4:45 PM update: The waiting list is again closed. Thank you to everyone who responded promptly. We now have more than 100 people on the waiting list.

As you may know, I am allowing Consumerism Commentary to share ING Direct referral links, providing new savings account holders with a $25 bonus (and a $10 bonus to the referrer). As of right now, I’m down to nine referral links for the savings account. You can find those links here.

I’m re-opening the waiting list for readers who are hoping to provide their referrals to other Consumerism Commentary readers. Please leave a comment below or email me if you’d like to be added to the short waiting list. I won’t be able to respond to everyone, but if you leave a comment or send an email, you will be added. Once it is your turn, I’ll send you instructions for sending the referrals directly to Consumerism Commentary for posting.

If you’re not currently an ING Direct customer, here’s how you can earn up to $525 by opening an account.

Note: Please don’t send links directly to me yet. Once it’s your turn on the waiting list, I will send you instructions for supplying the referrals.

4:45 PM update: The waiting list is again closed. Thank you to everyone who responded promptly. We now have more than 100 people on the waiting list. Subscribe to Consumerism Commentary (rss) to be informed when the waiting list is open again.

This morning, I posted an article on one of my favorite blogs about personal finance, Get Rich Slowly. The article follows my ongoing transformation from an external to an internal locus of control philosophy and explains why an internal point of view is more beneficial to achieving financial goals.

Please read Financial Success Comes From Within and participate in the discussion.

A former high-powered, strongly motivated boss of mine did not believe in sleep. In order to be the best in the world at what we do—and this was the goal, no doubt—sleep is an obstacle to be overcome. I disagreed, as it seemed to me at some point, bodies and minds will find what they need whether or not you try to control them.

While he was in his office until four in the morning many nights, trying to work, I was getting the sleep I needed to be effective during waking hours. Our disagreements about this as well as some other philosophies of life eventually led to my departure from the organization.

Scientific studies have long proven the importance of a good night’s sleep, but there’s some new research that links sleep deprivation and serious illness.

A 2008 research project at the University of Chicago’s medical school kept young, healthy volunteers awake for all but four hours a night for six nights running. The result: The levels of subjects’ hormones shifted – in particular a hormone called leptin that affects appetite. They became ravenously hungry, scarfing down pizza and ice cream long after they would have felt full normally, and their blood sugar shot up to pre-diabetic levels – an ominous result after less than one week of inadequate sleep.

...[T]he World Health Organization (WHO) has gathered data from around the globe showing that sleep deprivation depresses the immune system, to the point where WHO is considering labeling chronic sleep deprivation a carcinogen, comparable to tobacco and asbestos.

Sleep deprivation also results in an overestimation of health; people deprived think they have more control than they do.

One experiment at U. Penn’s medical school kept subjects up until 4 A.M., woke them at 8 A.M., and then gave them a series of tests designed to measure memory, alertness, and the ability to react quickly to new information. The researchers were startled to find that subjects’ mental acuity declined markedly after just one night and kept dropping with each successive night of four hours’ sleep. Even more worrying: The study’s volunteers were unaware of their impairment. One woman, so fatigued that she could barely say her name, was nonetheless certain she was able to drive home.

In addition to these studies, entrepreneurs surveyed about their sleep habits have claimed to come up with many of their ideas while asleep. So it seems that sleeping is good for business.

Here are five free ways to improve sleep and five more free ways to improve sleep. Get Rich Slowly also has a brief guide to better sleep.

Make Sleep Work For You, Anne Fisher, Fortune Small Business, August 25, 2008.

Broke Grad Student is hosting the latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance, highlighting the best personal finance articles as well as the Beijing 2008 Olympics. My recent article on Consumerism Commentary, Financial Tips for Students Entering College, earned a “gold medal” as an Editor’s Pick.

There were many interesting articles in this week’s Carnival. In addition to the rest of the Editor’s Picks, here are a few more worthy of attention. Be sure to peruse the entire Carnival. There is a wide variety of articles so you’re bound to find something that interests you.

• Want to Be a Millionaire? Follow the YAWN Philosophy.
• Using Your Health Savings Account as a “Super Roth” Investment Vehicle
• The Truth About Passive Income
• Extreme Risk Aversion Paradoxically Leads to Another Huge Risk

For more information about the Carnival of Personal Finance, visit the Carnival’s website. In a few days, the Carnival will begin looking for hosts to round out the last three months of 2008.

