Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs
Carnival of Financial Planning - Edition #96 - July 2, 2009
Welcome to the July 3, 2009 Edition #96 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
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.”
ChristianPF presents 7 free budgeting worksheets posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “These worksheets will help you keep your budget on track…”
Tom Drake presents Keep Track Of Your Money With Wesabe | The Canadian Finance Blog posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “Wesabe is a free website that allows you to track your expenses and savings.”
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.”
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.”
Abigail Perry presents Spending: Frustration and irrational guilt posted at i pick up pennies, saying, “Even the strictest budgeter will generally allow for some small treat. But, especially in the middle of debt reduction, even the tiniest indulgence can trigger an overactive guilt complex. How do you cope?”
Barry presents Learn To Survive On A $100 Grocery Budget posted at Associate Money.
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.”
Finance Tips 101 presents Car Donations? Knowing The Facts posted at Finance Tips 101.
Zach Scheidt presents Healthcare “Discussion Draft” Raises More Questions than Answers posted at ZachStocks, saying, “A new proposed healthcare plan would provide medical coverage for 95% of Americans. However, details on how the government will pay for this coverage is unclear.”
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
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.”
Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Do You Need Long Term Care Insurance? posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Do you need long term care insurance? When should you but it and how much should you get?”
Jeff Rose presents Cash Your Social Security Check Now Not Later posted at Jeff Rose.
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.”
Silicon Valley Blogger presents What’s The Best Savings Account? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”
MoneyNing presents Side Hustle, Self Employed, Entrepreneurship posted at Money Ning, saying, “There’s really not many overnight success. Work hard and take it one step at a time!”
Ray @ Financial Highway presents Honeymoon Planning Tips posted at Financial Highway, saying, “It’s wedding and honeymoon planning season, here are some tips to make honeymoon planning easier for you.”
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.”
Financing a Home
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.”
Health Care
Hal LaPray presents Geography Plays Role of Disparator in Approval Rates for Disability Benefits posted at Disability Information & Resources, saying, “Whether or not you’re approved for Social Security benefits may depend on where you live. A survey of more than 200 Social Security Attorneys nationwide revealed that one of the most important factors in determining whether or not a disabled person will be approved for Social Security benefits is Geography.”
Income
Praveen presents Easy Ways to Generate Cash posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “Easy ways to generate extra cash”
FMF presents The Most Useful Thing Students Can Do to Prepare for the Job Market posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “The one things students should do to prepare themselves for the job market.”
Investing
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.”
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.”.
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.”
The Smarter Wallet presents Use Candlestick Charts, Trading Signals To Evaluate The Stock Market posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks!”
ABC presents Investment Time Horizons for Retirees posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “Discussing investment asset allocations and time horizons for retirees.”
Marc Ryan presents IndependentInvestor.info - Morningstar’s verdict: Canada still last for mutual fund expense level posted at IndependentInvestor.info, saying, “mutual funds, morningstar, self investing, DIY investing, investor”
PuneetKapoor presents The Art of Selection - Part 2 posted at KuberKhana -Indian Stock Fundamental Analysis, saying, “A discussion on how to select stocks. It has universal appeal.”
nickel presents Index Mutual Funds vs. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) posted at fivecentnickel.com, saying, “Taking a closer look at low-cost index mutual funds vs. exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track the same indices.”
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.”
Darwin presents Structured Notes: Products Deliver Guaranteed Returns in any Market posted at Darwin’s Finance, saying, “How the alternative investment class of Structured Notes can deliver guaranteed returns while limiting downside - if you understand the risks.”
Manshu presents Silver ETF List posted at OneMint.
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.”
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”
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.”
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.”
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.”
FMF presents The Best Way to Maximize Your Investment Return posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Between rate of return, amount invested, and time invested, what is the one factor that most influences your total investment return? The answer and how much it determines your success will surprise you.”
ABC presents Should I Invest In Dividend Stocks (and what are they?) posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “An explanation of dividend stocks and why you might want to invest in them.”
Praveen presents Two Recommended Stocks: ATVI and WOOF posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “Analysis of two growth stocks.”
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.”
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.”
Dividends4Life presents Four Stocks With Strong Dividend Growth Metrics posted at Dividends Value, saying, “When evaluating a company as a potential income investment you look at its calculated fair value, ability to generate cash, debt position and the net present value of its dividend stream compared alternative “safe” investments.”
Managing Debt
Tushar Mathur presents When It Pays To Use Cash For Purchases posted at Everything Finance, saying, “For years there have been many consumers who have charged through life (pun intended) putting any and all expenses on their trusty credit card. Roughly half of those consumers managed their accounts responsibly and benefited from the many perks associated with using their credit card and paying the balance in full each month. The other half….well many of those people are dealing with the fall out from the economy and struggling with high levels of debt.”
SpendOnLife.com presents Is Google the New Credit Bureau on the Block? posted at SpendOnLife, saying, “How Google estimates your credit score based on what websites you view.”
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.”
Miscellaneous
Britannica Blog presents Vigilante Justice: Elderly Gang Tortures Financial Planner Who Lost Them Millions posted at Britannica Blog, saying, “Speyer, Germany—A group of wealthy, elderly pensioners has been accused of kidnapping and torturing a financial adviser who lost some $4 million of their savings.”
kathryn presents Michael Jackson?s Financial Legacy posted at Out of Debt Christian, saying, “There’s no doubt Michael Jackson lived large. With fame hitting at such a young age, fortune was not far behind. Business Week reported that Jackson supposedly spent up to $30 million a year on clothes, travel and toys for the Neverland Ranch. With the artist’s passing, he not only leaves a legacy as the King of Pop, but also a financial legacy that includes millions in debt and two very valuable assets.”
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.”
Retirement Planning
Jeff Rose presents What’s in a Number? Choosing a Withdrawal Rate for Your Retirement Assets posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “Learn how much you can withdraw from your investment portfolio in retirement safely.”
Dan at Everydayfinance presents 401K Cuts to Matching Contributions Coming - Time to Exit? posted at Everyday Finance, saying, “This article examines an alarming trend of companies cutting their 401K matching contributions and questions how you’d handle such a move by your company.”
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.”
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.”
Risk Management and Insurance
Helen presents Is title insurance worth buying? posted at Affine Financial Services, saying, “Title insurance protects your most important asset — your home — but at what cost? A GAO report reveals a bad deal for consumers.”
Savings
MoneyNing presents How to Save Money Every Month posted at Money Ning, saying, “Recurring expenses really add up. Here are a whole bunch of ways to save money, month after month after month.”
Four Pillars presents Benefits Of An Online High Interest Savings Account posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “Analyzing some of the benefits of getting a good rate for an online high interest savings account.”
Taxes
Super Saver presents How Taxes are Increasing for the Not-So-Rich posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Surprise, it seems that taxes are going up for those that are not-so-rich.
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.”
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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