Think Your Way to Wealth » Roundups

Personal Finance Links- Mardi Gras 2011 Edition

RC — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:00:16 +0000

The Mardi Gras season for 2011 is here in New Orleans, with Mardi Gras day being Tuesday, March 8th, the latest Mardi Gras day on the calendar in many years. I’ll be hitting a few parades with the family over the next few days, with the culmination on Mardi Gras day or Fat Tuesday. After that, it’s everything back to normal- almost!

Here are some good personal finance articles from the last week or so:

What We Can Learn from the Financial Crisis at The Financial Blogger

How Much Should I Save Each Year? at the Oblivious Investor

Diverse Interests Create Diverse Income Streams at Financial Samurai

Developing Systems That Work at Get Rich Slowly

The brilliant idea: How “focus” can destroy creativity at Pop Economics

How To Budget Your Money on a Variable Income at PT Money

I also participated in a few carnivals over the last few weeks-

Festival of Frugality#268- at My Journey to Millions

Carnival of Personal Finance: Cupid Tries to Teach Personal Finances at the Well Heeled Blog

Tax Carnival #82- The Tax Awards at Don’t Mess With Taxes
photo credit: Paul Mannix

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Super Bowl XLV Edition

RC — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 17:02:17 +0000

Saints Victory Parade Feb. 2010

Just a few more hours left, but as of right now the New Orleans Saints are still the defending world champs! Today’s game should be a good one- I guess I’m pulling for the Green Bay Bay Packers, but mostly just looking forward to a good game to cap off the season.

Here are a few great articles I came across over the last week:

Coupon War!- Amazon vs. Barnes and Noble- If you haven’t noticed, Groupon’s deal running through Monday with Barnes and Noble is eerily similar to the Living Social Amazon deal a few weeks ago- Two social coupon sites, two booksellers. (Amazon is also an investor in Living Social). (Wall St. Blogs Deal Journal)

What Should You Do if You Get an IRS Audit Letter in the Mail- I’ve never been audited, and frankly, I’ll be happy if I go through life without the pleasure of that experience. But what if you do get audited? Leigh Mutert from H&R Block discusses what it means, and what you should do if you get that dreaded letter. ( Free Money Finance)

Spending Too Much Money? 10 Warning Signs To Watch Out For- It’s easy to slip when spending money. Paying attention to your spending habits can help keep you on the right track. (The Digerati Life)

Secure Your Sensitive Data- Managing your passwords for online accounts, and backing up data are 2 important safeguards you can take to protect yourself and your important information- it’s a no-brainer when there are options allowing you to do it free and easy- but many people don’t do it. (Five Cent Nickel)

Saving IS Investing- Every dollar you hold on to and save is investing- investing in your future and opportunity, whether it makes you 1% interest per year or 10%. Investing does not have to be in the stock market. (The Simple Dollar)

photo by amanderson2

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Pro Bowl Edition

RC — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:40:12 +0000

For all of you football junkies out there, you can still watch football today since the Pro Bowl moved to the week before the Superbowl, starting last year. In the past this was an off week with the pro bowl coming after the Superbowl. Of course, if your favorite team’s players are playing in the pro bowl, that means they didn’t make it to the big game this year…. Oh well, there’s always next year for my Saints.

Here are some great articles I’ve read over the last week or so:

Series: Life After Salary- at Consumerism Commentary

Choosing a Luxury Eccentricity at Wisebread

There is No Perfect Month at MoneyCrush

Can You Afford the Cost of Home Ownership at Prime Time Money

New Home Sales are Currently a Meaningless Economic Indicator at Free by 50

Freeze Your Credit to Protect Your Identity at Free From Broke

I also participated in a few carnivals over the past few weeks-

My Personal Finance Journey hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance- Most Expensive Homes in the World and included my post Developing Your Financial Willpower.

Free From Broke hosted the Festival of Frugality Spend It Edition and included my article $5 a Gallon Gas- Is it On the Way and How Soon?

Living Richly on a Budget hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance-Fun With Finance Edition and included my article 8 Terrible but Common Excuses for Not Saving for Retirement.

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Verizon iPhone Edition

RC — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:29:30 +0000

verizon iphone

Last week, after months (years?) of waiting, Verizon and Apple finally announced that the iPhone was coming to the Verizon Network, end the speculation. It will be out on February 10. I was a Verizon customer for many years until I switched to AT&T about a year and a half ago, so I may switch back when my contract ends in a few months. I’m not in a rush to get anything new though, so I may wait a while.

