Carnival of Financial Planning - May 24 2008 Edition

Welcome to the May 24, 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

Roshawn Watson presents Watson Inc: Budgeting Brings Order To Your Finances posted at Watson Inc, saying, “Barring extraordinary shifts (i.e. gas going up to $10/gallon), do you know roughly how much you will spend this year on clothes, groceries, and shelter? If coming up with reasonably accurate figures is challenging, perhaps the problem is lack of organization in your finances.”

David B. Bohl presents How To Become Wealthy byLiving Within Your Means posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “Many of America’s wealthy get that way - and maintain the lifestyle - by making smart decisions about what to spend their money on.”

Mike Leonard presents Gasoline, Groceries and false economies. It’s your call. posted at Until Debt Do Us Part, saying, “What do you need to survive? If you are in debt then where do your limited resources go? What should get priority? As always it depends on your particular circumstances but there are a number of key things to consider. If you are going to get out of debt you need to maintain a basic level of existence. You can’t simply turn off everything and sit at home in the dark eating crackers.”

Economics

Larry Russell presents The Financial Services Industry is Still the Largest S&P 500 Sector - Even after the Collapse of its Stock Values posted at THE SKILLED INVESTOR Blog.

Financial Planning

mmhabits presents The Problem with Risk Measurement Calculators posted at Millionaire Money Habits, saying, “Risk measurement calculators can be a fantastic tool, only if only they produced realistic results. Read to find out what this is all about.”

Keira presents 3 Ways to Weather Economic Cycles posted at Rich Leverage, saying, “This article describes how to use multiple streams of income, debt leveraging, and diversity to your advantage.”

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

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

Joe Manausa presents Short Sale Advice posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, “Some Short Sale Advice If you own a home that is highly leveraged (read that to mean that you borrowed as much money on it as you could sometime in the past three years) and you need to move for one reason or another, you need to know that you basically have four options right now:”

Financing Education

Mark Runta presents How to get financially smart – for free! posted at Smart Investing & Money Management.

Jonathan presents Everything you wanted to know about Fico Scores* | Master Your Card posted at Master Your Card, saying, “Hi, apologies if this is in the wrong category, I wasn’t exactly sure where to put it. Good luck with hosting the carnie this week! Cheers, Jonathan”

Income

The Shark Investor presents Push Your Income By Taking Freelance Work posted at The Shark Investor.

Investing

Leon Gettler presents Investor crystal ball gazing posted at Sox First, saying, “With the credit squeeze and soaring energy prices, it’s worth asking whether investors can see that far ahead. How do investors read trends and make the right calls?”

Dorian Wales presents The Personal Financier: Know your Portfolio - Three Simple Charts Can Make a World of Difference posted at Personal Financier, saying, “Portfolios change as investments change – make sure it still fits your goals and risk tolerance”

Lane Wright presents Compete with the Pros posted at Awesome Forex Alerts.

nickel presents How Much International Exposure Should Your Portfolio Have? posted at fivecentnickel.com, saying, “Vanguard’s view of how much is enough when it comes to international investing.”

retirehappy presents Strata of Mutual Fund Expense Ratios posted at My Retirement Blog.

FIRE Getters presents How to Turn $5000 into $22 million? Lessons From One Successful Individual Investor posted at FIRE Finance.

Aussie Investor presents Stock Analysis - Debt To Equity Ratio posted at Stock Market Investing For Beginners, saying, “When investing in the stock market, do you look at debt. Do you know how much risk you’re taking on through the borrowings of the stocks you own? This article discusses the debt to equity ratio. What it is, how to calculate it and how to apply it to your stock market investments.”

Dividends4Life presents Stock Analysis: Sysco Corp (SYY) posted at Dividends 4 Life, saying, “A detailed Stock Analysis of Sysco Corp (SYY)”

Clare Kierans presents The Benefits of Canadian ShareOwner posted at MoneyEnergy, saying, “Some points about a great discount broker…”

FMF presents The Only Seven Investments You’ll Ever Need posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Your entire portfolio in seven investments.”

Praveen presents How to Screen Stocks With Yahoo Finance posted at My Simple Trading System.

Steve Faber presents - Investing in Oil vs. Investing in Energy for the Future – Do Alternative Energy Funds Track Crude Prices? posted at DebtBlog, saying, “A look at weather or not the rising price of oil and coal is effecting alternative energy sector 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.

Walter W. Fouse presents Avoid Large Actively Managed Mutual Funds posted at Best No Load Funds.

Richard M. Rothschild presents The Best Mutual Funds Have NO Sales Loads and NO 12b-1 Fees posted at Best No Load Funds.

Frank Vertin presents Buy an S&P 500 Index Fund with Low Costs posted at NO LOAD INDEX FUND.

Larry Russell presents 7 Ways to Pick the Best Noload Mutual Funds and ETFs posted at Best No Load Funds.

Managing Debt

Big Cajun Man presents Debt is like Fat posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Debt build up is like obesity.”

Christopher Johnson presents Four Steps To Surviving Debt posted at christopheraaronjohnson.net.

Jeremy Zongker presents How to Stop Debt Collector Harrassment posted at Destroy Debt.

Miscellaneous

Hilary Green presents 10 Questions To Ask When Buying a Used Car posted at Cars for Girls.

youngsaver presents To Commute or Not Commute « Save to the Future posted at Save to the Future, saying, “The choice of commuting to work and the affect it can have on our budgets and our health.”

Hilary Green presents What Kind of Buyer Are You? posted at Cars for Girls.

Everything Finance presents Free Magazine: Global Finance posted at Invest In India.

Roshawn Watson presents Lacking Financial Integrity posted at Watson Inc, saying, “You must ask yourself if lack of financial integrity is the true motivator behind your financial decisions. If so, even the most brilliant tax advisers and crafty lawyers may not be able to save you.”

Retirement Planning

Todd presents FIRECalc Retirement Calculator Review posted at HarvestingDollars, saying, “Numerous online retirement estimate calculators are available today. Although simple calculators serve a purpose, FIRECalc provides advanced capabilities needed to customize and personal ones’ retirement plan. This calculator is definitely worth a look if you are serious about figuring out your real retirement number!”

Chris presents 9 Surefire Strategies NOT to Retire Early posted at nomad4ever.

Christopher Johnson presents Financial Planning For Retirement - A Must posted at christopheraaronjohnson.net.

Risk Management and Insurance

Vera Lang presents Senior Financial Planning and Life Settlement Investment posted at Be Safe Insure .com, saying, “When it comes to senior financial planning there are a lot of things involved. Of the many topics covered by this type of financial planning, life insurance settlements are sometimes dealt with and for good reason.”

Savings

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Where Should You Put Your Cash? 5 Steps To Safety posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thank you!”

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

Everything Finance presents Ways to Save money !! posted at Everything Finance.

Sally Thompson presents 100 Resources to Go to College on the Cheap posted at College Degrees.

Taxes

Ken Clark, CFP presents Rules for the Annual Gift Exclusion for Parents and Grandparents posted at Saving for College - About.com, saying, “A quick and easy guide to the $12,000 Annual Gift Exclusion.”

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.

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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