Carnival of Financial Planning

My second foray into blog carnivals, here is this week's Carnival of Financial Planning.

BUDGETING AND ECONOMICS

JP @ My Family Finances writes Shopping Online or In the Store: See Which One Is More Cost Effective - You will find that eCommerce allows you to maintain the highest profitability based on lower costs and increased sales.

SBB @ Simple Budget Blog writes The Physical Manifestations of Keeping a Budget - How maintaining a budget can keep you healthier for years to come.

GenY @ Gen Y Finances writes Sharing Your Finances - Personal finance for some of us is a challenging task. Imagine adding another person to share these finances with. With as complicated as money can be it is no surprise that it is the root of many problems in relationships.

Harry Campbell @ The Four Hour Work Day writes Have You Ever Had a Really Great Manager? - On most nights when I get home from work, I have a pretty consistent routine. I’ll work online for a couple hours while I have a little snack and then it’s off to prepare dinner, or grab a quick bite to eat. Once in a while, my fiancee will even cook dinner for me! But after that, I sit down in front of the TV and put on one of my favorite shows: The Office. It’s kind of sad but that show is one of the only ones I can watch over and over without it ever getting old.

Daniel @ Make Money Make Cents writes It's Time To Stop Trying to Keep Up With The Joneses - Keeping up with the Joneses is the phenomenon of using your neighbors as a standard for which to compare your own life and material goods.

Jay @ Daily Fuel Economy Tip writes Five Ways for Parents to Save on Tutoring - You may be starting to notice your child's strengths and weaknesses in school, as far as grades go. There is a solution: tutoring.

Matt @ Budget Snob writes How your Upbringing Affects your Money Habits Part 2 - Something that most people do not realize is that how they were raised as children can actually have a big impact on how they make decisions as adults, especially with money.

Amy @ Money Mishaps writes Online and Mobile Retail make Black Friday practically obsolete - Ladies and gentlemen, here is a certifiable fact; marking down prices for Christmas is an American tradition. Here is another fact that is a bit newer; today, those markdowns and bargains come right to you at home so there is no need to actually go to the store to get them.

Hadley @ Epic Finances writes Do Exchange-Traded Funds have an Advantage over Index Mutual Funds? - One of the questions that we frequently get is whether or not there is an advantage for long-term investors to use exchange traded funds instead of index mutual funds. It’s an excellent question, to be sure.

Lily @ Paying Debt Down writes Money Saving Holiday Shopping Tips 2013 - Did you go so far over budget on your holiday spending last year that you didn not pay off your bills until the Fourth of July? If yes, then this post is definitely for you.

Katie @ IRA Basics writes The Secret of Saving for Your First Deposit - Are you ready to become a homeowner and do not fancy a no-deposit home loan? Then the biggest obstacle standing in your way is the first deposit or down payment.

Marissa @ Finance Triggers writes How to spot a good mortgage broker from a bad one - How can you decide if a mortgage broker is a good one or a bad one? The best way is to learn the answers to these questions.

Justin @ Edward Antrobus writes 10 Reasons To Consider Small Business Exporting - Exporting used to be seen as something that only the bigger companies really did. These days the process is more accessible than ever before, even to small businesses.

Buck @ Buck Inspire writes Club MomMe Family Fall Fest 2013 Entrepreneurship for Moms Recap - Like I mentioned in my Club MomMe Family Fall Fest 2013 Recap, the Entrepreneurship for Moms speaker panel was one hour filled of informational and inspirational stories. The interesting thing was you could not get a more diverse mix of styles and personalities.

Holly @ Club Thrifty writes Avoiding Obamacare: Screw You Guys, I'm Outta Here - Avoiding Obamacare has become my goal over the past few months and I think I found a way to do just that. Read about it here.

Natalie @ Debt and the Girl writes Finding Out What Makes You Thankful This Holiday Season - This time of the year always makes me reflect on certain things in my life and how fortunate I am for what I have. It also makes me reflect on certain things that I can do to make things better for myself and those that I care about.

Alexa @ Single Moms Income writes My Work at Home Truths - It has officially been one month since I quit my job to work on my online businesses. Over this past month I have had some revelations.

Alexa @ Defeat Our Debt writes How to Use a Zero Sum Budget - If you want to improve your financial health you need to budget. Here is how you can use a zero sum budget to improve your personal finances.

Graham @ Moneystepper writes 2014 New Year Resolutions – Update on my 2014 goals - Maybe I'm being a little impatient, but I started early this year! Check out my November progress!

GenY @ Gen Y Finances writes Renting versus Buying - Home ownership in the United States is often times considered the American Dream. The fact of the matter is that home ownership is not all fun and games. It is a huge commitment that requires more than just money.

Christopher @ This That and The MBA writes Manage Debt Before It Manages You - It is important to keep debt at reasonable and manageable levels or we could end up incurring high interest rate charges. Even worse having barely enough money to pay the minimum payments on our credit cards.

Christine @ CO123 writes Edible Arrangements Coupons For The Holidays - It’s the holiday season and with family visiting, engagement parties, holiday parties, and office get-togethers, we all need coupon codes to help us save money. Check out coupons from everyday favorites like Dominos or even fruit bouquets from Edible Arrangements.

Fiona @ ReadyForZero Blog writes How To Network On a Budget - Networking can help you make valuable professional connections and potentially benefit your career as a result. But when networking goes beyond connecting via LinkedIn and wanders into the realm of professional lunches or happy hours, your wallet can really feel the strain. We share how to successfully network without busting your budget!

Mollie @ Success Manual writes Reasons for Distilling Wisdom - Self Improvement

CAREER AND INCOME

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes College Finance: Tips for Starting a College Fund - Everyone knows how expensive college is. However, by utilizing a few of the tools listed below you too can begin saving for college.

