Carnival of Passive Investing Site Now Ready!

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Interested in receiving a free $25 Amazon gift card? Click here to sign up for my Cheapskate Jake “Cheapskates Need Love Too” giveaway!

Great news everyone! After polishing off some final details, I am pleased to announce that The Carnival of Passive Investing’s official site is now finished, and can be accessed at the link below! If you have a second, drop me a comment in the comment window to let me know what you think of the look!

www.CarnivalofPassiveInvesting.com/

If you are a passive investing fan or are curious to learn more, be sure to follow the action by following us on Twitter, Liking us on Facebook, signing up for our RSS feed, or subscribing for email updates. Don’t you love all of these new fangled methods of staying in touch? No iPhone or Droid App for this one yet! haha


Also, if you have missed the first and second editions of the Carnival of Passive Investing, you can read up on the great articles featured at the links below.

#1 – Hittin’ The Open Road Edition
# 2 – Jim Cramer Rants Edition

***Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of http://library.virtualnorfolk.org/public_documents/0222BF6D-000F8513.0/books.jpg

Does Debt Settlement Hinder or Help Your Credit Repair Goals?

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Interested in receiving a free $25 Amazon gift card? Click here to sign up for my Cheapskate Jake “Cheapskates Need Love Too” giveaway!


Today’s guest post comes to us from Ed O’Brien, who specializes in credit repair. His blog, Credit Repair, offers free advice on preparing yourself for a financially responsible future.

There are more options for handling debt matters and repairing credit these days than in years passed. But, with the multitude of options available, consumers often get stuck deciding which resources are the best tools for eliminating debt and getting credit back on track – and rightfully so.

There are a number of pros and cons to each type of debt relief resource that is available, and it is important for the consumer to be clear on how different methods affect credit repair goals.

Debt Settlement: A Popular Option


One of the less complicated methods for eliminating debt is through debt settlement. This option has some serious considerations that go along with it because there are two distinct ways to settle outstanding debts.

Not all consumers understand that within the debt settlement process, there are options for accomplishing the task. This is a very important first consideration because one method involves paying a significant price for the process. For those in debt, every penny needs be accounted for.

Option One – Third Party Assistance


There are many companies legitimately handling debt settlement cases. These agencies have counselors that are skilled in negotiating the settlement of debts to your creditors for less than the balance owed in most cases. Because of their working relationship with a variety of creditors, many are able to secure not only a lowered settlement amount but also reduced interest rates, elimination of late payment fees and stoppage of penalty fees.

The debt counselors often offer additional debt management assistance for the debtor to help get finances back on track once high debts have been paid off. The caveat to debt settlement agency help is the high cost often associated with the help. Usually, a percentage of the debt involved in the settlement program is required for help. Additionally, it is important to note that not all agencies are working on the up-and-up, meaning consumers sign up for help and not only end up paying a high fee, but their debt issues only increase as well.

Option Two – The DIY Method


One of the biggest factors with the do-it-yourself debt settlement method is that consumers rarely realize they have the power to do the same thing as the debt agencies, but they can do it for free. Settling debt is certainly no small task but it is an achievable goal that can be accomplished through effort and regular follow up.

Consumers need to gather the information concerning the debts that may be settled including credit cards, medical bills, and other loans. There are some limitations on what debts can be settled for less than you owe including your mortgage, vehicle loans, etc.

Once the total debt has been tallied, a budget needs to be constructed so the consumer knows where they stand financially and how much money they can offer toward settling the debt. Then a call to the creditor is made to negotiate the debts, the reduction in interest, and the elimination of penalties. Even if consumers are not skilled negotiators, they still have the power to deal directly with creditors. Provided a consumer knows how much they can afford to pay to settle the debt, they have the necessary tools to stick with a negotiation. Most creditors are willing to work with customers struggling through financial hardships and believe that getting some money back is better than getting nothing at all.

How Will It All Affect My Credit?


Debt settlement involves the negotiation of your total outstanding balance. Creditors will allow customers to payback a percentage of their debt under the provisions that the payment will satisfy the debt obligation. This is the good news part of the equation. The bad news is that while you are able to get rid of the legal hold of a debt by settling, your credit can take a significant hit in the short-term. Creditors will typically report back to the credit reporting agencies that a debt was ‘settled for less than owed’ or some similar terminology. To other lenders, this credit report data relates that you did not completely satisfy the terms and conditions of your original agreement and therefore are a risk.

While the short-term ramifications of debt settlement do have a negative consequence on our credit scores and histories, the long-term gain after time has passed is significant. Once debt has been eliminated and you are no longer legally obligated to make additional payments on the debts, money can then be allocated in other financially beneficial ways, such as establishing a savings account, planning better for retirement, and doing better than just living paycheck to paycheck.

Credit scores will drop during the debt settlement process but the goal is really more than just paying off debts. The real achievement is learning from past mistakes and avoiding debt settlement and other issues in the future. By taking the steps on your own or with the help of a qualified debt settlement counselor, you can learn a lot about where you were and where you want to be in your personal financial life.

How about you all? Have you used third party assistance to settle debt? Did they offer services that you felt you couldn’t provide yourself? Do you feel it is a rip-off? Share your experiences by commenting below!

Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this article.

