Carnival of Financial Planning - July 26 2008 Edition

By The Skilled Investor, July 25, 10:01 pm

Welcome to the July 26, 2008 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.

Enjoy!

The Skilled Investor

Budgeting

Amy S Quinn presents 50 Freegan Lifestyle Habits for the Jobless posted at JobProfiles.org - Job Descriptions and Online Schools to Start Your Career.

Larry Russell presents Living Expense Tracking Methods posted at Pasadena Financial Planner.

Economics

Value Seeker presents Stock Investment Resource: Stock Market Investing Tips - Democrats and Offshore Drilling posted at Stock Investing, saying, “Author discusses the lunacy of the Democratic opposition to offshore drilling.”

Estate Planning

NtJS presents Why Do You Not Have A Will? posted at not the jet set, saying, “You’ve planned your meals, your monthly budget, your retirement…. have you planned for the worst? Why do you not have a will?”

The Financial Blogger presents Basics of Estate Planning Part 2 posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “I am writing a series on Estate Planning. This post is about the different ways to write a will.”

Financial Planning

Jim presents Fully Fund Your Emergency Fund Now posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Larry Russell presents Objective Personal Finance Answers Are Hard to Find posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog

Barb A. Ryan presents Your Personal Financial Planning Skills posted at Pasadena Financial Planner.

Financing a Home

Dan Green presents Do You Want To Know How Fast Mortgage Rates Can Change? posted at The Mortgage Reports, saying, “Getting your mortgage rates from the newspapers is like getting STOCK PRICES from the papers — it’s outdated as soon as it’s published.”

Joe Manausa presents Housing Prices Decline Slightly - A Clear Picture Is Forming posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, “While there have been many articles written on the declining real estate market, most are filled with facts and figures that are difficult for the lay-person to follow. This article is filled with easy-to-understand graphs that demonstrate the modest decline in home prices.”

Dorian Wales presents Is It Better to Buy or Rent? posted at The Personal Financier, saying, “Another look at this timeless question. Now better explained with a great tool by NY Times.”

Livingalmostlarge presents Frugal Condo Tip posted at LivingAlmostLarge, saying, “Do you need to consider the HOA when buying a condo? I think you do.”

Financing Education

Kelly Sonora presents 100+ Places to Find Funding For Your Research | OEDb posted at OEDb: Online Education Database.

Health Care

Jonathan Pletzke presents Can’t Get Medical Insurance? Move! posted at Consumer’s Health Insurance Blog, saying, “If you can’t get medical insurance (health insurance) where you live, you might find it in another state. That’s because much of the health insurance regulation is at the state level.”

Income

Weight Ladder / Rich Leverage presents 3 Examples of a Hobby Making Money | Rich Credit Debt Loan posted at Rich Leverage, saying, “Blogging is an excellent source of alternative income and is just one way to create multiple streams of income.”

Faron Benoit presents 10 Things Men Wish Women knew about Money posted at Financial Learn.

The Shark Investor presents Don’t Make Money Blogging posted at The Shark Investor, saying, “Is blogging really a good source of alternative income?”

FMF presents How to Turn a Photography Hobby into a Business posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “A great way to earn an extra income.”

KCLau presents Average Monthly Household Income in 2007: Is it enough? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “According to a survey done by the Statistic Department for the Economic Planning Unit, published in Personal Money Magazine June 2008 edition, a typical family in Malaysia earns only RM3686/month. How much this is worth and how much can be spent.”

Investing

Value Seeker presents Stock Investment Resource: Stock Market Investing Tips - Don’t Overleverage posted at Stock Investing, saying, “Be careful with margin trading. If you take on too much leverage, you may risk a margin call.”

Marc Ryan presents How that other market is doing: residential real estate posted at IndependentInvestor.info, saying, “We receive inquiries from time to time from our members on the appropriate role for what is often their most important asset, their residence, in their investment portfolio. We look in this commentary at how an investor should view this asset as well as the current state of residential real estate markets.”

The Investor presents Should you swap your shares for an investment trust on a discount? posted at Monevator.com, saying, “Stock market pessimism means many investment trusts (also known as closed-ended funds in the US) are trading at heavy discounts. Would it be profitable to trade an existing portfolio of blue chips for similar holdings in a trust, then swap back in happier times? Or would trading costs be prohibitive?”

Investing Angel presents I Heart Luby’s (LUB) » Free Stock Market Investing Tips posted at Stock Tips, saying, “Author explains his investment in Luby’s, a small cap value company.”

Dividends4Life presents Dividend Stocks In the News: July 24, 2008 posted at Dividends 4 Life, saying, “With Bank of America’s (BAC) big announcement this week, there appears to be life after financial crisis. Will it last? Who knows. If you are a dividend/value investor, it doesn’t matter. If the market goes up, you can enjoy your paper-profits on recent purchases. If it goes down, it provides more opportunities to pick up some value-priced bargains.”

Larry Russell presents Objective Personal Finance Answers Are Hard to Find posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog

Barb A. Ryan presents Your Personal Financial Planning Skills posted at Pasadena Financial Planner

Investments

Walter W. Fouse presents Vanguard Index Mutual Funds Versus Vanguard Managed Funds posted at Best No Load Funds.

Richard M. Rothschild presents Bond Market Index Funds posted at Bond Market Index Funds.

Frank Vertin presents Top 10 S and P 500 Index Funds posted at NO LOAD INDEX FUND.

Managing Debt

Raymond presents The Benefits and Dangers Of Payday Loans and Cash Advance posted at Money Blue Book.

Retirement Planning

Money for Military presents Net Worth of Military Retirement posted at Money for Military, saying, “I don’t know how many military members you have; however, I think this is a good article for people to read about the value of the military retirement.”

Dividend Growth Investor presents “Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data” - My Opinion posted at Create Rising Passive Income From Dividend Paying Stocks, saying, “I recently stumbled upon this article from William P. Bengen “DETERMINING WITHDRAWAL RATES USING HISTORICAL DATA”. The basic idea behind this research is that year over year fluctuations in annual returns could drastically change the standard of living of retired individuals, who rely on their investments for income. That’s why “safe” withdrawal rates need to be determined and a proper asset allocation needs to be applied. William Bengen does look into a very basic allocation of stocks and bonds, and then adjusts those target allocations annually.”

Ben Dinsmore presents Should You Borrow Money From Your 401K? posted at Trees Full of Money, saying, “If you need cash and your financial situation leaves you no other alternatives, borrowing money from your 401k might help you get your financial life back on track.”

Savings

nickel presents The Safest Online Banks: Is Your Savings Account in Jeopardy? posted at fivecentnickel.com, saying, “This article contains a rundown of the safest online banks based on Bankrate’s “Safe and Sound” ratings.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents 12 Strategies For Saving Money While Paying Your Bills posted at The Digerati Life.

Heather Johnson presents 5 Ways to Increase Your Savings posted at Yielding Wealth | Personal Finance.

Larry Russell presents The Top 25 Low Cost Best US Money Market Funds posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog.

Taxes

Barb A. Ryan presents Asset Allocation, Investment Asset Tax Location, and Emergency Cash Management posted at Pasadena Financial Planner.

Barb A. Ryan presents Independent Investment Counselors and Financial Advisors posted at Pasadena Financial Planner.

Miscellaneous

Connie Brooks presents What the Kung Fu Panda Can Teach You about Becoming a Millionaire posted at Money Smart Life, saying, “The Kung Fu Panda’s Guide to Personal Finance”

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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