Holidays are about two things: family and food. Halloween is no different. Although families celebrate some holidays with a large meal, with ingredients like turkey, ham, fish, potatoes, and pies, the central food theme of Halloween is candy.

Once a year, everyone is provided an excuse to eat the stuff that parents always told them would rot their teeth, and not feel guilty (or as guilty) about it. The costumes can be entertaining, and I try to reward the better costumes I see with the better candy. For this Halloween edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance, I’m looking at some of the better and more popular candy for the holiday.

The Carnival of Personal Finance is a weekly celebration of the best articles covering a variety of money-related topics from the blogosphere. Consumerism Commentary initiated the Carnival in June 2005 and the event has continued on a weekly basis since then.

Editor’s picks

Twix is the only candy with the cookie crunch — at least it was when George Costanza said it. Twix was first produced in the United Kingdom in 1967 but didn’t find its way to the United States until 1979. The Twix bar was known internationally as “Raider” until 1991 when the brand was changed worldwide.

Here are our favorites for personal finance articles this week:

FT from Million Dollar Journey presents Wealth Tips for New College Grads. Here are strategies for going from a net worth of a negative $160,000 to a positive $500,000 in seven years.

Jenn from Paying Myself presents I thought I was supposed to be rich.. We tend to think lawyers are rich — or at least financially secure — but there may not be much truth to that stereotype.

Ryan from Cash Money Life presents Guaranteed Ways to Get Fired, and says, “It’s easy to get fired. Just follow these tips. Or, if you like your job, do the opposite and make yourself indispensable.”

Neal Frankle from Wealth Pilgrim presents Private Career Colleges – Calculate the Value. Are private career colleges worth the cost of tuition?

Bob from ChristianPF presents 7 Reasons To Rent Instead Of Buying A Home. If you are considering purchasing a home, think through these advantages of renting before you buy.

Nicole and Maggie: Grumpy Rumblings presents Another comment on doing what you love. Should do what you love or go where the money is? This article tackles to age-old question and helps explain the main purpose of a college education.

Betty Kincaid from Control Your Cash presents Debunkery yet again. Brett Favre’s riches are derived from one thing: how much revenue he can generate for his organization.

Continue reading for more of the best personal finance articles from the past week.

Candy corn: frugality and family finances

Candy corn is one of the most polarizing Halloween candies. People either love them or hate them, like the concept of frugality. I’m not a fan of candy corn, but I can handle it in small doses. Frugality can also be best when it is in moderation. A frugal shopper should wait until a few days after Halloween and raid the local drug stores, who have marked all of their Halloween candy down 90% or more.

Here are our frugal and family finances articles this week:

Donna Freedman from Surviving and Thriving presents Yet another frugal travel hack. This one mentions indoor skydiving., and says, “What could be more fun than a Segway tour? A deeply discounted Segway tour, that’s what.”

Revanche from A Gai Shan Life presents Scammy scam scam?. Not losing your money to a scam is an important facet of money management.

Sandy from Yes, I Am Cheap presents One Disaster Away, and says, “We often pass judgment on others for their financial situation, but all it takes is one disaster for us to end up in the same situation.”

Kay Lynn Akers from Bucksome Boomer presents They’re Not Called Food Stamps Anymore. California is trying to increase utilization of food stamps by qualified residents and by taking away the stigma.

Lindy from Minting Nickels presents Smoking in Church, and says, “This article is the second of a two-part series exploring why I feel rebellious towards the concept of being frugal.”

The Penny Frugalista presents Choosing a Halloween Costume, the Hard Way, and says, “This is a demonstration of how my husband is not very frugal, particularly when it comes to finding a Halloween costume.”

Roshawn Watson from Watson Inc presents Toyota Millionaires vs. Mercedes Millionaires. Dr. Tom Stanley revisits the car buying habits of millionaires and comes up with two new distinct profiles: the Toyota Millionaire and the Mercedes Millionaire. Which one do you want to be?

Kristina from DINKS Finance presents Marrying Into Dinks, and says, “My father is getting re-married next year. Although I am less than thrilled about his decision, at the end of the day it is his choice.”

ElizabethG from Modern Gal presents Coping with Unemployed Friends.

Len Penzo presents How to Find a Low-Priced Plumber That Won’t Rip You Off.

Christian Treitler from Money Obedience presents Is Shopping Behavior Changing?. In the article, Christian looks at name brands versus store brands.

Musings of an Abstract Aucklander presents The cost of hobbies.

Jason from Live Real, Now presents The Spending Styles of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and says, “The folks in the Rocky Horror Picture Show have horrible habits.”

Bret from Hope to Prosper presents Raising a Family on a Single Income, and says, “Living on a single income is a choice that dramatically affects a family’s finances. Here is our choice and consequences that came with that decision.”

Kaye from Mrs. Nespy’s Frugal World presents 8 Financial Discussions to Have with Your Spouse/Fiance. You and your betrothed should discuss these topics before the big day.

FruGal presents Five days to better finances : Day one: Budgeting.

Mike from Green Panda Treehouse presents Is Renting Throwing Money Away?. These are practical tips to help you decide if renting is the right option for your unique situation.

Jeff from Sustainable Life Blog presents Where Would I be without 2 jobs?, looking back at the past year and determining where his finances might be if he didn’t have two jobs.

Daniel from Sweating The Big Stuff presents Do You Exchange Gifts with Your Significant Other?.

Nicole from Rainy-Day Saver presents Frugality on a First Date: Are Coupons Off-Limits?, and says, “I wonder how much of a hot topic the use of coupons on first dates are now that the economy is still in a downturn — it certainly brought out a lot of strong opinions on the morning radio.”

Clint from Accumulating Money presents Why and How to Establish an Emergency Fund.

Lauren from Richly Reasonable presents How to Get Rid of Stuff That Haunts You. These are some tips for getting rid of stuff you no longer need.

Full size candy bars: investing and retirement

There are a select few houses each and every year that know how to make kids happy. Generally speaking, these are the houses that are fully decked out with ghosts, black spiders, and other scary props. When you ring the doorbell, you are provided quite the delectable treat. A choice of full size Snickers, Three Musketeers, and Milky Ways brings nothing but smiles to a child’s face. The one downside to the large candy bars is the weight it adds to your basket.

Here are the top investing and retirement articles from this past:

Jim from Bargaineering wonders How Often Should I Rebalance My Portfolio?. While there’s no hard rule, Jim’s article offers some thoughts to consider.

Rachel from MomVesting presents Ready to Invest? Consider This First., offering some thoughts to keep in your mind before entering the markets.

Mike Piper from Oblivious Investor presents Investing Requires Guessing, and says, “Even if you use online calculators or sophisticated financial planning software, investment plans are still just a series of guesses.”

Do Not Wait presents Where Will Your Retirement Income Come From?.

Beating Broke wonders Are We Too Confident in the Stock Market?.

Darwin’s Money presents Want to Invest in a Hedge Fund? You Can’t – Here’s Why. Here are the barriers holding most of us back, and maybe it’s a good thing we can’t invest in these funds.

Free Money Finance presents How to Buy and Sell Physical Gold and Silver, Part 1, and says, “An interview on the specifics of buying physical gold and silver.”

Kristia from Family Balance Sheet presents My Dumbest Money Decision. Would you blindly hand over your retirement savings? Kristia did and it was a costly lesson.

Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Gold ETF Investing Options For Your Money.

Blain Reinkensmeyer from Stock Trading To Go presents 6 Great Ways to Minimize Investment Risk with Earnings Releases.

Investor Junkie from Investor Junkie presents Dividend Aristocrats – Who Are They Currently?.

Dividend Growth Investor presents Dividend Stocks for the next decade and beyond, and says, “Some of the best dividend stocks in the world are characterized by strong competitive advantages.”