• @The two different methods of debt settlement – I feel that for the majority of people, third party debt settlement assistance is VERY MUCH NOT NEEDED. In fact, I feel that it just further complicates the facts of what needs to be done – they need to get their game plan together to pay off money. Period. The end. Calling around to find a debt settlement agency is only going to take additional time and incur more costs.
• The majority of people looking to reduce their debt I believe fall in to to the category of having debt, and are getting by all right by making the minimum monthly payments, but realize that they are never going to get rid of their debt that way.
• However, if someone is severely in debt, and simply unable to make their minimum payments and put food on the table, then, I believe that credit counseling and third party assistance would be in order.
• @How debt settlement affects your credit score – In my experiences, people who are going through debt elimination/settlement do not particularly care what their credit score is. They simply are looking to stop spending and decrease their debt. In their mind, enough of a hit has been taken to their credit score, that it isn’t of much importance to them.
  

***Photo courtesy of http://www.infinitecredit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/debt-settlement-300×244.jpg

Festival of Frugality #268 – Cheapskate Jake Edition – February 15th, 2011

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Welcome frugal personal finance students! Thanks for stopping by.

$25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! – "Cheapskates Need Love Too" Edition

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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For those of you that missed My Personal Finance Journey’s 1st ever giveaway ($10 BP gift card), it was a huge success and was even more fun to put on!

Thanks to everyone for participating. Lethea (the big winner), just emailed me today to let me know that her $10 BP gift card is on the way in the mail! Congrats!

Since we had so much fun with the 1st giveaway, let’s do another, shall we?! This time, we’ll be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card. This giveaway is made possible by one of my Yakezie friends, Barb from  Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance. Barb runs one of my favorite investing personal finance sites because she shares logical investing strategies that can followed by normal folks like you and me. Please stop by and visit!

The theme of this giveaway will be to commemorate the exciting kickoff of the Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblings guest posting series on My Personal Finance Journey.

For those of you that missed the introductory posts (see links below to the first two Frugal Ramblin’s in the series), Cheapskate Jake is one of my “re-fined” friends from my home state, Arkansas. In this series, he will share with us his own unique version of frugal living tips. I hope you can stop by from time to time on my non-giveaway days to read what he has to say!

• # 1 – How To Get a Free Running Training Program
• # 2 – Free Continuing Education With Seminars At Your Local University

How To Enter In The Running To Win The  $25 Amazon Gift Card – Entry ends March 7th, 2011 at 11:59 PM

To enter the running for the $25 Amazon Gift Card, simply follow the instructions below.

1) Write a comment on this post below, sharing a story and/or the practices of the cheapest cheapskate (person) you know if your life. Some examples are listed below to get those creative juices flowing!

 Example 1: “My mother is so obsessed with saving money on electricity that she UNPLUGS the clocks when going to bed. Who needs to tell time while they sleep, right?”

Example 2: Or…”One of my friend’s dad’s sets the AC on 85 degrees F in the Texas summers. It’s so hot in that house that I can barely keep my eyes open!”

Example 3: “My boyfriend sneaks bottles of liquor on to the cruise ships because he doesn’t like to pay for drinks on the boat. He empties a bottle of brown mouth wash, fills it with whiskey, and then even adds mint food flavoring to make it smell like mint mouthwash.”

2) Be sure to include your email address so that we can contact you to notify you if you win! Limit one entry per person.

3) When the giveaway is over 3 weeks from today (on March 7th, 2011 at 11:59 PM), I will select the top 10 stories/comments and send them to our two judges, Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff and Sandy @ Yes, I Am Cheap (see more information below). They will then rank each story on a scale of 1-5, and the commenter with the highest score will win and be notified by email!

Have fun and please contact me if you have any questions!

About Our Distinguished Judges (Both from the Yakezie Group)

Crystal @ Budgeting In The Fun Stuff

Budgeting In The Fun Stuff is about the musings of a late-twenties woman, Crystal, who lives in Houston, TX with her husband and two dogs. Both her and her husband were raised by financially savvy parents who taught them the ins and outs of personal finance early on. Despite mistakes, their emergency fund and budget helped them reach their goals while having a good time too!

Sandy @ Yes, I Am Cheap

Yes I Am Cheap is about the financial journey of a 32 year old woman, Sandy, in a long term relationship and up to her ears in some serious debt. Follow along on her site as she begs, borrows and steals, ah, tries to figure out different income steams, while reducing her debt and building her savings. Enjoy!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.gift-card-direct.com/images/corporate-gift-card-25.png

Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblin’s # 2 – Get Free Continuing Education With Seminars at Your Local University

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Greetin’s my fellow cheapskate kin! It’s your good friend, Cheapskate Jake, here on this fine mornin’ we’re havin’ today to bring you my 2nd frugal ramblin’.

That’s right! There was such a good response to the first ramble, that Jacob actually let me come on his blog twice in one week. See, he does have a heart after all!

Note: For those of ya’ll that missed the first posting in this series and are unacquainted with me, you can read about the details in the introductory post at the link below.

Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblin’s

As usual, I’m comin’ to ya today from a computer lab in Little Rock, Arkansas because we don’t get that high-speed internet stuff out at my home in Frugal Holler’.

The topic of today’s Ramblin’ is continuing education through seminars. 

Since I didn’t know what continuing education was before today, I had to look it up in the only research source I ever use, Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, continuing education is education for people outside of the traditional schoolin’ age.

Since I didn’t make it past the 5th grade, as you can imagine, I would just about rather take a double dose of the clap than have to learn anything else. But, I know that Jacob has a lot of overachievers readin’ this here tablet, so I wanted to fill ya’ll in on a cheap way to keep those educational juices flowing after you start working.


There is a very good untapped source of FREE learnin’ to be had from somewhere ya’ll may never have wanted to see again – your local university.

What’s this source of learnin’, ya’ll might be askin’? It’s called a seminar!

