Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs
Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #123 – January 8, 2010
Welcome to the January 8, 2010 Edition #123 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
Curt presents 2009 Budget Reflections posted at PennyJobs.com.
Four Pillars presents Get Out Of Debt With YNAB – You Need A Budget Financial Software Review posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “Indepth review of You Need a Budget software.”
Lovelymary presents 100 Inspiring Personal Finance Posts for the New Year posted at Accounting Degree.
Dorian Wales presents The Dangers of Excess Frugality – Budgeting and Balanced Living posted at The Personal Financier, saying, “A more balanced life and balanced goals will help achieve inner peace and acceptance that money is truly a means and not an end. This takes work and time. I suppose on cannot escape the slippery slope I’ve presented but understanding the need for balance early on will save considerable frustration and contribute to early happiness.”
Estate Planning
FMF presents Three of the Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Three estate planning mistakes you’ll want to avoid.”
Jeff Rose presents Inheriting Retirement Assets: What You Need to Know posted at Jeff Rose.
The Financial Blogger presents Estate Planning: 5 Reasons Why You Should Have A Professional Among Your Liquidators posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “managing an estate is more complicated than simply writing a few checks! Fortunately, for those who can afford it, you can name a professional among your liquidators.”
Financial Planning
Super Saver presents Strategies for Building Wealth and Retiring Early posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Recently, I ran into a friend who also retired in his forties. We compared notes on what strategies enabled us to retire early. There seemed to be two recurrent themes.”
Big Cajun Man presents Personal Finance Resolutions for the New Year? posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Are Financial New Years resolutions a good idea? Yes, but make them achievable, don’t try to boil the ocean, just take small steps!”
Dividend Tree presents Building Core Competency for Long Term Survival posted at Dividend Tree, saying, “whether it is running a business or individuals’ investment portfolio, it is important to build a core competency for long term sustainability. In my case, I focus on good quality companies that consistently pay or have potential to pay growing dividends over time.”
Susan Saverton presents Portfolio Asset Allocation posted at Financial Planner Pasadena, saying, “Set your personal investment asset allocation according to your personal tolerance for investment risk. Allocated percentages to asset classes would tend to slowly change with the years, and thus it is key to decide correctly from the beginning.”
Super Saver presents Spending because of Stimulus Money? Not Us. posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Although we qualified for the Cash for Clunkers and the new Home Buyer’s Credit program, we passed on on participating, for one simple reason — if we needed it, we would have already bought it.”
Roshawn Watson presents Thoughts on Escaping The Rat Race posted at Watson Inc, saying, “Do you yearn to be free…really free? What would you do if money was not a big limitation? Perhaps the primary reason for increasing your financial literacy is so you may indeed escape the rat race.”
Financing a Home
Peak Personal Finance presents New Year Financial Resolution: Refinance posted at Peak Personal Finance, saying, “Plan to save money on your housing expenses this year!”
Roshawn Watson presents Is Bigger Better? Scaling Down The American Dream posted at Watson Inc, saying, “Today’s post-crash buyers are not willing (nor able in some cases) to extend themselves like before, and the impact on the housing market is substantial.”
Alex Fotopoulos presents When to Refinance a Mortgage? posted at My Trader’s Journal, saying, “Some key points to consider when refinancing your home.”
Financing Education
Jeff Rose presents How Can a Grandparent Help Finance a Grandchild’s Education posted at Jeff Rose.
Praveen presents Will Education Follow the Housing Bust? posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “Tips for students to avoid excessive loans and debt”
Health Care
Patrick @ Military Money presents Open Enrollment Window Open for Some posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “Open enrollment is the only time of the year that many people are able to make changes to their health insurance elections. Make sure you take advantage of this time to select the best health care option for your needs.”
Jeff Rose presents Caring for Your Aging Parents posted at Consumer Boomer.
Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Open Enrollment Health Insurance Options posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “what you need to know about the common health insurance options available from most employers during the open enrollment season.”
Income
April presents It’s More Important to Be Happy Than to Be Rich posted at Get Rich Slowly, saying, “True happiness comes when you learn to be content with what you have. If you don’t take the time to figure out what Enough means to you, you’ll always be unhappy with your financial situation.”
FMF presents Why a High Income Often Doesn’t Translate into a High Net Worth posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “A high income often doesn’t translate into a high net worth. This is why.”