Caramel apples: credit cards and debt

Now that we’ve introduced a few of the good types of Halloween candy, let’s start talking about the bad. Caramel apples are the most sticky, messy, foul tasting “treats” ever invented. Just picture sinking your teeth into a substance so sweet and rich, followed by something soft and moist, then having to chew it for hours just to get the caramel out of your teeth. And if the stick falls off your apple in transit, you’re left with a big sticky round ball that’s 100% impossible to eat. It’s the worst kind of Halloween candy ever created.

Our list of top credit card and debt articles this week includes:

Connie Prater from Taking Charge presents Credit card contract database gets makeover, but still needs more work under the hood. The Fed still has a long way to go with their efforts to make it easier to compare credit card contracts online.

MD from Studenomics presents Three Reasons Why YOU Are in Debt, and says, “Here are the most common reasons so many young people are in debt.”

Tim Chen from NerdWallet Credit Card Blog presents Have a Limited Credit History? Avoid These 5 Pitfalls. If you want to buy a car, buy a house, or just get a credit card for emergencies, limited credit could be a problem.

Miranda from MoneyNing presents 5 Credit Card Traps to Watch Out For.

Balance Junkie presents Mixed Messages from TD Bank, and says, “TD Bank changed its mortgage structure to allow homeowners to borrow more money at the same time that TD Economics released a report claiming our debt levels are too high.”

Doctor S from Finance Your Life presents Student Loan Moral Victory, and says, “Looking back at how I financed my college career, I would have done pretty much everything differently. However, dealing with the cards I was dealt, I have made huge strides to make the situation right. Progress takes baby steps.”

Briana Ford from Go Banking Rates presents Top 5 Most Common Pitfalls in Eliminating Debt, and says, “These tips can help you avoid some common pitfalls of getting out of debt.”

Jason from One Money Design presents Reasons You Should and Shouldn’t Have a Credit Card, and says, “Is it okay to have a credit card? Do you need one? Are there reasons why you shouldn’t have one?”

And some affiliate-focused credit card articles:

DoughRoller: Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card from Chase
PT Money: Best Airline Miles Credit Cards
Free From Broke: ZYNC Card From American Express

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: banking

Peanut butter is tough to master in a candy, but Reese’s gets it right. I’ve tried peanut butter Twix bars, peanut butter M&M’s and almost every other peanut butter candy but nothing compares to the Reese’s peanut butter cup.

Here are this week’s top banking articles.

FIRE Finance from FIRE Finance presents Direct Deposit to Bank Account – Handle With Care!. Can anyone take out money from your bank account without your permission? Find out here.

The Smarter Wallet from The Smarter Wallet presents What To Expect From A Good Bank Account.

Pretzels: taxes

The definition of Halloween candy must include the word “sweet,” but somehow, pretzels find their way into candy baskets and sacks.

Possibly the most depressing aspect of personal finance, our best tax articles are below:

Kim Snider from Kimmunications presents Preparing for a World of Higher Taxes.

Ken from Spruce Up Your Finances offers The Power of Investing In Tax Deferred Accounts.

Madison from My Dollar Plan writes Social Security 2011 Wage Base Remains Unchanged.

Hard candy: everything else

Our last bit of candy to discuss today is hard candy. This means your Jolly Ranchers, your Blow Pops, Jawbreakers and anything else that would shatter if you throw it on the ground. Hard candy is probably the worst kind of candy when it comes to taking care of your teeth but I enjoy its place in the holiday of Halloween.

Last but not least, here are the articles that didn’t quite fit into any of the above categories:

Kevin from Financially Poor presents Managing Awkward Financial Situations.

Ryan from The Military Wallet presents Troops to Teachers Program, and says, “The Troops to Teachers Program gives military veterans a grant to help pay for their education to become a teacher.”

Aloysa from The Kitchen Sink presents His Wallet is Empty But What About His Head?.

Big Cajun Man from The Canadian Personal Finance Blog presents Financial Bondage, and says, “How dangerous are the financial bondage devices in your life?”

Stephan Marks from Promo Code Center presents Bed Bath & Beyond Coupons Never Expire. I’ve taken advantage of this fact on many occasions.

Ask Mr. Credit Card presents Credit Checks Still an Issue in Hiring.

John from Passive Family Income presents Solar & Wind Power: Create a Renewable Income Stream & Save on Bills, and says, “Solar and wind power often make the news headlines because of their ability to lower the impact of our lifestyle on the planet. For most people, however, greater appeal is found in the way solar and wind power can save them money.”

J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents Think You Could Live in a Hotel?, and says, “There are so many perks to this, if you can get over all the cons.”

Junior Boomer from Consumer Boomer presents How Does Your Net Worth Compare, and says, “It is important to know your personal net worth and how it can help you with your finances.”

Jeff Rose from Soldier of Finance presents Essential First Steps To Kick Butt and Dominate Your Finances, and says, “When it comes to your finances, it often feels that you matter how hard you scrape, how much you cut back, how much you save, you never really have full financial domination.”

Kate Kashman from The Paycheck Chronicles presents The Value of a Stocked Pantry, and says, “Keeping your pantry stocked can help prevent unnecessary spending when sickness, busyness, or craziness happens.”

Sean Smarty from Grow Money presents 5 Things New Homebuyers Should Know Before They Dive In.

RJ Weiss from Gen Y Wealth presents 5 Unconventional Ideas That Really Shouldn’t Be, and says, “There are always options. Define the circumstances you want to live. Then, find a way to create them.”

Paul Williams from Provident Planning presents Good Money Management Is About Avoiding Dumb Mistakes, and says, “You don’t have to be a personal finance expert to manage your money well. You simply need to know the basics and be aware of the dumb mistakes to avoid.”

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. Next week, make sure to check out PT Money for the 282nd edition.

The original version of this article, Carnival of Personal Finance #281: Halloween Candy Edition, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Today’s Carnival of Personal Finance is hosted by ABCs of Investing. The host was kind enough to include my recent article, Number One Frugality Tip: Don’t Be a Woman, among the group selected for “Editor’s Picks.”

In addition to the other Editor’s Picks, I enjoyed The Purpose of Money, Opening a Roth IRA for the First Time, How the Federal Government Prints Money, and The Git-er-Done Redneck Bank. The community of personal finance bloggers continues to grow and great writing is everywhere.

Thanks to everyone who participates in the Carnival of Personal Finance each week.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

The Carnival of Personal Finance is a weekly collection of the best personal finance articles from across the blogosphere, usually with an entertaining or thematic presentation. This week’s Carnival was published last night by the blog Four Pillars.

Check out the articles picked for Editor’s Choice but don’t miss out on The DIY Haircut and Unexpected Check, but It Wasn’t Mine to Keep. I also participated with Which Comes First: Paying Off Debt or Starting Emergency Fund?.

The Carnival, which hasn’t missed a week since it began in June 2005, is a great way to discover new writers and new blogs.

A few of the blogs that participated in that first Carnival on June 20, 2005 are still around, and they deserve some attention for sticking it out through the years.

• Bargaineering (formerly Blueprint for Financial Prosperity)
• Frugal for Life
• I Will Teach You to Be Rich
• Smart Money Daily
• AllFinancialMatters (formerly AllThingsFinancial)
• Five Cent Nickel
• My Money Blog
• Free Money Finance
• Fat Pitch Financials
• Jose Anes Weblog

Only three of the original participants no longer maintain their website or now write about a topic other than personal finance.

The schedule for the Carnival of Personal Finance through June 2009 is in the final stages of organization and should be ready to be announced within the next few days. If you are looking to participate as a host, we are accepting applications for hosting for July, August and September.

If you would like to participate in next Monday’s Carnival to be hosted at Wide Open Wallet, please submit your best article from this week for consideration.