For some reason, these academic types like to talk about all kinds of thought-provokin’ things in these seminars. And many a time, they are very cutting edge and can be beneficial to know for the average joe/jill like you and me! Even better yet, they are free!

How Do You Find Out About Seminars Offered At My Local University?


While this sounds all well and good, you’re probably wonderin’ how exactly you can find out about these educational happenins’. Lucky for us, these institutions have made it very easy to find out about these seminars because the people presenting actually WANT to get their new ideas out to people.

The best way to start is by doing a Google search for “University Name + subject area + seminar.” If that doesn’t fetch ya’ what ya’ want, you can then find the academic department’s website that you are interested in (example – Finance department), and then look for a list of upcoming department “events.”


Example

For example, say you lived in the town where the University of Arkansas is located, and were interested in learning more about finance. To find a list of the seminars offered by the finance department at the University of Arkansas, simply type in “University of Arkansas finance seminar” in Google, click enter, and off you go!

You then get taken to this page, which lists out the location, time, date and subject of upcoming seminars. Looks like there’s a really cool looking seminar coming up in April about something called, “The Halloween Effect,” where higher stock returns are gained in November-April than the rest of the year. That looks mighty right interestin’ all right. I might have to load up the buggy and go up the road to listen to that.

I just hope the wife, Inez, will let me have a night off from the kids. She’s been mighty busy with her wrestlin’ refereein’ these days.

How about you all? Have you ever attended any sort of continuing education classes or seminars at your local university? 


Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://qis.ucf.edu/img/photos/classroom.jpg

Comcast Tried to Pull A Fast One On Me

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In a recent post on this site, I talked about how Fidelity was up to some of their normal tricks again by 1) trying to lure me away from my current investment house (Vanguard) with a less-than-enticing offer, and 2) spending more money to execute/mail out a failed promotion, thus further proliferating the need for their higher mutual fund fees than Vanguard.

In light of my recent experiences with my high-speed internet account, the same would have to be said for Comcast, my internet provider.

In  my mind, Comcast is somewhat of a necessary evil. Each time that my promotional offer pricing period expires with Comcast, and it is time to renegotiate my price (if you don’t renegotiate and ask for a discount, the price of the same internet service doubles generally), I always investigate options for other internet service provider companies.


Background

After purchasing my condo for graduate school in August of last year, I signed up for a $30 per month special promotion for a “Performance” internet package with Comcast. The time period of the offer was 6 months.

So, when February came around this year, an automatic reminder popped up on my Outlook calendar to call and renegotiate my pricing plan. If I were to continue with the same internet package after the promotional period expired, the pricing would have reverted to the normal $60 per month.

In my mind, paying $60 per month for internet is just unacceptable (a belief which I made sure to express to the Comcast rep upon calling to ask for a discount – see below for more details).

The Call(s)

(This title reminds me of the Backstreet Boys song – see clip below for a little laugh to remember years past! Or maybe these were years that we would rather forget..haha)

Call 1 – 

The automatic reminder on my Outlook calendar popped up during the last week of January. So, the day after it showed up, I called Comcast’s “lovely” customer service department.

Upon calling them and giving the details of my account, I mentioned that my promotional internet pricing period was expiring, and inquired if they had any new promo offers to make available to me.

“YES,” the service rep said enthusiastically. “If you sign up to receive phone, cable TV, and internet service as a bundle, we can offer the internet portion to you for just $20 per month!” “What a deal,” I was thinking to myself. (rolling eyes to back of my head)

I then proceeded to tell the rep that the bundle wouldn’t work because I use Netflix instead of paying for cable TV each month. Naturally, I then asked if there were any promotional offers for internet alone. She said NO.

Upon hearing this, I then said that I would rather discontinue my service and share internet with my neighbors than pay $60 per month. I gave her one last chance to find a way for me to pay less than $60 per month, and then hung up the phone, mentioning that I would be inquiring with their competitors about transferring my service to another company.


Investigating The Competitors


Remember when I said that Comcast is a necessary evil? Well, it really is true. In looking around the internet, I discovered that the only providers in my area for internet (besides Comcast) were 1) NetZero, and 2) CenturyLink.

However, in looking in to these companies’ plans, I found out that both required that I have a land line phone hooked up in my condo. Since I use my cell phone for all of my calling needs, these options would simply not work either.


When I was almost ready to give up my search, I came across a (coincidentally) fairly hard-to-find page on Comcast’s website that listed all of the levels of internet packages available (see link below). And, low and behold – listed on this page was the Economy package for only $40 per month. Now, that is more to my liking as far as price ranges go!!!! 

Comcast Internet Packages


Call 2 – 

To take advantage of this pricing program/internet package, I knew that all I need do is call up Comcast and request to downgrade my account (tip – the calling waiting time to talk to a service rep is 10x shorter if you press the button to “change service on your account” rather than “inquiry about billing”).

So, the next day, I called Comcast, and it went very smoothly getting them to downgrade my plan!

Beware – Brief Rant section 

WHY DID THEY NOT TELL ME ABOUT THE ECONOMY PRICING PLAN WHEN I CALLED UP THE FIRST TIME? WOULDN’T THEY RATHER KEEP ME AS A CUSTOMER AND HAVING ME PAY $40 FOR A LOWER PACKAGE?

I just don’t understand it!!!

Some More Details of My Experiences With Comcast

While I living/working outside of Philadelphia last year, I signed up to get Comcast’s high speed internet service. As expected the installation technician came to my condo, and hooked up my cable modem to Comcast’s system.

