Carnival of Personal Finance No. 91

Welcome to the 91st edition of Carnival of Personal Finance!

In the past week, we have received a total of 77 submissions to the Carnival and many of them are articles with high quality. When I went through all the posts, I identified six of them as Editor’s Choices. My criteria of making the selection is very simple: whether the article can provide values to the general audience. And I do prefer long, deep analysis over quick, short notes. While choosing which article to submit to the Carnival is the right of the blogger, it’s always a good practice that we keep the audience’s interest in our minds and ask ourselves if and what the reader can learn from our stories. We do not want to submit to the Carnival just for the sake of submission.

OK, enough talking. Let’s party!

First my choices of the Carnival:

With college tuition keep rising, parents with young children are facing one more challenge: help their children achieve higher education, financially. Last year’s tax law change (federal tax breaks are now permanent) makes 529 plan much more attractive. But is a 529 plan the only way to save for college? Rad at Financial Zero to Hero Husband and Dad takes a look at 529 plan and Coverdell IRA and comes up with a head-to-toe comparison that you don’t want to miss.

Many times in the past, I have read about and heard people talking about Prosper, and last week I even watched Prosper on Good Morning America. The main theme of the news was people can get their much needed loans through Prosper’s person-to-person lending after being rejected by banks for various reasons. While for borrowers, Prosper helps them realize their dreams. But for lenders, is Prosper lending a sound investment choice? Jonathan at My Money Blog offers his view on this issue in a 2-part series.

Think Apple is hot and Microsoft is not? Think again. TJP at Investor Trip takes a look at these to high-tech leaders and illustrate the importance of increasing the profitability ratios of a business. His analysis will make you think twice on your perception of which company is more profitable.

Passive or active? Surfer Sam talks about why we should choose to be passive by investing in a broad index fund because “index Funds allow people to participate intelligently in the stock market.” You get whatever the market has to offer. You don’t try to beat it, and you won’t lag far behind either.

Whether a debt is good debt or bad debt depends on how you look at it. Pete at My Finance Awareness joins the debate by taking a look at the debt from a different angle. Instead of making the judgement based on how the money is spent, he checks whether the debt can positive impact on the net worth and income.

A new blog, Broke Now, Rich Later, brings up an interesting topic of taxation diversification. Instead of allocating your investment assets into stocks and bonds, the article takes aim at what percentage of your investments should be tax-deferred accounts and how much to keep in taxable accounts.

Before moving on the next segment of the Carnival, I’d like to remind you that the next edition of Carnival of Personal Finance will be held at Lazy Man and Money. If you want to participate, please use the submission form at the Carnival’s website.

Now here are some quality articles you don’t want to miss:

I could never imagine there are so many reasons to quit a job. But the article from Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life just makes me think that under many circumstances, the best we can do is simply to move on.

Value investing or momentum investing? Can you tell what type of investor you are? To answer this question, you need to know what they and how they are different from each other. Click the link and Super Saver at My Wealth Builder will show you why “value” stocks may not give you the “return” you are looking for.

I am an exclusive credit card person for many reasons (among them rewards and free loan are most appealing). But when I read The Family CEO’s story on why they switched from credit to debit, I asked myself “Should I make the move as well?”

We have seen lots of discussions on emergency fund in the past: how to build it, when to use it, or why you need to have one in the first place. Adding to the debate is the latest contribution from Paul at Extreme Perspective with live examples of people living without the money prepared for the unpredictable events. What happened to them? They lost their homes and you certainly don’t want that happen to you. At the same time, FMF at Free Money Finance also lays out some simple steps on how to save to creat an emergency fund.

Don’t feel intimidated by the pile of paper works in mortgage applications. Michael Cook of Suite 101 shows us how to choose the right mortgage, which can save you thousands of dollars. If you like save money on groceries, you certainly don’t want to be causal with your mortgage.

When accepting a new job offer, make sure you know what are included in the package. The Stubborn Capitalist makes list of some key benefits in the corporate benefits package that everybody should understand.

Read more on what matters to you and your money:

If you are looking for deals either on credit monitoring services (if you really need one) or just to get your credit score for less, you should this post by Golbguru at Money, Matter, and more Musings. A comprehensive coverage on that subject indeed.

Missed the Oscar? Don’t worry, here’s a recap (sort of) , thanks to The Frugal Duchess. And you may learn a few financial lessons from it as well.

The Stubborn Capitalist takes a look at some “Get Rich Quick” programs and summarizes what we can learn from a program that failed many people.

David Weliver presents When Your Car is a Gold Digger: Budgeting for Auto Maintenance, including money saving tips on auto maintenance.

Interested in hedge fund? While it may not be for ordinary investors, it’s always good to arm yourself with the basic knowledge, which you can find at ohCash.com presented by Mansi.

Can “you draw the line between being frugal with stockpiling and being foolish?” asked Living Almost Large. But don’t we love to use coupons to get stuff on cheap?

MoneyMonk recommends a mutual fund (Young Investor Fund) for kids, while DDL at Make You Nuts tells you How Much Money Do You Need to Have Kids and Joe at Finance-4-Kids suggests Be your Kid’s Personal Finance Coach.

