Kick-Ass Carnival of Financial Planning B

Watch out for the B!  Yaaaahh!

Budgeting and Economics

GMM @ Grad Money Matters writes Work Less and Earn More – Some of you may be baffled by this title, but it’s definitely not a typo.  It is absolutely possible to work less and earn more.  Let me give you a hint though, this probably won’t work too well if you try these methods at your full time job.

CAPI @ Creating a Passive Income writes 10 Reasons to Support Small Businesses – Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, yet people find themselves frequenting big box stores.  Here’s why you should support small businesses.

Brock Kernin @ Clever Dude writes Can I Take a Break From Thinking About Money? – I took a weekend off from paying attention to my finances with disastrous results.

Chris Topher @ This That and The MBA writes Easy Household Budget Strategies – Most people live paycheck to paycheck, and spend what they want whenever they want.  But if you keep up that pattern long enough, you’ll soon discover that the money runs out before you’ve paid all the bills, and there is never any left over for special purchases or holidays.

John @ Cough up the Dough writes Double glazing as an investment and cost cutting method – We take a quick look to see if double glazing really is a good way to save money on your heating bills.  Should it be seen as an investment as oppose to an unnecessary expense?  We discuss.

The Boss @ Like A Boss Blog writes A Young Adult’s Guide To Managing Your Money – If you haven’t been taught how to manage your finances yet, then try these guidelines to get you started.  Beware young ones, the longer you leave it, the less money you will have in the future.

“The B is kick-ass”.  Hit-Girl-Knife-kick-ass-17498180-1437-1182 by massimo ankor, on Flickr.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Career and Income

John S @ Frugal Rules writes Taking the Plunge: 1 Year Quitiversary – I have been officially running our own business for one year now.  I have learned many things over the past year, but most importantly that being self-employed is not easy but is incredibly rewarding and that fear can be a powerful thing.

Gary @ Gajizmo writes What Questions to Ask in an Interview? – With millions of new graduates flooding the job market as well as millions of already unemployed Americans, it is important that you take advantage of every part of the interview process when demonstrating you are the best candidate.  While most interviewees begin to relax during the end of the interview, knowing what questions to ask your interviewer may just give you a leg-up on the competition.

Daisy @ Suburban Finance writes Earn Your Degree Without the Debt – Do you currently know of someone that will soon graduate high school and will head off to college? I think every single one of…

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Post-Graduate Degrees That Pay – After you finish with your undergraduate degree, or even if you are close to finishing it, you might be considering going to graduate school to get your master’s degree.  While you might think this makes perfect sense, it is worth the time to take a moment and reflect on whether or not the additional schooling will pay off in the long run.

Tony @ We Only Do This Once writes Don’t Sell Your Soul for Work You Don’t Love – Why would someone continue to work if you didn’t have to?  It’s a mindset that is pretty pervasive in our culture.  People think that if you are still working that life is not working out as well as you would like.

Robert @ Kids Ain’t Cheap writes Prepping Your High School Grad’s Finances for College – Within the next few weeks, high school kids around the world will be prepping to embark on one of the biggest adventures in their life.  They will be leaving the comforts of what they know and preparing to attend college.

Dollar @ Easy Extra Dollar writes Various Ways of Earning Easy Extra Dollar without Exerting too much Effort – If you are a person who has a hobby of taking photos, or even a person with no interest in photography, you can use this method to make money online.  There are many sites where you will be able to earn easy extra dollar each week or even each time when you are able to refer a friend or a few family members to the site.

Debt and Credit

Michael @ The Student Loan Sherpa writes Meet Colleen: Learn the Cost of 7.25% Interest and Putting Children First – Colleen is a social worker and a voice to children in need, but her student loans make financial stability and a retirement a nearly impossible dream.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes What High School Never Taught You (And Should Have): Practicing Debt Management – High school usually neglects the basics of financial management, which is too important not to know.  We’re here to help with tips on debt management.

Grayson @ Debt RoundUp writes My Percentage Based Debt Payoff and Savings Rule – I am a big believer that you can save money while paying off debt.  I believe this because I did it.  Not only did I do it, but it also changed my money mentality.  I used an allocation strategy similar to retirement investing.

Investing and Saving

Jon @ Novel Investor writes The Feds Power of Words – The recent FOMC statement and hints of QE tapering is a perfect example of the amount of power the Federal Reserve holds just by using words.

Dividend Growth Investor @ Dividend Growth Investor writes Dividend income is more stable than capital gains – Dividend income has remained more stable than capital gains.  Since 1977, the dividend income for S&P 500 has experienced declines in only 4 out of 34 years.  As a result, it is no surprise that the predictable nature of dividend payment amounts is appealing to investors in retirement.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes It’s Time to Take Advantage of Remote Working – Remote working has been in the spotlight recently thanks to a leaked memo from the Yahoo! offices.  The company once had a very liberal view upon remote working, though now the company has stated “we need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together”.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes 15 Weird Ways Companies Have Raised a Buzz in Marketing – See all the different creative marketing strategies businesses are using nowadays to reach out to more customers.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Ideas to Save on Dentistry? – Mr. BFS’s phobia of dentists came back to cost us once a few years ago, and it gets worse.  He needs major dental surgery and it is going to be expensive.