However, after he left, he marked down that the modem was Comcast’s property, and that I would be charged $5 per month to rent it from them!

Somehow, due to my obliviousness, these rental charges slipped by unnoticed for the 8 months that I lived in Pennsylvania. When I was preparing to make the move to Virginia to start graduate school, Comcast said that I needed to return the rented modem.

I then proceeded to tell them that NO, it is my modem. I bought this from Shentel, my previous internet service provider.

To make a long story short, I actually ended up having to get Shentel and Comcast talking to one another to prove that the modem was mine (Shentel was good enough to have the MAC-ID number in their computer system still, identifying the modem).

So, to recap, there a couple of things (shown below) you all can learn from my experiences from Comcast:

• Know your options for what services your utility/service providers offer.
• Keep track of your promotional pricing offers, and follow up to ask for additional offers and discounts.
• Examine your service statements with a fine-tooth comb, and don’t be afraid to challenge errors that the company makes.

How about you all? Have you had an experience recently when you felt ripped off? Does anyone have any good/bad Comcast experiences they want to share!?


Share your experiences by commenting below!


***Photo courtesy of http://mycabletvsucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/comcast-sucks.jpg

Carnival of Financial Planning #172- Stories of Past Lottery Winners – February 12, 2011

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Welcome to the February 12, 2011 Edition #172 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 and Economics

MoneyNing presents 6 Ways to Avoid the Temptation to Eat Out posted at Money Ning, saying, “Do you always want to eat out? Here’s how to avoid always spending too much on food.”

The Skilled Investor presents How to Save More posted at Personal Financial Strategy, saying, “Budgeting and self-control in consumption is far more important than clever investing. Expenditure control and budgeting works, while “clever” investing usually is counter-productive.”

Moneyedup presents Save Up For College By Earning Extra Money posted at MoneyedUP, saying, “Whether you plan to foot the entire bill, or whether you plan to just help out in some specific areas, chances are that you will need to save up some money to help pay for kids’ college”

Financial Planning

N.W. Journey presents Understanding Your Financial Values posted at Networth Journey, saying, “Your 
financial values affect how you spend your money.”

Michael Pruser presents Is CNN’s List of Least Evil Banks Accurate? posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “CNN recently released a list of the least evil banks but that title is pretty inaccurate.”

Michael presents More Responsibilities With Less Pay posted at Consumerism Commentary, saying, “Seems backwards but with the tough job world out there, many employees re finding this idea a reality.”

Frank Knight presents Strategic Asset Allocation posted at Best Personal Financial Planning Software, saying, “When you are already there and invested in an asset class, you are following a passive asset allocation strategy. Tactical asset allocation strategy advocates suggest that you can anticipate the crowd, but flow-of-funds studies show that almost all tactical asset allocation fund flows are late money flows that chase performance after valuations have already moved.”

Jessica presents 401(k) Rollovers posted at MomVesting, saying, “When both of the original accounts were denied rollover, so Christa had to investigate the 401(k) rules to determine their best strategy. Take a look at what they found.”

Larry Russell presents No Load Mutual Funds posted at Best Index Mutual Funds, saying, “Superior past performance has simply not been shown to be a reliable predictor of superior future performance. However, low costs can lead you to the best mutual funds.”

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Financing a Home

Mike @ Green Panda presents First House Related Expenses posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “Costs for your new home that you should expect.”

Financing Education

Jim Yih presents Investment strategies for Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) posted at Retire Happy Blog, saying, “With an RRSP, you might have money in an RRSP from the day you start working to the day you die. That could be 50 or more years. With the RESP, the timelines are much shorter – typically 15 to 25 years at the higher end.”

Income

FMF presents Free Money Finance: 25 Toughest Interview Questions of 2010 posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “When you interview, you should be prepared for almost any question. This post lists some of the more “out there” questions you might get.”

MoneyNing presents What Would You Do with a Million Dollars? posted at Money Ning, saying, “I know what I would do with a million dollars. How about you?”

FMF presents Six Tips for Job Hunting in Secret posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “How to job hunt when you don’t want anyone to know that you’re doing it.”

The Financial Blogger presents TFB Monthly Income Report posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “My full income report.”

FMF presents How to Decline a Job Offer without Burning a Bridge posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “How to say “no thanks” to a job offer and still keep a solid relationship.”

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Past Lottery Winner Story # 2

William “Bud” Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security. “I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare,” says Post.

A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. It wasn’t his only lawsuit. A brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit a share of the winnings. Other siblings pestered him until he agreed to invest in a car business and a restaurant in Sarasota, Fla., – two ventures that brought no money back and further strained his relationship with his siblings. Post even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt.

Post admitted he was both careless and foolish, trying to please his family. He eventually declared bankruptcy. Now he lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps. “I’m tired, I’m over 65 years old, and I just had a serious operation for a heart aneurysm. Lotteries don’t mean (anything) to me,” said Post. He died on Jan 15 of respiratory failure. (Story from http://www.oddee.com/item_95629.aspx)

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Investing

Arjun Rudra presents How To Adapt Your Investing Approach To Changing Market Cycles With Eden Rahim, Portfolio Manager at Jov Investment Inc. posted at Investing Thesis, saying, “Highlighting the importance of adapting your investing approach to changing market cycles with Eden Rahim, Portfolio Manager at Jov Investment Inc.”

