Personal Finance,
saying, “Looking forward, there are plenty of ways in which we can
learn from mistakes to plan a better financial future. The following
are five classic bad money habits that people simply can’t get away
with anymore.”

Flexo presents Financial Tips for Students Entering College posted at Consumerism Commentary,
saying, “Learning how to manage your finances starts at a young age and
hopefully by the time kids get to college, they can easily follow these
steps.”

Ciana Locke presents Market
Index Funds posted at Best
Index Mutual Funds,
saying, “The dominant issue in choosing among passively managed index
mutual funds and ETF funds benchmarked against the S & P 500 is
that securities industry management and trading fees are all over the
map from reasonably low to shockingly high.”

Financing a Home

Susan Howe presents Suburban Bliss: Best Places To Live Outside 12 Big Cities posted at HSH, saying, “Homeowners often have the choice of living in one state and working in another. But which state is best?”

Income

Moyo presents Reduce your expenses, get out of debt posted at Eden Life Magazine, saying, “Income is more available when expenses are cut. The article contains over 10 tips that will help cut expenses”

FMF presents Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “How to handle the salary issue during the interviewing phase of a job search.”

Dr. Dean presents Compensation for Nurses: Hourly Wages Verses Salaried posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog, saying, “Are you interested in nursing but curious how the wages really break down? Check out this article.”

Investing

Eric J. Nisall presents Introducing The Chaikin Power Gauge Stock Rating Widget posted at DollarVersity,
saying, “A review of the new Chaikin Power Gauge Stock Rating Widget.
It certainly does have its advantages, as well as a few drawbacks, but
you should check it out for yourself.”

Tim Fraticelli presents Why is the Stock Market so Volatile Now? posted at Faith and Finance,
saying, “August was an extremely volatile month for the stock market.
With daily surges and dips will above 400 points, both the media and
investors are asking the question “What’s happening to the markets?”

Karen – Help Me To Save presents Is Share Trading For Me? posted at Help Me To Save,
saying, “It’s really important to be aware of all the charges and fees
involved and the possibility of your capital losing value before
starting to trade in shares.”

Mirelle Rowden presents Fixed
Income Funds posted at Best
Bond Mutual Funds,
saying, “Vanguard dominates this low cost United States bond mutual
funds marketplace for direct purchase accounts with both low and high
minimum deposits.”

MoneyCone presents Vanguard’s Most Expensive Funds posted at Money Cone,
saying, “Vanguard is known for its selection of low cost, no-load funds
but Vanguard does have a few funds up its sleeve for those who are
willing to pay more.”

Everything Finance presents How to Budget for Future Investments posted at Everything Finance,
saying, “Recent volatility in the stock market shows us how important
it is to be prepared to take advantage of opportunities. When the stock
market drops, or when an investment you have been eying goes “on sale,”
you want to be able take advantage of the opportunity.”

Dividends4Life presents 7 Small-Cap Dividend Stocks For Yield And Growth posted at Dividend Growth Stocks,
saying, “Once a company reaches a certain size, significant growth is
difficult to sustain. Knowing this, savvy investors looking for growth
will turn to small-cap stocks. This week week, I screened my dividend
growth stocks database for Small- and Mid-Cap stocks with a yield and
dividend growth at or above 4%. The results are presented below:”

Frank Bertin presents Index
Funds
posted at
Top Index Funds, saying, “Top ten no
load index funds that track the Standard
and Poors 500 composite index in terms of lowest costs.”

Kyle Taylor presents Win $1,000,000 Playing CNBC’s Virtual Stock Game posted at The Penny Hoarder, saying, “Read about how to play CNBC’s new investment game and my strategy to win.”

Glen Craig presents The Best Online Discount Brokerages for Cheap Trades posted at Free From Broke,
saying, “What are the best online discount brokerages for cheap trades?
Take a look at some of the best places for you to trade stocks that
won’t break your bank, especially for the beginning investor.”

John presents Why Dollar Cost Averaging is an Effective Investment Strategy posted at Wallet Blog,
saying, “People who suffer the greatest investing losses are those who
are constantly buying and selling according to the market; what they
should really use is a more systematic approach like dollar cost
averaging (DCA).”

