If you didn’t have enough Independence Day celebration and you’re looking for more, visit Mighty Bargain Hunter for the latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.

The Carnival of Personal Finance (or just “Carnival”) is a weekly selection of many of the best articles written about the topic and published recently online by bloggers. Each Monday, the Carnival is hosted at a new location, usually with a “theme.”

Today’s theme is the history of the flag of the United States. In addition to nuggets of historical wisdom, there are a few excellent articles I’d like to highlight:

• Could You Go Cashless?
• Why Your Diamond Rung Could Be a Terrible Investment
• 6 Warning Signs a Company May Cut Its Dividend
• What are the Benefits of Living a Cash-Only Lifestyle?

The schedule of hosts for the Carnival of Personal Finance has been finalized, but a few stragglers have not confirmed their dates yet. The scehdule will be posted shortly.

Welcome to the third anniversary edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance! It’s hard to believe the Carnival has been in operation for so long, traveling to so many different locations week after week, yet here we are, starting the Carnival’s fourth year with a presentation of some excellent articles.

Last year’s second anniversary was hosted at Get Rich Slowly and the first anniversary was hosted here at Consumerism Commentary. The first edition was launched from here on June 20, 2005.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the third anniversary edition. There are many, many great articles that deserve your attention this week. It’s interesting to see how the community of personal finance blogs has grown and matured over the past few years, and this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance is a great example. Excellent articles have come from long-time and new bloggers alike.

I think you’ll enjoy the Editor’s Choice section, but there are many more articles that are worthy of your review.

Originally, I had planned to do something special for this third anniversary edition of the Carnival, but the sheer number of submissions was more than I expected and I’d rather let the best articles speak for themselves.

Editor’s Choice

Remember the “purity test” which you took in high school? You would get one point for everything you’ve done on the list, and the higher your score, the less “pure” you were. In a similar vein, Moolanomy has the Financial IQ Test, which follows a similar premise. Take this test to determine your Financial IQ.

Free Money Finance for president? Here FMF presents Politics and Your Money, taking a critical look at both presidential candidates’ stated economic policies.

Ron Haynes from The Wisdom Journal presents My Top 5 Personal Finance Blunders. I think these five mistakes will sound familiar to just about everyone. We all make mistakes, but the most intelligent of us learn from these errors.

Emily Starbuck Gerson from Taking Charge presents Too much debt can ruin your health. Debt is not only bad for your wallet, but according to recent research, there is a correlation between debt and certain physical or psychological manifestations like ulcers, anxiety, and depression.

Alex from Transcendental Success presents Become Rich By Helping Others. “There are at least two ways to create wealth. Both of these ways create wealth out of “nothing”. Nobody has to lose wealth for these to work.”

Everyone wants to be a superhero, and you can be a financial superhero with some discipline. The Financial Blogger presents Financial Super Powers Series: Time Control and Super Speed.

Kimberly from Alpha Consumer presents How to Teach Your Kids About Money. “Amid what could be considered a nationwide crisis in financial literacy, as illustrated by burgeoning consumer debt and paltry savings rates, parental guidance might be one of the few ways to reverse those trends.”

Madame X from My Open Wallet presents The Four Pariahs, and says, “In the movies, the rich kids are always beautiful and popular. In real life? Maybe not…”

Keep reading for more great recent personal finance articles. Read the rest of this article »

The latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is live on Prime Time Money. There were many great articles this week, so it’s worthwhile to look through the submissions.

In addition to the Editor’s Choices, check out One PB&J a Day Brings a Home Within Reach?, A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned… Sometimes, and Have You Ever Fallen in Love?.

Next week, the Carnival of Personal Finance will be hosted here, with a special edition for the Carnival’s third anniversary. Bloggers may submit articles through Sunday evening.

This morning I have the honor of hosting the 119th edition of the Festival of Frugality! I’d like to lead off with an announcement: I gave my notice yesterday. As of April 12th, I will be a full-time blogger. After months of deliberation, I have decided to take Consumerism Commentary to the next level, and that can only be done without distractions such as my soon-to-be-former day job.

I will now be joining the ranks of those reliant on the web for income, like J.D. from Get Rich Slowly and Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Wish me luck, I’ll need it.

If you’re new to Consumerism Commentary, please take a moment and subscribe to the RSS feed. Now, here are the best articles amongst all submissions for this week’s Festival of Frugality.

Editor’s Choice

If you can rent rather than buy, do it. Silicon Valley Blogger presents Rent Instead Of Buy, And I Mean Anything! posted at The Digerati Life. “Let’s take a tour of my virtual warehouse and check out the rental market for some of its items shall we? Not all lease ideas are money savers, but all exist to serve the purpose of filling a demand.”

Sharon Harvey Rosenberg from The Frugal Duchess presents Sell the Coach Bag? What I’m Willing To Give Up for Financial Security. If faced with a financial hardship, how far are you willing to go to sell off your assets? Here’s Sharon’s answer.

In Lovely Leftovers, P. Sycamore from She Laughs at the Days to Come writes, “Whether your leftovers come from the fridge, the freezer or the restaurant, the most important thing to remember about leftovers is that they’re like money… if you lose track of them, it costs you.”

glblguy has do-it-yourself tips in his article, Homemade car cleaning products, posted at Gather Little by Little.

Sarah from 20saver presents The beginnings of a frugal wedding. “Because we reused unwanted diamonds instead of purchasing a premade engagement ring, Jake paid considerably less for my ring than its actual value.”

Aryn from Sound Money Matters wonders: Is A Frugal Lifestyle Always Environmentally Friendly? No, but frugality isn’t about always going with the least expensive option.

Penny Nickel offers 10 ways you can use less artificial light—lower emissions and your energy bill! posted at Money and Values. Thanks for letting us know about Earth Hour.

Continue reading for more articles from the Festival of Frugality. Read the rest of this article »

The latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance, a weekly round-up of some of the best articles on the web about personal finance, has been published at Stock Trading to Go. In addition to the host’s Editor’s Picks, be sure to read How to Manage Your Asset Allocation With Multiple Accounts, Grow Your Investments One Snowflake at a Time, and Finding Time for Cost-Cutting Measures.

Also, you may be pleased to know that the schedule for the Carnival of Personal Finance through June 2008 has been finalized. Hosting the Carnival is often a monumental task, and I appreciate all the volunteers willing to assemble an interesting and informative Carnival of Personal Finance each week since June 2005.

Next Tuesday, the Festival of Frugality will find its way to Consumerism Commentary. I encourage all bloggers who write about frugality-related topics to submit their best article this week in consideration for the April 1 edition.

Looking for a collection of great personal finance blog posts? The latest Carnival of Personal Finance is online at Million Dollar Journey. The Carnival of Personal Finance is a weekly traveling round-up highlighting some of the best personal finance articles from around the blogosphere.

In addition to the articles starred by the host, check out Asset Allocation for Investors Under Thirty, How to Buy a Reliable Used Car, Debt is 90% Mental, and this article from Consumerism Commentary, 15 Families Hit Hard Recently: Time to Adjust Expectations?

The Quest for For Pillars has posted the latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance in with Canadian flair. In addition to the Top Hoser Picks, start reading with The Double Digit Myth (which I’ve also discussed recently), and Good News: You’re Standing in Your Own Way. My article, Teaching Financial Skills to Teens With Learning Disabilities was included, as well.

The Carnival of Personal Finance is looking for bloggers who would like to host in April, May and June. If you’re interested, read the requirements and fill out an application.