Dividends4Life presents 28 Dividend Stocks Acting Like a Money Machine posted at Dividends Value, saying, “Readers of this space know that the primary focus of my investing efforts is to build an ever-increasing income stream by investing in dividend growth securities. This means that often, I will choose a lower yielding security with better dividend growth prospects over a higher yielding security. As one that values diversity, I also invest in some high yield securities.”

Money Beagle presents When Investing, Do You Invest In What You Use? posted at Money Beagle.

Intelligent Speculator presents Top 100 Dividend Stocks – February 2011 posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “The top dividend stocks for you guys to check out.”

DGB presents ScotiaBank BNS Dividend Stock Analysis posted at The Dividend Guy Blog, saying, “A look at this popular stock.”

Alexander presents Choosing Dividend Stocks: Company History posted at Dividend Stocks, saying, “When you are choosing dividends so that you can begin building an income stream, it is important to consider your options and choose carefully.”

The Skilled Investor presents Stock Market Timing posted at Personal Investment Management, saying, “Always stay invested to earn risk premiums. You must have your money invested and at risk to get risk premium returns. Jumping out and in or “timing the markets” doesn’t work.”

Barb Friedberg presents IS IT TIME TO SELL? posted at Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance, saying, “Learn how following the crowd can cost you!”

Arjun Rudra presents On A Quest To Turn $3000 Into $100000 With Trader Mark Li, DMS posted at Investing Thesis, saying, “An interview with equity and currency trader Mark Li who is attempting to turn Turn $3000 Into $100000.”

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents The Five Big Benefits of Valuation-Informed Indexing posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “Valuation-Informed Indexing provides more wealth for 102 of the 110 rolling 30-year periods, challenging the theory of buy and hold investing.”

Ryan @ CML presents Investing Lessons From Warren Buffett posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Warren Buffett is one of the world’s greatest investors. Find out some of his best investing tips in this article.”

Frank Vertin presents Best Index Funds posted at Index Mutual Funds, saying, “Top ten no-load index funds that track the Standard and Poors 500 composite index in terms of lowest costs.

Ryan @ MFN presents Understanding Tax Exempt Contributions and Withdrawals to the TSP posted at The Military Wallet, saying, “The Thrift Savings Plan (Govt. version of a 401k) allows military members to make tax exempt contributions when they are deployed to tax free combat zones.”

Hussein Sumar presents How to Examine a Mutual Fund’s Portfolio Turnover posted at Best Mutual Funds, saying, “Portfolio turnover is a great way to measure the investment quality of a mutual fund because a higher turnover means increased costs of trading, which is paid for by investors’ money and not the fund manager’s salary.”

Patty Pedersen presents Best Oil ETFs: Looking Beyond Energy Select SPDR XLE posted at AlphaProfit MoneyMatters – Investing Blog, saying, “Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF wins the contest among oil ETFs when it comes to popularity. This ETF however wasn’t the best performing ETF in this category in 2010. This article analyzes different energy ETFs and explains why energy service and natural gas ETFs have the potential to be top performers in 2011.”

Tomas Escent presents Stock Trader Automation posted at Nerds on Wall Street

Dave@50plusfinance presents Is the Facebook Bubble Coming? posted at 50 Plus Finance, saying, “Social Networking is a bubble like email was a bubble. It’s a core technology that changes the way we communicate. But investors get carried away and drive valuations way up till the day comes where it’s as common as email and the legs are kicked out from underneath it, and the the stock plummets. It’s like the dawn of AOL, a high flier, that got it’s wings clipped when one day it was only one of many email and data portals.”

Intelligent Speculator presents One more reason why AOL (AOL) will succeed where Yahoo (YHOO) will fail posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “Why we believe in AOL.”

DGB presents What Happened In the Dividend World in 2010 and What is Coming In 2011 posted at The 
Dividend Guy Blog, saying, “Our look at the world of dividends.”


The Financial Blogger presents How To Trade ETFs Using A Moving Average posted at Experiments in Finance, saying, “A look at how to perform this skilled investment.”

Frank Knight presents Muni Bond Retirement Software, posted at Best Financial Planning Software, saying, “Municipal bond investments and your state and federal marginal income tax rates: Some investors hold municipal bonds in an attempt to reduce their tax burden. This article discusses the relationships between tax-exempt municipal bonds, bond market returns, marginal tax rates, and investment asset tax location.”

Dividends4Life presents 16 Dividend Stocks Growing Future Yield posted at Dividends Value, saying, “Yield does not come without a price, usually in the form of added risk and/or complexity. Ultimately, dividend growth investors realize that long-term and sustainable high-yield investments are grown over time. This is accomplished by purchasing high-quality dividend investments with a reasonable yield and a long history of growing their dividends, and waiting for the yield on cost to grow.”

Mike Piper presents Investing Life Insurance Proceeds posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, “How would you invest a portfolio if you were expecting to need to withdraw from it for potentially 50 years or more?”

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Managing Debt

FMF presents There is No Good Debt posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Borrower beware — there is no such thing as good debt!!!”

Jeff Weber presents Tips For Paying Off A Balance Transfer Before Your 0% APR Ends posted at Smart Balance Transfers, saying, “When managing credit card debt with balance transfers, it is vitally important to develop a plan that will get you out of debt before the interest rate increases.”

Jeff Rose, CFP presents Why Wielding a Credit Card is the Best way to Approach Credit Restoration posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “For those people looking to rebuild their credit standing, the answer is, perhaps surprisingly, use of a credit card.”

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents New Cardholders Bear The Brunt of Fees posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “Cardholders with new credit card accounts paid average monthly fees of $15 and that this average decreased by 75% during the first four years.”