Find out more about the Carnival of Personal Finance, including what’s expected of hosts and participants.

The original version of this article, The Carnival of Personal Finance is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Welcome to the Carnival of Debt Reduction, a traveling weekly roundup of the best articles in the blogosphere covering credit cards, consumer debt, mortgages, and the elimination thereof. Here is more information about the Carnival of Debt Reduction, founded by Mighty Bargain Hunter.

Through this past week, many bloggers submitted articles to be featured in today’s Carnival of Debt Reduction. What follows is the best of those submissions. Interspersed throughout the links to articles are short tips provided through Twitter. Twitter is a micro-messaging social media website. Last week, I asked the people who follow my updates to send a micro-message with their favorite debt reduction tip, and I’m included a few responses randomly throughout the Carnival.

Let’s start with the top six debt reduction articles.

The Silicon Valley Blogger kicks off today’s Carnival with the dos and don’ts of reducing debt, gleaned from her own experiences with debt elimination.

@MillionMommyND‘s debt reduction tip: “Create a wall chart and update it weekly. Keep an eye on your goal and focus on driving the line on your graph consistently downward.”

Can a housing assistance program help prevent foreclosure and assist with housing debt elimination? The Smarter Wallet explains where to look within the federal government for assistance, if you qualify and if the programs operate as advertised.

Lately, a number of banks are shoring up their own finances by closing credit card accounts that have been inactive. PFR from Personal Finance Reviews explains what to do when your credit cards are closed due to inactivity.

@bargainr‘s debt reduction tip: “freeze cards, pay everything cash until you’re cc debt free.”

The Happy Rock explores what it means to “live within your means” with his recent article, As Long as You Can Make the Payments, You’re Fine. Don’t judge the article by it’s title, however.

The Military Finance Network fields this question: Will my credit cards affect my ability to get a car loan? PatrickCML explores the effect of credit scores on loan qualification and the best use of credit cards to maintain a high credit score.

@banker_girl‘s debt reduction tip: “Downsize your residence.”

Christian from Our Personal Finances explains how his family must start rearranging their finances to thrive with only one income for a time. While living below their means previously, they’ll need to make some choices; namely, whether to liquidate retirement savings to eliminate the mortgage, easing the stress on other living expenses.

@jeffrosecfp’s debt reduction tip: “Stop viewing new purchases as “It will only cost this much per month”. If you can’t pay cash, don’t buy it.”

Continue reading the Carnival of Debt Reduction for more of the best from the blogosphere and Twitter.

At Art of the Coupon, Coupon Artists keeps things in perspective when managing frustration with money goals.

Michael Geoffrey explains the importance of reviewing your expenses with a fine-tooth comb in order to take action as part of his 5 Simple Steps To Making Your “Get Out Of Debt” Resolution Stick at Debt Smackdown.

@MoneyMatters‘ debt reduction tip: “Make debt reduction fun by rewarding yourself with something small when you pay off each debt.”

An amortization calculator emphasizes the need to pay more than minimum required amounts to pay off your debt, according to The Financial Blogger from TheCreditToolBox.

Green Panda Treehouse suggests you consider a part-time job to help jumpstart your debt reduction.

@Green_Panda‘s debt reduction tip: “My tip: Focus on one debt at a time. If you focus on everything, you’ll do nothing.”

Free Money Finance explains MP Dunleavey’s suggestions drawn from her own experiences for paying of $30,000 of debt.

Should you tithe while you are trying to get out of debt? Does God expect you to contribute money to your religious organization while you are struggling to make you own ends meet? Bob from Christian Finances believes that the answer is yes.

@sublingual‘s debt reduction tip: don’t read catalogs you get in the mail.”

If you resolve to forgive yourself this year of your past spending transgressions and indescretions, Saver Queen says you will have an easier time tackling your debt.

@brettmorrison‘s debt reduction tip: “It is dead simple: Spend less than you make. Build an emergency fund. Snowball payoff the debt. Only 95 characters required.”

Tyler Metzger from Taking Charge explains how traveling with a credit card is almost a requirement.

@nodebtplan‘s debt reduction tip: “Set up a budget to learn how much money you need and adjust spending accordingly. Use your new free cash flow to pay off debt faster.”

You can achieve debt elimination in five simple steps by reading and enacting the Debt Freedom Fighter’s tips on Discover Debt Freedom.

@curtisfinancial‘s debt reduction tip: “Sign up for www.stickk.com and set a goal to reduce spending on one of your problem areas..clothes, dining out, toys, etc.”

“Credit cards were not created to be a life support system.” Credit Card Assist warns readers not to start living off credit cards.

@SimplyForties‘ debt reduction tip: “Track every penny! If you don’t know where your money is going, you can’t redirect it.”

Destroy Debt from I’m in Debt has four tips for turning your frown around when debt gets you down.

If your New Year’s resolution is to get out of debt, share your resolution with others. Scott Crawford from DebtGoal explains that sharing your goals will increase the likelihood of reaching those goals.

@fcn‘s debt reduction tip: “Build up an emergency fund so you can stop using credit entirely until you get you debt under control.”

Debt Free Destiny presents 10 Excellent Reasons You Need to be Debt Free Today.

Kevin from Rich Credit Debt Loan includes elimination of credit card debt as one of six steps for getting on the right financial track.

@LazyManAndMoney‘s debt reduction tip: “Sell unnecessary stuff. Stop buying new stuff. Use FreeCycle. Enjoy Ramen. Sell cars of big value. Pick up klunkers. Need more tips?”

J. Money is astounded about how much of his family’s “$exy” money goes to debt. Take a look at Budgets are Sexy..

@misformoney‘s debt reduction tip: “Embrace the DIY ethic, don’t pay others for things you can do yourself.”

Getting out of debt, whether credit card debt, mortgages, or car loans, is a popular financial resolution, as Miss M points out at M is for Money.

@MyDollarPlan‘s debt reduction tip: “Every time you send in a payment, pick your amount and add $10 more!”

@SunFinancial‘s debt reduction tip: “Pay more than the minimum.”

Blanchard Warren presents A Debt Elimination System You Can Use posted at Timely Books. For an alternative, that offers the opportunity of getting you out of debt faster and cheaper, is the Debt Avalanche.

The snow metaphor doesn’t just apply to debt. Mike from The Thrifty Life explains how snowflaking your way to an emergency fund will help you stay on the debt elimination path.

@Lynnae‘s debt reduction tip: “Snowflake money you save by using coupons. Sell books on half.com. Cut up the cards.”

Abby Freedman is from I Pick Up Pennies not convinced that Americans have learned their lessons from the recent financial collapse and are now spending less and eliminating debt.

@extremejacob‘s debt reduction tip: “Debt reduction in a nutshell. Realize that most advertised “needs” are actually wants. Spend less. Use the difference to pay it off.”

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Carnival of Debt Reduction this week, included those who sent me their one-line debt reduction tips via Twitter. To find out about next week’s Carnival of Debt Reduction, visit carnivalofdebtreduction.com.

The original version of this article, Carnival of Debt Reduction: Tips via Twitter Edition, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

I have announced the new Carnival of Personal Finance schedule for the first three months of 2009. The Carnival of Personal Finance is a traveling celebration of the week’s best articles about personal finance throughout the blogosphere. Each Monday, a different blog hosts the Carnival, and the hosts bring their own style and flair to the “event.”

Also, next Monday, I will be hosting the Carnival of Debt Reduction. If you are a blogger and have posted an article about debt reduction this week, and you would like to have the article featured within this carnival, submit it to me by 5:00 pm on Sunday, January 11.

The original version of this article, New Carnival of Personal Finance Schedule, Carnival Coming Here, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

The original version of this article, Check Out the Latest Carnival of Personal Finance, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

This may be what I need to do this summer. One Caveman’s Financial Journey presents Enjoy a Romantic Summer Getaway For Less.

