Canadian Finance Blog

Carnival of Personal Finance #320 – Plutus Awards Edition

Posted: 01 Aug 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Welcome to the 320th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance! This week’s edition happens to coincide with the first phase of this year’s Plutus Awards, where Flexo is looking for your suggestions for new categories.

Then starting August 15th, you’ll be able to nominate your favourite blogs and financial products. Those finalists will be announced and voting will take place over the first 3 weeks of September, with the winners being announced at the Financial Blogger Conference!

Editor’s Picks

Darwin from Darwin’s Money presents Is Storing Cord Blood at Birth Worth the Cost?, and says, “New parents will inevitably be propositioned to have a company store umbilical cord blood from their child’s delivery. Here’s how to assess whether cord blood banking is worth it.”

RJ Weiss from Gen Y Wealth presents 57 Shortcuts to Prosperity, and says, “When you choose to work with the mind, instead of against it, it's like taking a shortcut that only you know. From identifying triggers, to making bets with friends, this post covers how to make change easier, make fewer mistakes, and make managing your money a tad more interesting.”

Financial Uproar from Financial Uproar presents Athletes Are Not Overpaid. Stop Whining About It, and says, “How dare athletes get paid so much to play a game I’d play for free! I argue that athlete pay is high for good reason.”

Briana from Stupid Cents presents 7 Types of Insurance You Probably Don't Have, and says, “7 types of insurance your probably don’t have: Alien Abduction, Business Interruption, Inland Marine, Kidnap and Ransom, Pet, Pollution and War Risk.”

Teacher Man from My University Money presents Gas At All Time Highs? Could Have Fooled Me, and says, “The price of gas is highly regarded in news these days. Taking everything into consideration though…The price isn’t that high…”

Budgeting

Hank from Money Q & A presents Three Ways To Protect Yourself From A Debt Ceiling Default, and says, “If the US Government does not raise the federal debt ceiling limit by the August 2nd deadline, there will be serious repercussions felt throughout the American economy and around the world. But, there are a few precautions that you can take to shore up your personal finances.”

No Debt MBA from No Debt MBA presents The full cost of attending a wedding, and says, “We all talk about how expensive hosting a wedding is, but it’s also expensive to be a guest when you account for all the costs!”

Mike Piper from Oblivious Investor presents Do You Need an Emergency Fund?, and says, “At some point, does your portfolio become large enough that a separate emergency fund is no longer necessary?”

Matt Bell from Matt About Money presents How a Budget Leads to Financial Freedom, and says, “People who've never used a budget usually assume they’re about cutting back, tightening the belt, reining themselves in. For them, budgets are about less. But budgets are actually about more – gaining more knowledge of where your money is going, so you can be more proactive with your money, so you have more for what matters most. For some, a budget can even lead to more freedom to spend.”

Career

Mike from Green Panda Treehouse presents How Much Money Should You Save in Your Job Freedom Fund?, and says, “Are you saving for your freedom?”

Control Your Cash from Control Your Cash presents The money's sitting there. JUST TAKE IT!???, and says, “A Harvard English degree might be more profitable than one from Cal-Santa Barbara, only because of that ridiculous concept called cachet.”

Squirrelers from Squirrelers presents Workplace Benefits Changing: What Matters, and What Does This Trend Mean?, and says, “The amount of workplace benefits conveyed to employees has been changing in recent years. This post explores what truly matters, and discusses what these changes really represent to one’s financial future “

Credit

Jake Gibson from NerdWallet Credit Card Blog presents Bank Credit Cards: Explained, and says, “Many different companies issue credit cards. Here’s our rundown on how the credit card ecosystem works, how transactions are processed, and how everyone makes money along the way.”

Mike from Rewards Cards Canada presents Air Miles Credit Cards Review, and says, “The benefit of using Air Miles credit cards is that you can earn Air Miles with any purchase at any retailer regardless if they are an Air Miles sponsor or not.”

John from Wallet Blog presents Traveling Abroad? Save Big With A Credit Card, and says, “Credit cards have the potential to save international travelers as much as 15% on currency exchange according to a recent Currency Exchange Study by Card Hub.”