Jeffrey Weber presents Who Can and Can’t Benefit from the Citi Platinum Card posted at Smart Balance Transfers, saying, “The Citi Platinum Mastercard can be a useful tool in reducing debt, as it offers long 0% balance transfer periods and charges low fees.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Earn Points with the ThankYou Rewards Program from Citi posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Tips on earning rewards via a popular rewards card program.”

Miscellaneous

Jeff Rose, CFP presents IRA Gifts to Charities – New Rules and How They Affect You posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “IRA gifts can be a great benefit to charities as well as the individual giving the gift. Here are some new rules you need to be aware and how they affect you.”

Consumer Boomer presents Social Security Survivor Benefits posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “This article will help you find out if you are eligible for Social Security survivor benefits and what those benefits are.”

Mike Piper presents Protecting Your Private Files posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, “How can you keep your sensitive documents (scanned tax returns, for instance) both backed up and protected in the event of computer theft?”

Pasadena Financial Planner presents Vanguard Index Funds posted at Top Mutual Funds, saying, “Compares Vanguard’s actively managed mutual funds and Vanguard’s passively managed index mutual funds. Vanguard investors should read and understand this study.

Joe Plemon presents How The Number One Personal Finance Principle Affects Two Diverse Families posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “The stories of these two families illustrate that very little income is not an excuse to break this principle and that much income is not a guarantee that one will keep it.”

Ryan @ CML presents Should You Incorporate Your Small Business? posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Incorporating your small business can be a great way to protect yourself by separating your personal and business interests.”

Jim Wilkerson presents Choose Mature Noload Mutual Funds posted at Best No Load Funds, saying, “Very young stock and bond mutual funds are more likely to put you into the position of being an experimental guinea pig of mutual fund companies and the ETF industry.”

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Past Lottery Winner Story # 4

Missourian Janite Lee won $18 million in 1993. Lee was generous to a variety of causes, giving to politics, education and the community. But according to published reports, eight years after winning, Lee had filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left in two bank accounts and no cash on hand. (Story from http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx)

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Retirement Planning

Jeff Rose, CFP presents Is a 401k Enough For Retirement? posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “A 401k may not be enough for you to retire successfully. Find out what other options you may have.”

Joe Plemon presents Should You Borrow From Your 401(k)? posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “Yes, you CAN borrow from your 401k, but SHOULD you?”

Walter W. Fouse presents Top 10 Large Cap Funds posted at Best Mutual Fund, saying, “This table of low cost top 10 S&P 500 mutual funds has been organized with the lowest cost index fund first. Nevertheless, each of these S & P 500 index funds is among the least costly on the market.”

Larry Russell presents Roth IRA Calculator posted at Retirement Planning Tools, saying, “Trying to decide about a traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversion without first having a comprehensive lifetime financial plan in place makes absolutely no sense. Without such a plan, you cannot figure out whether or not you are likely to achieve the tax savings in retirement that would warrant paying higher taxes now.”

Jim Yih presents What is Your Net Worth? posted at Retire Happy Blog, saying, “Your net worth is equal to all of your assets less all of your liabilities. It can be complicated depending on what you consider an asset and what you consider a liability.”

Sun presents Retirement Income Funds: Generate Steady Income in Retirement posted at The Sun’s Financial Diary.

Frank Knight presents Roth Conversion Retirement Planning Software posted at My Financial Freedom Plan, saying, “Whether to invest in a Roth IRA or Roth 401k versus their traditional retirement account alternatives is one of the most complex personal financial decisions. Roth accounts do not make sense financially for most people. They are a good deal, for a minority, but you need to do the analysis.

Jessica Bosari presents You Don’t Have to be Rich to Get Rich – Building Wealth from the Ground Up | billeater.com posted at Billeater, saying, “Building wealth despite a small income.”

Risk Management and Insurance

June Tree presents Comparing Whole Life Insurance vs Term Life Insurance posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “I compare term life vs whole life insurance.”

PT presents When to Drop Full Coverage Auto Insurance posted at Prime Time Money, saying, “Do you know if it’s worth it to continue your full coverage auto insurance? This article from PT Money will help you decide if you’re paying too much.”

Jules Wells presents Investment Risk Questionnaire Investment Software, posted at Financial Answers saying, “There is a way for you to get a much better assessment of your risk tolerance than you would from a simple conservative versus aggressive financial industry investor questionnaire.”

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Past Lottery Winner Story # 5

“Winning the lottery isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be,” says Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer.

“I won the American dream but I lost it, too. It was a very hard fall. It’s called rock bottom,” says Adams.

“Everybody wanted my money. Everybody had their hand out. I never learned one simple word in the English language — ‘No.’ I wish I had the chance to do it all over again. I’d be much smarter about it now,” says Adams, who also lost money at the slot machines in Atlantic City.

“I was a big-time gambler,” admits Adams. “I didn’t drop a million dollars, but it was a lot of money. I made mistakes, some I regret, some I don’t. I’m human. I can’t go back now so I just go forward, one step at a time.”(Story from http://articles.moneycentral.msn .com/SavingandDebt/ SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx)

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Taxes

Miranda presents Are You Still Getting a Tax Refund? posted at Money Ning, saying, “Maybe planning for a tax refund isn’t the best idea. Think what you could be doing with the money if you had it all year.”

Madison DuPaix presents 5 Helpful Android and iPhone Tax Apps posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “Filing your taxes is getting easier and easier – check out these cool apps for Android phones & the iPhone.”