Dividend Tree presents Three Companies with Sustainable Dividends posted at Dividend Tree, saying, “Even in soft economic environment, there are companies out there that are continuing to increase dividends for their shareholders. While dividend increase is good, it is more critical to make sure we understand that companies can sustain their dividends.”
Investing
Jae Jun presents How to create online investment tracking spreadsheet posted at Old School Value, saying, “Use this free stock tracking spreadsheet or learn how to create your own dynamic online portfolio tracking spreadsheet that is always up to date. You can now view it anywhere, anytime.”
NetBiz presents Why Dollar Cost Averaging Can Get You Rich | Your Finish Rich Plan posted at Your Finish Rich Plan, saying, “The “Louie The Loser” scenario is an illustration of the power of compounding. In fact, compounding is so powerful that it almost cancels out the negative effects of bad timing. In a nutshell, this is proof that if you want to start investing, you don’t have to wait for “the right moment”. If you put time on your side, you’ll win.”
One Family presents Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) – Stock Analysis posted at One Family’s Blog, saying, “An analysis and recommendation of Fair Isaac (FICO) stock.”
Lazy Man and Money presents Is Investing Without Goals Like Golfing without a Putter? posted at Lazy Man and Money, saying, “Inspired by Simple Dollar’s post, this article examines the analogy from a different point of view.”
Zach Scheidt presents 2010 ZachStocks Recommendations posted at ZachStocks, saying, “2010 should offer investors both opportunity and risk. Here are four investments which should generate healthy gains in the coming year.”
Marc Ryan presents Six advantages of dividend investing: a critical assessment posted at IndependentInvestor.info, saying, “What are the benefits of dividend investing? In this commentary, we look at the six main arguments put forward by proponents of this approach to investing: a source of regular, tax-favored income characterized by above-average returns, offering down-side protection in bear markets, facilitating dollar cost averaging investing, and inducing corporate management to deliver more stable, better-reported earnings. What’s not to like? The arguments seem compelling, but on second look, lose some of their luster. In a subsequent commentary in our series on dividend investing we will look at the disadvantages.”
Zach Scheidt presents Chimera Investment Corp – Discipline Yields Success posted at ZachStocks, saying, “Chimera Investment Corp (CIM) is trading at a discount price and offering investors an attractive dividend yield. While the mortgage market could experience volatility, Chimera stands to benefit from its newly disciplined approach”
MDP presents How to Earn High Returns with Lending Club posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “Highlights some tips for investing with Lending Club and earning high returns.”
Mike Piper presents Investing in a Taxable Account posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, “What’s the most tax-efficient way to invest once you’ve maxed out your 401(k) and IRA contributions for the year?”
Steve Alexander presents Magic Formula Stock Review: Vector Group (VGR) posted at MagicDiligence – Optimizing Joel Greenblatts Value Stock Strategy, saying, “Vector Group is a holding company with the main operating unit being Liggett Group, the maker of discount cigarette brands Liggett Select and Grand Prix. A dividend play with a 11% yield, does this stock look like a good Magic Formula choice?”
Alex Fotopoulos presents Gold Chart (GLD) ? More Room to Fall posted at Chart Analysis, saying, “Alex posted a chart of the Gold ETF, GLD, this week and shows how much farther it could fall before finding support.”
jim presents Where Dividend Stocks Fit in Your Portfolio posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity
Super Saver presents Choosing Certainty or Additional Returns posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Here’s how we choose between certainty and additional returns.”
Praveen presents Just Bought Hyatt Hotels (H) posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “About Hyatt’s recent IPO and why its a good stock.”
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.”
Larry Russell presents Top 10 No Load Funds posted at Best No Load Mutual Funds, saying, “Don’t bother to frantically move your assets from one mutual fund to another or from one ETF to another. Investment research has repeatedly showing academic studies that performance chasing is a bad strategy the most ofter will yield inferior returns.”
The Skilled Investor presents Best Investment Strategies posted at Personal Financial Investments, saying, “Investment costs which are clearly measured, like fees deducted on your monthly investment statement. Most investors are no aware of opportunity costs that arise from sub-optimal investing practices. Opportunity costs like these are much greater than more costs and investment fees that show up on their statements.”
KCLau presents Case Study: Consolidating Personal Loan, Mortgage and Credit Card Debt posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Important lessons on investment”
The Financial Blogger presents Note to Myself: Key Points to Investing During a Bear Market Part1: Remember High Yield Bonds posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “This is what I am doing with the recent market crunch of 2008. Some people generated amazing returns by taking little risk. Here’s how they did it.”