Sarah @ BloggerPreneurship writes How to Think of Blog Article Ideas - It is very difficult to think of blog article ideas. As a blogger and entrepreneur, you rely on your blogs and websites for at least a portion of your income. Whether or not blogging is directly related to your income or it drives customers to your actual business, having fresh new content is incredibly important. This is no surprise, but what may be surprising to you is how difficult it is to find topics to write about on a consistent basis.

Gary @ Gajizmo writes Highest Paying Jobs in America - With new economic data showing an accelerating economy and improving labor market, young adults and professionals should be wondering about the best paying careers in America. Here is an in-depth list of jobs as well as their corresponding salaries, and job and education requirements. With the New Year around the corner, wouldn’t obtaining a new high paying job be a great resolution?

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes How Reading Biographies Can Change Your Life - Here are some ways I believe reading biographies (or autobiographies) can change your life.

DEBT AND CREDIT

Michelle @ The Shop My Closet Project writes Black Friday Pay Off Challenge-Did I Succeed?? - I decided about a month ago to pay off a credit card on Black Friday. I'm not anti-Black Friday.

Lindy @ Minting Nickels writes Credit Card Myths: Are They Really What They Seem? - The typical wallet might have at least one credit card inside it.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Is saving really a virtue? - Saving builds savings; you are still working for your money. Start investing and make you money work for you.

Jon @ Increase Credit Limit writes How To Increase Your Credit Limit - Even if you might know that you should increase your credit limit, that information will do you no good unless you know how to get it done. So, here are some tips for how you can increase your credit limit.

The Wolverine @ Wolverine Finance writes Financing Your Next Car...For How Long? - In the United States, the average new vehicle loan is now 65 months! If you choose to finance a car, how long should your loan be?

INVESTING AND SAVING

Ryan @ Cash Money Life writes Bitcoin: Investment or Speculation? - Bitcoins are an entirely digital currency that is growing quickly. People want to know if they are a good investment, or if we are nearing a Bitcoin bubble.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Keep Your Cyber Monday (and Other Holiday Shopping) Inexpensive - A list of advice on how to keep your online shopping relatively inexpensive, looking at rebate sites, free shipping, coupon codes, and comparison sites for shopping.

Daisy @ Suburban Finance writes Cheap Things to Do on New Years Eve - Looking for an inexpensive new year celebration? We have listed some cheap things to do on new year's eve (NYE on the cheap).

Tushar Mathur @ Everything Finance writes The Four Gift Rule - The four gift rule is the perfect way to cut down on materialism this Christmas all while still giving your kids exactly what they want.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Growing a Blog - Sorry, It Takes Time - A bunch of you have emailed me over the last 2-3 months asking how to grow your site as fast as humanly possible.

Cat Alford @ Budget Blonde writes How to Avoid Big Purchases and Deal with Emergencies - If you want to know how to avoid big purchases and be better prepared to deal with financial emergencies, look no further than this post!

Tushar @ Finance TUBE writes 5 Secrets of Successful Savers - Are you a saver or a spender? There are several things you can do if you make saving more natural or spender. There are also strategies you can use that will help your children become savers and set them up on a path to wealth.

Crystal @ Married (with Debt) writes My 2014 Financial Plan - Rather than prepare a list of financial goals, I've chosen to instead craft a solid financial plan ahead of 2014, with a goal of sticking with it for 2014.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes How Much Should De-Stressing Your Life Cost? - We all have stressors. Some of them are the little nagging ones, like getting to daycare on time to pick up the kids and avoid extra charges.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Beginners Guide to Power of Attorney - The idea of power of attorney can be a complicated one. It is important that you understand the logistics of how power of attorney works before you are in the situation of being one.

Cindy @ MidLife Finance writes How to Retire the Cheapskate Way - What if you could retire better, earlier, happier — now or in just a few years?

SavingMentor @ How To Save Money writes Insurance: Can You Get A Better Rate? - Insurance, more than any other product or service I pay for, makes me nervous ...

Irfan @ Everything About Investment writes Warren Buffett: How to teach your children about money - Warren Buffett is one of the most famous billionaires in the world. He also loves sharing his advice with kids as part of his Secret Millionaires Club. Here, he answers five questions, including what he thinks the biggest mistake is that parents make when teaching their kids about money and how he learned about money.

Ben Luthi @ The Wealth Gospel writes Rules of Thumb to Ignore - Rules of thumb can be helpful when you're just starting to learn how to deal with your finances. But for some people, they can be holding you back from reaching your potential.

Pauline @ Make Money Your Way writes How are Currencies Traded? - Today Troy continues the investing for beginners series, he explains how exactly are currencies traded?

Chris @ MyTermLife123 writes Term vs. Whole Life Insurance: Which Is Better? - You’ve heard about life insurance, but what about the different types of policies? Do you know what differentiates between term versus whole life insurance, and the pros and cons of each type of coverage? While shopping this holiday season, think about your life insurance needs as well.

RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE

Matt Becker @ Mom and Dad Money writes What to Look For in a Disability Insurance Policy - There are a lot of variables to consider when looking at disability insurance, and with all of the different terms it can quickly get confusing. Today I’d like to explain some of the most common and important characteristics of a disability insurance policy so that you can make a more informed decision when evaluating your options.

RETIREMENT AND TAXATION

Justin @ Root of Good @ Root of Good writes Three Months of Early Retirement - In this tell-all exposé, Justin reveals the secret life of a 33 year old early retiree. Buying baby diapers in bulk, repairing appliances, tracking spending. It's all in here folks!