Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Financial Planning - Edition #93 - June 13, 2009

Welcome to the June 13, 2009 Edition #93 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

Peter cantelo presents Cash Flow in a Crisis - Top 4 Financial Steps In a Recession posted at vivavi.co.uk.

Pasadena Financial Advisor presents Financial Planning Reading List posted at Pasadena Financial Advisor, saying “When I work with clients to develop their customized lifetime financial and investment plans, they often ask what they should read to improve their financial literacy. This article provides a list of recommended reading from among the many hundreds of articles that I have authored in the past several years.”

Economics

Dorian Wales presents Stress Tests and Capital Adequacy Explained posted at The Personal Financier, saying, “The highly anticipated FED stress test results may very well serve as fuel for further gains or, more likely in my opinion, as a sought after excuse for turning the tide (in the short run).”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Avoid Foreclosure: Keep Your House In Troubled Times posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”

Britannica Blog presents NY Times: “Buy American” Is a Terrible Idea posted at Britannica Blog, saying, ““It’s not surprising that Democrats in Congress could not resist adding a “Buy American” provision to the fiscal stimulus bill earlier this year. It might seem sensible (or at least politically useful) to ensure that taxpayer dollars would be used exclusively to support American jobs.”

Dorian Wales presents On Causality and Correlation in Economics posted at The Personal Financier, saying, “Causality is perhaps the most fundamental element of empirical evidence available to economists. However, it is also the source of many misconceptions due to its elusive nature.”

Estate Planning

Tushar Mathur presents Getting finances in order posted at Everything Finance, saying, “Keeping organized records is a gift to your family and to yourself. It helps ensure that your wishes are followed, that your assets are accounted for, and that your money is available to meet your family’s needs in a timely fashion.”

Financial Planning

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Do You Need Long Term Care Insurance? posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Do you need long term care insurance? When should you but it and how much should you get?”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Best High Interest Savings Accounts In Online Banking posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”

Tushar Mathur presents How to choose a financial planner posted at Everything Finance, saying, “There’s retirement to plan for and college tuition for the kids. Insurance. Estate planning. And, oh, don’t forget a wedding for your daughter. If all this sounds familiar, it may be time for you to start shopping around for a financial planner.”

MoneyNing presents Coupon Tip - Making Sure It’s Always Available posted at Money Ning, saying, “Sometimes, a simple tip can really save you tons of money.”

KCLau presents Why Robert T. Kiyosaki is a best-selling author? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Robert T. Kiyosaki is the best personal finance author I follow. I started reading his books back in 1999. Although some reviews you found written by readers on Amazon say that he keeps repeating most of the points, I still find them interesting every time. It works as a revision whenever he repeats.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Prevent Identity Theft: Some Credit Report Monitoring Services and Options posted at The Digerati Life

Manish Chauhan presents Early Investor , Smart Investor posted at Smart Investor.

Jeff Rose presents Cash Your Social Security Check Now Not Later posted at Jeff Rose.

Financing a Home

Alex Fotopoulos presents When is it Smart to Refinance a Mortgage? posted at My Trader’s Journal, saying, “Some key points to consider when refinancing your home.”

Financing Education

SpendOnLife.com presents Vanishing Financial Aid Leaves Students in the Lurch posted at SpendOnLife, saying, “SpendOnLife examines the current landscape of financing higher education. With applications for financial aid up and availability down many students are forced into making tough choices that will affect the rest of their lives.”

Health Care

Carl Stevens presents Three Ways to Find Affordable Health Insurance posted at Three Ways to Lower Your Health Insurance Premium, saying, “We address how you can lower the cost of your health insurance premium (i.e. the monthly payment) without changing your type of health insurance (e.g. HMO or PPO) or level of coverage.”

Income

Craig Ford presents Turning a Hobby into a Source of Income posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, “Offers eight practical ways to turn a hobby into a source of income. The post address issues from deciding what to sell to how to price the items. This is not about starting a new business, but earning a few extra dollars by doing something you love.”

DebtLite presents 64 Thought Provoking Quotes on the Meaning of Money posted at School Loans.

KCLau presents The Most Common Habit of Rich People posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “About the common habits of the rich”

FMF presents The Most Useful Thing Students Can Do to Prepare for the Job Market posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “The one things students should do to prepare themselves for the job market.”

Praveen presents Easy Ways to Generate Cash posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “Easy ways to generate extra cash”

Investing

Tushar Mathur presents Long Term Investing posted at Everything Finance, saying, “Investing has its own language and understanding it can make it easier to be a confident investor. Two common terms you hear when people talk about investing are “bid” and “ask.” Here’s an explanation of what they mean.”