Debt

Money Beagle from Money Beagle presents Answering Readers: Why Not Pay Off The Student Loan?, and says, “Is there a right or wrong answer on what debt to pay off? Sometimes, but not always.”

Paula from AffordAnything.org presents Debt: Should You Use Reason or Emotion?, and says, “When repaying debt, should you stick to the rational strategy — repaying your high-interest debt first — or should you adopt the more emotionally satisfying strategy? Here’s a look at the effects of each.”

Ryan from Deliver Away Debt presents Different Types of Bankruptcy, and says, “No one likes discussing bankruptcy in any of its various forms, but knowing and understanding bankruptcy options can help you make the best financial decision for your current situation.”

Economy

Eric from Narrow Bridge Finance presents Open Letter to Rep. Mike Coffman, and says, “Our economy is on the brink of disaster, and I wrote my congressman a letter explaining why we need to raise the debt ceiling and quit these childish games. I am tired of the government playing political roulette with my money.”

Jeremy from Taking Charge presents Dancing on the (debt) ceiling: Will card rates really rise without a deal?

Bret from Hope to Prosper presents Wall Street Plummets on Debt Fears, and says, “The Republicans and the President are finally close to cutting a deal to keep the government from defaulting. But, the deal smells more like a ploy to avoid the problem until the next election than a serious attempt to control runaway spending.”

Frugality

Cathy Moran from Money Health Central presents War Against Food Waste: Me v. The Tree, and says, “Summer is the season of war against food waste when you have a fruit tree.”

Meghan from CreditDonkey presents Real Cost of Sleeping, and says, “You've done your research and found the nicest hotel that meets your family's budget for the upcoming vacation. But, when your bill comes at the end of your stay, you may be surprised at the actual cost of sleeping in your special rate hotel room.”

Mutant Supermodel from Mutant Supermodel presents Ten Challenges to Stimulate Your Savings, and says, “I am working hard at building a community largely aimed at single moms that addresses the common issues specific to us– loneliness, financial struggles, stress, trust issues, grief, negative stereotypes, etc. Having a post syndicated by BlogHer would tremendously help me achieving this goal and validate the unique situations single mothers face.”

Jen from Master the Art of Saving presents 4 Ways to Save Money on Greeting Cards, and says, “Most of us give out greeting cards fairly often and don't always pay much attention to how much they add up. Greeting cards are a great place to cut down or eliminate our spending. Some ways to save are easier than others and some are more meaningful than others. Let's check out some ways that we can save on greeting cards.”

Ken from Spruce Up Your Finances presents Donate or Sell Used Car?

FruGal from TotallyMoney presents How to clean your washing machine for pennies.

ElizabethG (Modern Gal) from Modern Gal presents Maintaining Frugal Behavior While Injured or Ill

Investing

Clint from Accumulating Money presents The 5 Safest Investments You Can Make Today, and says, “With the roller coaster ride that the stock market has been on and with seemingly every other investment vehicle going down the tubes, more and more people are desperately searching for the safest investments available. These options, while not necessarily a sure thing are about as close as you can get to a sure thing.”

D4L from Dividend Growth Stocks presents The Greatest Asset For Building Wealth, and says, “So, what is your greatest wealth building asset? Everyone is born with it. Few realize its importance until they lose most of it. The asset is so valuable it can’t be bought. Your most valuable wealth building asset is…”

Mike from Do Not Wait presents The Pension Advice Series: Asset Allocation for Your Pension Plan, and says, “Planning for your pension plan.”

IS from Intelligent Speculator presents How To Dump Dividend Stocks Before They Reduce Their Payouts

Div Guy from The Dividend Guy Blog presents Dividend Stock Battle: KO Vs PEP, and says, “We take a fun look at this stock battle.”

Dividend Growth Investor from Dividend Growth Investor presents Master Limited Partnerships: The Perfect Dividend Stocks, and says, “Master limited partnerships are able to pass most of their distributable cash flows to investors in the form of distributions. In effect, master limited partnerships are the perfect dividend growth stocks, as they pay above average yields and they also consistently grow distributions at least once per year.”

