Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs
Carnival of Financial Planning - May 2, 2009 Edition
Welcome to the May 2, 2009 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, Editor
Budgeting
Raj Patel presents Thrifty is the New Frugal posted at DebtGoal, saying, “An article challenging the idea that personal financial management is “not about price. It’s about the whole value proposition.”"
Tristan presents Frugal Living Tips posted at Find Financial Freedom, saying, “A few easy tips to save on your monthly expenses without compromising on your monthly fun quota!”
Writers Coin presents Time Is Money: Budget Them Both Out posted at Wise Bread, saying, “Time is money, so shouldn’t we budget our time just as carefully as we budget our money?”
Barry presents How To Have A Baby Amid A Recession? posted at Associate Money.
kathryn presents Stretch the Budget for a Family Vacation posted at Out of Debt Christian, saying, “Expenses are tight and most people are looking at cutting the family vacation to help make ends meet. Vacations can be very expensive, but with a little planning, a lot of research and some creativity the family vacation can also be very affordable.”
Silicon Valley Blogger presents The Dave Ramsey Budget: Budgeting Tips For Successful Savers posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”
Pasadena Financial Adviser presents Financial Planning Reading List posted at Pasadena Investment Adviser, 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 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.”
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).”
Estate Planning
Jeff Rose presents How To Stretch Out an IRA For Your Beneficiaries posted at Jeff Rose.
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
The Smarter Wallet presents Prevent Identity Theft: Some Credit Report Monitoring Services and Options posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Should you monitor your credit? The pros and cons of doing it yourself for free or of subscribing to a service that does it for you.”
Patrick @ Military Money presents Financial Planning For Military Families posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “Financial planning tips to help families prepare for emergencies and other life events.”
Rags presents Sales: Are They Really the Bargain They Seem to Be? posted at From Rags 2 Riches, saying, “This post takes a closer look at the money that is spent on sales to see if we are actually saving money or if we’re being tricked into giving away our hard earned riches. It covers some of the general cases that we as a consumer may encounter and provides an example of what an impulse buy may look like.”
Mike Pastore presents You Need an Umbrella Policy to Become a Millionaire | www.mikesmillions.com posted at Mikes Millions.com.
jim presents How To Get An Experian Credit Score posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
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.”
Financing a Home
C Richey presents Hope for Distressed Homeowers posted at News - Las Vegas Real Estate by Jacqulyn Richey, saying, “Information on the Obama administration’s plan to save homeowners from foreclosure.”
Luke presents How Much House Can I Afford? posted at Frugal Real Estate, saying, “One of the biggest mistakes you can make in the world of real estate is biting off more than you can chew. That is, buying too much house for your budget. While determining how much house you can afford is not an exact science, there are some guidelines to keep in mind when house shopping”
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
Finance Tips 101 presents What You Need to Know about Academic Scholarships posted at Finance Tips 101.
Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Upromise Review posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Earn free money for college savings with rebates from UPromise. The money can be used for college savings, current college expenses, or repaying student loans.”
Investing
nickel presents What is a 529 Plan? posted at fivecentnickel.com, saying, “In general terms, 529 plans com in two flavors: pre-paid tuition plans, and college savings plans. In this article, I’ve put together a thumbnail sketch of each type.”
The Smarter Wallet presents Technical Trading Indicators Predict That The Stock Market Rally Won’t Last posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thank you”
Manshu presents Gold ETF: iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU) posted at OneMint, saying, “iShares Comex Gold Trust ETF is a ETF that holds physical gold and is a good proxy for investing in gold directly.”
Brandon Rowe presents Positive Earnings News for Citigroup posted at Bromoney Internet Banks
Frank Vertin presents Just Buy Index Funds Directly posted at NoLoad Index Fund, 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.”.
Dividend Tree presents Asset Allocation and Diversification | Dividend Tree posted at Dividend Tree, saying, “investor’s need to realize that investing is a long term process. The two or three years is a very small time period and does not reflect the true benefits of the asset allocation and diversification.”
Dividends4Life presents Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Increases Dividend For 47th Consecutive Year posted at Dividends Value, saying, “Thursday, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) declared a 6.5% increase in its quarterly dividend rate. JNJ is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.”