MoneyNing presents How to Get Your Wife to Invest posted at Money Ning, saying, “Talk and discuss. Learn how to get your significant other to invest!”
Frank Vertin presents Index Stock Fund posted at Best Index Funds, saying, “When you buy an S & P 500 index mutual fund through a broker or investment advisor you can increase substantially your purchasing costs, while you drive up your recurring annual expenses through asset management and other fees. Financial advisors most often will not recommend to buy index mutual funds with very low fees.No load, low cost index mutual funds don’t pay financial brokers and advisors nearly as well as front loaded, high fee, active mutual funds.”
jim presents How to Determine Your Asset Allocation posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
Jules Wells presents Simple Investing posted at Personal Financial Planning Software, saying, “Investing often seems almost unfathomly complex, however your best investment strategy will tend to be a simple and straightforward investing strategy.”
Tomas Escent presents Investment Portfolio Trading posted at Nerds on Wall Street, saying, “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Wired Markets. In this funny financial book, there are no robots parking your car millions of times, however, right now in milliseconds robots trade millions of shares.”
Managing Debt
The Smarter Wallet presents How To Get Your Free Credit Report and Score posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Some tips on how to get your free credit report and score. I also discuss some of the things to watch out for when you look for your credit information.”
Silicon Valley Blogger presents Balance Transfer Credit Card Tips, Facts and Traps posted at The Digerati Life
The Dough Roller presents How to Find a “Good” Bad Credit Credit Card posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “”How do I get a credit card with bad credit?”"
The Smarter Wallet presents How Debt Management Programs Affect Your Credit Score posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Can debt management programs have an impact on your credit score? We review this issue in this article.”
Miscellaneous
Joe Plemon presents How Do You Measure Success? posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “Do you equate success with being a super achiever or is it possible to be successful by simply doing worthwhile activities? This post explores the measurement of success.”
Big Cajun Man presents Men’s Health posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “The little blue pill factor in Male Health…”
nissim ziv presents 15 Top Resume Objectives Examples posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “Employers and recruiters review hundreds of resumes every day. Therefore, writing a resume that stands out from the crowd is a key success factor for job seekers. An eye-catching resume will increase your chances of getting a job interview.”
Frank Knight presents Stop Identity Theft posted at Best Financial Planning Software, saying, “You need to be proactive and take easy steps to prevent becoming a victim of identity theft. Identity theft is increasing dramatically and it takes a huge amount of time to clean up the mess once you get hit with identity theft.”
Susan Saverton presents Personal Finance Plan posted at Family Financial Planning, saying, “You need a system that is efficient with respect to your time and your costs, when to develop, implement, and track a personal investment plan.”
Retirement Planning
Frank Knight presents Roth Retirement Accounts posted at Financial Planner Software, saying, “One of the most complex personal financial decisions is whether to invest in a Roth IRA or Roth 401k versus their traditional retirement account alternatives. For most people, Roth accounts do not make sense financially. For a minority, they are a good deal, but you need sophisticated financial planner software to do the analysis for yourself.”
Top Stock Mutual Funds presents Stock Mutual Funds posted at Top Index Funds, saying, “This article discusses the 10 ten very low cost stock index mutual funds that track the Standard and Poors 500 large capitalization stock index.”
Risk Management and Insurance
Patrick @ Military Money presents COBRA Benefits 2009 Economic Stimulus Recovery Act posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “The 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan includes additional COBRA and unemployment benefits.”
Jeff Rose presents Tax Break for Hybrid Annuities and Long Term Care Insurance posted at Consumer Boomer.
Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Save Money on Auto Insurance Rates posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Tips on how to save money on your auto insurance rates, including multi car discounts, multi-line policies, defensive driving courses, and more.”
Savings
jim presents Consider Moving Your Money to Local Banks posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
MoneyNing presents How to Deal with Frugal Naysayers posted at Money Ning, saying, “There’s a better way to deal with all the naysayers.”
Silicon Valley Blogger presents Savings Account Rates: Where Are The High Returns? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “We check out the latest savings account rates for cash accounts.”
KCLau presents Are You Rich in Internal Assets? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “pay attention to the internal assets”
Four Pillars presents $8,000 Credit For First-Time Homebuyers Extended 6 Months – Not Increased To $15k posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “Home buyers credit extended 6 months.”
Taxes
GreenBridge Advisors presents Ask Questions Before Letting Someone Do Your Taxes posted at Let’s Blog Money.
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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