If you are not familiar with AMT, read this article by Steven Faber at Debt Free as he tell us what AMT is and what you can do to avoid it. Kirk Walsh takes on the same issue and makes the case why AMT should go.

Anja takes aim at the instalment plan and explains why it can further get people into debt in Payment plans are nasty.

Guardian at Insurance on Your Term gives us 10 tips on how to deal with health insurer when a claim was denied.

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity shared with us his experience when he talked with a financial planner about retirement and insurance.

If you are an eBay seller and have made money from your online store, make sure you read this article as Kristine McKinley at Tax Tips for eBay Sellers tells you what kind of taxes you are responsible for.

A budget is your plan for what you expect to spend. But do you budget for unexpected expenses? That’s the question asked at Ask Mr. Credit Card. You may as well as yourself the same question.

I love to have a big fat wallet, so I decided to follow the Selective Self Control from Ben at Money Smart Life . And, I may get a thicker waist as well.

Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade tell us why we should focus on what lenders deliver rather than when they promise to deliver.

Want to be a millionaire? Then you better start in your junior year at high school. I don’t know how many high schoolers actually have such motivation, but the article from Stephaine at Poor Than You is interesting to read.

Nina at Queercents asks “Can you fall in love with a rich person just as easily as a poor one?” Knowing who’s answering this question makes the article more enjoyable. Meanwhile, The Frugal Law Student talks about How to Save Money and Strengthen Your Relationship by sharing a car and Daisy at Seeking Wealth looks at the relationship between Dating and Money.

Elizabeth at Money for the rest of us walks us through the process of choosing the right credit card rewards program, while Paul Michael at Wise Bread reviles 10 dirty secrets of credit cards.

Indemnification? What’s indemnification? Bob Vineyard at InsureBlog use the term “indemnification” to rise the awareness of health insurance and it can protect you “against future loss.”

Got a lot of things to do, but don’t have enough time? Kara McGuire at Ka-Blog asks “How do you manage the balance between time and money?”

Joe at Trade My Stock Picks has 6-step course for people who want to ask for a raise. You may just get what you deserve by taking the right approach.

There are many places you can hide money in your house, but toilet bowl tank isn’t one of them. Why? Here’s an explanation from Jeffrey Strain at Personal Finance Advice.

When we bought our house three years ago, I thought we made a good investment of our money. But could I be wrong? Shadox at Money and Such gives four reasons why it may indeed be a bad investment.

I hope you didn’t feel tired at this point because we still have lots for your reading pleasure:

Kevin at Kmull shares with us his story on how little charges cost you a lot in terms of cash and effort.

Buford Twain at The Tortured Mind of Buford Twain talks about Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway.

Michael Emilio presents Commercial Real Estate Investing Using Triple-Net Leases.

Nigel Swaby at Salt Lake Real Estate Blog writes The One Thing That Will Prevent You From Getting A Mortgage.

What to do when finally debt free? Simple Guru examines the options of where to put the money.

Ispf at Grand Money Matters collects some PF bloggers’ opinion on blogging and gives us a lesson we can all benefit from.

Reading a book without having to buy it is much funner, says Barry Mahfood at Barry’s Best 2007.

Mighty Bargain Hunder opens a roll of uncirculated $1 coin. What does he expect to find?

Ybother at TodaysTen lists 10 Reasons Wall Street Gives for the Stock Market Correction.
Andy at Bank Bonus reviews online savings accounts.

We’re In Debt talks about Instant Gratification.

NCN at No Credit Needed shows his monthly money flow.

Blunt Money asks Do you ever use money as an excuse?

David at My Two Dollars argues teaching personal finance in high school.

Fire Finance concludes the Investing - Asset Allocation series.

Plonkee explores different investment concepts between US and UK.

TFB at The Finance Buff presents Was It a Bubble, Or Was It Just Early?

Steve at Sushi Money talks about the risk of emotions after the market plunge.

Brad at Brad’s Bit brings the news on Experian and Consumer Info class action lawsuit.

Dona Jean at The Weight of Money shows us how to start the credit correction challenge.

Tom Hanna at Financial Options presents the Financial Roadmap.

My Simple Trading System raises 4 Red Flags For Home Repair Fraud.

Jim at My Retirement Blog explains the 4% Retirement Withdrawal Rule and provides a shopping list that can make you feel safe at home.

MFJ at My Financial Journey couldn’t understand why people would drive 10 miles to get gas that’s 10 cents cheaper. I am sure he’s not alone.

Michael K. Dawson at The Time and Money Group presents Nailed Subprime Trade w/Help From Napoleon Hill & Donald Trump

Matthew at Getting Green offers some tips for people who find themselves a little behind in paying their bills. But isn’t “live below your means” a better solution for all the headaches?

If you have no idea what timeshare travel package is, read What you must know about Timesharing Travel before spend your money on it, by Harrison of Journey To Financial Freedom. He also has some free paycheck calculators for the purpose of managing the salary.

That’s all for today. See you next week at Lazy Man and Money.

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