Praveen presents Three Stock Picking Ideas From Forbes Magazine posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “Three Stock Picking Ideas”

Frank Vertin presents Just Buy Index Funds Directly posted at No Load Index Funds, saying, “Buying an S&P 500 index fund through an investment counselor can substantially increase your initial purchasing costs and and drive up your annual management expense fees. Unfortunately, the vast majority of individual investors buy mutual funds and ETFs through brokers and investment advisers. Rarely do financial advisors recommend that you buy index funds with low fees. This is because low cost, no load mutual funds do not pay them as well as loaded, high fee mutual funds.”.

ABC presents Investment Time Horizons for Retirees posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “Discussing investment asset allocations and time horizons for retirees.”

Craig Ford presents Why I Fired My Financial Advisor posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, “Explores the factors that led me to self-directed investing.”

Larry Russell presents 7 Ways to Pick the Best Noload Mutual Funds and ETFs posted at NoLoad Mutual Funds, saying, “Taken as a whole, the vast body of investment research studies show that there really are better approaches to buying and owning mutual funds and ETFs. You do not need to frantically chase fund performance. Performance chasing simply does not work.”

Four Pillars presents Asset Allocation - Include Future Contributions? posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “Can a small investor ignore asset allocation?”

Alex Fotopoulos presents SPY Chart - Premarket posted at Chart Analysis, saying, “Chart of the large S&P 500 ETF, SPY. Alex analyzes the SPY chart using trend lines, moving averages and the Williams %R indicator.”

Praveen presents Successful Trading is About More than Generating A Buy Signal.. posted at Stock Trading Riches, saying, “When buying stocks, your initial purchase is the least important part of successful investing. Your return is determined by how well you manage the trade - i.e. knowing when to add to your position and when to take profits.”

Zach Scheidt presents LDK Rides Solar Wave - Up 21% Wednesday posted at ZachStocks, saying, “LDK Solar was up 21% on Wednesday after announcing progress on its polysilicon production plant. Solar stocks are sharply higher due to government stimulus plans and rising oil an natural gas prices.”

Wally Fouse presents 7 Ways to Pick the Best Noload Mutual Funds and ETFs posted at Best Index Funds, saying, “The vast body of investment research studies show that there really are better approaches to buying and owning mutual funds and ETFs. You do not need to frantically chase fund performance. Performance chasing simply does not work.”

Four Pillars presents Transfer In Kind posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “An explanation of transfering your investments “in kind”.”

Richard M. Rothschild presents Low Cost Taxable Bond Mutual Funds posted at Best Bond Index Funds, saying, “The top 14 low cost taxable US fixed income funds with a $10,000 or lower initial deposit. Low investment management fees are very important with fixed income funds. Simply put, if you pay higher bond mutual fund fees, then these bond management expenses tend just to be a deadweight loss to you. When you pay more in bond mutual fund fees, you are just wasting your money.”

Zach Scheidt presents Bankruptcies, M&A, and Playing Defense posted at ZachStocks, saying, “A discussion on current economic reports and their effect on the markets, Bank stress tests as a catalyst for selling, and defensive strategies to protect your portfolio from losses.”

ABC presents Stock Prices Do Not Represent Stock Value (or Company Value) posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “A lower priced stock isn’t “cheap”.”

JJ presents Practicing Frugality with Finesse posted at Investing and your Future, saying, “Frugality is the blending together of quality without wastefulness to make the most delicious combination of consumption.”

Dividends4Life presents Equity Returns Are Driven By Reinvested Dividends posted at Dividends Value, saying, “It is well-documented that a significant portion of the historical equity returns are a result of reinvested dividends. Performance in any given year was driven by capital appreciation, but long-term returns were largely the result of reinvested dividends.”

Praveen presents Options Basics posted at Stock Trading Riches, saying, “A blog reader asked me this question: Can any one explain about options trading in a simple manner?”

ABC presents Investment Time Horizons for Retirees posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “A short and concise analysis of retirement asset allocation possibilities.”

Praveen presents Sometimes You Bend Your Trading Rules… posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “Taking an early profit to ease your comfort during a volatile market.”

The Smarter Wallet presents Stock Market Index Analysis: Predicting An S & P Reversal posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thoughts on the stock market. Will this prediction come true?”

Curt presents The Last Shoes To Drop, The Bond Market Begins Its Long Evaded Crash posted at PennyJobs.com.

Managing Debt

Super Saver presents We’ve Achieved Zero Debt posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “We paid off our mortgage and became 100% debt free.”

KCLau presents Do You Have a Wedding Debt? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Most couples want to begin their married life auspiciously and free from the problems. However, it is not uncommon to hear about married couples who go into debt just to get married. Article explores the reasons.”

