Carnival of Financial Camaraderie – September 15, 2012

Welcome to the Carnival of Financial Camaraderie! There are some great posts this week, on interesting and useful topics. I hope you enjoy this week’s carnival, and remember to submit for the next!

BUDGETING
Deacon @ Well Kept Wallet writes Sell Unused Items to Pay Off Debt – When you are trying to get out of debt selling items around the house can help out tremendously. There could be multiple items sitting in closets, cabinets or storage rooms that could be sold to help expedite paying off your debt. Here are some guidelines that I used when selling items to become debt-free.

Jefferson @ See Debt Run writes The Cost of Pet Ownership – A glimpse into the world of pet ownership costs. Adding a furry friend to your family can be quite pricey, and if you are struggling, you might want to find a cheaper alternative.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Save Money Easily: 4 Things You Can Live Without – Save money easily with these top four tips. Saving money can be a pain but with proper planning it can be really easy!

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Grow Your Budget’s Spending Power – You may have noticed that I’ve been focusing on budgeting over the last several weeks: My Advice to the Person Budgeting for the First Time, Mustang Budgeting

Steven @ Grocery Alerts writes Best products to buy in September 2012 – September marks the end of summer, as well as the countdown to Halloween, Back to School, and the holiday season. Everything from jeans, iPhones to Sunglasses to bicycles.

BUSINESS
PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Getting your Business Off the Ground – Every business begins with an idea. But an idea alone does not make a successful venture. You need to develop and hone many aspects before you can really get your business off the ground. From conducting a market analysis to picking the leading business bank accounts, here are the essentials for getting your business up and running.

CAREER & EDUCATION
James Petzke @ This Is Common Cents writes Write a Killer Resume – Write a killer resume and use it to get a job!

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes This Just In: Stocks Will Rise and The World Won’t End – I bring this up because I see lots of nothing. “Nothing” is what people do when they are too scared to do “something.” A nice mixture of uncertainty and pessimism has kept many people from investing. We’re in (what some refer to as) a liquidity trap.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes 5 Money-Saving Car Maintenance Tips and Tricks – Find out what you should do to take care of your car. You’d be surprised how much longer your car will last.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Building an Emergency Fund – Find out how you can build your emergency fund and what to do with it.

MMD @ My Money Design writes Goal Setting When You Realize That All You Have Is Now – What are we doing with ourselves in between? Are we really goal setting and making the most of our time, or are we squandering it?

FINANCIAL ADVICE
Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes August Recap and September Goals – How did your $1000 Challenge go? Mine went phenomenally, but more on that after I address my other August goals. Here is how the month went

FRUGALITY
Jeremy @ Modest Money writes On The Road Again – Managing Your Finances On Your Travels – Life on the road can wipe out your life savings in what seems like no time at all. However, there are a few ways to reduce your costs so that you can travel for longer on less money, making your return that little bit easier.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Living cheap and feeling cheap – Living cheap may be a virtue but feeling cheap is a curse. What do you do to live cheap without feeling cheap?

TB @ Blue Collar Workman writes Saving Money With Properly Inflated Tires – Obama said that properly inflating your tires will save you gas money. Was that true?

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Guilt Induced Frugality – If someone is frugal though, do they constantly maintain that mindset? Some people might be disciplined enough to keep it up, but I think most people still occasionally splurge.

INVESTING
Giselle Peters @ The Canadian Profiteer writes Extensive Inside Look into Questrade – The Authoritative Review – Here’s an exhaustive in-depth look into the inner workings of Questrade, one of the biggest discount stock trading brokers in North America; from the perspective of an average consumer.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Different Approaches to Investing – Learn about the different approaches to investing so you can be better informed as a young investor.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Auditing Your Emergency Food Stash – Let’s talk about your emergency food stash. You do have an emergency food supply for your home, right? I’m not talking about hoarding buckets of grain in your basement in anticipation of the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse.

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes The Basics of Investing – Read the basics of investing! This is a great introduction to investing (although I might be biased!)

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Financial Changes to Make This Fall – Planning for the expenses that hit us in the fall season will make everything go more smoothly. When we are prepared, we tend to not unnecessarily overspend.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Why We’re Taking Our House Off The Market – After dropping our asking price to the basement, we’ve given up on selling our house – at least for now – and have decided to take it off the market.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes Living at Home-The Parent’s Perspective – I thought it would be interesting to have my mom write a guest post about what it’s like having your kids move back home!