Also in an attempt to cut costs this summer, Dana from Not Made Of Money presents Enjoy A Summer Vacation In Your Own City.

Still need more ideas for frugal vacations? Debbie from Debbie the Debt Destroyer presents Go on Vacation Without Adding More Debt.

Stephanie from Poorer Than You presents Graduating? Make a Budget Without Hurting Yourself, and says, “Thoughts and tips on creating a budget for the fresh college graduate.”

For teenagers experiencing an earlier rite of passage, Patrick from Cash Money Life presents Financial Advice for the High School Graduate.

Chief Family Officer presents My Personal Finance Tipping Point. CFO’s realization of her debt made her understand that she must learn about personal finance.

Squawkfox presents How to Research a Prospective Employer. Researching a prospective employer is an often missed step when applying for work. Here’s how to do it.

One of the Many “Lemonade” Moments of My Life. My Investing Blog looks back at a pivotal moment in his life, in which he was able to take the unfortunate circumstances with which he was dealt and make the most of them.

Ben from Money Smart Life presents Direct Sales – Good Way to Make Extra Money or Fast Way to Lose Friends? “Some people make good money in direct sales but what impact does selling to your friends have on your personal relationships?”

Bryce from Save and Conquer presents The Vanishing School Bus, and says, “With tight budgets and the rising cost of fuel, here in California school buses are going the way of the dodo bird. School districts around the country are getting tapped out due to fuel costs.”

Jennifer Derrick from Saving Advice presents Quit Complaining About Fuel Prices and Do Something, and says, “I’ve officially reached my limit for how much complaining about oil prices I can take. Stop complaining and take these steps.”

Betsy from Save 4 Fun presents It Pays to Heed My Own Advice. In this case, shopping around made all the difference.

Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Our Financial Progress Over The Last 10 Years.

Millionaire Mommy Next Door presents I Want More Money, and says, “Change starts with a thought, not an action.” Read about MMND’s “a-ha moment” and consider for yourself the “Law of Attraction.”

The Dividend Guy from The Dividend Guy presents Where to Find Dividend Growth Rates, and says, “Dividend growth rates are a powerful investment concept. Here is how to calculate them.”

Jake Stichler from Debt Sucks presents End of the Road. Jake has run into some financial trouble, but the first commenter on this post has some solid advice.

Penny Nickel from Money and Values presents Search companies’ social/environmental records and urge them to improve: visit Responsible Shopper.

We all know what was on his mind when Broke Grad Student presented 5 Reasons Why Money Is Like Sex.

Dog Ate My Finances looks back on the past six months with 150K Got Me Nowhere. Despite the $150,000 income between her and her fiancé, but they’ve actually moved backwards since then. What went wrong? Read to find out.

Jeremy from Generation X Finance presents How to Get the Most for Your Home When it is Time to Sell.

David from Money Under 30 presents How to Take a 401(k) Loan – And Why You Shouldn’t, and says, “Thinking of tapping your 401k for some extra cash? It’s easier than you think, but it’s a bad idea.”

Redd Horrocks-Maier from Earthlier Happy is the Rose Distilled presents Why I Won’t Buy a Hybrid… Yet. “It’s important to really crunch the numbers for your family before making the decision to buy any new car and particularly a Hybrid.”

Christina from Frugal Finance presents Invisible Money. “Wouldn’t it be strange if we just woke up one day and found that all the money had disappeared and instead all we had were numbers. I pay you a certain number and you sell me something for a certain number and my value is a certain number but there was absolutely no physical object to back it up with.” This post raises an interesting philosophical question.

Steve from brip blap presents associating with the “appear-to-be-rich” folks, and says, “Should you make a cold-hearted effort to hang out only with rich people?”

Carrie from Our Common Cents presents Living on 1 Income in a 2 Income World, and says, “This is part 2 of a series of interviews I’m conducting with Gen Xers.”

Dorian Wales from The Personal Financier presents Actively Manage Your Career to Stay On Top of Your Game. This applies to me; sometimes I let my career manage me rather than taking the initiative and seeking out opportunities. This article presents some statistics as well as suggestions for active career management.

The Writer’s Coin presents Saving for Retirement vs. Living Your Life, and says, “Saving for retirement is essential, but don’t overdo it by compromising the things you can do today that you won’t be able to do tomorrow.” Stop and smell the roses.

Not the Jet Set presents What I Think of Dave Ramsey. This article presents some of Ramsey’s main points with commentary from the point of view of a fan.

By selling a pair of sneakers for a profit, Simon from Realm of Prosperity turned a hobby into a method of making money.

BP from One Chance To Live presents Instant Gratification Hates Discipline.

Praveen from My Simple Trading system presents Why Are Mortgage Rates High?.

Luke from Money & Fitness Blog presents The cost advantages of having a home gym.

Pamela Grundy from Personal Finance Analyst presents Jobs For 16-Year-Olds: Recession-Proof Summer Work. Have your kid earn some money over the summer rather than hanging out or doing drugs.

Passive Family Income presents Tracking the status of my Prosper loan – June (2008) Part 1, and says, “Learn how I made a return of over 15% in less than 3 months with my arbitrage strategy using Prosper.”

Dividend Growth Investor presents The 20 Highest Yielding Dividend Aristocrats. Find out why investing in an index of dividend stocks may be better than investing in the broader market.

MoneyNing presents How I Started Buying My First Stock, but don’t necessarily do exactly what he did. Read MoneyNing’s advice.

Fathersez presents Converting my car to a NGV – My Experience. Fuel prices climbed 41% for Fathersez, and this post explains his process for a successful conversion to a natural gas vehicle.

Dividends4Life presents The Graham Number, and says, “One of the metrics I look at when considering the fair-value of a company is the “Graham Number.” Find more about the Graham Number here.

Gretchen from FeedTheFam presents Make Your Own Cereal: Good Deal or Not? She concludes that making your own cereal isn’t a bargain, but perhaps there are other reasons to make your own.

Clint from Accumulating Money presents a couple of tips for Setting up an Emergency Fund.

Can I Get Rich On A Salary presents Einstein’s Theory of Frugality in Shopping. Let’s all remember that neither of Einstein’s theories of relativity state that “everything is relative.” This post has little to do with Einstein but focuses on the psychology of price comparisons.

My Retirement Blog presents Reles on Claiming Dependents.

Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents TradeKing Review, and says, “A very comprehensive review of TradeKing that looks at all aspects of the brokerage.”

Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck presents Graduation Speech Part 1: You’re even. Now. Here’s the beginning of a hypothetical speech to graduating college seniors.

Henry Stern from InsureBlog presents Ease on Down the Road.

Megan from A Dollar a Day presents The Value of a Good Work Environment.

Mike Leonard from Until Debt Do US Part presents Reject Society and you’ll pay off your debts a lot faster.. Mike is suggesting rejecting consumerism, like “Buy Nothing Day.”

My Family’s Money presents Six Financial Lessons Learned From Going Poop, and says, “A humorous look at the lessons we can learn about money by peering into the toilet bowl.”

Aryn from Sound Money Matters presents When Is It Time to Get a New Bank, and says, “I’ve been tempted to dump by bank, but I haven’t done it yet for the following reasons.”

Kevin from The Red Stapler Chronicles presents 5 Avoidable Obstacles on the Road to Financial Recovery, and says, “I have identified five avoidable barriers that prevent people from solving their financial problems.”

Daily Money Hacks presents Top Ten Wines Under $10, according to MainStreet.

FFB from Free From Broke presents Customer Service Done Right 1800Contacts.com, and says, “Some companies understand the power of good customer service.”

Todd from Harvesting Dollars presents Written Goals Beat Mental Goals Everytime. “If you’re really serious about reaching a particular goal, 5 minutes a day shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.”