Bradson Oakley presents Bond
Mutual Funds posted at Best
Bond Funds,
saying, “Higher bond fund expenses tend to mean lower net returns to
individual investors. It is not worth paying higher bond fund fees.”

FMF presents How to Maximize Long-Term Returns posted at Free Money Finance,
saying, “If you don’t have an asset allocation of low-expense
investments on the efficient frontier, get one. Nothing is more
important. And if you have such a game plan, don’t let short-term
fluctuations in the market deter you from a brilliant long-term
strategy.”

Managing Credit and Debt

Tim Chen presents Credit Cards With No Annual Fee: List of The Best No Fee Credit Cards posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch,
saying, “There are two big reasons to choose a credit card with no
annual fee, even when more attractive sounding cards with low annual
fees are available.”

Marjorie presents Credit Utilization Guide posted at CardHub.com,
saying, “There are various myths and misconceptions that mislead
consumers and hamper their efforts to use credit responsibly. Because a
proper understanding of credit utilization is essential to responsible
credit card use, we at Card Hub decided to tackle some of the most
important credit utilization questions.”

Tim Chen presents Capital One Secured MasterCard: A Good Choice for Bad Credit posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch,
saying, “The Capital One Secured MasterCard is a decent choice if
you’re looking to boost your credit score. Besides being fairly
straightforward, it has a few other perks worth considering.”

Miscellaneous

Marvin Grossman presents Fake Nurses, Fake Patients and Other Strange Credit Card Crimes posted at CardRatings Blog,
saying, “The police are searching for a fake nurse who stole some very
real credit cards. Fake nurses aren’t only out there. Beware of fake
patients.”

The Skilled Investor presents Market
Timing Does Not Work posted at
Personal Financial Management,
saying, “Always stay invested to earn risk
premiums. You must have your money invested and at risk
to get risk premium returns. Jumping out and in or “timing the markets”
doesn’t work.”

Jonathan from Debt Loans presents How to Get The Most from Your Bank posted at Wallet Watcher, saying, “There are a number of strategies to utilize to avoid the ridiculous fees banks charge.”

Tripp Danner presents No
Load Funds posted at No
Load Fund,
saying, “There are over 60,000 different mutual fund investment share
classes sold worldwide. Some mutual funds and ETFs must be better than
others, but which ones are they? How can you tell before the fact?”

Retirement Planning

Nesher presents Government and Local Grants for Retired People posted at Planning your Retirement Smart Way,
saying, “Several government agencies provide grants to retired people
to help pay for housing, food and employment training programs.
Government grant programs for the retired are for people aged 55 and
over. Seniors also must meet the low-income limit level requirement to
qualify for help.”

Dough Roller presents Retirement Income Security Made Simple posted at Dough Roller,
saying, “Too many people wait until the last second before looking into
their retirement assets. Early planning goes a long way in future
success.”

Brockton Eaton presents Long
Term Investment Strategies posted at Retirement
Investment Strategy,
saying, “The investment research literature repeatedly demonstrates
that a fully diversified, low cost investment strategy is superior.”

Risk Management and Insurance

Outlaw presents 4 Questions to Ask Yourself About Fire and Flood Insurance Coverage posted at Outlaw Finance,
saying, “If you have taken out fire and flood insurance, either on your
own or as part of an overall homeowner’s policy, it is important to
know exactly what such a policy covers.”

Savings

Alexander Bands presents 3 Ways To Cut Your Gas Bills posted at CarTaxBands.org,
saying, “Gas is becoming more and more expensive again. These three
tips could save you a large percentage on the cost of your gas.”

Walter W. Fouse presents Large
Cap Mutual Funds posted at Mutual Funds,
saying, “You can save a lot by paying attention to mutual fund
expenses. Each of these S & P 500 index funds is among the
least
costly
on the market.”

Taxes

Jeff Canon presents What You Need To Know About Child Benefit posted at Tax Credit Calculator,
saying, “If you have children you may be eligible for child tax
credits. This post provides answers to some of the common questions
about child tax credits.”

Finley Merriwether presents Retirement
Planning Calculator posted at Retirement Plan
Calculator,
saying, “Tax-advantaged retirement savings plans give you the
opportunity to make investments with deferred taxes in 401k, 403b, 457,
Keogh, Simple, or other employer sponsored retirement plans.”

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.

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