Michelle @ Diversified Finances writes Sources of Passive Income – Many people get into the rental market as a form of passive income.  Depending on how you want to define passive income, rental income may or may not be included as a passive choice.  However, for the sake of this post, we will say that rental income is passive.

Green Panda @ Green Panda Treehouse writes How and Why to Host Your First Yard Sale This Summer – Saturday morning doesn’t have to equal hangover.  Well it can.  But you can also host yourself a yard sale one of these Saturday mornings.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Why Are Younger Workers More Interested in Saving for Retirement? – The current financial climate has brought plenty of uncertainty with it for workers young and old.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes How I Started Investing in the Stock Market – Since that first stock market simulator years ago, technology has come a long way.  There is a website, Olim Dives, which combines social media AND investing.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes Six Months In: Have You Failed in Some of Your 2013 Financial Aims? – If you remember, around three months ago we looked at how your financial goals might be shaping up for the year.  We tend to start a New Year with good intentions in many ways, not least of which is the financial sense.

Tushar @ Finance TUBE writes You Want To Give Your Child The Best of Everything, But Should You? – As parents we want to give our kids the best of everything.  We want to give them all the things and advantage as possible but should we?  One blogger I follow often talks about how difficult her childhood was, her parents are at work and they are routinely short on food.

Mike @ Personal Finance Journey writes 5 Investment Tips for Becoming Financially Secure – 5 investment tips anyone can follow on the path to becoming financially secure.

Mr. Frenzy @ Frenzied Finances writes Commuter Cons: Reducing Pesky Commute Costs – Though it can be expensive, there are some inventive ways that those with a long commute can use for reducing pesky commute costs.  Read here for some tips.

Irfan @ Everything About Investment writes Top 10 Warren Buffett Investment Strategies – What lessons can we learn from Warren Buffett’s Investing strategies?  Whether you like him or not, his investment strategies are the best, which made him one of the richest people in the world.  Warren Buffett‘s investment advice or his investing strategies are priceless and if you can grasp these strategies you should do well as an investor.  We know there are other investment strategies out there, but his strategies are both easy to follow and have been successful for several years.

Robert @ Cult of Money writes How to Invest Your Cash After a Windfall – Landing on a large amount of money is a great thing if it is handled correctly.  If it is used beneficially, you could be well on your way for retirement or financial independence.  However, if used irresponsibly you could look back with regret and nothing to show for it.  When investing large sums of cash, there are a few key items that need to be considered.

Risk Management and Insurance

Philip @ PT Money writes An Expert Interview About Long Term Care Insurance – PT Money talks with expert Wendy Boglioli about long term care insurance.  She answers questions about when to buy, what to buy, and where to buy this type of insurance.

Thomas @ Finance Inspired writes Should you be a guarantor for your childs auto insurance? – With auto insurance getting ever more expensive for the younger, newly qualified drivers, we investigate a new trend emerging, becoming a guarantor for your child, is it really worth it?

John @ OurInsuranceCanada.com writes Car Insurance Quotes – If there is an accident where property damage or injuries take place, insurance can help defray some of the costs associated with them.  If people were not required to carry at least a minimum of insurance, the costs to the country would be astronomical.

Real Estate and Property

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Pre-Approval vs Pre-Qualification – Ready to shop for your new home but do not know where to start?  It’s time that you analyze your stand as a buyer before you make an offer on any house.

Brent @ PersonalFinance-Tips writes How to earn the most from your property – If you have a property you are not living in currently, you could rent it out and make yourself some money, either towards paying the mortgage or other living costs.

Retirement and Taxation

Roger Wohlner @ The Chicago Financial Planner writes Are Retirement Rules of Thumb Useful? – Are retirement rules of thumb such as the 4% rule surrounding sustainable retirement withdrawal rates and the 75% rule that address the percentage of your working income that you may need to replace in retirement valuable retirement planning tools?

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes How Much Should You Have on Your 401k When You Retire? – Are you looking forward to your retirement?  If you are then that’s good news.  That means you are looking forward to still having some income by then.

Alice @ Hurricanes, Panties & Dollars writes The pterodactyl retirement plan – An interesting conversation, a plan to trap a pterodactyl and waking back up in the real world.  Plus a fun, catchy video and perhaps a little talk about retirement.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes Stop the Government from Stealing My Retirement! – Stop the government from stealing my retirement!  There is little known provision of Social Security called Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) that reduces your benefits.  If you receive a pension based on earnings from any organization outside of Social Security and Social Security benefits, you will become familiar with this provision very quickly.

MMD @ IRA vs 401k Central writes Taking an Early Withdrawal from Roth IRA Contributions – You’ve heard you can take an early withdrawal from Roth IRA contributions after five years, but did you know there are specific rules that come with it?

Ray @ Squirrelers writes Mandatory Savings vs. Mandatory Financial Education – There has been discussion about mandatory saving.  Should we keep our freedom to be responsible (or irresponsible) with money and get more financial education instead?