The Carnival of Personal Finance has been running consecutively for 185 weeks. The latest edition is live at the Fraud Files blog, and every Monday this celebration of the week’s best in personal finance blogs is hosted at a new location.
For bloggers, hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance is a good way to increase your blog’s exposure in the personal finance community. The Carnival is currently seeking volunteers to host on Mondays in January, February, and March. Hosts will receive access to the week’s submissions and review the articles. Here is more information about hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance. If you’re ready to request a slot for hosting, fill out this quick form.
Besides the Editor’s Picks, here are some of the most interesting articles included in the 185th Carnival of Personal Finance.
Anheuser-Busch Cuts 1,400 Jobs. This shouldn’t be a surprise after the company was purchased by InBev and the company promised over a million dollars in annual savings.
Maybe It’s Time to Buy That First House. Don’t worry, there are no conclusions in this New York Times article. Maybe it is time, but maybe it is not. First time home buyers could find themselves with a loss by 2012 in several major metropolitan areas according to some sources. The more you look at a house purchase as a long-term investment, the better off you’ll be. Just keep in mind that the true cost of buying and operating a home is higher than you think and your return after “fees” might not even beat inflation, even in the long term.
Obama Sets Expansive Goal for Jobs. President-elect Barack Obama is set on a two-year plan to create or save 2.5 million jobs. It’s a massive public works project, rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. New roads, bridges, and schools are all part of the plan.
Carnival of Personal Finance #182: Don’t Go Broke Over the Holidays Edition. Free From Broke is hosting the latest Carnival. In addition to the Editor’s Picks, check out Why Investing in Stocks This Year Was Not a Financial Mistake at Money Ning, Turning What You Love to Do Into a Second Income Stream at Funny About Money, and Dave Ramsey Falters in a Crummy Economy at Saving Advice.
JPMorgan Chase to Cut 9,200 Washington Mutual Jobs Nationwide. Chase notified thousands of WaMu employees yesterday that their jobs will be eliminated by the end of next year, many much sooner. 3,400 of the jobs will be cut from the Seattle headquarters and 1,600 more from California.
Self-Employes are Frozen Out of Mortgages. If I choose to leave my day job, I will have to pay attention to this. Self-employed individuals work to reduce their income for tax purposes, but that can have an unintended negative effect if they need to shop for a mortgage. Now that banks have tightened up lending, it’s harder for legitimate self-employed borrowers to find comparable mortgage offers.
FCC to Vote on Free Broadband Internet Across USA. We are already almost one decade into the twenty-first century, but we’re only just now beginning to live in the future.
Your Financial Network Map. This is a great way to visualize the way money flows in and out of your hands and bank accounts. As Jim points out, this network visualization can help to identify problems and create efficiencies.
Announcing My First Book: 365 Ways to Live Cheap. Trent from The Simple Dollar is selling his first book on Amazon.com. He says: “It’s a compilation of 365 of my best tips on personal finance and frugal living. Virtually all of the tips, if applied, can save you more than the price of the book itself.”
More ING Direct $25 bonus links are now available. I’ve posted more referral codes received from Consumerism Commentary readers on the waiting list. In a few weeks, I plan on opening the waiting list again, so subscribe to the RSS feed so you can respond quickly to add your name before the list is closed again.
Holiday Shopping Bargains Reel in Big Sales. The National Retail Foundation says that despite low expectations for Black Friday, retail sales were up this year. According to NRF’s figures, shoppers spent an average of $372.57, up 7.2% from last year, and 172.9 million consumers visited stores, purchased items online, or through catalogs, up 17% from last year.
If Dad Can Do It Himself, Maybe He Shouldn’t. In the Wall Street Journal, a dad teaches his son about the role and responsibility banks hold when they manage your money. Watch out for invalid fees, and complain enough to get their mistakes reversed.
Stocks are Less of Your Net Worth Than You Think. If you are 65 and expect to receive $2,000 a month from Social Security, add $327,000 — the amount that converts to a lifetime monthly distribution of $2,000 — to your bond position. Taking this phantom inflation-adjusted bond into account, your stocks represent a lower percentage of your income-generating portfolio for retirement. Stay invested in stocks.
Carnival of Personal Finance, Cyber Monday 2008 Edition. Check out the latest edition of the Carnival. Some of the more interesting articles include What Should a Privatized Social Security System Look Like?, 3 Rules to Giving the Good Gift, and 6 Ways to Argue Less About Money.
Reminder: While I am on vacation this week, Consumerism Commentary is featuring articles by other writers. Please read Criminal Charges: Volume XVII, the first of this week’s guest articles.
Rescue Deal for CitiGroup. Citi is too big to fail, so the government is preparing an injection of $20 billion in addition to the $25 billion the company has already received. GM, Ford, and Chrysler are quoted as whining, “It’s not fair!”
Wall Street versus Pennsylvania Avenue. According to the Presidential Cycle, the stock market loses ground during the first half of a new president’s term while increases significantly during the second half. Statistics prove this to be true, but here’s why you shouldn’t abandon stocks for two years.
Gift Cards: A Bad Idea Gets Even Worse. This is bad news for office Secret Santa exchanges. Now we’ll have to think about what trinket someone else may like.
180th Carnival of Personal Finance. Living Almost Large is hosting this edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance with pictures of foreign paper currency. In addition to the Editor’s Picks, check out Visualizing $10,000 Extra in Your Life, The Not-so-Easy Part of Personal Finance, and Financial Education in Schools.