Inviting the community to provide suggestions, Enoch Ko from The Wealth Accumulator is wondering whether he should combine income and cash flow statements with his partner.

Dan Melson from Searchlight Crusade presents Why You Want The Lender to Assume Pricing Risk.

Ryan Suenaga from Uncommon Cents presents What Do You Want and What Do You Need?.

Are You Going To Be This Way… presents Saving You Money So You Can Buy More Toys. This blogger is critical of a recent Progressive Insurance commercial.

In what could well be a violation of copyright laws, QueerCents is reprinting mainstream personal finance articles to fit gay lifestyles. Financial Fibs Erode Trust in Partnerships is the most recent example, in which a piece by Liz Pulliam Weston is rewritten.

Lazy Man from Lazy Man and Money presents Have You Decided To Be Rich?

Livingalmostlarge asks, “Is $1M enough to retire on or can you do it with less?” in this recent article, $1M Retirement Question. My Wealth Builder asks the same question in Is $1 Million Needed to Retire?

The Money Kings feature “lockable gas caps” as The Best Money Saving Buy Of 2008.

J2R from Journey 2 Retirement presents It’s easier to blame others.

Shanti from Antishay presents Success is Perseverance, and says, “I am now debt-free, and I reflect on how I got there in this post.”

Mr Credit Card from Ask Mr Credit Card presents How to Stop Collection Calls To Your Job, Friends and Families.

RC from Think Your Way To Wealth presents The Emergency Fund: Where Should I keep It and Why? with “a closer look at the pros and cons of different places to keep an emergency fund.”

The Happy Rock presents Tipping The Personal Finance Scales In Your Favor which provides an explanation how this blogger kicked his personal finance plan into overdrive.

Penelope Pince from Our Fourpence Worth presents Frugal, Fun and Productive Summer Activities, and says, “Summer activity suggestions for all ages who wish to stay busy, cool and healthy – both mentally and physically – this summer.”

The Dough Roller presents 10 Ways to Earn Extra Income. Even small amounts of extra income can go a long way to reduce your debt or increase your savings.

Nicole from Breaking Even, Inc. presents Are Coupons All They’re Cut Out For?.

Foxie from Dreaming of Ferraris presents A Refreshing New Idea. Sometimes you can find more motivation for saving if you have a name for what you’re saving for, such as the “Sunny Day Fund.”

Toi from Discover Debt Freedom presents Emergency Funds: A Quick and Easy Way to Start One.

Debbie from American Consumer News presents Tips for Teaching Kids Better Money Management.

Money Answer Guy from Money Answer Guy presents Is it Possible to Save Money on Gas?

John MacKenzie from Adult ADD and Money presents Six Overlooked Reasons why you are struggling with your finances: Reason #5 – Not Changing Behaviors.

Single Guy Money presents My New Financial Plan.

Ryan from Millionaire Money Habits presents Are You Losing Money to Common Investing Mistakes?, and says, “Investing mistakes are easy to make and overlook.”

No Credit Needed presents Reader Poll – So, Just How Much Is 6 Months Worth Of Expenses?

Dan from Everyday Finance presents “Shop To Earn” – Scam or Time to Sign Up?, a balanced and somewhat critical review of the latest multi-level marketing effort.

Kevin from No Debt Plan presents Spare Change and Snowflaking: A Way to Boost Your Emergency Fund, and says, “Even the small stuff counts.”

Greener Pastures presents How Well Do You Deal With Change?, and says, “Stress induced from changes in job status is at some point a part of everyone’s life.”

Mike from Living the Cheap Life presents Rental car fees at airports stink.

John Hunter from Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog presents Save Money on Food, focusing on home gardens.

Saver from She’s a Saver, He’s a Spender presents How to Make a Budget.

Curt from PennyJobs.com presents How to Find Something to Cut Back On.

The original version of this article, Carnival of Personal Finance #157: Third Anniversary Edition, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

Matt presents >Car Maintenance: Spending to Save posted at One Million and beyond.

Amy Hobbs draws upon 19th century poetry in Come buy! Come buy!, posted at My Daily Dollars.

FMF presents Financial Details on My Trip to Disney posted at Free Money Finance. A Disney vacation can be frugal.

Does anyone other than me remember Jeff Smith from The Fugal Gourmet? Squawkfox makes Jeff Smith look like a big spender. Read the Top Five Frugalicious Breakfasts (A Visual Guide) posted at Squawkfox.

Nickel presents 23 excellent tips in The Lazy Cheapskate’s Guide to Saving the Planet, posted at FiveCentNickel.

~Dawn from Frugal For Life offers Free Audio Resources. The count is currently at 22, so there’s more than enough free audio on the web to go around. My newest discovery, Pandora, is listed.

Andy presents this comparison on Tight Fisted Miser: Aldi v. Supermarket v. Wal-Mart.

Maybe frugality isn’t for everyone. GBlogger presents Frugality and Chocolate Sundaes posted at Can I Get Rich on a Salary.

NCN presents Weekend Homework Before The New Baby Arrives posted at No Credit Needed. “My wife is expecting our third child… Here’s what we are doing to get ready.”

GP presents activities and frugal food ideas in Present Simplicity posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn.

The Happy Rock writes about a recent sad item in the news. Frugality Gone Wild : Home Contents Stolen In A Craigslist Hoax. This is incredibly unfortunate, and I hope the true owners are made right.

Jeremy Zongker from Destroy Debt offers 90 Low Cost or No Cost Activities to Entertain Your Kids All Summer Long. You can’t go wrong with a Rubik’s Cube.

Northern Cheapskate presents Stingy vs. Frugal posted at Northern Cheapskate. Is there a difference?

Jason tackles this question, as well, in The Difference in Being Frugal, and Being Cheap posted at The Frugal Dad.

At Health Freedom Coaching, Ellen Landauer presents Dandelion: Herbal Liver Cleanse, Better Digestion, and More! Who knew eating dandelion could be healthy.

Megan directs her anger in No really, you don’t need a sign to tell me it’s more expensive posted at A Dollar a Day. “My plan is to continue with my same grocery budget and to just try to make smart choices in what I buy, watch for price drops, and stay away from convenience foods as much as possible.”

Shana presents How Much Money Do You Lose Through Laziness? posted at Smart Easy Money.

Is this akin to stealing? How far does frugality go? Prime Time Money shows us a way to Rent DVD Movies for $1 with The New Release and Redbox.

Enoch Ko presents a tenet of frugality, Minimize expenses, posted at Enoch Ko’s Blog.

Deborah Barone compares herself with her spendthrift coworkers in A Quick Lunch Price Comparison, posted at Pennies To Nickels.

LJ from Mommy Gets PAID submits Saving Money on Organic Groceries.

Shanti presents How To Embrace Your Hobbies Without Breaking the Bank posted at Antishay Ventenne.

For some frugal gift ideas for kids, check out The Perfect Gift For A Newborn Baby at Quest For Four Pillars.

paidtwice from I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… wonders, Do You Save More With Your Automated Savings Plan?

From the “reusable” department, Madoline Hatter presents Thinking inside the box: Some Uses for Cardboard Cartons posted at Our Fourpence Worth.

Kyle James presents A Few Ways To Shop Smart posted at Rather-Be-Shopping.com, and says, “Whenever you are making a major purchase from stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, Home Depot, Lowes, and the like, you have power to negotiate.”

On the same topic, Terry presents Haggle for Lower Prices posted at Savvy Frugality.

Going to find bargains at the outlets? Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips – Going Outlet Shopping.

Vh from Funny about Money got a good deal on shoes while she was On the Loose in Runamok Mall!

Kira Kowalski considers the value of a particular purchase in dot Mac discount $59.88 – maybe I?m not ?too cheap? posted at PF Under 30.