L Bee @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes Invest in what you understand. – Just like I am only going to *write* about things I understand. I turn the blog over today to Drewski, my in-house investing and “big time finance” guru (he’s also my boyfriend and puppy-daddy). Drewski has over two years of experience as a stock broker in NYC. I want to learn more from him and The post Invest in what you understand.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Self-Employment – Is it all it’s Cracked Up to Be? – For as long as I can remember, I recall hearing the notorious “work from home” scams. They seem more popular today, but maybe it is just because I am spending more time on the internet.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes How to Find an Appropriate Investment Firm – A guide to looking through investment firms in order to find the best firm for your investment needs, covering some factors to consider.

TRL @ The Retired Landlord writes Why I am Interested in Real Estate Investing – Find out what I find attractive about real estate and what it offers me. In other words, find out why I love real estate investing.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Ethical Investing and Shareholder Rights: What You Should Know – A key thing to consider when investing is to decide who gets the voting rights. If you invest in index funds, then the fund manager gets the voting rights. If you invest in individual stocks, then you get to pick which companies to invest in, and then you get to choose how to vote your shares. Investors that are prudent about ethical or socially responsible investing should be conscious of who gets control of the shareholder votes when deciding where and how to invest.

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes Kapitall Review – Drag and Drop Investing – One of the more fun and investor-friendly platforms out there is Kapitall. Kapitall originally started out as more of a game, with a format that allowed you to build a portfolio and track your performance, but now the company has received the proper licensing to be a broker, so it’s possible to trade stocks using the company’s unique drag and drop model.

Ken Faulkenberry @ AAAMP Blog writes Slow and Steady Wins the Race in Investment Management – Slow and steady wins the race in investment management. Building wealth is a marathon, not a sprint. Here are the concepts to do it right.

Shilpan @ Street Smart Finance writes Building Wealth With Smart Financial Decisions – The street smart philosophy about building wealth is simple at its core — building wealth with smart financial decisions! Most people don’t build wealth not because they are not smart; they don’t build wealth — for most part — because they are gullible and easily buy into the notion that wealth is either inherited or strikes the doors of lucky few.

harry campbell @ Your Personal Finance Pro writes Why Rebalance Your Retirement Accounts – A crucial part to a successful investment portfolio requires that you occasionally rebalance your portfolio. Due to the volatility of the market, the asset allocation you select might change from time to time. If you select 80% stocks and 20% bonds as your AA, swings in the market can cause these numbers to veer off in different directions. Re-balancing your portfolio allows you to maintain your risk tolerance by selling or buying certain asset classes.

OTHER
Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes Time to Think About the Christmas Budget – Christmas!! In September?! Are you nuts-o? No I haven’t lost my mind and believe me, it feels less like Christmas here in Phoenix than it does probably

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Is Life Insurance An Asset Like Your House, Cash, Or Gold? – Do you consider your life insurance policy to be an asset like your house, cash in your bank account, or the gold bullion bars under your bed? Is life insurance the new asset class?

JP @ My Family Finances writes Don’t Waste Your Money on AAA: Four Options for Free or Low-Cost Roadside Assistance for Your Family – There are plenty of great, low-cost options for roadside assistance that make the yearly payout on AAA a complete waste of your family’s money.

ETZ25 @ Entertainment Timez writes Dividend Money Stream for Entertainment – Sept 11th – This is the reasons that we are creating a dividend money stream for entertainment and fun! Read about the advantages and flexibility of such a dividend money stream!

krantcents @ KrantCents writes Volunteering Changed Me! – I finally started volunteering! No, it was not my first time and it won’t be my last. Most of life, we do things for people expecting something in return. When you say good morning or hello to someone, there is an expectation that the other person will return the greeting or acknowledge you.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes Who Wears the Financial Pants In Your Relationship? – No personal wedding or relationship story to share about who wears the financial pants in my relationship, however I’m curious to know about your relationship, and who wears the financial pants.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes The #1 Reason Why European Waitresses Love Americans – Perhaps you should not tip that European waitress quite as much as you do when you are overseas?