Tommy John presents Ready for Tax Season? Learn the 3 Key Steps to Avoiding the Ire of the IRS | 2010 Taxes posted at 2010Taxes, saying, “These three tips can help you to avoid being audit this tax season.”

Craig/FFB presents Love and Taxes – Tax Filing Date Changed to February 14 For Some Tax Filers posted at Free From Broke, saying, “For some who file one of three particular IRS claims on their taxes, the first day to file your taxes is delayed. See if this affects you.”

Financial Freedom presents IRA Contributions Retirement Tool, posted at Financial Freedom, saying, “The Roth tax optimization puzzle for asset conversions, as well as for annual Roth contributions during working years, is one of the most complex decisions that the ridiculously complex US taxation and retirement planning system forces upon individuals.”

Ryan @ MFN presents Is The Military Homeowner’s Assistance Program Taxable? posted at The 


Ken presents 2009 Tax Benefits Extended in 2010 posted at Spruce Up Your Finances, saying, “The American Recovery Reinvestment Act has provided a lot of expanded benefits in tax year 2009. Some of those benefits have expired. Find out the ones that has been extended when filing your 2010 tax returns”

Mike @ Green Panda presents Taxes – Preparing for the Season posted at Green Panda Treehouse, saying, “How you can get ready for tax season.”

Well – 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 the Carnival’s blog carnival index page.

***Photo courtesy of http://blog.lib.umn.edu/biomdoc/access_services/planning.jpeg

Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblin’s # 1 – Announcing A New Staff Writer at My Personal Finance Journey + How To Get a Free Running Race Training Program

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Do you get tired of hearing from the same old person every day on My Personal Finance Journey? If so, then today is your lucky day!

For the past two days, all of you sharp readers out there probably have noticed the “Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblings” tab that has shown up on the top fixed pages on My Personal Finance Journey. And undoubtedly, you all are owed an explanation for what it is!

All of his tips will be collected in the “Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblings” tab shown at the top of the page. I’ve also pasted the link below for added convenience.

Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblings Corner

But, enough from me – I’ll let Jake take over and explain to you what his “ramblings” will entail. And, I just approved (I must be out of my mind!) his first tip for you all. So, that is attached below as well! Enjoy, and try not to get too offended. 🙂
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Greetins’ frugal folks! My name’s Cheapskate Jake. I’m a 45 year old bloke from Frugal Holler (Hollow for all you’s grammatical folk), Arkansas. Frugal Holler is located about 2 hours southwest of the capitol city of Arkansas, Little Rock, smack dab in the center of the Ouachita Mountains. I am married to a lovely lady named Inez, and we have two children – Latisha and Raymond. I love those kids most of the time, but they sure can get on my nerves every once in a while!

How Jacob and I Met

Your frugal (never cheap – that’s my job) and devoted blog organizer, Jacob, and I go way back. We first met during a camping trip that he took back in the Summer of 2006 while still living in Arkansas and attending the University of Arkansas.

I was out on a hunting trip at the same time (finally getting some freedom from the wife and kids), and he was mountain bike riding. Even though he had a bright colored jersey on and those weird skin-tight spandex, I almost couldn’t tell the difference between him and the deer that I was hunting (might have been due to the 8 Milwaukee’s Best brews I was drinkin’, but that’s just water in the crick under the bridge now).

After missing hitting him by only an inch, we started talking about life, family, and enjoyin’ the great outdoors! We found that even though we came from different walks of life, we had a lot in common (not to mention the same name!). One thing that we both love to do is save money!

After the camping trip, we continued to stay in touch. However, Jacob was holdin’ out on telling me that he had started this new fangled website! However, after much negotiation, I finally convinced him to let me contribute to the community!

What Are Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblin’s?

Jacob was kind enough to let me take over the blog about once per week (or however often I get access to the internet – I have to drive 2 hours away to Little Rock, Arkansas to access a computer with that high speed modem stuff) to bring you the unfiltered, un-cut, methods/tips that I use to save a dime or two in my life!

Even though I’m not one for planning ahead (I only made it through the 5th grade), the topics that will be covered in this series will be how to save money in the following ways:

How To Save Money On:

• Eatin’ and drinkin’
• Entertainment
• Children
• Relationships
• Athletics (including tractor pullin’, my favorite, of course)
• Education
• And maybe several more, maybe….

That tightwad Jacob finally approved my first post, and I’m hootin’ and hollerin’ happy to be bringing it to you today!

Also, if ya’ll folks have any questions, ya’ll can shoot me an email at cheapskate@mypersonalfinancejourney.com. Jacob didn’t trust me with his email, so he gave me my own account! Mighty fine o’ him!
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Cheapskate Jake’s Frugal Ramblin’s # 1 – Get A Free, Personalized Running Training Program


Personally, I’ve never been one for gettin’ that much exercise. I think the combination of beer, chittlins’, fried chicken, and apple cobbler I eat prevent me from being able to do that much. In fact, I make it a policy so that the only “exercise” I get is walkin’ outside to the pickup truck in the mornin’ to get away from Inez’s complainin’ at me.

However, for those of you youngins’ out there that are in to the same “health-craze” that’s sweepin’ Little Rock at this time, I’ve heard of a new FREE program that may be just for you!

Have you been wanting to get yourself in to peak shape for an upcoming running race, but weren’t ready to shell out the mullaa to pay for an actual coach?

Well, the Smart Coach Training Plan from RunnersWorld.com could be the solution for you! The trainin’ plan offers the following features:

• Personalized training plan
• Training workouts based on previous race time entered in to system
• Customizable based on 1) how many miles you are currently runnin’ per week, 2) desired workout intensity, 3) desired “long run” day, and 4) target race date.

