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Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #98 – July 17, 2009

Welcome to the July 17, 2009 Edition #98 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

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Free
Online Money Management Tools posted at Cash Money Life,
saying, “Here are the best free online money management tools,
including Mint, Quicken Online, Yodlee, and others.”

Dorian Wales presents The
Personal Financier: Personal Finance Management: Budget vs. Net Worth
posted at The
Personal Financier, saying, “While it may be recommended to
manage both a budget and net-worth sometimes focus leads to better
results.”

Susan Saverton presents Living
Expense Tracking Methods posted at Family
Financial 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. This
situation dramatically increases your family’s long-term financial
risk.”

Craig Ford presents Ten
Budget Busters posted at Money Help For
Christians, saying, “Top budget busters and some ways to
overcome them.”

Economics

Dorian Wales presents On
Causality and Correlation in Economics posted at The Personal
Financier,
saying, “Causality is perhaps the most fundamental element of empirical
evidence available to economists. However, it is also the source of
many misconceptions due to its elusive nature.”

Roshawn Watson presents The
Rich Get Poorer posted at Watson Inc,
saying, “The implications of this recent recession have been
far-reaching enough to put a big dent in American and world wealth.
Both the magnitude of wealth and the number of millionaires decreased
profoundly in 2008.”

Financial Planning

Jeff Rose presents How
To Do a Background Check on Your Financial Advisor posted at Jeff Rose,
saying, “Prevent yourself from being taken by the next Bernie Madoff.
Do yourself a favor and do a background check first.”

The Smarter Wallet presents How
To Be A Millionaire: Secrets To Success posted at The Smarter Wallet,
saying, “Thanks!”

Big Cajun Man presents Mid-Year
Personal Finance Check Up posted at Canadian Personal
Finance Blog, saying, “Mid year is a good time to go over
your plan for the year to see how well you are doing, so do it now!”

KCLau presents Why
Robert T. Kiyosaki is a best-selling author? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips,
saying, “Robert T. Kiyosaki is the best personal finance author I
follow. I started reading his books back in 1999. Although some reviews
you found written by readers on Amazon say that he keeps repeating most
of the points, I still find them interesting every time. It works as a
revision whenever he repeats.”

TIE presents Investment
Planning: The Series posted at The Incidental
Economist,
saying, “This is the introductory post for an eight-post series on
investment planning. I invite readers to contribute their ideas on this
topic. The concluding post will include all reader feedback, tips,
tricks, and links (with credit given to contributors). Bloggers and
personal finance aficionados will not want to miss this series.”

Susan Saverton presents Efficiency
of Personal Investing Strategies posted at Family
Financial Planning,
saying, “When pursuing optimal financial planning and investing
strategies and controlling your costs and capital gains taxes, you also
need to establish a time-efficient system to monitor, adjust, and
adhere to your financial plan. You need to control and limit the time
that you spend on your financial planning, and you need to focus your
planning efforts on the most effective activities.”

Martha Jackson presents 25
Social Media Sites for Financial Professionals posted at Online
Accounting Colleges.

Financing a Home

ChristianPF presents The
step-by-step process of building a house posted at Money in the Bible |
Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “These are the steps
we are currently taking”

Brandon Laughridge presents 5
Reasons Why the Million Dollar Home Market Will Not Recover Soon
posted at Mortgage
Loan Place Blog, saying, “Some interesting insights on why
the million dollar home market won’t recover anytime soon.”

Alex Fotopoulos presents When
is it Smart to Refinance a Mortgage? posted at My Trader’s
Journal, saying, “Some key points to consider when
refinancing your home.”

Financing Education

Patrick @ Military Money presents Tax
Advantages of 529 Plans posted at Military Finance
Network, saying, “Tax advantages for the 529 College Savings
plan.”

Sam presents New
!! How to Pay for College posted at Surfer Sam and Friends,
saying, “How to Pay for College
Smart Ways to Pay for Your College
Did you know that the average cost for tuition and room and board is
$32,000 at a private college? Some Ivy League schools charge more than
$40,000 each year. At a public college the annual cost is over $13,000.
Your college costs include the tuition, fees for labs, athletics and
activities, and room and board on campus. You’ll also pay for textbooks
and supplies, computers, software and a printer, phone, transportation,
personal expenses like laundry, clothes, and haircuts.”

Praveen presents Students
Beware! Colleges, Tuition, Loans, and Debt – Will Education Follow the
Housing Bust? posted at My Simple
Trading System, saying, “Tips for students to avoid excessive
loans and debt”

Dave presents Financial
News Falsehoods posted at Cheapo
Groovo, saying, “What is the real unemployment and inflation
rate? The numbers may surprise you!”

Income

FMF presents How
to Make the Most of a College Degree posted at Free Money Finance,
saying, “Keys to making the most from a college degree.”

