Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs
Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #145 – June 11, 2010
Welcome to the June 11, 2010 Edition #145 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 and Economics
KCLau presents Global Spending: How People Spend their Money posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Results from a World Bank study entitled Global Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures 2005 International Comparison Program spanning 2003 to 2008.”
Learn Save Invest presents The Best Financial Advice posted at Learn Save Invest.
Roshawn Watson presents Savings Down, Spending Up but What Does it Mean? posted at Watson Inc, saying, “New data suggests that Americans are saving less and spending more, as the vicious economic cycle repeats itself once again. It appears that despite proclamations that our newly-embraced frugality reflected a permanent change in behavior, frugality for many was a passing fad induced by momentary fear rather than a substantive shift in consumer spending”
The Financial Blogger presents May Net Worth Update (+13.5%!!!!) posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “with the recent sale of GLBL and the sale of our home, I am starting May with a big jump in terms of net worth.”
Super Saver presents Living on a Cash Basis was a Good Experience posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Living on a cash basis quickly taught me financial responsibility.”
The Skilled Investor presents Save More Money posted at Personal Finance Strategy, saying, “Budgeting and self-control in consumption is far more important than clever investing. Expenditure control and budgeting works, while “clever” investing usually is counter-productive.”
The Financial Blogger presents Why The Loonie Is As Strong as a Bear? posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “It has been more than a year that our Canadian Loonie has been beating on the greenback and we have now reached the moment when most economists predictions will become reality: the elusive state of parity between the Canadian and US dollar.”
Economics
Kaushik Chokshi presents World Trends posted at Beyond Karma, saying, “World trends point to a deflationary depression…”
Gal Josefsberg presents The Sunk Costs Idea posted at Equally Happy, saying, “This actually started out as a personal improvement post and turned into a personal finance one. However, I think the idea of sunk costs is applicable across many areas of life and not just finance. It’s a source of bad decision making that needs more awareness.”
Estate Planning
Jeff Rose, CFP presents Should You Do a Charitable Remainder Trust? posted at Jeff Rose.
Financial Planning
freefrombroke presents What’s My Credit Score Made Of? posted at Free From Broke, saying, “Knowing what the factors of your credit score are can help you maintain, or achieve an excellent score. A great score can save you thousands in the long run!”
Roshawn Watson presents Is It Wrong To Strive For Job Security? posted at Watson Inc, saying, “Many of us are striving for job security while simultaneously diminishing our likelihood of becoming financially independent and paradoxically becoming less secure as a result.”
Susan Howe presents How to Self-Diagnose Your Financial Health posted at Get Rich Slowly, saying, “Personal finance that makes cents. Here are recommended eight questions that you may ask yourself during your financial check-up.”
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.”
Joe Plemon presents Which Comes First: Earning or Saving? posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “The number one financial principle is to live on less than you earn. Right? Or do you need to get those earnings up first? This post helps the reader think it through.”
jim presents How Long Should I Keep Financial Documents? posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity
Frank Knight presents Roth IRAFinancial Software posted at Financial Freedom Plan, saying, “Whether to invest in a Roth IRA or Roth 401k versus their traditional retirement account alternatives is one of the most complex personal financial decisions. Roth accounts do not make sense financially for most people. They are a good deal, for a minority, but you need to do the analysis.”
Larry Russell presents No Load Mutual Funds posted at Top Index Mutual Funds, saying, “Superior past performance has simply not been shown to be a reliable predictor of superior future performance. However, low costs can lead you to the best mutual funds.”
Kim Luu presents Your Home is not an Investment or Retirement Asset Pt 1 posted at Money and Risk, saying, “A home as a retirement strategy is a big myth when there are no other backup.”
Financing a Home
Christian presents How to Trick Yourself Big Time with Home Appraisal posted at Money Obedience, saying, “The mere fact that we own something especially our house makes us think that it is worth a lot more than the market is willing to pay for it.”
Ryan @ MFN presents How to Apply for a VA Loan posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “A VA Loan is a great way to finance a home, but there are several steps you need to take before you can qualify for and obtain a VA Loan.”
MoneyNing presents How to Recast Your Mortgage posted at Money Ning, saying, “You may be able to reduce your monthly mortgage payment without any cost.”
Financing Education
Ryan @ MFN presents History of the GI Bill posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “A brief history of the GI Bill, one of the best ways for military veterans to pay for college.”
MoneyNing presents How to Use a 529 Plan to Improve College Savings posted at Money Ning, saying, “A 529 plan can help your college savings tremendously. Check out how the government can help contribute!”
Income
Mike @ Green Panda presents 10 Promising Sectors for the Next Decade posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “Choosing your career at the age of 20 is not an easy thing.Which jobs will be paid well by employers for the next 10 years? Here are my top ten picks (in no particular order) of the best sectors”
Control your Cash presents Goldman Sachs, and why should I give a damn? posted at Control Your Cash, saying, “Investment banking is intellectually challenging, risky, and should offer commensurate rewards. And when the bankers make the wrong decisions – charging too low a rate of interest, buying a security whose price then tailspins – they should eat the losses.”
