Carnival of Financial Planning

Welcome to the Carnival of Financial Planning!

This is where I get a chance to give a shout out to all the other awesome bloggers out there.

Be sure to check out some of the awesome posts below.

BUDGETING AND ECONOMICS

Liana @ Card Hub writes Get Ready for More Confusion in the CheckOut Lane Between Prepaid Cards & Gift Cards – The prepaid card race is on. Greendot/UniRush, Amex/Walmart, who is next to make a partnership? But be careful, the marketing can be confusing when you go shopping, and a prepaid card should not be mistaken for a gift card.

Savvy Scot @ The Savvy Scot writes Economies and 12 Crazy Disney Facts you Never Knew – SavvyScot discusses the plans for the new theme park in the UK and reveals 12 crazy facts about Disney that you didn’t know

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes HOW TO START A BUSINESS; Reader Question – Start a business now. Set goals, put into action, follow up.

Bill @ Budgets Are Awesome writes How to Save Money on an Enterprise Rent-A-Car Rental – I found a way to get the weekly rate when you rent a car for single days. This trick can save you $50 or more on car rentals.

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes What is the Fiscal Cliff and Why Should I Care? – We are looming on the fiscal cliff. Here is a little basic information about what it is and why it is important for your life.

Teacher Man @ My University Money writes My University Money Interactive Student Budget – My University Money is proud to offer its own unique original resource with its interactive student budget. We understand that you’re busy and don’t have time to fuss around making excel spreadsheets (all you accounting students out there aside), so we went ahead and set up a colour-coded model that even an humanities guy like me can figure out!

John @ Wallet Blog writes What is Reverse Redlining (And is Morgan Stanley Guilty of It)? – it’s hard to build wealth if someone is actively trying to take it away. But, is Morgan Stanley really guilty of reverse redlining? The ACLU seems to think so.

CAREER AND INCOME

Miranda @ Financial Highway writes How to Make Money – Even the best of times, one of the most common questions asked is, “How to make money fast?†While an increase in income can ease the way things work in your personal economy, it won’t necessarily solve all your problems. You will still need a plan for the wise management of your financial resources.

Rich @ Growing Money Smart writes Is Beating the Median Income Levels Keeping You Poorer Than You Should Be? – Is beating the median income level statistics keeping you from achieving wealth, and keeping you poorer than you should be? Are you content to just do a certain percentage better than the middle income levels? Read why you shouldn’t be complacent about money!

krantcents @ KrantCents writes I Will Only Work for Fun! – I will work for fun or I won’t work! Over the years, I have seen various signs such as work for food, beer, $ dollars, satisfaction, fame, money or the joy of working. Too often these words are meaningless. If you do not enjoy what you do, you should quit! That’s right, quit your job.

Rohit @ http://themoneymail.com/ writes How to Set Goals and achieve them – Going beyond the SMART framework – How often have you set goals and not managed to achieve them? You have heard of the SMART goals to set goals, let go a step further and see how to achieve them.

DEBT AND CREDIT

Shannon McNay @ ReadyForZero writes The Anatomy of a Credit Report – Do you avoid your credit report because you don’t know how to read it? Credit reports are complicated and that’s why we’re sharing a complete breakdown of how to read them – so you can learn exactly what you need to do to take action and increase your credit score.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes How I Paid off $6,000 In Credit Card Debt – Paying off debt is no easy task. Learn how I paid off over six thousand dollars in consumer debt and finally escaped to freedom!

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Wells Fargo Offering Free Credit Check Through Nov. 15th – Not all big banks are evil. Wells fargo is giving free credit scores and credit reports for a month!

Liana @ Card Hub Blog writes Merchants to Banks: Take Your Settlement and… – Now, when final judicial approval is all that stands between the settlement of an anti-trust agreement between a contingent of merchants and Visa, MasterCard, and a number of major banks over alleged collusion in setting credit card swipe fees over the years, many of the merchants involved are getting cold feet. What could this mean for how we handle our spending?

INVESTING AND SAVING

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes The Beginner’s Guide To Tax Efficient Investing – Taxes are an unfortunate side effect of successful investing. You can set up a tax efficient investing strategy to help lower those taxes over time.

ETZ25 @ Entertainment Timez writes Stock AIG Purchase Update – Well we took the plunge and purchased some AIG stock! We believe it will be a strong stock in the future, and hope that it at least doubles in the next five years!

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes 10 Ways to Save on Holiday Travel – I’m sure you have all noticed that holiday stuff is everywhere now.