Praveen presents Easy
Ways to Generate Cash posted at My Simple
Trading System, saying, “Easy ways to generate extra cash”

Ted Reimers presents Average
Starting Salary by Major for 2009 posted at CampusGrotto,
saying, “See the top paying bachelor’s degrees for the class of 2009.”

FMF presents How
You Grow Your Income by 10% or More a Year posted at Free Money Finance,
saying, “Example of how someone really can grow their income 10%.”

Investing

Dividend Growth Investor presents Best
Yielding Stocks for 2009 2Q Update posted at Dividend
Growth Investor.

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Canadian
Discount Brokerage Review and Comparison for TFSA and RRSP
posted at Financial
Highway, saying, “A look at Canadian Discount Brokers”

Tushar Mathur presents Can’t
Control the Markets? Try controlling the Costs posted at Everything
Finance,
saying, “As 2008 proved, the financial markets are prone to
unpredictable periods of turbulence. That can make investing feel a bit
like a roller-coaster ride. The disappointing results that many mutual
funds posted in 2008 and at the outset of 2009 may have left you
feeling concerned over your financial future. You’re not alone.”

Saj Karsan presents Identifying
Cheap posted at Barel
Karsan,
saying, “The article discusses how to value stocks of companies that
own assets with fairly liquid markets, and walks the reader through an
example of identifying such a company.”

The Smarter Wallet presents Use
Candlestick Charts, Trading Signals To Evaluate The Stock Market
posted at The
Smarter Wallet, saying, “We look into how to use candlestick
charts to analyze the stock market.”

ABC presents Different
Types of Stock Market Indexes posted at ABCs of Investing,
saying, “How different types of stock market indexes work.”

Alex Fotopoulos presents Moved
MON and SLB Options to July Expiration posted at My Trader’s
Journal, saying, “Alex posted details of how his options
finished this month’s options’ expiration on June 19th.”

Zach Scheidt presents Three
Investment Trends Benefiting From Cap and Trade posted at ZachStocks,
saying, “Cap and Trade will likely be a negative for the economy as a
whole, but there are three primary investment themes which could
benefit from this legislation. Alternative Energy, Financial Exchanges,
and Construction / Infrastructure.”

The Skilled Investor presents Most
Individual Investors Are Poor Personal Portfolio Managers | Personal
Investment Management posted at Personal
Investment Manager,
saying, “Investors more easily understand investment costs that are
directly measurable, such as fees deducted on investment statements.
However, many investors ignore or are unaware of the opportunity costs
of their sub-optimal investment behaviors. Opportunity costs are
usually much more difficult to measure directly, but these investment
costs can be even higher than more visible investment fees.”

KCLau presents What is
the best investment? posted at KCLau’s
Money Tips,
saying, “The best investment comes in many forms. I was frequently
asked this same question over and over again. Let’s see how some
successful people answer the same question”

ABC presents Some
Index Funds and ETFs Are Not Diversified posted at ABCs of Investing,
saying, “Some ETFs and index funds are too specific and risky for a
passive investor.”

Larry Russell presents 7
Ways to Pick the Best Noload Mutual Funds and ETFs posted
at NoLoad
Mutual Funds,
saying, “Taken as a whole, the vast body of investment research studies
show that there really are better approaches to buying and owning
mutual funds and ETFs. You do not need to frantically chase fund
performance. Performance chasing simply does not work.”

Tom Escent presents Introduction
to Nerds on Wall Street posted at Quantitative Finance,
saying, “Think of this book as sort of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to Wired
Markets. There are no robots parking cars for six million years, but
there are robots trading millions of shares in six milliseconds, so
maybe that’s close enough.”

Manshu presents PEG Ratio
posted at OneMint,
saying, “Price Earning Growth Ratio takes the concept of Price /
Earning Ratio (P/E Ratio) and adds in the element of Growth in it. The
P/E Ratio is calculated by dividing Price of the Share with its Earning
Per Share.”

Curt presents Commercial
Real Estate To Plunge, Construction With It posted at PennyJobs.com.

Allison Johanson presents The
ETF Hall of Fame: 25 People Who Revolutionized the ETF Industry
posted at ETFdb.

Dividends4Life presents Walgreen
(WAG) Increases Its Dividend 22% posted at Dividends Value,
saying, “A person’s character is defined not in the good times, but how
they react in the time of a crisis. In much the same way, dividend
investors in the future will look back at the 2008-2009 economic crisis
and judge the character of dividend companies by how they reacted.”

Zach Scheidt presents LogMeIn IPO Plans
to Raise $67 million – Where Will the Money Go? posted at ZachStocks,
saying, “The LogMeIn IPO will raise $67 million for the remote PC
access firm. New stock offerings may boost investor confidence, but
this offering could prove to be dangerous.”