SBB @ Simple Budget Blog writes Simple Ways to Earn More Money – Do you need some extra cash? We give you common and simple ways to increase your income without breaking a sweat.

Passive Income Earner @ The Passive Income Earner writes Top 20 Dividend Stocks – September 2012 – It has been a while since I went over my last dividend stock screening. When I started using my screening, I wasn’t sure how different the results would be over time but it’s clear that we have regular movement. I am by no mean trying to do market timing but knowing that you are buying a stock at a good valuation with good yield is good for a portfolio.

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes WHO IS RICHER? CAN YOU FIGURE IT OUT? – Instead of feeling embarrassed that she didn’t have a fancy smart phone, she regarded her phone as a sign of her smart money decisions.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes What Kinds of Mutual Funds Can You Get? – Are you thinking about getting a mutual fund? Read my information about the different types.

Tushar @ Finance TUBE writes Extreme Couponing: Tips for Getting the Most Out of Daily Deals – This is one of the unique episodes where you will be getting tips for the daily deals. You will be having these fours exciting tips which are easy to be applied. These will make your usage more interesting and valuable from every aspect.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Should I Let Them Cancel My Credit Card? – Is now the time to cancel my credit card, and potentially mess with my credit score? Here’s how the cancellation could impact my credit.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Everyone is Wrong: QE Does not Lower Interest Rates – The belief of QE lowering interest rates is wrong. With the impending announcement of the Fed this week, investors should look for higher interest rates.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes How to Deal with a Difficult Coworker – I’ve had my fair share of having to deal with difficult coworkers. This makes me sound like I’m the problem, and to be honest I probably was part of the problem.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes College Debt – Diversification and What this Means – Find out about the latest trends of college debt and how getting students loans can affect your finances.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes 12 Month of Goals: September – Welcome to the start of another month. September is an interesting month as you start to see cooler weather, but the threat of an Indian Summer is still a possibility.

Shawanda @ You Have More Than You Think writes 3 Quick and Easy Tips to Shrink Car Insurance Costs – Car insurance is an onus that never seems to die. Fortunately, you can reap massive savings by making a few quick adjustments to your auto insurance policy.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Not Enjoying A Family Vacation By Focusing Too Hard On Money – I had to work on my spouse so that he would enjoy the family vacations we go on and not focus too hard on money! Perhaps you should do that same…

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Do You Prefer Advice From An Expert Or Someone Who Has Had Experience? – While nobody is perfect, I pride myself on making as few financial mistakes as possible. That’s not to say every investment I’ve made has gone well, but for the most part I don’t waste money and have made pretty good decisions regarding my personal finances. I take advantage of my credit cards by paying them…

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes Do You Eat Out Too Much? – If you’ve noticed that your disposable income may be sneaking out the back door of your family finances, one of the causes could be between the lunches and

IMB @ Investing Money writes How Much Money to Invest? – Want to know how much you should invest? Find out how to calculate the amount to invest.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes How I Spent $300 on Wicked Parents, a Sick Child and a Slurpie – Read my interesting tale of how I spent $200 dollars in the most unusual ways!

MR @ Money Reasons writes Fincon12 – A Unique Perspective – Part 1 – This is my take on the fincon12 conference from a city exploration standpoint! The cost of the conference was worth it just to visit the great city of Denver! More to come soon and other experiences.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Dishwasher vs Hand Washing: Which is Cheaper and Greener? – At first glance handwashing dishes appears to be a greener and cheaper option than using a dishwasher. Best to look twice.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes How to Resolve Money-Related Disputes in a Relationship –   Did you know that the average couple spends 250 and 700 hours planning their wedding? This number is INSANE.

Jennifer Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Bills Make Me Peevish and Need to Go Away. – Broke-Ass Mommy is a blog that chronicles the tribulations of being a mother with limited income

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Top 10 Reasons Why You Need an Emergency Fund – Reasons You Need an Emergency Fund You’ve heard all the pundits in personal finance extol on the fact that you need to have a emergency fund. I’m not going to preach to you about how much you should have, or where to put it.

CAPI @ Creating a Passive Income writes Two Ways to Create Passive Income – Lacking liquid assets to invest money and create a passive income? No need to worry. Find out how you can generate passive income without any money down.

This carnival is hosted every second week by My University Money and you can submit articles at Blogger Carnivals or Blog Carnival HQ.