PKamp3 from Don’t Quit Your Day Job presents On Automatic Investments… and Coming Up Short, and says, “The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allowed companies to automatically enroll employees in 401(k) plans. However, there is danger in leaving your company’s initial deposit amount untouched…”

Sean Smarty from Grow Money presents How to Invest During College.

Diva from Diva In Debt presents Personal Finance iPhone App: Wikinvest, and says, “Diva in Debt shares one of her favorite personal finance iPhone apps: Wikinvest.”

Ryan from Outlaw Finance presents Is Boring Better? Index Funds 101, and says, “Defines index funds, looks at the differences between index and mutual funds and weighs the pros/cons.”

Jim Yih from Retire Happy Blog presents Predictions for Gas, Gold and Oil, and says, “Natural Gas, Oil and Gold are popular commodities these days are very topical headline stories in the investment world.”

Ben from Money Smart Life presents 6 Investment Costs You Pay to Play, and says, “A look at some of the costs of investing.”

Money Management

Dan Meyers from Your Life, Their Life presents Should I buy a new car? No, why new cars suck!, and says, “Many of us make the same bad money decisions and I am exception. I want to help others make better decisions before they get caught in a life of debt. One of these decisions is to not buy a brand new car!”

Mike from The Financial Blogger presents In One Year From Now, Will You Still Be A Rat?, and says, “How will you progress in a year?”

Mike from Experiglot presents Stop Driving Like a Jerk, and says, “A unique money saving tip is offered. Stop driving like a fool!”

Mike Ryan from NetWorthProtect.com presents Rely on Your Pension Plan? Think Again: States Missed Pension Targets by 50%

Nicole from Nicole and Maggie: Grumpy Rumblings presents August challenges: Money month!, and says, “August is money month at Grumpy Rumblings. We’re getting a hold of our financial lives. What should we be doing? Help us out!”

Big Cajun man from THE Canadian Personal Finance Blog presents Financial Lessons Learned from the Departed, and says, “What can we learn about financial planning and money management from Frank Costello of the Departed? You’d be surprised.”

Real Estate

Echo from Boomer & Echo presents Refinancing Your Mortgage: How Much Interest Can You Save?, and says, “There are a few reasons why you might consider refinancing your mortgage. You can take advantage of lower interest rates or consolidate higher interest debt.”

Money Thinker from Money Thinking presents Talking about the Housing Market, and says, “Money Thinker shares some observations about the housing market.”

Saving

Shawanda Greene from You Have More Than You Think presents 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Emergency Fund.

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey from My Personal Finance Journey presents My Personal Finance Journey Vs. The United States of America – Round 2 – What Interest Rate is Your Savings Account Earning?, and says, “Three months ago, I started running a poll on my blog seeking feedback on the following question – “what annual interest rate is your savings account earning?” This post details the results of the poll based upon reader votes and how the savings rate of My Personal Finance Journey readers compares with the national average.”

Jason from One Money Design presents Save Money on Car Repairs by Shopping at Your Local Junkyard, and says, “If you drive your car for a long period of time you might be able to save money by getting parts at the junkyard versus paying the dealer.”

Other

Amanda from My Dollar Plan presents How Much Money do you Spend on Bad Habits?, and says, “We all have our little (or big!) vices but how much are they really costing you?”

FMF from Free Money Finance presents Kudos To Discount Tire, and says, “I recently had a great experience with a company I was unfamiliar with.”

Eric J. Nisall from DollarVersity presents Better Alternatives To Making Cash Donations, and says, “Don’t have much spare cash? Have trouble trusting certain charities? There are alternatives to giving cash when you want to make an impact and help others.”

Jon from PT Money Personal Finance presents Don’t Let Love Destroy Your Finances, and says, “You can save yourself a world of hurt by avoiding these five faulty decisions.”

Nathan Richardson from ComplexSearch presents Do You Really Need That Much Life Insurance?, and says, “Life Insurance is something that many people feel they need. But just how much can they afford? Learn why you might be spending too much for life insurance.”

Carnival of Personal Finance #320 – Plutus Awards Edition originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on August 1, 2011.