Carnival of Financial Planning

I had the opportunity to host the Carnival of Financial Planning this week.  If you’re unfamiliar with “carnivals”, they’re basically a weekly showcase of what the best and the brightest bloggers in Investing and Personal Finance published during the recent past and we share these top posts on various blogs to introduce new readers and bloggers to each other – and hopefully pass on some valuable advice!  So, without further ado, please take a look at these great posts:

Budgeting and Economics

Jen presents Root Incomes & Blissful Budgeting posted at Master the Art of Saving, saying, “Wouldn’t it rock to have left-over $$$ in your budget? One way to you might be able to have left-over money in your budget is by planning with your Root Income.”

Darwin presents Are You Better Off Than Your Parents? posted at Darwin’s Money, saying, “Are you better off than your parents? Here are some considerations worth pondering.”

Little House presents Sit-Down Restaurant vs. Quasi-Fast Food; a price comparison posted at Little House in the Valley, saying, “If I could save money eating out, which would be more cost effective: eating at a sit-down restaurant or a quasi-fast food joint that offers healthy meal options?”

Financial Planning

Mike Piper presents Should You Own Stocks in Retirement? posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, “Despite stocks’ higher expected returns than bonds and CDs, they don’t really allow you to spend much more during the early stages of retirement.”

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

Briana Myricks presents July Financial Challenges posted at 20 and Engaged, saying, “A year sure did go by fast, and my how a lot has changed. Financially, I want July to be a success.”

Frank Knight presents Investment Asset Allocation posted at Retirement 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.”

Financing a Home

Colin Robertson presents Why Are Mortgage Rates Different? posted at Mortgage Tips and Credit Help, saying, “Why is the sky blue? Why are clouds white? Why won’t your neighbor trim their tree branches? These are all good questions, and ones that often puzzle even the most savvy human beings. First things first, take a look at how mortgage rates are determined to better understand how banks and mortgage lenders come up with interest rates to begin with.”

FMF presents Revisiting the Advice to Buy Real Estate posted at Free Money Finance, saying: “Markets can turn quickly. There’s still blood in the street. Don’t miss this opportunity to look for a great real estate deal.”

Financing Education

Kyle Berks presents How Much Does a Payday Loan Cost? posted at How Much Does Everything Cost?, saying, “Payday loans are cash advances from an expected payroll check. For many people who are living from one paycheck to another are usually the ones who are in need of the loan. These debts are debt instruments that are short term in nature.”

Consumer Boomer presents Choosing The Best Section 529 Plan posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “When considering investing in a 529 savings plan there are factors that must be looked at carefully.”

Income

The Financial Blogger presents http://www.thefinancialblogger.com/how-to-write-an-ebook/ posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, “How you can put out your first product.”

Investing

Maxim Kazawy presents Top 6 Companies with Consistent Dividend Growth posted at Best Dividend Stocks, saying, “Investing in the best dividend paying companies creates huge wealth over the long term thanks to compounding dividend returns. Some investors like to top it up a notch by investing in good companies with huge dividend growth rates, this is like turbo charging your Porsche Cayyene.”

Nathan Richardson presents Best Rates on Money Market Accounts posted at Deals & Tips, saying, “Earn more money on your emergency fund now, we’ve collected to best yielding money market account rates. Generally online banks compete by offering higher rates than traditional banks, but other banks offer short-term yields that rival the best.”

Billy Hart presents inMessment Game – Second Quarter Results 2011 posted at inMessment – Life Investments | Stocks | ETFs | Money, saying, “The second quarter of 2011 has ended. Time to review my inMessment Game results and see how I have done. I will share the Good, the Bad and the Ugly events of Q2.”

FMF presents Relax with a Gone-Fishing Portfolio posted at Free Money Finance, saying: “Summer is here. It’s time to go fishing or take a trip or do wherever else you enjoy while on vacation. Unless your interests lie in investment management or you have a trusted fiduciary watching over your investments, consider having a portfolio designed to allow you more time to relax.”

FlBlogger presents Tax Repatriation Holiday: Good For Shareholders, Not Economy posted at Dividend Stocks, saying, “A look at why a tax repatriation holiday won’t help the economy, but it will boost dividends and buybacks for shareholders of American multinational companies.”

Pasadena Financial Planner presents Vanguard Index Funds posted at Top Investment 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.”