To get your personalized training plan, simply follow the instructions below:

• Click here to sign up for a free account on RunnersWorld.com (click half way down the page).
• Then, click on the following link to login to your account – http://smartcoach.runnersworld.com/.
• Next, fill out the specifications (described above) to personalize your training plan to YOU! 
• And, voila! Click “Create New Plan,” and you’ll be on your way to a new personal best race time!

How about you all? Do you use a training plan for your workouts, or do you plan them out of a day-by-day basis? 


Share your experiences by commenting below!


***Photo courtesy of http://www.packthecat.com/Ethan/pictures/redneckStereotype.jpg

Canceling Credit Cards Detrimental to Credit Repair

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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The following is a guest post from Ed O’Brien. His blog, Credit Repair, offers free advice on preparing yourself for a financially responsible future.

When you start your mission to begin repairing your credit, your first step is to get a clear understanding of how much debt you have and make a plan to eliminate a bulk of that debt in the shortest period of time.

Repairing your credit requires that you meet your financial obligations as they are stated in the contract or agreement between you and your creditor. Once you are able to get back on track by making regular, on-time payments and satisfying your debts, you will begin to see your credit score improve.

One potentially bad move during the debt relief process for many consumers who are able to eliminate their credit card debts is the inclination to start canceling all of their paid-off credit card accounts in an effort to reduce temptations of repeating history. However, as part of the credit repair process, canceling credit cards may be the worst move you can make.

Here’s why:

Your credit history is a factor of your three digit credit score. Part of that history involves the timeline from when you first established a credit profile. If one or more of the credit cards you have paid off and wish to close are the first accounts you started to establish credit, closing them can change your whole credit foundation.

For instance, say you opened your first credit card in 1991, and this was in essence the first line of credit you were issued. Fast-forward to 2011 and you have just zeroed out the account balance on that same credit card. According to your credit profile, this card has been a large part of your credit profile for 20 years. Closing the account would then cut short your credit history and part of a credit score calculates how long you have had credit.


Alternative Choices

Credit card temptation can be a tricky situation but ultimately it is up to the consumer to enact a plan that will really keep them on track. By establishing a solid budget and tracking how money is spent, the urge to spend on credit just because it is there can be stopped in its tracks. Just because credit cards are there does not mean you need to use them.

However, keeping open and active credit card accounts is a vital part of maintaining a good credit history and a high score. It is recommended that you occasionally use all of your credit cards somewhat regularly for small purchases during the month and then pay off the full amount due before the end of the billing cycle. Not only will this keep credit card accounts open (creditors do have the right to close accounts they deem inactive), it will also help rebuild your credit score since your payment history has been turned around and balances aren’t being carried over.

If you feel you have entirely too many credit cards and do wish to close a few of the accounts, be absolutely certain you are only closing those accounts you have only recently opened so as not to jeopardize your credit history. It is also imperative that no credit card account be closed when a balance still remains. Doing so can trigger an increase in interest rates, making it more costly to pay off the debts each month.

Try designating credit cards to particular buying habits, such as one for gasoline purchases, one for groceries, and one for online purchases. Not only will you be able to itemize your spending on a monthly basis effortlessly, you can also maximize all of the incentives and rewards you earn from your credit cards.

Credit cards can certainly be the root of a bad credit score to begin with but they are also instrumental in getting back on track with your personal finances. When utilized in the right manner, credit cards can be the chief resource for repairing your credit history and boosting a low credit score in a relatively short period of time.

How about you all? Have you ever canceled/closed credit card accounts? How did it affect your credit score? What techniques do you use to make sure to not spend excessively? 


Share your experiences by commenting below!


Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this article.

• Personally, I have many credit cards (~8) because I like to take advantage of the little free money promotional offers they throw at me. I always make sure that the cards are “no annual fee” credit cards, of course.
• After I receive the money from the promotion, I am very cognizant NOT to cancel the account due to this very concept discussed in this article.
• Instead, I set up an automatic payment each month from the credit card so that it keeps a running credit history. I make sure to always pay off the balance in full each month.
  • Examples of small payments that could be set up with non-principal credit cards would include Netflix monthly subscriptions, cable internet payments, journal subscriptions, etc…
• For the bulk of my spending, however, I use my favorite cash-back credit card, The Chase Freedom, which gives 3% cash back in rotation categories throughout the year! Very nice!

Winner Crowned in BP $10 Gift Card Giveaway Contest!

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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Good evening everyone!

It is my pleasure to announce the winner of My Personal Finance Journey’s first ever free giveaway (a $10 BP giftcard).

The winner was Lethea (commenting name, Luvdaylilies)! Everyone, please join me in congratulating her for taking home the “big” prize!

Thanks so much to all of you for participating and/or promoting this giveaway in order to make it a great success.

Overall, we had 40 entries over the 2 weeks that the giveaway took place! And, Lethea was the big winner with a total of 7 points! You can read all about the details of the giveaway in the original announcement post at the link below.

$10 BP Giftcard Giveaway Announcement


I very much enjoyed doing this giveaway because it enabled me to interact with my readers and also share the love of some of the promotional offers I hear that companies are giving out!

The next giveaway on My Personal Finance Journey will be a $25 Amazon giftcard, and will be sponsored by my friend, Barbara Friedberg. Barbara runs one of my favorite investing blogs, Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance. Keep an eye out for that, on the way shortly!!!

***Photo courtesy of http://apocalypsecakes.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/winner.jpg