Frank Vertin presents Just
Buy Index Funds Directly posted at Best Index Funds,
saying, “Buying an S&P 500 index fund through an investment
counselor can substantially increase your initial purchasing costs and
and drive up your annual management expense fees. Unfortunately, the
vast majority of individual investors buy mutual funds and ETFs through
brokers and investment advisers. Rarely do financial advisors recommend
that you buy index funds with low fees. This is because low cost, no
load mutual funds do not pay them as well as loaded, high fee mutual
funds.”.

Carlos Sera presents A
Disciplinary Tale – There’s No Sliding in Softball posted at Financial Tales,
saying, “One of my brother’s favorite sayings is, “there’s no sliding
in softball.” Over the years, I have come to appreciate this phrase and
use it frequently. Another way of saying the same thing is to say that
there is an appropriate level of intensity that one should devote to
the task at hand.”

Managing Debt

Raj Patel presents The
Fundamental Shift of Consumers posted at DebtGoal,
saying, “How the demonstrated fundamental shift in consumer behavior is
driving the need for a new, retooled strategy for debt management.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Balance
Transfer Credit Card Tips, Facts and Traps posted at The Digerati Life.

Four Pillars presents Balance
Transfer Credit Cards – What Are They And Why You Might Want To Get One
posted at Quest For
Four Pillars, saying, “Some benefits and drawbacks of zero
percent balance transfer credit cards.”

jim presents How
Secured Credit Cards Work posted at Blueprint for
Financial Prosperity.

Miscellaneous

MoneyNing presents What
to Do When Money Conflicts with Ethics posted at Money Ning, saying,
“What will you choose? Ethics or money?”

Roshawn Watson presents Colleges
Pimping Their Students posted at Watson Inc,
saying, “Colleges Pimping Their Students: Universities are selling
students’ personal information, typically to the highest bidding
credit-card companies.”

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Secret
Credit Scores posted at Cash Money Life,
saying, “Most people are aware of the FICO Credit score, but there are
8 other credit scores that financial companies can use when determining
to extend credit to you.”

Noload Bonds presents Bond
Mutual Fund Fees posted at Bond Index Funds,
saying, “Simply put, if you pay higher bond mutual fund fees, then
these bond management expenses tend just to be a deadweight loss to
you. The best bond fund buying strategy is to pick only very low-cost
no load bond funds.”

Darwin presents Median
vs. Mean: Know the Difference or Risk Being Manipulated
posted at Darwin’s
Finance,
saying, “This article takes aim at politicians, professors, financial
advisors and others who selectively cite means, medians and other
statistics in an attempt to fool you and advance their agenda. By
mastering literacy on these topics, you can discern their motives and
decide if what they’re saying is legitimate.”

Retirement Planning

Super Saver presents Early
Retirement Planning – Our Important Age Milestones posted at My Wealth
Builder.

Top 10 Index Funds presents Top
10 S&P 500 Index Funds posted at Top 10 Index Funds,
saying, “Buy these top 10 very low cost no load S&P 500 index
mutual funds directly. You do not have to pay the heavy added expenses
of buying through a stock broker, financial adviser, investment
adviser, or investment counselor.”

Super Saver presents Planning
to Retire Later also has Risks posted at My Wealth
Builder, saying, “The option to continue working is no longer
easily controlled by the employee.”

Jeff Rose presents Should
you roll over your pension into an IRA? posted at Jeff Rose,
saying, “Rolling over your pension into an IRA might be the smart move
to make.”

Risk Management and Insurance

nickel presents Insurance
Needs for a Couple with No Kids posted at fivecentnickel.com,
saying, “My husband and I have recently been reviewing our insurance
coverage to figure out exactly we need as a married couple with no
kids. Our two biggest needs are health insurance and life insurance, so
that’s what I’ll be talking about here.”

Savings

jim presents Bank
CD Rates posted at Blueprint for
Financial Prosperity.

Barry presents Saving
Money With Do It Yourself Projects posted at Associate Money.

MoneyNing presents How
to Buy a Used Car posted at Money Ning, saying,
“Knowing how to buy a used car can not only save you thousands but
sometimes tens of thousands.”

Four Pillars presents Keep
Your Emergency Fund In A High Interest Savings Account posted
at Quest For Four
Pillars, saying, “FINBLOG
Some suggestions on the best places to store your emergency fund.”

Taxes

PT presents Max
Out Your 2009 Retirement Contributions posted at Prime Time Money.

Patrick @ Military Money presents Disabled
Veterans to Receive $250 Stimulus Checks posted at Military Finance
Network,
saying, “Information about who receives the $250 economic recovery
check (or stimulus check), including retirees, social security
recipients, railroad retirees, and disabled veterans.”

Robert D Flach presents 1040
FYI – Gross Proceeds and Cost Basis posted at The Wandering
Tax Pro.

That
concludes this
edition. Submit
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