I’ve done a good job of sharing my disdain for Dave Ramsey’s popularization of a method of getting out of debt that caters to unmotivated individuals, the “Debt Snowball” method. That doesn’t mean I don’t agree with his principles or his intentions. I just think he, as one of the most popular “gurus” in personal finance, has to cater to the masses. It makes sense for him to profess a methodology that is simple reaches people on an emotional level. Real financial planners who work one-on-one with individuals to get out of debt and formulate a lifetime financial plan would be able to supply better options.

Dave Ramsey does offer something I like, his “Baby Steps.” These are seven suggestions that, when followed sequentially, will do wonders for helping people struggling with their finances to take ownership of the money in their life and start moving towards a more prosperous future.

Here are Dave’s suggestions, verbatim:

• $1,000 to start an emergency fund
• Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
• 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
• Invest 15% of household income in Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
• College funding for children
• Pay off home early
• Build wealth and give!

In general, I like this plan of action. These “baby steps” help someone ease into a pattern of new, financially responsible behavior, with small mini-goals which when taken in full view go a long way to help ensure financial stability.

These “baby steps” are designed to appeal to a large mass of people. This is not advice based on any one individual’s real situation, so it’s fair to apply some customization and perhaps even improvements. Here are a few small criticisms.

Is $1,000 enough or too much for an emergency fund base? Dave Ramsey suggests shoring up a $1,000 cash cushion before beginning to pay off debt. Although $1,000 is a finite number of dollars, its value has a different meaning to different people or to different families. A family with an income of $250,000 a year and $1,000,000 in debt may not consider $1,000 to be much of anything, while a family earning $20,000 per year and $100,000 in debt might find the saving of $1,000 to be a struggle. So what’s a better option? I would suggest that this base savings, what is needed to lay the groundwork before embarking on the great debt reduction journey, should be one months’ expenses, whatever they happen to be. That sets a high enough starting goal.

The “Debt Snowball” method is not so great. Despite its popularity and proven track record with a million dollar business marketing this method, I’d like to see more people give a real try to the Debt Avalanche. They’ll save money and time in the long run if they are intrinsically motivated. I’ve discussed this at length before.

Is it too soon to worry about college funding for children? I’ve heard experts suggest that parents should make sure their retirement is fully funded before worrying about funding education for their children. I don’t think saving 15% of household income, unless begun at a young age, will get most parents to a secure retirement, but that depends on the family’s needs at that later date. There are too many variables to predict that with any accuracy. The reason most experts suggest this is because you can borrow money for college, but you can’t borrow money (as easily or inexpensively) for retirement.

I strongly believe that parents have a responsibility to ensure that the best educational opportunities are available to their children, but with the prices of tuition increasingly well beyond the rate of inflation, I’m not sure how well that philosophy will work in the future.

Why pay off the mortgage early? Dave Ramsey is strongly against holding all forms of debt. Mostly, I agree. If the mortgage rate is low enough, and you have the fortitude, risk tolerance, and availability to invest the funds you would otherwise use to accelerate your mortgage payment in an asset allocation designed with a long-term time horizon, it may make more sense to pay just your minimum to the mortgage. But I won’t stop anyone who wants to pay off their mortgage early, even if they might end up with a lower net worth than if they had invested. The market is unreliable, but when paying off a mortgage early, you’re guaranteed to “earn” the rate of interest you’re being charged. It’s not a precise way of figuring the math, but knowing that you don’t have to pay interest that was originally included in your amortization is good.

Thanks go to Dave Ramsey for popularizing good general advice.

The new versions of all the Quicken products are available to purchase starting today, and shipping of the new software will begin on September 9. Intuit, the company that develops the Quicken software and owns the brand, is offering some special discounts to certain websites including Consumerism Commentary. I was not selected to be included in the Quicken 2009 beta test, so I have not seen the software yet. I will most likely download the latest version and share my thoughts as soon as possible.

I’ve been generally happy with my switch from Microsoft Money to Quicken several years ago. There were some improvements I hoped for last year after my dissatisfaction with the earliest release of Quicken 2007 and my reconsideration after Intuit released some fixes. None of the ideas on my wish list were included in the 2008 version, so I’d like to get a look at any improvements in the newest release.