Investing
jim presents Goldline Scam posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, saying, “Goldline has been in the news alot as gold prices continue to soar and legislators, specifically Anthony Weiner of NY, taking a look at their business practices. This begs, the question, is investing in gold through Goldline a scam?”
FMF presents Avoid the “Ring-of-Fire” Countries posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Avoid these countries if you want to make the most of your investments.”
Praveen presents Strategic Purchase By Abbott Laboratories Will Make It Largest Prescription Drug Seller In India posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “How Abbott Laboratories recently made a strategic purchase in India, which makes the stock valuable over the long term.”
Darwin presents Deflation Investments to Consider with Inflation Fears Out the Window posted at ETF Base, saying, “With deflation becoming a serious risk to the US economy, it’s worth considering these investments that would thrive in such an environment.”
mike presents How To Avoid RESP Withdrawal Penalties If Your Child Doesn’t Go To School posted at Mike
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.”
Zach Scheidt presents Express IPO Looks Good for a Bounce posted at ZachStocks, saying, “Express Inc. (EXPR) has traded down since its IPO earlier this month. The company is still primarily owned by a private equity firm who has a vested interest in making sure the stock price is stabilized.
Praveen presents Lichello’s AIM System posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “A look at Robert Lichello’s AIM stock investing system, which was popular in the 1970′s and then went out of style.”
Mike @ Green Panda presents Asset Allocation Basis Part 1: Know Your Asset Classes posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “You want to learn how to manage your asset allocation properly? You first need to know which kind of asset classes you can invest in! Today, I’ll first review the major asset class categories and in a second post, I will subdivide each of them, but let us just start with a definition of asset class and asset allocation:”
Frank Vertin presents Top Index Funds posted at Noload Mutual Fund, saying, “Top ten no load index funds that track the Standard and Poors 500 composite index in terms of lowest costs.”
Tomas Escent presents Stock Trading Automation posted at Nerds on Wall Street
Dividend Tree presents Dividend Investing and Businesses with Moat posted at Dividend Tree, saying, “In general, companies with moats in their business are very good dividend growth providers. However, the opposite may not be true.”
mike presents Should Financial Advisors Disclose Their Commissions? posted at Mike, saying, “Having financial advisers disclose their commissions may not help much.”
Alex Foster presents Understanding Risks in Investing posted at AF Capital Management, LLC, saying, “Alex takes a look at both sides of risk, upside and downside.”
Madison DuPaix presents Everything You Need to Know About Buying I Bonds posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “Here’s a great article breaking down I Bonds that new and experienced investors alike will enjoy.”
Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Paying Fees On Your Investments posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “Mutual fund fees are only one type of fee that impact investors returns. Lets highlight some of the different types of fees that every investor should be aware of.”
Silicon Valley Blogger presents TradeKing Review: How Does TradeKing Measure Up? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “I’m a TradeKing account holder and wanted to share my impressions of this brokerage.”
Sun presents 2010 SmartMoney Broker Survey posted at The Sun’s Financial Diary.
Marc Ryan presents Predicting future interest rates: is it time to throw out your bond ladder? – IndependentInvestor.info posted at IndependentInvestor.info, saying, “You have carefully built up a ladder of short, medium and long term bond investments, one that has served you well over periods of up’s and downs in interest rates. But recently your friendly brother in law came over for coffee and with an aura of authority tells you that interest rates are going up, its 100% certain, even his banker and broker are saying so to the press, in their investment letters and in interviews with the electronic media. Is it therefore time to liquidate that ladder you are so proud of, and go into cash until your brother in law later announces rates have peaked and it is now time to go back into bonds. Sound familiar? Don’t believe a word of it. And here’s why.”
2 Cents presents Ignorance Makes You a Better Investor & Other Money-Losing Fallacies posted at Balance Junkie, saying, “Here’s a rebuttal to an article that suggested investors should not pay attention to the stock market if they want to achieve better returns.”
Carlos Sera presents A Martini Tale; Financial Tales posted at Financial Tales, saying, “This tale, A Martini Tale illustrates the importance of Rate of Return in a way I hope you will not forget. It’s easy to get distracted into thinking other things are more important than Rate of Return. They aren’t. Keep your focus.”
Consumer Boomer presents How to Invest When Interest Rates Expected to Rise posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “What goes down, must come up-eventually. Short term interest rates have been at historic lows for quite sometime, so it’s expected that rates should go up soon.”
Zach Scheidt presents Solar Selloff Close To Exhaustion? posted at ZachStocks, saying, “Solar stocks are off sharply due to Euro-Zone concerns. Trina Solar could end up being an exceptional value if earnings remain somewhat stable and management is able to calm investor fears.”
Frank Knight presents Municipal Bond Financial Software, posted at Personal Finance Software, saying, “Municipal bond investments and your state and federal marginal income tax rates: Some investors hold municipal bonds in an attempt to reduce their tax burden. This article discusses the relationships between tax-exempt municipal bonds, bond market returns, marginal tax rates, and investment asset tax location.”