Amy Hobbs presents When Money Doesn’t Feel Like Money posted at My Daily Dollars.

Investing Man offers 10 Tips On How To Negotiate, focused on getting bargains, posted at Wealth Building Lessons.

Madison presents Analyzing Our Energy Use posted at My Dollar Plan.

MoneyKing from The Money Kings is disappointed with your premium spending. You Need To Give Your Love Affair With Dining Out A Rest.

Deamiter presents Finding the Best Value When Prices Move Fast posted at Handling Finances.

valereee presents tips and a recipe at Foraging: Wild Garlic on her blog, Cincinnati Locavore.

Elliott Russell presents Frugal Tips: Gift Shop posted at ElliottRussell.ca.

Frugal living is one of 5 Strategies to Survive An Economic Slowdown posted by Pinyo at Moolanomy.

BeThisWay presents Saving by Delusion posted at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?.

Shopping at Costco? Ryan Suenaga presents Hunting for Discounts: The Best Costco Coupons posted at Uncommon Cents.

Stephanie from Stop the Ride! presents a guest post about spending for a large family: Feeding the Multitude (clothing them and entertaining them too).

poetloverrebelspy offers this Friday Freebie: Seattle Wooden Boat Rides, at Less Than a Shoestring.

Michelle Dawn presents 10 Ways to Save When Your Child is Hospitalized posted at Frugal Parenting.

Bryce presents Thousands of E-books for Free posted at Save and Conquer with a link to Project Gutenberg. Also on the topic of free books, Zork Brauk presents Read Books for Free at the Library posted at It’s the Recession, Stupid!.

What’s more frugal than free? FIRE Finance presents FREE Land & Handsome Living Allowances!.

Raymond presents How To Repair Your Old Car With Used Junkyard Parts posted at Money Blue Book.

Lisa Spinelli presents Seventeen Best Links to (Really) Free Stuff | Greener Pastures: Personal Finance posted at Greener Pastures.

Joe D presents Make Less, Save More posted at Know The Ledge.

Oh. Happy April Fool’s Day, by the way.

The original version of this article, Festival of Frugality #119: The Quitting My Day Job to Blog Full Time Edition, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

The original version of this article, The Carnival of Personal Finance is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

The original version of this article, Consumerism Commentary to Host the April 1 Edition of the Festival of Frugality, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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 original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

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.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Did you catch this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by The Baglady? She interspersed a plethora of good to excellent articles with facts (and widely-believed myths) about the homeless. Check out these tidbits bringing attention to the issue as well as the recent articles from the blogosphere at the the latest edition of the Carnival.

The Carnival of Personal Finance is now accepting applications for bloggers who would like to host the Carnival in April, May and June 2008. There are some requirements and hosting the Carnival is not an easy task. It is, however, much appreciated by the community.

The original version of this article, Bloggers: Apply to Host the Carnival of Personal Finance, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

I’ve Paid for This Twice Already, an excellent personal finance blog, has published the latest Carnival of Personal Finance in Superbowl fashion. (More information on the Carnival of Personal Finance is here.) An article from Consumerism Commentary, The New Emergency Find: Five Components of an Emergency Plan, was featured as the “Special Teams MVP (kick returner).” In addition to the other MVPs, read 16 Ways to Save Money By Not Being Normal, Twelve Commonly-Missed Tax Deductions, and The All-Cash Spending Experiment is About to Begin, as well as a strong showing of more great articles.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

The 134th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is online at Mrs. Micah: Finance for a Freelance Life. It’s hard to find time for all the great articles, and they are abundant this week. Start with Mrs. Micah’s top ten picks, but don’t miss 25 Reasons to Love Credit Cards, Credit Card Companies Want to Eat You Alive, How to Talk to Your Teenager About Personal Finance, It’s Hard to Get Back to Zero, and Invest Like Harvard and Yale.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Happy new year! The last Carnival of Personal Finance has been published at We’re in Debt. The King of Debt was gracious enough to include my article about charitable gift funds in the Carnival as well as a number of other great articles. In addition to the Editor’s Picks, take a look at How to Save an Emergency Fund When Money is Tight, Maybe it’s Time to Consider Real Estate Again, and Don’t Waste Money on Insurance for Rental Cars.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

The latest Carnival of Personal Finance is now online, hosted at the wonderful silicon valley blog about money, personal pinance, geeks and cyberspace, The Digerati Life, interspersed with beautiful holiday art and artifacts. My preview of the new Quicken Online was included in the Editor’s Picks, as well as other fine articles from the blogosphere. In addition to the top picks, don’t forget to look at the other submissions, including Stupid Frugal Decisions Can Cost You More in the Long Run, Achieving My Net Worth Goal, and Distribution of Wealth in the U.S… or Lack Thereof.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Check out the latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance at Get Rich Slowly. In addition to the editor’s picks and my submission, take a look at Index Funds vs. ETFs, Call Comcast and Save on Your Cable Bill, Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 18, and all of the public domain Christmas movies included in the Carnival.

The original version of this article, The Carnival of Personal of Finance is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Monday’s Carnival of Personal Finance will be hosted by Get Rich Slowly. If you’re a blogger who has written about personal finance in the last week or so, submit your best article to the Carnival before Sunday evening.

The original version of this article, Get Rich Slowly to Host Carnival of Personal Finance, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Attention, bloggers. The Carnival of Personal Finance is seeking locations for its first quarter 2008 tour. If you would like to be the host of the Carnival on your blog, please read these requirements and submit your information.

Monday’s Carnival will be hosted at Money Smart Life. If you’ve written an article about personal finance in the past week or so and you would like to spread the word, submit your entry for consideration.

The original version of this article, Bloggers: The Carnival of Personal Finance is Looking for Hosts, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Mighty Bargain Hunter is the latest host of the Carnival of Personal Finance, and he is presenting the submitted articles in Seussical form. As always, there are a number of interesting articles worth a read. Here are a few in addition to the Editor’s Picks.

Do We Spend More When We Swipe Plastic? Poorer Than You looks at the commonly-communicated statistic that spenders spend more when they spend on credit. If I had to get cash for every transaction, I’d be horribly inconvenienced by ATMs or I’d be carrying around an uncomfortable amount of cash.

Rent, Grow Rich, Be Free. Millionaire Mommy Next Door moved into a rented apartment to accelerate savings.

My article on handling old credit card accounts was included as well.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

KMull is hosting the latest Carnival of Personal Finance at his blog. As always, there are lots of great articles this week. The host did a good job of highlighting some of the more interesting blog posts including Sasha’s 5 Romantic Outdoor Day Date Ideas Under $30, but there are a number of others that should not be overlooked.

A Penny Closer says the costs of a new home amount to more than just the mortgage. That’s right along the lines of The Cost of Buying a Home Over 30 Years.

No Credit Needed wants to make time to manage your finances. I’ve made time for that, and now I have to work on making time to spend with my girlfriend and making time to spend on keeping myself in physical shape.

Emotionless Investing is the only way to keep yourself from making poor mistakes, as Growing Money writes. You don’t want to suddenly get nervous due to a drop in the stock market and liquidate while all your stocks are temporarily down.

If you’re a blogger, there is still time to sign up to host the Carnival of Personal Finance before the end of the year. We’re taking hosting applications for another few weeks.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Advanced Personal Finance has posted the latest Carnival of Personal Finance today. Here are some of the interesting articles this week:

* Is it Cheaper to Be a Nudist?
* One of the Best Things I Ever Did: Quitting My Job
* 4 Ways to Win By Quitting

The Carnival of Personal Finance is looking for hosts for the last three months of 2007. If you think you’re an interested blogger, read the guidelines and expectations and apply here.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up and Looking for Hosts!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The latest Carnival of Personal Finance has been posted at Free Money Finance. Besides the host’s picks for Editor’s Choice, I enjoyed Charities and Their Management Expense Ratios, Pay Yourself First, and Not Just Financially, and I Could Use Someone Else’s Credit Card to Buy My Groceries.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The 114th Carnival of Personal Finance can be found at The Simple Dollar. More than 70 articles are featured, including these favorites in addition to Trent’s Editor’s Choice: Emergency Funds: How Much is Enough?, How to Not Ask for a Raise, and Why You Should Keep Your Money Invested in a Declining Market.