Happy New Year? Not For Some. At the beginning of 2009, employees who take part in a 403(b) plan, which is like a 401(k) plan for non-profit organizations, will have fewer investment options. This change will bring 403(b) plans in line with the expectations for 401(k) plans. The change will probably mean higher expenses and more paperwork for everyone involved: employers, employees, and plan managers.
Dow 8,000: The Psychology of Round Numbers. This is a short article that doesn’t get deep into the topic. It is interesting how psychology is attached to round numbers, whether it’s 14,000, 10,000 or 8,000 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. These numbers are seen as triggers.
100 Money Saving Tips for the Holiday Gifting Bonanza. Do not shop for gifts this year without memorizing Jim’s list of 100 tips. If not, at least skim through. There are bound to be several dozen that could guide you this year with the economy in a mess.
Save Time and Effort With a Personal Shopper. This is often a free service clothing stores offer, and they may not even advertise it. Carson Kressley’s fee is too high, and apparently, it’s easy to get the same service. All you have to do is prepare a list of what you need, bring your measurements or have yourself measured in the store, and answer some of the personal shopper’s questions about your lifestyle and preferences, and he or she will bring you items to try on with no obligation.
For the “News and Blogs” features, which I plan to run almost daily as long as I have additional articles to share, I select some of the most interesting posts from my RSS reader and from pfblogs.org. If you don’t believe you blog is included on my RSS reader, please let me know to so I can add it. Thanks!
5 Money Mistakes in a Bad Economy. Here are the mistakes: continuing to use credit cards, withdrawing or taking a loan from your retirement funds, paying for college without loans, grants, or scholarships, neglecting to invest, and taking home-equity loans.
Bid to Ban Sale of Obama Tickets. Tickets to presidential inaugurations have always been free, but demand for the ability to attend Barack Obama’s ceremony early next year is so high that people are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to go. Congress is working to make the sale of these tickets illegal and to penalize those who attempt sell the tickets with a $100,000 fee or a year in jail. Those who live in the Washington, D.C. area stand to make more money by offering their homes and backyards to visitors in exchange for a rental fee.
Consumer Prices Fall Record 1% as Energy Plunges. Thanks to the sharp decline in gas prices, the overall CPI dropped the more in one month than it has since the data were recorded. That’s good news in the short term, resulting in lower expenses for consumers, but could be a problem for businesses when profit margins are already thin.
Last Minute Gift Ideas and Shopping Tips For Holiday Procrastinators. I find myself running around at the last minute as the holidays draw near. Here are some ideas for gifts for those people for whom you might not know how or what to buy. I would stay away from gift cards this year. There’s always a chance your favorite store could have a hard time this year. In the past, stores that enter bankruptcy have not always accepted gift cards.
Vanguard’s New Self-Employed 401(k) Plan – Roth Option Included. Here is a superficial review of this new offering from Vanguard. If I ever give up new contributions to my company 401(k) by leaving the corporate workforce, I’ll be taking advantage of this offering. This is worth more research when the time is right.
For the “News and Blogs” features, which I plan to run almost daily as long as I have additional articles to share, I select some of the most interesting posts from my RSS reader and from pfblogs.org. If you don’t believe you blog is included on my RSS reader, please let me know to so I can add it. Thanks!
I’ve added more $25 bonus codes for new ING Direct customers last night. If you have at least $250 to deposit into a high-yield savings account, use one of these codes to receive a small boost.
You’d Better Watch Out: Gift Cards Can Be Lumps of Coal. If you are considering getting someone a gift card this year, opt for cash instead. Businesses that declare bankruptcy — and there may be more to come — will probably not honor the cards. If you receive a gift card, use it as soon as possibe. Not only will that help the economy, but you may lose it if you wait too long. Many gift cards lose value over time now, even if the issuing company stays in business.
Seized Tanker Anchors Off Somalia. Somalian pirates siezed an oil tanker from Saudi Arabia, one of the largest man-made objects in the world. The tanker carries one quarter of Saudi Arabia’s daily oil output, two million barrels, and is thought to be headed towards the United States. The hijackers will most likely be asking for the highest ransom ever paid to free the oil and the crew. The biggest concern is obviously the lives of the hostages, but will this have an effect on the price of a gallon of gas here?
Things it’s Cheaper to Do Yourself. Hiring out certain tasks has an appeal because it frees your time (in exchange for money) so you can spend that time on more more important, and possibly income-generating, tasks. But there are some fairly simple activities that would save you enough money if you do them yourself.
No Debt Plan. This is a series, currently on Part Nine, that helps you set up a budget, get out of debt, and build wealth.
Best Year-End Move for Salaried Taxpayers. Maximize contribution to tax-deferred retirement plans. Last month, I increased my 401(k) contribution to 50% of my salary, split evenly between a before-tax contribution (matched up to 4%) and an after-tax Roth 401(k) contribution. Even doing so, I will not hit the $15,500 ceiling because I started the year too low.
Tip’d is a social media website that lets you share and comment on finance-related current events, and today is its official launch date. I mentioned Tip’d last month when it was first announced to early adopters. At the end of every article on Consumerism Commentary, I have included a link labeled “Add to Tip’d.” With this, you can share stories from Consumerism Commentary with another audience. Connect with me on Tip’d.
For the “News and Blogs” features, which I plan to run almost daily as long as I have additional articles to share, I select some of the most interesting posts from my RSS reader and from pfblogs.org. If you don’t believe you blog is included on my RSS reader, please let me know to so I can add it. Thanks!
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