The Skilled Investor presents Market Timing posted at Investment Portfolio Management, saying, “Always stay invested to earn risk premiums. You must have your money invested and at risk to get risk premium returns. Jumping out and in or “timing the markets” doesn’t work.”
Patty Pedersen presents Fidelity Investments and Fidelity Funds posted at AlphaProfit MoneyMatters – Investing Blog, saying, “Read independent analysis, research, and reviews on mutual funds in Fidelity’s funds network to grow your 401k, IRA, and other accounts.”
Dividends4Life presents Four Stocks Raising Dividends and Expectations posted at Dividends Value, saying, “I am not a stock trader; I am a dividend and value based long-term buy-and-hold investor. When I add a stock to my dividend portfolio, it is my intention to hold the stock forever. I am not smart enough to time the daily gyrations of the stock market. When stock prices start dropping, our primal instinct of flight kicks in and we want to sell. In many cases that is the time to be buying.”
Miranda presents Why Buy Municipal Bonds posted at Personal Dividends.
Managing Debt
Big Cajun Man presents Found Money Trap posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Found money should go on debt no matter what!”
Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Get A Personal Loan posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Tips on how to get a personal loan.”
The Smarter Wallet presents Are Debt Counseling Services The Way To Debt Relief? posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “On debt counseling services.”
Learn Save Invest presents 5 Steps To Debt Reduction posted at Learn Save Invest, saying, “Here are 5 tips you need to master in order to reduce your debts.”
Miscellaneous
Super Saver presents Disputed Price Increase on Phone Bill and Won posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Last month, our phone bill was up 12%, with no changes made on our part. We disputed the increase and the phone company agreed.”
nissim ziv presents Resume Guide: How to write a Resume that Works posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “In this online resume guide you will learn the basics for creating your own professional resume – the most powerful marketing tool you may have for your job search!”
Pasadena Financial Planner presents Vanguard Investment Performance posted at Top Mutual Fund, saying, “Compares Vanguard’s actively managed mutual funds and Vanguard’s passively managed index mutual funds. Vanguard investors should read and understand this study.”
Ryan @ CML presents How to Sell Your Car on Craigslist posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Tips on how to quickly and easily list and sell your car on Craigslist.”
Joe Plemon presents To Buy or Not to Buy? The Cost per Use Method posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “It isn’t just the upfront cost that matters. You should also consider how much you use what you buy.”
Retirement Planning
Super Saver presents Our Three Financial Measures posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “We measure three values to determine our financial health: investment income, total savings, and total debt.”
FMF presents The Top Five Unexpected Costs of Retirement posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Here are five of the biggest retirement expenses we all need to plan for.”
Larry Russell presents Roth IRA Conversions posted at Best Financial Planning Software, saying, “Trying to decide about a traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversion without first having a comprehensive lifetime financial plan in place makes absolutely no sense. Without such a plan, you cannot figure out whether or not you are likely to achieve the tax savings in retirement that would warrant paying higher taxes now.”
PT presents Roth IRA CD: Tax-Advantaged Retirement Investing without the Risk posted at Prime Time Money, saying, “Stay secure and tax free with a CD within a Roth IRA. A safe and secure way to hold your tax free retirement money.”
Jules Wells presents Retirement Calculator-Retirement Savings Software, posted at Retirement Financial Planning, saying, “This article helps you understand the trade-offs between traditional and Roth tax-advantaged retirement plan contributions, including Roth 401k and IRA retirement plans. It helps with the 2010 Roth conversion decision.”
Risk Management and Insurance
Big Cajun Man presents Self Insured Company Disability Plans posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Sometimes insurance is not as safe as you might think (in Canada at least)”
Susan Howe presents The 20 most expensive vehicles to insure in 2010 posted at Insure.com, saying, “Insure.com unveils the 20 most expensive 2010 vehicles to insure.”
Ryan @ CML presents Flexible Spending Account vs Health Savings Account posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “HSAs and FSAs are a great way to use tax exempt money to pay for your health care costs. But do you know the difference between the two health care plans, or know which is best for your situation?”
Jessica Bosari presents Planning for the Worst: Getting the Most out of Life Insurance | billeater.com posted at Billeater, saying, “Term versus whole life insurance, getting the most out of your life insurance.”
Savings
Jim & Martha presents How to Save Money Booking Cruises posted at Wanderlust Journey.
KCLau presents Are You Rich in Internal Assets? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “pay attention to the internal assets”
Craig Ford presents 25 “Must Visit” Online Travel Sites For Planning A Vacation posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, “This post points out some important websites to help people save money on vacation.”
Taxes
David de Souza presents Bank Interest: Are You Paying Tax Unnecessarily? posted at UK Tax Blog, saying, “Are you paying tax on your bank interest? If you are you may be able to claim it back if you are on a low income.”
Financial Freedom Plan presents Roth IRA ConversionFinancial Software, posted at My Financial Freedom, saying, “The Roth tax optimization puzzle for asset conversions, as well as for annual Roth contributions during working years, is one of the most complex decisions that the ridiculously complex US taxation and retirement planning system forces upon individuals.”
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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