Dividends4Life presents Five ‘Good’ Stocks Raising Their Dividends posted at Dividend Growth Stocks, saying, “Virtually everything in this world can be placed into a few basic categories. This is especially true for Dividend Stocks when looking at their historic performance and expectations for the future. Consider these three broad categories: The Good: As you might guess, these are the dividend stocks that are doing exactly what they should do – consistently raising their dividends each year.”

Investor Junkie presents Lending Club (July 2011 Update) posted at Investor Junkie, saying, “This update marks now two years since I’ve been investing in Lending Club notes (see my first review of Lending Club). Since my last update, my NAR has decreased to 11.32% from 11.35%.”

Money Cone presents Thrill Money Investing posted at Money Cone, saying, “Although I invest for the long term, I’ll admit, from time to time, I speculate on market movements for short term gains. I call this Thrill Money Investing. I only allocate a very small portion of my investing funds, funds that I can afford to lose without losing sleep, towards TMI. Any gains are plowed back into boring, conservative stocks or ETFs. This is essentially profiting on current events, mob psychology and market trends rather than on company fundamentals. Of course there are many methods, these are some of the techniques I’ve used personally with good success.”

Managing Credit and Debt

Jason presents Annual Fees: Scam or Service? posted at Live Real Now, saying, “Annual fees. For a lot of people, this is the worst possible thing about a credit card. That’s understandable, since paying interest is voluntary. If you don’t want to pay it, you just need to pay off your balance within the grace period. Annual fees, on the other hand, get paid, whether you want to or not, if the are a part of your credit card.”

Eric J. Nisall presents Don’t Let Yourself Become a Victim: A (Fairly) Comprehensive Guide to Protecting Your Identity posted at DollarVersity, saying, “Tips and helpful resources to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft, and keep your identity your own.”

Jason Price presents Who Checks Your Credit Scores and Why? posted at One Money Design, saying, “Knowing who checks your credit scores and why can help you take steps to improve them.”

Tim Chen presents NerdWallet Launches New Gas Price Comparison Tool posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch, saying, “With gas prices rising through the roof, every cent per gallon saved makes a difference. We show you how to evaluate cash discounts and credit card rewards to save the most money on gas.”

Consumer Boomer presents Is it better to save or repay debt? posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “Here’s a quick look at the benefits and drawbacks of focusing on saving or repaying debt.”

Miscellaneous

Madison presents Ask Madison: Reader Mail Volume 5 posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “Some great reader questions are answered here. We cover everything from downsizing to credit card applications!”

Eric J. Nisall presents Fact of Life (And Business): You Get What You Pay For posted at DollarVersity, saying, “You get what you pay for. It is a simple saying that holds tons of truth. No matter what you think, the reality is that you really do get what you pay for in life!”

The Skilled Investor presents Market Timing Does Not Work posted at Personal Financial 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.”

David Leeman presents Staycation – Your Fun, Frugal Vacation At Home posted at Financial Freedom Advantage, saying, “A staycation is the ultimate in cheap, family vacations! You can get away from work and responsibilities, relax, and do some things that you really enjoy without leaving town.”

Retirement Planning

Joe Plemon presents Should a College Student Invest for Retirement? posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “In this post, Joe answers a letter from a college student about investing for retirement.”

Robert presents The Best Ways To Maximize Your IRA Potential posted at The College Investor, saying, “The best ways to maximize your IRA potential.”

Jim Wilkerson presents No Load Index Funds posted at 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.”

Consumer Boomer presents Making Your Nest Egg Last Through Retirement posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “As a baby boomer, retirement is either right around the corner or has already begun. Can your nest egg last through retirement?”

Savings

Zach Tripp presents Free Money from Upromise! posted at Follow My 529, saying, “Using Upromise, I was able to get $65 deposited into my daughter’s 529 College saving plan. Best of all, it was all free!”

Walter W. Fouse presents Large Cap Mutual Funds posted at Mutual Funds, 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.”

Taxes

David de Souza presents Which Countries Pay The Most Tax posted at TaxFix Blog, saying, “Each country has different tax rates. This week we have created an infographic which shows visually which countries pay the most tax.”

Financial Freedom presents Roth Contributions, posted at Retirement Spreadsheet , 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.”

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 our blog carnival index page.