Carnival of Financial Planning 07-13-2012

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #245 – July 13, 2012

Welcome to the July 13, 2012 Edition #245 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

Paul Vachon presents Manage Personal Cash Flow as if You are a Business posted at The Frugal Toad, saying, “Cash Management is vital to the success of a business because it allows the business to pay it’s bills while using cash efficiently to fund day to day operations. Consumers can benefit from managing their own cash in much the same ways a business does. ”

Corey presents The Beauty of an Online Business posted at Steadfast Finances, saying, “These days it seems like everyone is out to make money through small business. Everyone wants to come up with the next great idea to establish a money-making business. Despite the competition, it has become remarkably easier than ever before. The main reason it has become easier is for one reason – the internet. The internet has transformed small businesses. ”

Mich presents Why Electric Cars Don’t Make Financial Sense posted at BeatingTheIndex, saying, “We are years away from seeing EV technology capture high market share because it still doesn’t make financial sense to buy an electric car for 1 reason: ROI. ”

Bob presents How to open an HSA posted at ChristianPF, saying, “If you’d like to pay less in health insurance premiums while still accessing high quality health care, reduce your taxes, and save for future health needs, you may want to consider setting up an HSA, or health savings account. ”

Madison presents Can the Wallaby Credit Card Maximize All Cash Back Rewards? posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, ” There’s a new company in town, Wallaby, planning to deliver on something all credit card rewards junkies will love: one credit card that can maximize your credit card earning cash back! Will this work?? ”

Janet presents Expense budgets posted at Independent Financial Planner , saying, ” Many people do not track their living expenses and do not understand the magnitude of their consumption.”

SFB presents Youth Sports, $5 Billion, And Your Kid posted at Simple Finance Blog, saying, “The world of youth sports is a $5 billion a year industry – what can you do to cut costs and avoid some of the most expensive sports? ”

Jester presents Improving Your Marketability as a Small Business Owner posted at The Ultimate Juggle, saying, “Running a small business in an economy that is filled with large national corporations can be difficult. Small businesses have always had a difficult time competing with companies that have the resources of small countries. ”

Financial Planning

Marie at FamilyMoneyValues presents 7 Things You Can Do Now for your Future Heir posted at Family Money Values, saying, “If you neglect certain things in your estate planning, mis-communication, squabbling and lawsuits can result. Here are seven preventative measures to take now, before you die! “

Jeremy presents Thank You For Getting Speeding Tickets posted at Modest Money, saying, “Have you ever considered that you should be thanking people who are pulled over for speeding? They may be making the roads less safe, but they are actually doing you a favor. ”

Glen Craig presents EverBank Online Yield Pledge Checking and Money Market Review posted at Free From Broke , saying, “EverBank is an online bank that offers high yield checking, money market accounts, and more. And they do all this with superior rates as well. Read more in our EverBank review. ”

FMF presents How Do Financial Advisors Earn Their Fee? posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Few investors even ask how commission-based annuity salespeople earn their fee, but with fee-only advisors the question often arises. Investment fees are generally about 1% of assets under management and drop as assets rise above $1 million. The critical question to ask is “Where do financial advisors add value that might exceed the 1% fee they charge?” ”

Teacher Man presents Dollar Cost Averaging Strategy posted at My University Money, saying, “There is this cool thing that happens when you ignore all the stock picking stuff that people talk about, stop paying attention to the “experts” on TV and simply invest your money in a dispassionate and consistent manner. The aforementioned “cool thing” is that you end up with a lot more money. ”

Crystal presents Is the ‘College Experience’ Worth Student Loan Debt? posted at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, saying, “My husband and I have disagreed about the point of an undergraduate degree. I think college is for growing and he thinks college is for getting a job. ”

John presents I Bought a Tablet Which Makes Me a Jerk posted at Married with Debt, saying, “So I finally broke down and bought a tablet computer, which officially makes me a jerk. ”

Ashley presents Have Fun on a Budget This Summer? posted at Money Talks Coaching, saying, “We look forward to the summer months all year long. Summer for many of us means vacations, road trips, concerts, and backyard barbeques. ”

PPlan presents Will There Always Be Poor People? posted at Provident Plan, saying, ” The issue of poverty is a complicated social issue. Jesus is often quoted as saying You will always have the poor with you. Find out what he really meant. ”

DL presents Global Financial Markets  posted at Nerds on Wall Street , saying, ” Stock markets are almost perfectly transparent, with full information available to all, and the best electronic clearing and settlement in history. These technologies were omitted in building the skyscraper of cards (“house of cards” seems too mild) out of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), credit default swaps (CDSs), synthetic collateralized debt obligations (SCDOs), and the rest.”

PFP presents Tax Management  posted at Pasadena Financial Advisor , saying, ” You should also consider how to “locate” your investment asset allocation with respect to more optimal taxation.”