Last week I participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance- 2011 New Year’s Resolution Edition at The Wallet Blog, and the Festival of Frugality- Craigslist Edition at Cash Money Life.

Here are some other great articles from the last week or so:

3 Financial Self Defense Weapons at Bible Money Matters

Steps for Creating a New Budget for the New Year at Good Financial Cents

Cost and Quality: Best and Worst Case Scenarios at The Simple Dollar

20 Frugal Family Winter Activities at Moneyning

I Remember at Christian Personal Finance- Very inspiring!

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Start of the New Year Edition

RC — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:48:41 +0000

The 1st week of 2011 is in the books.The beginning of the year is a good time for making changes, just due to the fact that it is symbolic of a new start. Have you kept your New Year’s resolutions if you made any?

Here are some of the carnivals I participated in last week, along with links to some good articles in them.

Sustainable Personal Finance hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance- It’s a New year Edition, and included my article “Using SMART Goals for Personal Financial Resolutions for the New Year”. Some other great reads included:

20 Ways to Use the Payroll Tax Holiday at Consumerism Commentary

How to Complain-The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease at Live Real, Now

SEP IRA: Have Side Income? Save for Retirement! from Well Heeled Blog

Two Hidden Benefits of a Large Emergency Fund at Gen Y Wealth

PT at PT Money hosted the Festival of Frugality: Cheapest Man Alive Edition, and included my post “5 Ways to Deal with Unwanted Christmas Gifts” as an editor’s pick. Some other great posts from the festival were:

Rethinking Our Family Christmas Gift Exchange by Personal Finance by the Book

5 Ways to Save Money at Airports by Squirrelers

Sharing is Saving at Mighty Bargain Hunter

Why You Should Donate More Money to Charity at Sweating the Big Stuff

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Xmas Season Edition

RC — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:30:12 +0000

The Christmas season is here, meaning all of the associated activities are here too- shopping, Christmas parties, spending time with friends and families, and all of the other things that go along with the holiday season. I usually don’t get to “in” to the Christmas spirit until a little closer to Christmas- but my kids are already fired up and in the spirit, so I think its helping me along a little faster this year!

Here are some great personal finance articles from the last week or so:

LIFE has a way of screwing up budgets at Free From Broke. Great list of some of the main reasons budgets are broken.

Related to budgets, PT Money has Tips for Sticking to a Budget- Good tips on ways to stick to your budget.

How to become more self sufficient at Frugal Dad. I’m a big fan of becoming more self sufficient, there are some great tips here on how to improve your self sufficiency skills.

You may be legally responsible to provide for your elderly parents at Free By 50. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this before, and Louisiana, where I live, apparently has a law requiring filial responsibility, which require you to care for poor relatives. I guess I better move soon… . (Just kidding, of course!)

Charity Spotlight-St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at the Doughroller. Great information and history of a great charity. Some friends of mine just held a fundraiser for St. Jude, so I am familiar with them, but didn’t know that much about them or their history.

Also, Ron over at the Wisdom Journal, a blog I’ve been reading for a couple of years now, has a new ebook entitled the Inner View of Your Interview, based on his professional experiences over the years conducting job interviews. He is currently offering it at $10 off, and you can check out the info at The Wisdom Journal or directly on the order page here – Inner View of Your Interview. I haven’t read it, but if it’s anything like his blog it is packed with great information and well worth looking into if you are currently or expecting in the future to be interviewing for a job.

Similar Posts:

Festival of Frugality #218- America Saves Week Edition

RC — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:53:04 +0000

Festival of Frugality #218- America Saves Week Edition

Welcome to the Festival of Frugality #218- America Saves Week Edition.
It is America Saves Week this week, February 21st -28th, 2010, and what better way to save money than by practicing frugality! Honestly, the fastest way to save money is by being frugal and spending less than you earn, as for most people it takes time in order to increase their income. Since the theme is saving money this week as well as frugality, I tried to include as many money saving related articles as possible with this week’s festival. My thoughts or comments follow each article in italics. Hope you enjoy!

To read more about the America Saves Campaign and America Saves Week, visit America Saves and America Saves Week.

Editor’s Picks

It was tough to pick, but here are my favorites from this week’s submissions:
Frugal Babe presents When The Going Gets Tough posted at Frugal Babe. Great thoughts and tips for avoiding “frugality fatigue”.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Use Electronic Coupons With Your Grocery Card posted at The Digerati Life. This is something new to me-have you tried electronic coupons yet with your grocery card?