Investing School presents Investor Mistakes - Constant Refresh posted at Investing School, saying, “Most of us love the real time information provided by our stock brokers but it really doesn’t help us much to look at it every day (or worst yet, several times a day). This article explains why.”
Zach Scheidt presents Synaptics Staying Ahead of Expectations posted at ZachStocks, saying, “Synaptics Incorporated (SYNA) manufactures touchscreen and touch pad technology used on iPhones and laptop mouse applications. The company is beating estimates and the stock should offer an exceptional opportunity.”
Verna Morris presents The Ultimate Guide to Leveraged ETFs: Their Uses, Their Risks, and More posted at ETFdb.
Dave presents Where Should I Put My Money? posted at Cheapo Groovo.
Zach Scheidt presents A Wild Trade on Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) posted at ZachStocks, saying, “Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) has had an extremely profitable run. ZachStocks offers a hedge fund type trade to profit from excessive optimism surrounding the stock.”
Alex Fotopoulos presents DIA 3 Month Chart - April 29, 2009 posted at Chart Analysis, saying, “Alex charted the Dow Jones tracking ETF, DIA, this week and highlights where near term resistance could surface.”
ChristianPF presents The basics of investing | Video posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “This video is essentially the dummies guide to investing…”
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.”
Richard M. Rothschild presents Low Cost Taxable Bond Mutual Funds posted at 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.”
Walter 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.”
Larry Russell presents 7 Ways to Pick the Best Noload Mutual Funds and ETFs posted at No Load 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.”
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.”
Managing Debt
Big Cajun Man presents Best Financial Advice Ever posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Great advice I got from my Dad.”
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.”
Miscellaneous
Jeff - StretchyDollar presents Don’t Envy Debt posted at StretchyDollar, saying, “I used to envy the possessions of the people around me. I felt like I was missing out on some big money making secrets. Then, I realized that most people were going into debt to make these purchases, and they had to deal with that. I didn’t have the debt, and I didn’t need what they had - I was happy!”
Super Saver presents A Career Fair Disappointment posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “As the economy has worsened, so has the quality of career fairs. I plan to be much more selective in choosing which career fairs to attend in the future.”
Rob presents Learn a lesson with the Power Hog posted at Energy Saving Gadgets, saying, “Teach your kids a valuable lesson about the cost of energy.”
Retirement Planning
Brian Reilly presents 2009 Is A Horrible Time To Sell My Business-You Could Be Horribly Wrong posted at Merger and Acquisiton Advice, saying, “Is 2009 a great time to sell your business?”
Michael Gvirtzman presents Retirement Planning and Net Worth Calculation Tool posted at Mind Listings, saying, “Start your retirement planning as soon as your career matures. The article suggests an Excel tool for retirement and estate planning.”
Jeff Rose presents Good News on Required Minimum Distributions For 2009 posted at Consumer Boomer.
Jacob presents Interview with Modern Gal posted at Early Retirement Extreme, saying, “An interview with Modern Gal whose retirement story is similar to my own.”
FMF presents Is the 401k to Blame? posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “It isn’t the 401ks fault.”
Risk Management and Insurance
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?”
KCLau presents Bad Experience of Car Insurance Claim posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “a story of bad experience with vehicle insurance claim”
Savings
sherin presents Be a money saving expert by improving your skills posted at THE MONEY MANIAC, saying, “Major areas to have knowledge to save money easily”
PFP presents Financial Planning Tools posted at Independent Financial Planner, saying “Your personal savings rate is the single most important personal financial planning lever that you control directly through your lifetime efforts to earn income and to manage personal expenditures and your family budget.”
MoneyNing presents What Drives You to Be Frugal posted at Money Ning, saying, “The reason why I’m frugal is not strictly about necessity. What is the real reason for you?”
The Skilled Investor presents Most Individual Investors Are Poor Personal Portfolio Managers | Personal Investment Management posted at Personal Investment Management, 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.”
Taxes
Jeff Rose presents Surviving an IRS Audit — Tips for Small Businesses posted at Jeff Rose.
Barb A. Ryan presents Asset Allocation, Investment Asset Tax Location, and Emergency Cash Management posted at Fee Only 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.”
Madison presents Solar Energy Tax Credit: Will You Install Solar Panels? posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “An investment in solar panels could pay for itself based on the new tax credit.”
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.
Technorati tags: carnival of financial planning, blog carnival.
No comment yet