The original version of this article, The Carnival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Dawn is hosting the Festival of Frugality at Frugal for Life. My article, Dangers and Benefits of Dollar Stores was included. I also enjoyed Having a Budget Motivates Me to Act Frugally, Some Fast Food For Thought, and 10 More Ways to Entertain Young Children For $1 or Less (Without the TV). Here is more information on the Festival of Frugality.

The original version of this article, The Festival is Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

If you enjoyed this article, follow @flexo on Twitter and visit Facebook for more updates.

Consumerism Commentary is included in two blog carnivals today. The Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted at Frugal Law Student, includes Another Case of Misleading Statistics, and the Carnival of Debt Reduction, hosted at Finance Psychology, includes Paying Off Debt: 6 Steps to Building a Better Snowball.

Here are some of the articles I enjoyed from both Carnivals.

* Dough D’ohs
* British Money Slang
* Why I Keep My Emergency Fund at the Low-Interest Bank
* Getting an On-Campus Job
* Campaign Against Financial Myths, Part 7: Debt
* Look at Debt in the Context of Your Life, Not Everyone Else’s

The original version of this article, The Carnivals are Up!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The 111th Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted by plonkee money yesterday, in the theme of the Glastonbury Music Festival. I enjoyed Return Fraud: Returning Rocks Instead of TVs, The Minimum Wage is Now $5.85/Hour, But What’s the Point?, Will Health Insurance Really Save You Money?, and How Your Occupation, Education, Income and Net Worth Determine Your Social Class.

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The Carnival of Personal Finance is posted at Fat Pitch Financials. I liked This is Your Life on Consumer Debt, 10 Credit Card Practices That I Disapprove, Budget Changes Expected, and Is Adoption for You?.

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The Carnival of Personal Finance is posted at the Mint Blog. I liked Net Worth vs. Cash Flow, Why Most People Get Returns Lower Than the Market, and Couples and Money.

The original version of this article, Carnival of Personal Finance #109, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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The latest Carnival of Personal Finance is online at Broke-Ass Student. As always, there are lots of great articles, and the host has done a good job of selecting her favorites. In addition to hers, here are some of my picks for the week.

What is Considered an Emergency? Here are a few guidelines for determining what is truly an emergency before depleting your emergency fund.

How to Nail or Fail Job Interviews. Rich Minx has a few basic tips, having experienced both sides of the conference table.

The 401K System Makes No Sense. These are some problems with investing using 401(k) plans… but perhaps despite these failings, the 401(k) is still one of the best options out there for many people.

Overspending on Children and How to Fight It. The Simple Dollar shares five basic principles when it comes to dealing with money as a parent.

Sicko: A Review. Living Almost Large presents a review of the latest Michael Moore film.

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The latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance was posted on Blogging Away Debt earlier today. There are quite a few good articles this time around. Here are a few I enjoyed beyond the Editor’s Picks.

Campaign Against Financial Myths: Part 1 – Financial Planning. Grad Money Matters disagrees with common preconceived notions about financial planning.

Managing Your Career in Your 20s. Good advice for those who know they want to spend their working life in one field as well as those at this age who are still trying to find their calling.

Thinking About My MBA (Part II – School Choices). One of these days I’ll finish up my series on my experiences with the University of Phoenix Online, a program with its benefits and drawbacks, but in general, greatly underrated.

Why Do I Still Work for My Employer? One Frugal Girl explains why she plays it the company way.

My article, Reader Question: Are Clothes a Part of Net Worth?, was also included.

Stay tuned for next week’s Carnival, to be hosted at Broke-Ass Student.

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I’m working from home this morning while I am waiting for the movers to arrive to take care of the final touches. While you’re waiting with me, read some of the best articles the blogosphere had to offer last week by browsing the latest Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by The Digerati Life in literary epic style. The hero’s journey to financial independence is filled with obstacles, particularly scary-looking monsters.

The schedule of Carnivals for the next three months is in the final stages of development, and there should be an announcement later this week. Stay current with Carnival-related issues by reading the Carnival of Personal Finance blog or subscribing to the Carnival’s RSS feed.

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J.D. from Get Rich Slowly did an awesome job hosting the second anniversary edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. I particularly like the theme he has chosen — bloggers’ “greatest hits.” Here we have a hundred or so of the articles bloggers have chosen as their favorites from the past two years.

This Carnival edition, possibly along with the first anniversary edition which was hosted here, is the perfect introduction to money blogs for someone new to community, for example, having discovered this “world” through a topical Google search query.

If you want to keep current with the week’s best articles from personal finance bloggers, subscribe to the Carnival of Personal Finance RSS feed. You’ll be one of the first to get links to each edition every Monday.

If you’ve discovered Consumerism Commentary through the Carnival, then welcome!

The original version of this article, The 2nd Anniversary Carnival of Personal Finance: Wow!, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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Next Monday, Get Rich Slowly will present the second anniversary edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. To celebrate the occasion, J.D. would like to host the edition differently to celebrate. Here are the details.

Get Rich Slowly will host the second anniversary edition of the carnival next Monday. I want to make this one something especially valuable to readers, so I’m breaking from the traditional format.

To participate in CoPF #105, please submit your BEST article from the past two years. Do not submit an article from the previous week (unless, of course, it’s your best post). If you submit a recent article, I will reply to verify that you do indeed think this is your best post from the past two years.

Use this opportunity to sell yourself. If you uphold your end of the bargain, I’ll do my best to sell the carnival to channels outside the norm. (You’re welcome to help with this effort, too.) This is a great chance to generate more exposure for the pfblogging community.

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Getting Green has posted the latest Carnival of Personal Finance. There were a large number of articles this past week, and the Carnival keeps getting bigger. Here are some of my choices this week beyond Matthew’s Editor’s Choices.

* Grad Money Matters: 5 Budgeting Blunders
* The Time and Money Group: Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
* Advanced Personal Finance: How the Fed Generates Inflation
* My Two Dollars: Could Your Family Live on One Income?
* Dough Roller: Rich Dad Gives Lousy Advice
* My Wealth Builder: My House Payment as a Percent of Salary

Next Monday, Get Rich Slowly is hosting a special second-anniversary edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. Please submit your best article from the past two years.

Also, if you’re interesting in hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance some time before the end of September, please read this announcement.

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The Carnival of Personal Finance, which was founded here at Consumerism Commentary two years ago, is still going strong. The latest edition was published earlier this week at Clever Dude, and it was full of some great articles from around the blogosphere.

Here are a few I liked:

* Introduction to Self-Directed IRAs
* The Cost of Not Doing Yard Work
* Top 10 Reasons Why Sex is Financially Rewarding

The Carnival is now looking for hosts for July through September, so if you’re a blogger with a creative and/or willing mind, read this announcement.

In the remaining weeks in June, the Carnival is scheduled to be hosted at Getting Green, the second anniversary edition at Get Rich Slowly, and The Digerati Life.

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The Carnival of Personal Finance was posted yesterday over at Money Smart Life. The 102nd weekly edition of the Carnival was given a musical “theme” with help from Alice Cooper, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd. Here are some possibly Grammy-worthy submissions in addition to the articles Ben chose as Editor’s Picks:

* Lazy Man wonders if we are living larger or living differently than the generations that have come before. He has some explanations for those in my generation not being as well off as their dads.