Here are the products now available as well as the discounted price for each. These prices beat even those listed by Amazon.com. All of these products except for the Online Edition can be ordered as CD-ROMs to be delivered to you or as direct downloads.

More discounted Quicken products and other deals are available here.

I will continue to be a Quicken user. There have been many attempts to develop web-based software for money management, including Mint, Geezeo, and even Quicken Online (review here). None of these programs suit my needs at this point.

Kiva is an international non-profit organization that facilitates “microlending” for the purpose of its mission, alleviating poverty across the world. The organization allows those who wish to contribute to lend money in small amounts to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Kiva’s website lets you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles to select the recipient of your micro-loan and allows you to make that loan. The terms of the loan are generally 6 to 12 months. Kiva claims that repayment rates are 99.7%, so there is very little risk of default.

Even with the potential for earning interest as a lender, I’d be careful about including microlending as an important part of an investment portfolio. It might be best to lend money only with amounts you don’t mind losing. Despite success stories—Endless Gibberish is “addicted” to Kiva and has lent over $20,000—there is always a risk.

For anyone who finds Kiva to be a valuable resource, the Kiva BusinessCard, a credit card offered by Advanta, is an excellent choice. This is the only credit card I’ve encountered that is geared towards philanthropy. The Kiva BusinessCard matches your Kiva contribution (when placed on the credit card) dollar for dollar, up to $200 each month. Your contribution has twice the power. This match is considered a grant, however, and not part of your microloan. When the loan is repaid, you will only receive the amount of your contribution, not including the match. The matching portion will be paid back to Advanta.

Additionally, the card offers an 5% cash back rebate in the form of a statement credit for grants to Kiva, charitable donations, and some expense categories, up to $1,200 in charges to the card. Beyond that $1,200 limit, and in other expense categories, the program offers a cash back rebate of up to 1% on all other purchases. The total cash back you receive is unlimited. The cash back incentive for charitable donations is an excellent idea; to loan $100 to Kiva or donate $100 to your favorite non-profit, it will only cost you $95 (after you receive your credit).

That same $95 you spent on a $100 microloan provides the recipient with $200, thanks to Advanta’s matching grant.

Like other business credit cards, you don’t have to be a business in order to apply and be approved for this credit card.

Here are some interesting articles from the MoneyBlogNetwork and beyond. I enjoyed these posts and I believe others will as well.

The Psychology of Credit Cards? Get Rich Slowly shares the story of a reader who has switched from debit card to credit card but has lost the ability to keep track of his spending as a result. Together, they ask readers for suggestions about overcoming the psychology of “spending somebody else’s money.”

Decision Made: I Am Moving All of Our Accounts to Vanguard. NCN from No Credit Needed has decided that the low-cost funds available at Vanguard suit his investing style. NCN made a great choice based mostly on numbers. (The funds have very low expense ratios for all account owners and will actually become less expensive as your balance increases and you qualify for different levels of service). It’s an excellent financial decision. I agree with NCN and at this time I plan on opening any new investment accounts at Vanguard.

Cost vs. Benefit Analysis: Extra Chest Freezer in the Garage. Jonathan from MyMoneyBlog runs the numbers to determine whether it is worthwhile to buy an extra freezer. This is a good example of an analytical approach to decide whether the potential benefits of a large purchase are worth the cost, but as always, a number of assumptions are involved.

Buying a Used Auto With High Miles. Gather Little By Little shares his recent experience buying a Eddie Bauer edition (didn’t they go out of business? or just close a bunch of stores?) Ford Expedition with over 100,000 miles. In many cases it makes financial sense to buy used cars, though there are some exceptions. He got a great deal on this car as long as there are no undiscovered problems.

• How to Find a Good Auto Mechanic. Five Cent Nickel shares several tips.
• What You Buy Matters to Credit Card Companies. Meg from All Financial Matters describes how CompuCredit uses the types of locations in which you shop to determine your credit score.
• Don’t Be Scared of Your Portfolio. Mighty Bargain Hunter offers some advice for those who are afraid to look at the damage caused by the stock market.
• Help Some Readers: Lots of Credit Score Questions. Free Money Finance asks readers to help other readers.
• How Good Writing Skills Save and Earn Money. Wise Bread lists four reasons it pays to write well.