Introducing the Carnival of Financial Planning
We spend an extraordinary amount of time earning money and a lot of personal time on backward looking tax and accounting matters. When these tasks are done, how much time and energy do you have left for forward-looking financial planning activities that could improve your future financial welfare? Most people would rather engage in leisure activities than do personal financial planning.
Given that personal financial planning requires personal time and clear thinking, it occurred to The Skilled Investor that a blog carnival dedicated to long-term personal financial planning would be welcomed by many. There already are numerous financially oriented blog carnivals and festivals, and many publish very useful articles about personal finance and investing. Therefore, the Carnival of Financial Planning will focus on long-term planning and hope to add value to the discourse in the blogosphere.
The Carnival of Financial Planning will take a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. This weekly blog carnival will focus on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.
The Carnival of Financial Planning invites the submission of “long-view” articles that help readers to improve their lifetime financial planning decision-making. We plan to publish a weekly carnival every Thursday. Bloggers: Click here to submit your financial planning article to our next Carnival.
In the weeks and months ahead, we expect that the Carnival of Financial Planning will publish links to many thoughtful and well-written blog articles. We welcome blogger submissions on the following topics and on anything else that might be germane, as long as the articles take a long-term personal financial planning view and, of course, are not spam:
BUDGETING, INCOME, AND SAVINGS PLANNING – including:
- earned income
- self employment income
- household budgets
- budget worksheets and budgeting software
- personal savings projections
BUYING A HOME – including:
- preparing for a home purchase
- home value and appraisal
- home buying tips
- buying an older home
- buying a vacation home
- home mortgage loans
- home equity loans
DEBT MANAGEMENT – including:
- debt reduction
- accelerated loan and mortgage repayment
- payment and interest calculator software
- mortgage refinancing
EDUCATION AND COLLEGE PLANNING – including:
- college savings and 529 plans
- student financial aid
- education grants and scholarships
- educational loans
- private school financing
FINANCIAL PLANNING METHODS – including:
- return on investment
- net worth
- net present value and future value
- compound interest
- inflation
- financial planners and financial advisors
- financial calculators
- financial modeling and projection software
- financial management software
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING – including:
- investment growth
- risk management
- diversified investing
- expenses and fees
- no load funds
- mutual funds
- exchange-traded funds
- index funds
- stocks versus bonds
- money market funds
- savings bonds
- asset allocation
- investment portfolio rebalancing
- passive management
- active management
- investment calculators and investment software
- broker dealers and stockbrokers
- rating services
RETIREMENT PLANNING – including:
- retirement savings and investments
- Social Security payments and benefits
- tax-advantaged retirement plans
- traditional IRAs
- Roth IRAs
- traditional 401k
- Roth 401k
- pensions
- Medicare
- health care
- retirement calculators and planning software
RISK MANAGEMENT – including:
- annuities
- life insurance
- health insurance
- long term care insurance
TAX PLANNING – including:
- federal taxes,
- state taxes,
- Social Security taxes,
- tax rates,
- capital gains tax,
- self employment taxes
Tags:
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Personal Financial Planning
- Diversify fully within asset classes – Step 4 of 10 Financial Planning Steps in the Right Direction (CLICK HERE TO READ THE SKILLED INVESTOR's OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT THESE "10 FINANCIAL PLANNING STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION."
Diversification is genuinely an investment “free lunch,” and it is a key contributor to improved investment risk management.
Diversification has become an axiom of personal investing, because the specific risks of businesses and other investment entities can be [...])
- Set your personal savings and other financial goals – Step 2 of 10 Financial Planning Steps in the Right Direction (CLICK HERE TO READ THE SKILLED INVESTOR's OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT THESE "10 FINANCIAL PLANNING STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION."
The single most significant financial lever that individuals control directly is their management of personal expenditures. The second is their lifetime effort to obtain sufficient income. Most people simply do not save enough of their current income [...])
- Insurable Risks Could Destroy Your Best Laid Financial Plans (
Do not ignore insurable risks that could destroy your best laid financial plans
A previous financial article, “The Solution - ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient,” suggested that investors are much better off with a well-considered financial plan. A stable set of financial beliefs [...])
- The Cost of Investment Counselors When You Pay Investment Sales Loads (
How expensive is financial advisor compensation paid via sales loads?
A sales load might be the method that you prefer to compensate your broker or advisor. If your advisor is truly competent and ethical, he may be able to manage properly the inherent conflicts of interest that are associated with commissioned investment product sales. Even if [...])
- Automated Tool Aligns Your Investment Risk Tolerance and Asset Allocation (
Check out this automated tool for aligning your investment risk tolerance and asset allocation - A Tip from The Skilled Investor
Your tolerance for investment risk is a relative thing. Few people like investment risk, but some can handle it better than others can. The more investment risk you are willing to tolerate, the higher your [...])
- Passive Index Investment Strategies are Superior (
Passive index investment strategies are superior, because they narrow the range of outcomes and lower your investment risk
A previous article, “The Solution - ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient,” suggested that individuals are much better off with a well-considered financial viewpoint. A stable [...])
- Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs (
Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs
Carnival of Financial Planning - Edition #127 - February 5, 2010
Welcome to the February 5, 2010 Edition #127 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 [...])
- Default under the Citibank Credit Card Contract (PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA - Part 6: Default under the Citibank credit card contract
This final article in this series discusses the seven conditions of default under the Citibank / ATT Universal card agreement.
It also expresses my opinions about contractual relationships in general and about the Citibank / AT&T Universal credit card contract in particular.
For [...])
- Developing Fund Authority Scores for ETFs and Mutual Funds (
Select mutual funds and ETFs with the most important economic factors that affect long term, diversified, and risk-adjusted investment fund returns
Good things are born small and grow over time. Regularly, The Skilled Investor evaluates individual mutual funds and ETFs and adds new articles that use the Fund Authority Score rating system. To be alerted when [...])
- 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 #176 - March 18, 2011
Welcome to the March 18, 2011 Edition #176 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 [...])
- August 9 2007 Edition of the Carnival of Financial Planning (
Carnival of Financial Planning - August 9, 2007 Edition
Welcome to the August 9, 2007 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 [...])
- Avoid High Turnover Mutual Funds and Active ETF Trading (
Avoid investment funds with higher investment portfolio turnover
The problem with high turnover is that higher fund trading adds substantial hidden expenses that drag down returns.
Because short-term trading is a zero sum game (before costs) played against other well informed traders, greater turnover is far more likely on average to result in lower fund returns instead [...])