* Should you accept money from your parents? In theory, Plonkee Money believes she shouldn’t, but in practice, that might not be the case.

* The Happy Rock has a few suggestions for what to look for in a personal finance system.

* FiveCentNickel writes about the difference between net worth and net investable assets, which I touched on how to calculate your net worth.

* Here’s an example from Grad Money Matters of expenditures while renting an apartment vs. owning a house.

* Ben also included my post on making money from John Adams dollar coins in the Carnival.

Next week’s Carnival of Personal Finance will be hosted at Clever Dude.

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Carnival of Personal Finance #101 is online at FIRE Finance. The quality of these Carnivals continue to rise. Here are some of the more interesting articles in this week’s edition.

* What Does Getting Out of Debt “Buy” You? answered at The Happy Rock
* Almost Debt Free: Good Debt vs. Bad Debt at Queercents
* Does Bundling Your Cable, Phone and Internet Save Any Money? answered at My Two Dollars
* Advanced Personal Finance Hates the So-Called “Core” CPI

My contribution for the week was Financial Lessons From Television Fiction: House.

I’ve been a bit under the weather the last day or so, so I might not be able to provide frequent updates as usual. Stay tuned.

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I’m happy to report that the latest Carnival of Personal Finance has been posted at My Open Wallet. This marks the 100th edition of the Carnival. The Carnival of Personal Finance has been going strong since June 20, 2005 and is soon approaching its two-year anniversary.

There are a lot of articles — 100, in fact — to read this week. Here are a few I might suggest as starting points, besides the articles Madame X highlighted in her Editor’s Choice section.

* What is the War on Iraq Costing You?
* College Reflection$
* (Un)happy Mother’s Day
* Coping With Unemployment: Blogging is NOT the Answer
* How to Make a Debt Trap

Madame X also included an article of mine in the mix, Renting Makes You Richer. Next week’s Carnival is scheduled to be hosted by FIRE Finance.

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Golbguru from Money, Matter and More Musings hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance earlier today, or technically yesterday. There were a number of very good articles included, so take a look if you have a chance. Here are a few in addition to those Golbguru has chosen to feature.

* Using My Emergency Fund To Buy A Car (How To Buy A $10,000 Car For $7800!) from No Credit Needed
* What Does it Mean to Pay Your Credit Card Balance in Full? at Clever Dude
* What I Consider When Selecting an Online Savings Account by The Sun’s Financial Diary
* What is Real Net Worth? from Broke Now, Rich Later

Next week will be the 100th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance! Look for it next Monday at My Open Wallet. For some nostalgia, check out the first edition of the Carnival. Some of the participating blogs are still around.

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Consumerism Commentary is participating in the latest Festival of Frugality, hosted this week by Dawn at Frugal for Life. Dawn was kind enough to include a link to a recent post of mine about brand name vs. store/generic brand products. Here are some other good articles included this week:

* Are These Silly Mistakes Taking a Bite Out of Your Wallet?
* Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for a Discount, The Sequel
* Pay-As-You-Go Actually Cheaper?

Check out the rest of the articles at Frugal for Life.

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Thanks to We’re In Debt for hosting the 98th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. Here’s a taste of some of the great articles that were submitted this past week:

My Current Bank Account Setup To Maximize Interest
Jonathan from My Money Blog simplified his savings to make the most out of high savings interest rates.

Buying a Sandwich and Soda at Work Costs You $2000 a Year
Here’s another reminder that I need to start disciplining myself to stop going out for lunch with my co-workers every day. The cafeteria’s even more expensive, but if I could just get myself to make my lunch at home ahead of time, I could save a good bit of money.

Always Go to Lunch With the Big Boss
While we’re on the topic of lunch, PT Money has this advice. It’s a short article, but good advice. I generally eat lunch with people not in my direct hierarchy.

Buying Real Estate Without A Source of Income Or When You Are Changing Careers
Dan from Searchlight Crusade tackles a reader’s question about obtaining a mortgage without a steady stream of income. There is a way, and the way is called a “no ratio loan.” Sounds risky to me.

3 Steps Towards Solid Financial Freedom Planning
Here are the three steps from Aridni: Setting goals, creating behaviors, and discussing plans, progress, and reasons for working so hard. Too bad there’s no verb-noun two-word combination for the last step. Of course, Aridni expands on these steps within the article.

The King of Debt was kind enough to include my submission as well, My Next Step: Two-Bedroom Condo or More Renting.

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The latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is now online at AllFinancialMatters. All the articles are good, but here are some of the more personal stories. I prefer these to the “instructional” posts, generic information that can be found elsewhere.

* Feeling Slightly Better About Not Saving Enough
* Spring Cleaning in My IRA
* Tuesday Train Wreck – The Pastor’s House
* You Can’t Buy a Miscellaneous
* I Need a Strategy

JLP included my article, Should High Schools Require Money Management Classes?, in the Carnival. The article’s generating some interesting discussion, even though my mind is already made up.

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Rather than reading a ton of personal finance blog entries today, I was running around the office trying to get work done. Now that I’m home, I can relax and read through the contributions to the latest Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted at Tired but happy. Here are some choice selections at first glance.

* Five Ways Balding Gracefully Can Save You Time, Money, and More. My hair is starting to get thin, and I’m not very happy about it. I happened to be talking about this very subject to someone today, and she suggested I consider plugs. Plugs?!

* Picking Stocks is a Waste of Time. “The price of General Motors (GM) stock at the end of 2006 was the same level it was in 1963, split adjusted. That’s right, except for dividends, GM stock didn’t go anywhere in more than 40 years.”

* Moves That Cost Me More Than $1,000 Each. When it comes to reading blogs, I enjoy the personal stories much, much more than “how-to” or “advice-for-a-general-(average)-audience” articles. Here’s a perfect example of what makes blogging a great medium.

* My included post was Amount Charged is Less Than Estimate: Psychology Involved?

Check out the rest of today’s Carnival, starting with Tired but happy’s picks for Editor’s Choice. For more about the Carnival of Personal Finance, see the Carnival’s home base, not too far away.

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The Carnival of Personal Finance is making its way to Tired but happy for the latest edition on Monday. Don’t forget to submit your best article from this week for consideration. The Carnival of Personal Finance is a “celebration,” and a representation of what the personal finance niche of the blogosphere has to offer. The hosting schedule has been finalized for the next three months, so take a look.

The deadline for being including in Monday’s Carnival is Sunday evening at 6:00 PM Eastern Time.

If you want to be reminded through email when it’s time to submit an article to the Carnival, enter your email address here. You won’t get any spam, just reminders to participate and announcements when the Carnival is published.

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Lazy Man and Money hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance today and he did a great job corralling the submissions. Here are some of my picks for the week, in addition to Lazy Man’s Editor’s Choice.

* How to Invest in 4-Week T-Bills: The Complete Process at Sun’s Financial Diary
* Planning for Receiving an Inheritance at Mighty Bargain Hunter
* Investing: The Mistake of Timing the Market at FIRE Finance
* More On The Only Savings Strategy You’ll Ever Need on My Wealth Builder

Next week’s Carnival of Personal Finance will be brought to you on Monday by Tired but happy.

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Monday’s Carnival of Personal Finance will be hosted by Lazy Man and Money on Monday.

This week’s Carnival was hosted at Sun’s Financial Diary. There were some great articles, including 25 Reasons to Leave Your Job and What Lenders Talk About Isn’t Important, It’s What They Deliver.

Hosting the Carnival can be a bit of a pain, but if it’s done right, it can be beneficial to the host as well as all the participants, especially those whose articles are selected for Editor’s Choice. If you’re a blogger interested in hosting the Carnival, we’re now taking requests to fill in the holes in the schedule through June 2007.

The original version of this article, Carnival News, is copyrighted by Consumerism Commentary.

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