Jim DeSantis presents Don’t Be A Sucker! Avoid These Debt Consolidation Scams! posted at Emotions and Credit at On Line Tribune, saying, “The web communications revolution has provided many unprecedented opportunities for commerce and, unfortunately, quite a few opportunities for swindlers to prey on the gullible. This is just as true for debt consolidation and scams to fix your credit score as for anything else. Here are some debt consolidation scams to stay away from.”

Four Pillars presents Is Dave Ramsey A “Financial Expert” posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “A discussion of Dave Ramsey and his methods.”

Miscellaneous

Money Saving Advice presents Payment Premium Insurance (PPI) to be axed by the big banks posted at Money Saving Tips, Consumer Finance, Expert, Advice and Help | Talk Money Blog, saying, “The Financial services Authority (FSA) has fined banks and lenders for the mis-selling of Payment Premium Insurance (PPI) and for failing to treat their customers fairly. Payment Premium Insurance cover (PPI) is sold to borrowers to cover them against the risk that they may not be able to pay their monthly payment on a credit card balance, mortgage or personal loan; due top ill health, accident or redundancy.”

Retirement Planning

ABC presents Safe withdrawal rate for retirement funds - 4% rule posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “How much can you withdraw from your portfolio in retirement? The 4% safe withdrawal rule explained.”

Super Saver presents Planning to Retire Later also has Risks posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “The option to continue working is no longer easily controlled by the employee.”

Jeff Rose presents Company Is Going Bankrupt. What About My Pension? posted at Jeff Rose.

Risk Management and Insurance

Home Life Weekly presents Best Auto Insurance Companies in the United States Top 10 posted at Home Life Weekly, saying, “As we all know auto insurance is something that we really all need, however the cheapest quote is not always the best auto insurance quote in the long term. Especially when you have to make a claim. Only when you have paid you insurance do these problems come to light. So here is a top 10 auto insurance companies which perform best overall”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Lower Your Car Insurance Rates! How To Cut Insurance Premiums In Half posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “I offer some suggestions and tips for lowering your car insurance and keeping your car related costs (and budget) to a minimum.”

KCLau presents Bad Experience of Car Insurance Claim posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “a story of bad experience with vehicle insurance claim”

MoneyNing presents 20 Different Areas to Think About for a Cheaper Auto Insurance Policy posted at Money Ning, saying, “Insurance is something we usually forget, yet we pay quite a bit for it regularly. If you can spend a few minutes and save big, why not?”

Jeff Rose presents Tips To Prepare For Your Next Medical Exam posted at Jeff Rose.

Jim DeSantis presents Blog Carnival posted at Free Family Budgeting eBook from On Line Tribune, saying, “Have you thought about providing financial security for your children in case they are seriously injured in an accident of any kind? The possibility of an accident putting your child in a wheelchair for life, is not one that anyone likes to think about. But, not thinking about the possibility does not take that chance away.”

Savings

MoneyNing presents How to Save Money on Your Wedding posted at Money Ning, saying, “We go through the big day at least once but many people think it’s one of the most expensive days of our lives. Here are some tips that will help reduce the expenses of this important day.”

KCLau presents Easy Pawn Shops - Do you need to Pawn? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Pros and cons of pawning”

Four Pillars presents 397 Ways To Save Money - Squawkfox Book Review posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “397 Ways To Save Money - Book review on Squawkfox.com’s new release!”

The Skilled Investor presents Most Individual Investors Are Poor Personal Portfolio Managers | Personal Investment Management posted at Personal Investment Manager, saying, “Investors more easily understand investment costs that are directly measurable, such as fees deducted on investment statements. However, many investors ignore or are unaware of the opportunity costs of their sub-optimal investment behaviors. Opportunity costs are usually much more difficult to measure directly, but these investment costs can be even higher than more visible investment fees.”

Four Pillars presents Save Money With Zero Percent Balance Transfers posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “Zero percent balance credit cards can save you interest and money.”

Taxes

rajeev presents Hassle Free Health Insurance Claim posted at Investment and Personal Finance, saying, “It is a post highlighting the ills of investing in Unit Linked Insurance Plans just for the sake of tax saving.”

Barb A. Ryan presents Asset Allocation, Investment Asset Tax Location, and Emergency Cash Management posted at Independent Financial Planner, saying As you move your cash, bond, and stock financial assets into lower cost, more broadly diversified investment mutual funds and/or ETFs, you should also consider how to locate your investment asset allocation with respect to more optimal taxation. This article will discusses some ideas about where and how to hold your cash assets and how to make emergency cash available.”

MoneyNing presents Let Businesses Deal with Sales Tax - Government Improvement Series posted at Money Ning, saying, “Government really needs to improve on somethings and I say to let businesses deal with sales taxes!”

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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