Jason presents Finding Happiness: How You Can Own More by Owning Less posted at Redeeming Riches. Living on less can lead to a more rewarding life.

Nicki presents Drawing The Line With Cell Phone Plans posted at Domestic Cents. Waiting as long as possible before upgrading electronics and other gadgets is a great frugal tactic.

Now, on to the rest of the festival!

Frugality and Spending Less

PT presents Fun, Frugal, Family and Friends Outings posted at PT Money. Good tips on getting frugal outside of the house.

J. Money presents Life in Grad School Doesn’t Have to Suck…All Your Money posted at Budgets are Sexy. Some great tips from Mrs. Sexy (had to point that out-its not often you get to use “Mrs. Sexy” in a personal finance blog post unless you happen to be J. Money ) on saving money in grad school.

Jeff Rose presents How to Keep Your Computer Files Safe and Sound posted at Good Financial Cents. Ways to back up your important files on the cheap.

Sally presents 5 Ways to Save Money On Cosmetics and Toiletries posted at Money Crashers. Tips on saving money by examining your habits and the brands you buy.

FMF presents Save Money by Shipping Your Luggage posted at Free Money Finance. With all of the extra fees most airlines charge for luggage these days, it may save you money to ship it separately, believe it or not.

Selina Johnson presents Cheap Date Night Ideas posted at Tips and Snippets. Just because Valentine’s Day has passed doesn’t mean you can’t be romantic on a budget on a regular basis.

Oilandgarlic presents Simple Living, Italian Style: The Kitchen posted at Oilandgarlic’s Blog. Do you really need the latest kitchen appliances and gadgets to cook- or is it really a want and not a need?

Joe Johnson presents How to Be Fashionable on a Budget posted at Fashion Merchandising. I don’t know much about fashion, but these are good tips on spending less whether you are fashionable or not, I think.

Nicole presents Fix-It Friday: Cat Door posted at Rainy-Day Saver. Doing it yourself is a good way to be frugal.

Polly Poorhouse presents Negotiating camp prices posted at Economic Crunch. Always ask if there is any type of aid or discounts for camp and other school activities or functions-it could save you money.

Bucksome presents 4 Steps to Successful Gift Giving posted at Buck$omeboomer’s Journey to Retirement. Simple tips, but effective!

Financial Samurai presents Let “Freement” Reign! Spending Paralysis, Material Lust And Obsession posted at Financial Samurai. If freement becomes a word in the Oxford English Dictionary one day, you can say you knew the guy that coined the word!

Penny presents Tomato Tandoori Seitan, and Miso Seitan Stir Fry posted at Penniless Parenting. Kick your frugal cooking skills up a notch!

Dawn presents A Crockpot Succeed and Failure posted at Frugal For Life. My wife uses the crock pot all of the time (she does let me turn it off for her sometimes but that is the only time I’m allowed to touch it), she would be totally bummed out if her’s broke! (Read part 2 of the article for positive results though!)

Kyle James presents Frugality In Practice: Needs Vs. Wants posted at Rather-Be-Shopping.com. Have your needs vs. wants changed over time?

Taxes & Credit

Four Pillars presents How Long Before I Get My Income Tax Refund? posted at Quest For Four Pillars. Get your money back as quickly as possible to start saving right away! Giving free loans to Uncle Sam isn’t really frugal.

Peak Personal Finance presents Don’t Forget These Home Office Tax Deductions posted at Peak Personal Finance. Not taking deductions you are entitled to is definitely not frugal!

Single Guy Money presents Taxes Filed – Results Not As Bad As I Thought posted at Single Guy Money. Minimizing your tax refund can be a great way to increase your cash and save more during the year.

Craig Ford presents How To File Federal Taxes Online For Free posted at Money Help For Christians. A good guide to free tax filing online, and we know free = frugal.

David deSouza presents Tax Rebate Forms – Tips and Advice posted at Tax Return Blog. Tax rebate tips for those in the U.K.

Money Beagle presents How Citibank Paid For Our New TV posted at Money Beagle. If getting a TV for free isn’t frugal, I don’t know what is!

MDP presents New Credit Card Laws to Protect Consumers Begin posted at My Dollar Plan. Make sure you know what effect the new credit card rules may have on your finances.

FIRE Finance presents Annual Fee Introduced for Citi Cash Returns Credit Card posted at FIRE Finance. Paying unnecessary credit card fees is undoubtedly “unfrugal”. So don’t do it!