Jennifer Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Willow Bay, Here We Come – I am not dead, just zipping along in the car on our way to Willow Bay, Pennsylvania for two days of autumn camping fun. Will attempt to provide more tales from the tent as the weekend progresses. Have a superb Friday, everyone.

Shawanda @ You Have More Than You Think writes 3 Semi-Easy Ways to Boost Your Credit Score (and Get a Free Credit Check) – my position on borrowing money has shifted a bit. Two years ago, I would’ve ended my answer with “before I knew better.” No buts. No qualifying statements. Y’all know me. Debt freedom is worth far more than a depreciating asset I can’t afford. Heck, I struggle with taking out a mortgage to buy a modest home.

Michelle @ The Shop My Closet Project writes How to Ride A Bus-Why are you so freakin’ scared? – Why should you learn how to ride a bus? Well, I’ve listed some reasons in the post. Let’s get a couple of things out of the way before you freak out on me.

Div Guy @ The Dividend Guy Blog writes Clorox CLX Dividend Stock Analysis – We take a detailed look at this stock.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Would You Rather…Buy a Second Car or Travel? – Would you rather buy a (second) car or have a nice annual vacation? What means more to you and why?

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes How Families Can Save Money Around The Home – The cost of living is still on the increase for Britain, with pay rises failing to keep up with the cost of inflation. In August, inflation stood at 2.5 percent, while the average employee benefitted from just a 1.5 percent yearly pay increase.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes AT&T Upgrade Fee Is a Poke in the Eye – Why does AT&T charge an upgrade fee to existing customers? Learn how to get it waived.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Setting Up Your Investment Strategy – It’s important to remember the rules of smart money management when deciding where to invest your nest egg.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Could That Happen to Me? – ESPN showed Called Broke, it was about pro athletes who went broke after making more money in four or five years than most people make in their lifetimes.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes How to Ask For a Raise – The below post is a guest post. I work in the public sector where we can’t ask for raises. Well – we can, but we would be denied.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Why I Love Being a Landlord – Read why I love being a landlord! Perhaps you’ll consider taking the plunge too.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes How to Earn More on Your Savings – Here are a few tips to try and considerations to bear in mind when saving money in any kind of savings account.

Sam @ Money Management Blog writes How to Compare Management Fees for Funds – Two free tools can help you pick the best mutual funds and ETFs based on fees. Lower fees increase your returns.

Jake Thompson @ BecomingYourOwnBank.com writes 5 Reasons I Don’t Invest In Mutual Funds – Are mutual funds really the best place to put your money? You may be surprised to learn that mutual funds may not be the golden goose you thought they were. With a lousy track record, scams and corruption, and many retirees having to work longer from losses, you may want to rethink your investment strategy.

RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE

Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder writes Unable to Keep Health Care Plan – Effective January 1, 2013, Sears and Darden employees will no longer be able to keep their health care plan despite President Obama’s promise, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”

Colin Williams @ humble savers writes Body Mass Index (BMI) and Insurance – What You Need To Know – Why insurance companies want to know what your Body Mass Index (BMI) is

REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes 5 Tricks to Help you Cut your Telecom and Utility Bills – If there was one word that could sum up our decade so far, it would be austerity.

TB @ Blue Collar Workman writes Should You Go Against Fire Code When a Client Asks? – Sometimes property and business owners hope to save some money by side stepping building codes. Can this be done? Should it be? Will it save money in the long term?

Colin Williams @ humble savers writes Property Investment – Tips, Mistakes and Traps – Property investment tips to follow along with mistakes and traps to avoid.

RETIREMENT AND TAXATION

Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents writes Financial Planning for Your Retirement – Thinking about retirement when you’re young is hard, as I’ve detailed in my recent post about my possible retirement. I of course want to live comfortably and not worry about money when I’m older. I also want to travel a lot (hopefully my health is relatively good) and I have some sort of income coming in that is passive.

IMB @ Investing Money writes Common Investing Mistakes – Find out if you are making these common mistakes and what you can do to increase your retirement funds.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Class Warfare Heats Up – With President Obama continuing to call for those making over $250,000 to pay their fair share of taxes, class warfare is heating up just in time for the election.

Roger Wohlner @ The Chicago Financial Planner writes Can I Retire? – It may be phrased differently, but the question that I am most often asked by perspective clients is: Can I retire? A simple question but the answer is not always so simple.

Wealth Effect Blogger @ www.YourWealthEffect.com writes how rising gas prices and inflation in general has essentially become a tax on the poor – This looks at how inflation impacts those with finanical resources differently than those without financial resources