April 26 2007 Edition of the Carnival of Financial Planning

Carnival of Financial Planning - April 26, 2007

Welcome to the April 26, 2007 edition 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.

The Skilled Investor has made parenthetical comments beneath some listings. These comments are the opinion of The Skilled Investor and not of the blogger who submitted an entry to this Carnival of Financial Planning edition.

Enjoy!

Budgeting

Matthew Paulson presents Using Software to Help You Budget posted at Getting Green.

(Pay attention to both the blog article and to the comments. Budgeting software is important and so is payment automation. Quicken is the market leader followed by Microsoft Money.)

Debt Management

Chris presents The seven deadly sins of consumerism (and the frugal redemption). posted at Wisebread.

(Nice discussion. While we may want it all, but do we really need all this crap?)

Abdulrasool Sumar presents Do It Yourself Debt Reduction posted at 3 Debt Consolidation Community, saying, “If you are committed to reducing your debts and are willing to cut down on unnecessary expenses, it is indeed very possible to succeed in what’s called a “Do It Yourself Debt Reduction” plan. Why do you need to go out and pay debt counselors or credit counselors big hefty fees when you can reduce your debts on your own? In this page, we will articulate the steps required for a successful debt reduction plan.”

Financial Planning

Donald Latumahina presents 5 Practical Steps to Start Learning Finance and Business posted at Life Optimizer.

vause presents Options after Military Separation Part II posted at Active Duty Military Money and Matters, saying, “This is the second part to the commandments”

Investing

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Stocks Vs Real Estate, Winning Investment Strategies posted at The Digerati Life.

(A good high level summary of a very complex asset ownership comparison. An apples-to-apples investment comparison might be broader based mutual funds and ETFs versus publicly traded REITs. When you add fix and rental, you introduce the elements of self-employment and sweat equity. With owner occupied dwellings, you add additional tax shelter and implied rental valuation issues.)

Bryan Moore presents Stock Portfolio Strategy - Leveraged ETF and Fixed Income Model Portfolio posted at TheFinancialWhiz.Com.

(Interesting discussion for sophisticated investors who understand the risks associated with leveraged investment strategies. This is not for amateurs who are looking for a passive set-and-forget investment strategy. Expected risk-adjusted returns after investment expenses and taxes are what should count to the amateur investor, which is most of us — The Skilled Investor included. Also, note Bryan’s discussion of the risks and fees associated with this strategy.)

Sun presents Is DRIP still Worth the Effort? posted at The Sun’s Financial Diary.

(Another subject to consider with DRIP investing is whether you can achieve sufficient portfolio diversification. Diversification is one of the rare free financial lunches — You get portfolio risk reduction with the same expected market return. DRIP investing involves the self-assembly of an investment portfolio that hopefully is broadly diversified. How do you set the balance between very low DRIP transactions costs and diversification?)

Steve Faber presents - Stock Investing – 4 Factors Precipitating Strong Growth in Stock Prices posted at DebtBlog.

Retirement Planning

Super Saver presents Retirement Income Strategy - New Thinking posted at My Wealth Builder.

(Some good thoughts. In particular, if you have concentrated ownership in a tradable asset, which is greater than a very few % of you gross investment portfolio assets excluding home, then diversify now. If that concentrated investment position is in the same entity that issues your paycheck, diversify this minute. Concentrated positions are unnecessarily risky — even the apparently strongest brand name firms. If Enron, Worldcom, and a very long list of corporate failures have passed from your memory, consider what has happened recently to the retirement portfolios of some employees of failed or failing sub-prime lenders. This week employees of Fremont General Corporation sued alleging that the company directors should have known that offering company stock to employees in Fremont’s ESOP and 401(k) plans was not prudent, particularly since directors had been selling the stock. Whatever the particular legal merits and eventual disposition of this case, if you have the opportunity NOT to own your employer’s stock, then DO NOT OWN IT IN ANY CONCENTRATION. ASAP. Avoiding concentrated ownership positions is a scientifically supported lifelong risk-adjusted investment rule for individual investors.)

Savings

Tushar Mathur presents 22 ways to build an emergency fund posted at Life of a Resident Alien….

Shamelle presents Make Money, Not Excuses! posted at Enhance Life.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the 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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