MR presents Using the Library As A Mobile Office posted at Money Reasons, saying, “Why not consider using your local public library as an mobile office? There are empty meeting rooms available, and are just wasted space waiting to be used. ”

Corey presents Does the Cash Method Really Work? posted at 20s Finances, saying, “One of the many ways that people try to curb their spending habits is to go to an all-cash budget. The reason for making the adjustment is that it helps you weigh the actual cost of each expense because it is actual bills leaving your pocket. It’s not a method that my wife and I use, but it has been helpful for some of our closest friends. Find out why it could help you. ”

krantcents presents The 3 W’s of Success posted at KrantCents, saying, ” The 3 W’s of Success is the twenty-third in a series of articles to help you reach your goal. ”

Insurance and Risk

FMF presents Should You Purchase Long-Term-Care Insurance? posted at Free Money Finance, saying, ” I have recently written posts titled Thoughts on Long-Term Care Insurance and Good Advice on Long-Term Care Insurance and now can’t seem to get away from the topic. So now I am writing about How You Should Purchase Long-Term Insurance. ”

Sally presents Risk and returns posted at Do-It-Yourself Finance , saying, ” More conservative portfolio investments have yielded substantially lower investment returns than the returns that riskier investments have delivered. With either lower or higher risk-adjusted market return strategies, you simply cannot have your financial cake and you eat it too.”

Investing

Sean presents Beginners Guide to Finance – Asset Allocation posted at One Smart Dollar, saying, “Being able to properly allocate your investment to different asset classes is one of the keys to being able to survive any down market ”

Willie presents Superior Fund Performance posted at NoLoad Funds , saying, ” Screen out inferior mutual fund performance — but only after using other ETF and mutual fund selection criteria. Superior or even average mutual fund performance in the past simply does not predict similar fund performance in the future.”

Jeff Rose presents 7 Alternatives to Investing in the Stock Market posted at Good Financial Cents, saying, “As a financial planner I work with a lot of clients and most of our investments are related to the stock market. We invest in bonds, mutual funds, ETF’s, and the occasional individual stock. Every so often I’ll get some people that want to invest into “stock market alternatives“, meaning that they are a little bit fed up with the ups and downs of the market. ”

John presents It’s Time to Bring Shadow Banking into the Light posted at Wallet Blog, saying, “What lurks in financial shadows? A powerful banking system banking system that is the collection of financial institutions and investment vehicles not subject to the same laws and regulations as traditional banks and bank accounts. ”

Pinter presents No Load Bonds posted at Cheap Bond Funds, saying, “Investment research overwhelmingly shows that lower cost fixed income funds tend to yield higher bond investing returns.”

TSI presents Morningstar Ratings posted at The Skilled Investor , saying, ” Individual investors and their advisors appear to make investment decisions that are heavily influenced by the Morningstar Rating system. Because the stars are very widely used and often misunderstood, these are articles to help investors make more rational decisions about the stars.”

Managing Debt

Bridget presents Avoiding Debt After Graduation posted at Money After Graduation, saying, ” As college leavers know, taking another course is a great way to delay the start of paying off your student debts. Unfortunately, once youve passed the post and enjoyed graduation you quickly head towards the time you need to start making those repayments. ”

Daniel presents Do You Pay Student Loans Bills With a Credit Card? posted at Sweating the Big Stuff, saying, “I love using my credit card for gas 3 percent cash back when I can, but there are certain situations where you simply can’t use a credit card to pay your bills. I would love to get 1 percent cash back on my rent… ”

Real Estate

A Blinkin presents I Was Housed By A Homeless Guy posted at Funancials, saying, “Sounds ironic, doesnt it? How could he who dont own home be capable of housing he who own home? Confucius cant even provide understanding on this matter so I suppose Ill have to explain further. ”

Ryan presents A Few Ways to Save Money Around the House… posted at Early Retirement Investments, saying, “Read my ways to save a money around the house! ”

Retirement

Wayne presents Why Being Debt Free is Great for Your Family posted at Young Family Finance, saying, “Find out why being debt free is important for your family. ”

J.P. presents All The IRA Investment Options For Your Money posted at Novel Investor, saying, “Did you know that your IRA investment options extend beyond stocks, bonds, and mutual funds? You have more choices than think. ”

Brock presents Retirement Spreadsheet posted at IRA Account Investment, saying, “Whether or not to make investments into “traditional” tax-advantaged employer accounts and IRAs versus investing in “Roth” tax-advantaged employer accounts and personal IRAs is never a straightforward nor simple financial planning decision.”

Franklin presents Traditional and Roth IRA  posted at Retirement Planning , saying, ” Many taxpayers puzzle over whether to contribute to traditional versus Roth tax-advantaged retirement plans. For most people, contributions to traditional tax-advantaged plans will probably provide a higher net present value over their lifetimes.”

Savings

Deacon Hayes presents 10 Ways to Earn Extra Cash posted at Well Kept Wallet, saying, “Many of us are guilty of saving money for a rainy day or stocking money away without a purpose. While it is good to have money in case of emergencies, it is even better to have a plan when it comes to saving money. ”

TSI presents Hard work and wealth posted at The Skilled Investor, saying, ” How much you earn, spend, budget, and save are by far the most dominant determinants of your long-term financial well-being. Self-control in your financial decision-making regarding budgeting and consumption is far more important than clever investing.”

Taxes

Steve presents Tax Credits Calculator: What It Can Do? posted at 2012 Taxes, saying, “Tax Credit Calculators will compare this years tax situation to last years and provide you an overview of the changes in credits. ”

Monroe presents Roth Conversions posted at Do-It-Yourself Finance , saying, “Key to you making a better decision about your lifetime Roth account contribution and asset conversion strategy is the need for a sophisticated financial planning software tool.”

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.

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