Budgeting and Debt

The Smarter Wallet presents Dave Ramsey: A Debt Fighting Guru’s Money Philosophies posted at The Smarter Wallet. Frugality and debt reduction can be a powerful combination.

Jim presents Budgeting Is About Your System, Not Your Tools posted at Bargaineering. Budgeting can be a great way to live more frugally and save money.

Jason presents Budgeting Bulimia posted at Live Real, Now. The binging in government spending has been going on for a long time know-when will it end?

Other Great Frugal & Money Saving Articles

vh presents Rant: Costco’s consumer-proof packaging posted at Funny about Money. It is ridiculous how much waste some companies use when packaging their products- and how hard they are to open!

DR presents Are Discount Health Plans a Scam? posted at The Dough Roller. Getting ripped off while trying to save money is definitely not cool- especially on something as important as health insurance.

The Investor presents Should you lose pay when snow keeps you from work? posted at Monevator.com. Not getting paid is certainly no way to save money-avoid it if you can.

LeanLifeCoach presents The Space Pencil posted at Eliminate The Muda!. I must admit, I love my Fisher bullet pen (fits easily in my pocket), but how many things are wants instead of needs? I am still not sure what I would do with an apple iPad (what is it supposed to be used for?), although of course, they do look cool!

Wealth Pilgrim presents Financial Aid Forms ? Best Way To Increase College Aid for Free? posted at Wealth Pilgrim. Saving money on college expenses can be huge.

Joe Plemon presents Lessons Irvin Taught Us on Driving, Finances and Life posted at Personal Finance By The Book. Great tips on driving that relate to finances learned from a father-in-law.

Paul Williams presents How to Find $50 a Month to Give to Charity with Minimal Effort posted at Provident Planning. Want to give more? Start by cutting your personal spending.

Financial Uproar presents The Solution To Financial Literacy Doesn’t Lie In Public Schools posted at Financial Uproar. Is school really a good place for kids to learn about personal finance? Is it better than nothing?

Darwin presents Is Paying Kids for Good Grades Wrong? posted at Darwin’s Finance. Is it OK to bribe kids for good grades? It may not be frugal for parents, but it could save them money in the long run.

Case Ernsting presents Unemployment Doesn’t Have to Suck posted at FinditLocal411 Blog. Some tips for staying positive & cutting expenses if you lose your job.

Next week’s Festival of Frugality will be hosted at Miss Thrifty, so be sure to send in your submissions!

Great personal finance photos courtesy of alan cleaver

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Getting Back to Normal Edition

RC — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:53:31 +0000

I’ve had a lot of distractions lately- plenty busy at work (which I am grateful for), the Saints winning the Superbowl, and Mardi Gras here in New Orleans ending last Tuesday. All of these things have left me with very little free time and lots of distractions over the last few weeks (as well as being tired out!), but over the last couple of days things have finally been getting back to normal- whatever that is.

Anyway, here are some great reads over the last week or so from the PF blogosphere:

Marketing or Manipulation, a guest post by Lean Life Coach at Financial Samurai

14 Tax Time Tips at PT Money

How to Rise from Poverty at Brip Brap

Couples and Money: Learn How to Stop Fighting Over Finances in Your Marriage at Generation X Finance

9 Ways to Multiply Your Sources of Income and Pay off Your Debts at Gather Little by Little

I also participated in the following carnivals over the last couple of weeks:

The 241st Carnival of Personal Finance at My Journey to Millions

Festival of Frugality at Ultimate Money Blog

Carnival of Personal Finance #243 at Get Rich Slowly: Valentine’s Day Edition at Get Rich Slowly

I‘m hosting the Festival of Frugality #218 this coming Tuesday, so if you are a PF Blogger be sure to submit an article !

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Saints in the Super Bowl Edition

RC — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:01:31 +0000

Well, the reports are in, and it’s official. Hell has frozen over, as you can see from the accompanying photo.

The New Orleans Saints have finally made it to the Superbowl after 42 years. It’s still hard for me to believe, and I have not been suffering the full 42 years as I am a little younger than that. Win or Lose, they had a great season (although I think they will win, of course), and the irony on playing against a Manning (the 1st family of football in New Orleans and probably the rest of the NFL as well) makes it an even more exciting match-up. I can’t wait!

On to this week’s links- I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out first to two personal finance bloggers who are also Saints fans-I am sure there are others, but I have known these two were Saints fans for a while so I thought I would start off by highlighting a couple of their recent articles.

2010 Roth IRA Conversion: Should You Make the Move by PT from Prime Time Money

How Shopping Helped Me Save over $500 on Insurance by B Simple from Simple Financial Lifestyle

Geaux Saints!!

photo by southerntabitha

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Help Relief Efforts in Haiti Edition

RC — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:11:10 +0000

Living in New Orleans and having gone through Hurricane Katrina and the the aftermath, I’ve seen what the destructive forces of nature can do to a community.

What has happened and is happening in Haiti, however, is 1000x worse. Haiti is a country that was already wracked by extreme poverty and substandard infrastructure compare to anything here in the U.S., before the earthquake, so they need assistance from others that much more.

If you have the ability to donate some amount, no matter how small, please do so to help the relief efforts going on there now, which will have to continue for a very long time in the future before there is some resemblance of normalcy.

You can donate $10 to the American Red Cross by sending a text message stating “HAITI” to number 90999. A $10 charge will appear on your phone bill.

You can also make donations to the American Red Cross via their Haitian Relief donation page.

Other groups providing assistance in Haiti:

Doctors Without Borders donation page

Partners in Health Haiti Page

Unicef Haiti Donation Page

There are probably dozens of other charities, legitimate ones, that are assisting in the Haitian relief efforts, so if you have one in mind, please donate. If you are unsure on the legitimacy of a charity you are considering making a donation to , make sure to check it out first before you donate so that your donation will have a positive impact.

Here are a few great posts I read over the past week:

The Two Income Myth at Brip Brap

8 Steps for Having a Financial Game Plan at Couple Money

How We Paid Off Our Mortgage in Under Ten Years at fivecentnickel

Are Prepaid Legal Plans Worth It? at Bargaineering

Coupons 101-Frequently Asked Questions at Northern Cheapskate

I participated in 2 carnivals over the past week:

Carnival of Personal Finance #239- Hot Money Trends for 2010 Edition hosted at Darwin’s Finance

Festival of Frugality #21-New Beginnings Edition at Yes, I am Cheap

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- Start of a New Decade Edition

RC — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:13:49 +0000

Well 2009 is officially in the books, and we are now into the start of a new decade. (At least that is what they are saying- I am not exactly sure that the new doesn’t start on Jan 1, 2011, but that is another issue all together.)

Since it is 2010, I figured I’d share 10 great personal finance articles I’ve enjoyed over the last few weeks:

Why Frugal is About Living at Moneyning

New Credit Card Legislation at Gather Little by Little

Should You Wait to Give Until You Have Enough Money? at Redeeming Riches

Good Jobs Without a 4 Year Degree at Free By 50

5 Essential Money lessons From 2009 at Fiscal Fizzle

Let Freement Reign! Spending Paralysis, Material Lust, and Obsession at Financial Samurai

Top 135+ Personal Finance Posts that Can be Used in 2010 and Beyond at Good Financial Cents

The Ingredients Necessary for a Healthy Financial Plan at Christian Personal Finance

It’s A New Year to Pimp Your Finances at Budgets are $exy

Uglify Your Stuff to Keep it Safe at Wisebread

I also participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance- Parts of Speech Abuse Edition at Mighty Bargain Hunter, and the Carnival of Personal Finance-Thanksgiving Survival at Fiscal Geek (mea culpa for the late shout outs-haven’t done a roundup in a while!)

Here’s to financially successful New Year!

Similar Posts:

Personal Finance Links- New Orleans Saints 10-0 Edition

RC — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:03:15 +0000

Although my LSU Tigers disappointed this past weekend, the New Orleans Saints cruised past the Tampa Bay Bucs today 38-7 to reach 10-0 and remain undefeated. Only time will tell if they make it to the Big Game, but things are looking pretty good for it being the best season ever. It will likely be tough though, as there are still 6 games left, and the in the playoffs just about anyone can win on any given Sunday…..

Some good personal finance articles from around the web this past week:

My SUV will Beat Up Your Hybrid & Save the World at Financial Samurai

Best of MyWifeQuitHerJob on Entrepreneurship at My Wife Quit Her Job

The Holidays Begin at Bad Money Advice

Gift Cards: The Envelope System of the 21st Century? at Enemy of Debt

How to Fight Your Health Insurance Claim Denial at the Wisdom Journal

I participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance # 230 at the Canadian Finance Blog, and the Festival of Frugality held at Domestic Cents over the last couple of weeks-be sure to check them out!

Photo by dbking

Similar Posts: