Happy Carnival of Personal Finance! The two hundredth & forty-fifth to be exact, hosted by yours truly: J to the Dollar Doodle Money! Only I wish I were 1/2 as creative as some of these artists ;)

But dollar bills aside (as magnificent as these beauties are), we've also highlighted some of the finest personal finance posts from from the week today. Everything from cutting back debt, to investing and smarter financial management. We couldn't include all the posts as with all carnivals, but I did my best to pick the ones I thought were informative and worthy of our eyeballs. So sit back, grab yourself a coffee (and Kit Kat bar?), and enjoy some financial loving!

Editor's Picks:

#1) Magical Penny: Financial Lessons of a Cheese Pedlar. Cheese & finance?! AWESOME! :) If you frequent Subway a bit, and like keeping your money, this is a must read. Well done Adam!

#2) Mighty Bargain Hunter: Would you out a friend's spending patterns on Facebook? Haha...wow. I could never do this myself (unless I knew for sure it would help my friend!), but I'm sure plenty of others would! Would you?

#3) Len Penzo dot Com: Taste-Test Experiment: Bottled Waters vs. Filtered Tap. As someone who once spent $40 on a bottle of water (BlingH20), and currently drinks at least 1 bottle of water a day, this was pretty interesting to read. The BEST part is the actual rundown of his 14 testers! haha...well put together for sure.

#4) Amateur Asset Allocator: Does Money Prevent Happiness? If any of you read that article last week about the millionaire giving away his entire $5.3 million estate, you will enjoy reading this :) Money & happiness is always an interesting topic.

#5) Money Beagle: Did The Banks Force You To Sign Your Mortgage?. The "walk vs. stay" debate is still alive, baby! Really really enjoy reading about this stuff, especially as an under water homeowner myself. So many great arguments to both sides.

Money Management:

Gather Little By Little presents 9 Ways to Multiply Your Sources of Income and Pay off Your Debts.
Think Your Way To Wealth presents Occam's Razor, Simplicity, and Personal Finance.
Live Real, Now presents Avoiding the Downside of Saving.
Sweating The Big Stuff presents Personal Finance 101.
Modern Gal presents Curbing Spending Binges.
The Oblivious Investor presents How Much Income Will You Need in Retirement?
Free Money Finance presents Deadly Mistakes on the FAFSA Could Cost You Thousands of Dollars in Financial Aid.

Budgeting:

Financial Uproar presents You're A Sucker To...Have a Budget.
Living On a Budget presents What Budgeting Can learn From Dieting.
The Wisdom Journal presents Monitoring Your Money Isn't the Same As Budgeting Your Money.
You Have More Than You Think presents Friends Don't Make Friends Overspend: Wedding Edition.

Debt:

Debt Reduction Formula presents American Credit Card Debt - Is It Crushing Us?
Single Guy Money presents Instant Gratification and the MacBook Pro.
Balance Junkie presents RRSP vs. Paying Down Debt.

Taxes:

No Debt Plan presents Why Doing Your Own Taxes is Beneficial.
Free From Broke presents Who Should I Pick To Do My Taxes?
One Money Design presents Income Tax Refund: Is it Good or Bad?
Money Smart Life presents The 2010 Federal Tax Brackets and How They Work.

Frugality:

Eliminate The Muda! presents The Value Of DIY Is Greater Than Just Savings.
Don't Quit Your Day Job... presents Attempting the Secret Ripoff.
Gen Y Wealth presents Optimizing Vs. Minimizing Food Costs.
My Dollar Plan presents 9 Tips to Stretch the Life of Common Household Items.

Investing:

Money Help For Christians presents 5 Steps to Retirement Planning for Young Adults.
Christian Finances presents Should you convert to a Roth IRA in 2010?
Steadfast Finances presents Can Google's 'Insights for Search' Make You a Better Investor?
Intelligent Speculator presents Greece… the next Lehman??... what to do next?
Personal Finance Ninja presents Roth IRA's: Why Twenty-Somethings Don't Have an Excuse for Retirement Investing.

General Finance:

Good Financial Cents presents Warning Signs You Need to Fire Your Financial Advisor.
Foreigner's Finances presents Lease or Buy? What to Know Before Your First Car Purchase.
The Smarter Wallet presents How To Improve Your Credit Score In 3 Easy Steps.
Bargaineering presents How to Avoid Credit Card Minimum Annual Purchases Fees.
The Financial Blogger presents Becoming a Ninja of Happiness.
MintLife presents The Future of Mobile Finance.
PT Money presents Make Extra Money Blogging.
20s Money presents Josh's Ten Year Financial Plan.
The Digerati Life presents How To Create A Blog For Fun Or Profit.
Four Pillars presents 8 Reasons why you should use a real estate agent.
Wealth Pilgrim presents Immediate Annuities Stink. Never Buy One. Here's Why.
Money Crashers presents Becoming Wealthy Is Like Becoming An Olympic Athlete.
Fiscal Geek presents What is a Good Credit Score? Should you Care?
Darwin's Finance presents Top 10 Degrees By Starting Salary 2010.
Frugal Babe presents Wills And Other Unpleasant Topics.
Doughroller presents Are Discount Health Plans a Scam?
Redeeming Riches presents What is Your Motivation in Giving?
Pop Economics presents How who you are affects what you make.
Family Balance Sheet presents How Long Should You Keep Your Financial Records?

Thanks for all the great submissions everyone! Hope you readers found some interesting links today :) Next week's Carnival of Personal Finance will be hosted by Taking Charge, so keep your eyes out for it. And we'll be back to more budgety sex love tomorrow.

Stay classy,

Labels: art, carnivals

Hello, and welcome to the 218th Carnival of Personal Finance! I'll be your host today, along with my trusty sidekick Mr. Chuck Norris himself (in spirit). Now, you might be wondering what Chuck Norris has to do with personal finance, and to that I can only answer that I really have no idea ;) BUT, what I do know is that his recent fame is starting to fade (again), and I just can't stand by and watch it happen.

So today, we whip out some of our favorite Chuck Norris Facts to refresh our minds and give us a little *kick* to help start the week. After all, what's life without Chuck Norris? (Don't answer that Jack Bauer). I hope you enjoy these handpicked articles:

Editor's Picks:

"If you have five dollars and Chuck Norris has five dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you."

1. My Two Dollars: Cut Spending By Looking At Hours Of Work Put In To Pay For Stuff - Yes, love it! Brilliant way to put things in perspective before you make a big purchase (or any purchase for that matter). Want a flat screen? How many hours of work will that cost you? If that # scares you, it's best to rethink ;)
2. Realm of Prosperity: The Infomercial Copycat Method of Debt Reduction - Haha, this one just cracked me up. Another excellent way to get your mind right though, that's for sure. I don't want to give it all away, but one of the keys here is to break up your payments in a way that helps build momentum and confidence. Great read.
3. My Financial Journey: $100,000 in principal by Age 30 - Final Recap - I'm a huge fan of setting & sticking to goals, and this blogger shows us that it really can go a long way. Read on for a recap of the goal they set 3 and a half years ago, and how it all breaks down :)
4. Free Money Finance: Does a Pleasant Attitude/Personality Help You Succeed? I say hell yeah 100%. I had a boss once tell me that one of the main reasons she hired me was because I smiled a lot and brought positive energy. Gotta love that :) Not all employers place such a high importance on this, of course, but it's still a good reminder that attitudes do come into play.
   
5. Saving Cents in the City: Lessons I Could Learn from My Younger Self - Value Cash - An excellent story about the value of money! And from a blog I hadn't had the pleasure of reading yet too - thanks for submitting and inspiring!
   

Frugality:

"Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song."

• The Centsible Life presents The One Car Experiment.
• Doughroller presents 11 Things We All Buy, But Don't Need.
• Bible Money Matters presents 7 Attributes Of High Net Worth Individuals.
• Thrifty Little Blog presents Time-Expensive Gifting.
• Oil and Garlic presents Keeping Up With The Joneses...Through Food.
• Free By 50 presents How To Get Thousands of FREE Books.
• Fiscal Geek presents Sell your Used Cell Phone and Get a Free Trade In.
• Free From Debt Guy presents Temporary Nos Will Yield Permanent Yeses.
• Fine Tuned Finances presents Getting The Best Deal on a Car.
• Tough Money Love presents Cost Comparison Shopping for Professional Services.
• Financial Methods presents Stupid, Pointless and Worthless Frugality Tips.
• The Happy Rock presents The Library Still Rocks! Yes, I Like The Free Movies And More.
• Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck: Negotiate your cable bill - How I lowered my cable bill.
• Are You Going To Be This Way the Rest of the Time I Know You? presents Using What You Have - Landscaping the Yard.
• 
  

Saving:

"Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer."

• Provident Planning presents Should a Christian Have an Emergency Fund?
• My Findependence Day presents Increasing Cash Flow Is The Key To Wealth.
• American Banking News presents Review: ING Direct.
• Bargaineering presents Best CD Rates.
• Single Guy Money presents Saving For Christmas.
• Money Help For Christians presents How to Find the Lowest Prices on Books: A Guide for College Students.

Credit:

"When Chuck Norris calls 1-900 numbers, he doesn't get charged. He holds up the phone and money falls out."

• Ask Mr Credit Card presents Rewards Card - Cash vs Points.
• Rabbit Funds presents Removing a collections account from your credit report.
• Stumble Forward presents How Cutting Your Available Credit Can Hurt You.
• The Smarter Wallet presents How To Build Good Credit and Clean Up Bad Credit.

Money Management:

"When you're Chuck Norris, anything + anything is equal to 1. One roundhouse kick to the face."

• Punch Debt In The Face presents Go Big or Go Home.
• Fiscal Fizzle presents 55 Ways to Simplify Your Finances.
• Man Vs. Debt presents Top 16 Pieces Of Your Information Identity Thieves Crave.
• Studenomics presents Financial Risks & Gambling With Your Money In Your 20s.
• Sound Money Matters presents How to Avoid Overdraft Protection Fees.
• Financial Updates presents Let's Change Our Money Habits.
• Banker, Saver presents Are You FDIC Insured? Make Sure Your Money Is Safe.
• Modern Gal presents Teaching Your Parents About Money.
• Good Financial Cents: 7 Things That Make Good Financial Cents For College Students.
• Money Under 30 presents We're Getting Married (In a Week!) How Will Our Finances Change?

Investing:

"In an act of great philanthropy, Chuck made a generous donation to the American Cancer Society. He donated 6,000 dead bodies for scientific research."

• Christian Finances presents How to plan for retirement without Social Security.
• The Dividend Guy presents Recession, Shopping, and Investing.
• Go To Retirement presents Retirement Income and the Myth of Equity Risk.
• Prime Time Money presents Roth IRA Rules.
• FIRE Finance presents New Money Rules for Financial Security - #7. Retirement.
• Darwin's Finance presents How do Stock Options Work? Calls and Puts.
• Dividends Value presents Dividend Stocks Secret Ingredient.
• Automatic Finances presents There Is No Level Playing Field.
• The Personal Financier: Dollar Cost Averaging - Practical Lessons From Recent Experience.
• Money Smart Life presents Stock Analysis - Price to Earnings Growth, Debt to Asset Ratio, & Dividend Yield.

General Finance:

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris? (All of it)"

• Mrs Bankrupt presents For Love of Money.
• Money Blue Book presents How I Started Blogging To Make Money Online.
• Modern Tightwad presents What You Won't Talk About Colors What You Will.
• Free From Broke presents Cash for Clunkers - Who Wins, Stimulus or Environment?
• The Incidental Economist presents Estimating a Retirement Budget.
• M is for Money presents Jingle Mail Pays Off for One Person.
• Growing Money presents The Big Layoff at My Work Place.
• The Digerati Life presents Personal Loan Interest Rates from Lending Club.
• Adventures in Debt presents Is the Micro-Payment for You?.
• Don't Quit Your Day Job... presents The Next Bubble: Your Taxes.
• Insurance & Finance presents I Need a Personal Loan Quick But I Have Bad Credit.
• Personal Finance By The Book: Good Questions on $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Credit.
• Help for Your Personal Finance: How And When To Refinance A Mortgage: Rule Of Thumb.
• The Canadian Finance Blog: What Should You Do In A Recession? Buy Your Own Island!

Whew, that's a LOT of articles! I hope you enjoy some of these as much as I did. It's always great to see new sites popping up with fresh content, so thanks to everyone who participated :) If you like what you saw here today, sign up to my RSS feed and see what else we're about. Stay tuned for next week's carnival hosted by Your Money Relationship.

God Bless all,

Labels: carnivals

I'm back from the beach, baby! A long week of beaches, books, beer, and family time :) It's never long enough, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my "normal life." There's something about home and regularity that sits well with me. Plus, I can now put in place all the ideas that a week off has helped create! But more on that later...

Today, I'm happy to host The Carnival of Money Stories! A carnival where bloggers share their stories and experiences with money, making it easier for most of us to relate. We had over 60 entries, but after all the spam and non-stories out there (which sucks as some of these posts were AWESOME!), only 25 made the cut. On the plus side, it'll make reading/skimming these much more easier for ya ;)

Favorite Stories:

1) Man Vs. Debt inspires us with Couchsurfing New Zealand: Airport Debacles, Muslim Prayers, & A Triple-Dose Of New Zealand Hospitality - As if you didn't already know, Baker here is a bad ass when it comes to story telling. So if the title interests you, read on! It just might get you up and traveling.

2) Debt Free Adventure! hooks us up with Grocery Hacks - How To Save Money on Groceries - A story of how Matt & his wife reduced their grocery budget from $400/month down to less than $250/month! A quote on why I find this intriguing: "I am the eternal optimist - the visionary - the idea guy - the spontaneous one - the encourager - the free spirit. My wife is the responsible one - the realist - the finisher - always keeping things on track - always grounded." EXACTLY like the Mrs. and I ;)

3) The Little Dough Girl proudly shares Save money by switching to a local bank - A very cool and down to Earth story on how local banks might be better for your financial peace of mind. I liked this one because it was super easy to read, and it kept my attention the entire time ;) Plus, there are some really valid points here.

4) Cash Money Life reminds us that A College Degree Does Not Guarantee a Job - A *very* interesting take on that alumna who is suing her college because she couldn't find a job! Remember that gem from CNN the other day? Cool summary with some valuable things to keep in mind.

General Finance:

For any of you familiar with the Delaware/Maryland beaches, you KNOW you've gotta hit up the Dogfish Head tour! Not only is it free, but you learn a helluva lot about the brewing process (and in this case, how to run a decent company). And at the end, you get to taste a mighty fine sampling of beers ;)

• Jeff Rose hooks us up with How To Become a Certified Financial Planner.
• KCLau's Money Tips presents I achieved financial freedom at 38.
• The Happy Rock presents DD's Monthly Expenses - July 2009.
• Suburban Dollar presents Never Underestimate the Value of Friends and Family.
• M Is For Money presents Suddenly Feeling Vulnerable.
• Bible Money Matters presents Manage Money By Living From Heaven Backwards.
• Ask Mr Credit Card presents True Story Of A Guy Who Beat Debt.
• Money Blue Book presents Net Worth Update and New Home Buying.

Credit Stories:

We also took a trip to Historic Lewes, Delaware. Love LOVE love that place. Great architecture, beautiful scenery, and really friendly people - a nice break from some of the craziness DC brings us every day. I heard they have a pretty wicked ghost tour there too!

• The Smarter Wallet: How To Manage Debt: Credit Management Tips For College Students.
• Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?: AmTrust Canceling my HELOC. Goodbye, safety net! (wow that's a long blog name, but interesting!)
• The Dough Roller: Freecreditreport.com vesus myFICO.com: Do you know the difference?
• Taking Charge presents 'Carguelo a mi cuenta!' campaign redux (Love me some Spanish)
• Christian Personal Finance presents Removing errors from my credit report.

Business and Investing:

Later in the week, we hopped on the Cape May - Lewes Ferry en route to Atlantic City! Not only did it save us 3 hours of sitting in traffic and blowing through gas, but it was a wonderful way to spend a morning :) I was able to catch up on some pf reading for an hour or so, all the while smelling that salty ocean breeze!

• Silicon Valley Blogger presents Cheap Web Hosting Services For Those On A Budget.
• Bargaineering presents How to Enjoy a Tax Free Vacation.
• Free Money Finance presents My Jobs, I Get My Dream Job.
• Personal Finance By The Book presents Is a College Degree Necessary For Success?
• Old School Value presents Portfolio Management and Asset Allocation | Old School Value.
• The Sun's Financial Diary presents Practice Stocks and Options Trading with optionsXpress's Virtual Trade.

Shopping Stories:

Now, technically our family beach week was over by this point, but there was no way we were coming home w/out hitting up Atlantic City. It may be smaller than Las Vegas, but there's still trouble to be had ;) Between gambling, drinking, eating, shopping, and dancing, I was lucky to make it out with only a $250 tab in the 24 hours. "only" right? haha...

It broke down like this: $60/person for a kick ass room at The Chelsea (ONE room @ $360 split between 6 people. ONE room!) $60 for many a beers on their upperdeck pool - which, btw, makes you feel like you're a part of the hit show Entourage. $50 for dinner to celebrate a friend's 30th bday, $100 for gambling money which I promptly lost in 1 hour, and then $40 or so in random fees, snacks, anything else I can't remember (I was drinking, remember? ;) ). $250 in 24 hours isn't the most frugal thing I've done lately, but as many of you know I have no problem spending it on Life Experiences.

• Miss Bankrupt presents Analysis of Kindergarten School Supplies.
• My Dollar Plan presents Stacking Financial Incentives at Costco.

That's it for this week, hope you guys get inspired! Almost Frugal will be hosting next week's Carnival of Money Stories so stay tuned...now I gotta figure out how to get back to reality...at least I have a tan ;)

Labels: carnivals, holidays

Welcome to the 17th Carnival of Pecuniary Delights - "Online Slang" edition! Like other carnivals this one travels from one blog to another, but the main purpose of THIS guy is to showcase quality articles that may have lapsed into obscurity over the days. So today we dust 'em off and thrust the best ones back into the limelight.

And in case you're wondering like I was, pecuniary means "of, or pertaining to money". Works for me! Now let's go learn some web slang up in here - it's poppin' up as fast as noobie finance bloggers ;) W00t! Here is what the internets are coming to, definitions courtesy of Urban Dictionary.

[And if you like what you see, subscribe to my blog or follow my antics on Twitter.]

Editor's Pick:

W00T! - An expression of joy and excitement.
ex. "I maxed out my 401(k)! W00t!"

Free Money Finance presents Working Longer Hours Early in Your Career is a Good Investment. Just like those retirement funds, it's better to rock it out NOW while you've got time on your side rather than later when you're all old and crotchety.

Bible Money Matters presents The Best Decision Doesn’t Always Make The Most Financial Sense. This is true! Sometimes you have to make decisions based on your PERSONALITY and what helps you sleep better at night. It may not make the most financial sense, but it might get you to actually DO something about it ;)

The Happy Rock presents Do We Earn The Right Not To Budget? Blasphemy! haha...actually, he brings up a really question. The whole idea of mastering your money is to gain that financial freedom in the end and to focus your energy in other areas of life. But once you're on a roll and everything's going smooth, do you now reward yourself by easing up on that budget?

Christian Finance presents How to make money blogging. Wow. Talk about a guy who REALLY has a passion for this stuff! Not only does Bob give a majorly thorough review from top to bottom, but it's something every blogger should bookmark (I already have) and then review every few months. This is seriously some great, and *free* btw, content.

Financial Highway presents Frugal Summer Fun Ideas: Top 10 Summer Activity Ideas for Families and Couples. While some of these literally made me laugh ("Go hunting for bugs or birds"..."You won't kill them, of course.") it's a mighty impressive list :) Especially if you're trying to woo anyone in particular right now...I'm pretty sure doing a few of these will earn you some mad creative points.

General Frugality:

Pwned - A corruption of the word "Owned." It basically means "to own" or to be dominated by an opponent or situation, especially by some god-like or computer-like force.
ex. "That credit card late fee pwned me!"

Pay Less For Food presents How Brand Jumping Saves You Big Money at the Supermarket.
Enemy of Debt presents A Sacrifice Is Not A Loss But A Gain.
Pecuniarities presents Short Term vs. Long Term Savings with Bulk Buying.
Financial Methods presents Save Money-By Avoiding Advertising.
Building Wealth Together presents Save Money on Your iPhone Bill.
M is for Money presents Frugal Convert.
Bargaineering presents Pause Your Netflix Subscription.
Almost Frugal presents Five Frugal Toys Using Food

Career & Economy:

Noob - Someone who is new or inexperienced in a subject, usually online gaming & the sort.
ex. "I was a total noob when I started blogging - I called my daily posts "blogs.""

Darwin's Finance presents Minimum Wage Increase Coming - Is it Right?.
Weakonomics presents Four Unknown People To Blame For The Recession.
The Buck List presents 10 Interesting Ways to Make Some Side Cash.
The Canadian Finance Blog presents Build Your Professional Network With LinkedIn.

Personal Finance:

FAIL - The Glorious lack of success.
ex. "I took out a payday loan and forgot to pay it back. FAIL."

Debt Free Adventure presents Pay off Credit Cards VS Build Emergency Fund Savings - Me VS Suze Orman.
Good Financial Cents presents Company Going Bankrupt What About My Pension?
Personal Finance By The Book presents Using 401k to Pay off Credit Cards, Should You?.
Dough Roller presents The College Student’s Guide to Credit Cards.
My Dollar Plan presents The Automatic Poorhouse.
Redeeming Riches presents Should You Refinance Your Student Loans?.
Banker, Saver presents Sneaky Bank Fees: How To Avoid Those Extra Charges.
Suburban Dollar presents Three Things That Could Cost You Your Dream House.
The Digerati Life presents Best High Interest Savings Accounts In Online Banking.
Brain Dead Simple! Financial Organizing presents Guerilla Sorting.
Fiscal Fizzle presents 6 Financial Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs.
FamilyBalanceSheet presents Family Office Manager: Does your family have one?.
Simplified Financial Lifestyle presents 4 Things to help simplify drafting your Will.

Investing:

Ftw - "For the win." An enthusiastic emphasis to the end of a comment, message, or post. Sometimes genuine, but often sarcastic.
ex. "Just bought a lottery ticket! 1 in 1,000,000,001 odds, ftw."

The Smarter Wallet presents Learn How To Invest: Develop An Investment Plan.
Own The Dollar presents Look For Companies To Invest In Who Treat Their Balance Sheet Like You Treat Yours.

That's it boys and girls. I know there's a lot of links up there, but hopefully you're able to scour a few of them get some great tips. One of my favorite parts about hosting carnivals is that I learn so much about the OTHER blogs out there that I normally don't see :) So poke around and stay tuned for next week's carnival of pecuniary delights hosted by My Life ROI. Happy Thursday!

Labels: carnivals

Welcome to the 3rd spankin' new edition of the Carnival of Top Personal Finance Posts! As you can see from that sexy looking poll down below, this sure ain't your daddy's carnival. Instead of linking to the 50+ decent articles from around the pf world as carnivals usually go, this one focuses on hand-picking the best of the best and then having YOU, the reader, vote for the winner!

Just think of it as American Idol, except with PF Stars instead of rock stars ;) And with much less random banter amongst the judges...unless, of course, you'd like to stir up some controversy in the comments section. Do we have any Simon Cowells in the audience today?

I've already done the hard part narrowing down the list (believe me, it was NOT easy), and now the fate of these bloggers are up to YOU! So sit back, click through the list, and vote for your favorite. The winner will be announced on Saturday and will win a super-duper-not-money-as-yet-but-still-kinda-cool Top Blog Post badge for their site. Vote away:


Gooooooooood luck everybody! You guys are some seriously talented writers out there, no joke. Mad props goes out to the runner-ups for making this one helluva good contest: KC Lau, Master Your Card, and Embrace Living. Keep on spouting out the good word my friends.


*WINNER: Five Cent Nickel! Click here for more info...
---------------
PS: Use the following code to place the current Top PF Blog Posts Carnival in a post of your own. The more people that vote, the more likely the best content will be chosen the winner.

<div style="text-align:center"><iframe src="http://app.sgizmo.com/s/survey.php?id=6NNHTLHVXSDILGE15V9CFV1STC68BG-134990" frameborder="0" width="440" height="780" style="overflow: hidden"></iframe></div>

Labels: carnivals

Hello my frugal little friends, and welcome to the 175th Carnival of Personal Finance - "Jokey McJokester" edition! As many of you know, i'm a huge fan of mixing entertainment with financial learning, so get ready for some fun up in here :)

I know some of you are pretty groggy/hungover/un-excited for the "real world" today, so i'm hoping some of these jokes wake you up a bit. And just in case, i threw in a few cheezy ones to see if you're paying attention ;) If you like what you see here, join the other "cool" ones and hook yourself up with my RSS feed , or even with one of my icons. Now, let's get started shall we?

J. Money's Fabulous Four:
These were my all time favorite posts from all 92 submissions! Needless to say, i did quite a lot of reading over the weekend :) But i'd be lying if i didn't learn anything - each article highlighted today has something to offer, especially these next ones in my opinion. But first a joke!

A man being mugged by two thugs put up a tremendous fight! Finally, the thugs subdued him and took his wallet. Upon finding only two dollars in the wallet, the surprised thug said "Why did you put up such a fight?"

To which the man promptly replied "I was afraid that you would find the $200 hidden in my shoe!"

• How Can YOU Save the US Economy - The Secret to Success of the American Dream by Ben from Money Smart Life. An overall enjoyable read! You gotta love the postiveness that comes out of it too, absolutely loved it :)
• Stop Watching Market News, Start Watching LOLCATS by jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. OMG the title says it all! I didn't even need to read it to know that this was gonna be a fun one. I did though, of course, and it was all that i had hoped it would be ;) It goes pretty well with today's theme, doesn't it?
• Tipping: Psychological Warfare? by Richard over at Student Scrooge. An interesting look at how waiters work the "upsell" angle - think kneeling down, writing smilies on the check, etc. While some of these got me pretty fired up (i HATE when waiters touch me. *shiver*), it's definitely cool to wonder if these tricks affect your tipping!
• Is it a Smart Move to INCREASE Your 401k Contributions Now? by RC from Think Your Way To Wealth. I'm a huge fan of anything 401(k) related, and especially those articles that are SUPER easy to read like this one. GREAT job circling some of the questions being asked around town!
  
  *And The Two Runner Ups*
  
  
• What Is Your Deepest, Darkest Financial Secret? by Broke Grad from Broke Grad Student. Another one i couldn't pass up! Similar to the "Post Secret" concept, Broke Grad asked people to send in postcards w/ their deepest financial secrets on it - freakin' cool as hell to look at (esp for all you A.D.D. readers).
• Accepting The Bailout For The Van from DD over at The Happy Rock. Brilliant! Personal stories make for interesting reads, esp. when you go against all the advice that you just asked for ;) It's all part of the process baby!

Budgeting:
You KNOW i have to put this topic first, i mean look at my blog name :) I'm all about the budget. Whether it's hand written, typed, automatically calculated online, whatever: Budgets = Confidence = Sexy. End of story. Actually, not end of story, we have lots more to go here.... let's continue w/ another joke:

"The president announced new budget slashes. And he's slashing education. It is a genius plan — when the kids graduate they won't have the math skills to calculate how much debt they're actually in." —Craig Ferguson

• Little Thomas from Soon to be Debt Free presents Everything I Thought I Knew About
  Budgeting was Wrong . . .
• CindyS from Oh My Aching Debts presents Personal Finance Game. Managing your budget doesn't have to be hard or scary! This is a fun game that can be played by one person or the entire family :)
  
• fwp from financial wellness project presents on watching your expenditures.
• JS from Smart Money Daily presents 5 Lies That Keep You From Budgeting. Everyone needs a budget whether you think you need one or not. Here are the 5 biggest lies people tell themselves to get out of making budgets.
• Kelly from Almost Frugal presents Buy a New Car or Fix the One I've Got?.

Frugality:
The word frugality is one of my favorites! Not only do i love saying it (it come out so crisp, ya know?) but it really does capture a way of life...esp with many of you who's reading this. Anyone who can master the art of frugalness (not as fun to say) wins big points in the life of financial freedom!

After 40 years of hard work, a man retired with $5,000,000.00 which he had gained through courage, diligence, initiative, skill, devotion to duty, thrift, efficiency, shrewd investment, and the death of an uncle who left him $4,999,999.50.

• FruGal from FruGal presents Don't get screwed by your landlord:Top Tips..
• Dan from Everyday Finance presents Buying a New Car - Strategies and Findings . This article highlights various considerations and experiences related to a new car purchase in this new credit-crunched, internet age.
• FMF from Free Money Finance presents Will a Freezer Save You Money?
• Mr. B from Interesting Money presents Make Your Own Granola From Scratch: A Guide, Plus Cost Breakdown. Like granola? Here's a visual guide to making it from scratch, including a cost analysis. Pretty nifty!
  
• Orange from Orange Dealing with Money presents Cheap Ways to Spend a Weekend. Orange enjoys cities for less than $5 per person.
  
• Lisa Spinelli from Greener Pastures presents 10 More Money Saving Websites With Ongoing Big Fat Deals. Awesome! A great way to get extra mileage out of your budget!
• BeThisWay from Are You Going To Be This Way the Rest of the Time I Know You? presents You Bet Your Ass I’ll Return That. Haha...i LOVE the blog title.
  
• FIRE Finance from FIRE Finance presents Generic Drugs are Cheaper - A Complete Guide.
• Brooke from Dollar Frugal presents Cleaning Your Things to Appreciate Them More.
• Shawna from Bumblefucked presents How to save money at Whole Foods.
• Patrick from Military Finance Network presents Get a Free Flu Shot from the VA. An in depth look on how to save money on flu shots.
• Sara Aase from Cash On The Barrelhead presents Saving is In Again: Thomas Stanley on the Glutton Economy.

Economy:
It is what it is right? Some weeks are great, some weeks are sad, and others are downright c-r-a-z-y. But that's life, and i'm pretty sure we're all starting to get used to it :) So why not joke about it?

"If you watched the debate last night, you know John McCain kept talking about this guy Senator Obama met on the campaign trail named Joe the Plumber. Do you know the saddest part about the Joe the plumber story? Last month he was an investment banker." --Jay Leno

• Megan from Counting My Pennies presents Unexpected Charity.
• Ashley from Wide Open Wallet presents Don't let the news replace your reality.
• Terence Gillespie from Your Optimal Blog presents Depression Proof Your Money, adding, "If you know what to do it doesn’t take long to protect a lifetime of savings."
• Andrea from Fools and Sages presents Obama's Immediate Economic Plan. It may sound good during election season, but is a tax free distribution from retirement plans a good idea for Americans in the long run?
• Debbie Dragon from Empowering Mom presents Today I'm Grateful for a Recession-Proof Business.
• Tanesha Morgan from Personal Finance Analyst presents Bank of America Acquires a Lemon - My Commentary.
• Curt from PennyJobs.com presents The End Of Capitalism As We Know It.

Credit:
Ooooooh how i love me some credit! The more, the better in my opinion. While it's DEF. not for everyone, i'm all about slapping my expenses on the ol' credit card & then paying it off in 30 days. I seriously hope the credit crisis works itself out - i am ADDICTED to it. And now for another joke:

Did you hear about the $3,000,000 Maryland State Lottery?
The winner gets $3 a year for a million years.

• Tyler Metzger from Taking Charge presents Prank uses Obama in attempt to obtain Centurion bling. Haha...anytime you have "Obama" and "Bling" in one sentence, you KNOW it's gonna be a good read :)
• NtJS from Not the Jet Set presents Credit Reports, Credit Scores - What's the Difference?. In a blogosphere obsessed with credit scores, Mr. NtJS shares the unthinkable.... He never checks his credit score. Ever.
• PT from Prime Time Money presents AnnualCreditReport.com: Still the Best Way to Check Your Credit Report. You gotta love the ONLY free, no strings attached, method for reviewing all three credit reports!
• Ryan Lynch from The Better Credit Blog presents The Quick and Dirty on Authorized Credit Card Users.
• Andy from Tight Fisted Miser presents My Bankruptcy Experience.
• Bob from Christian Financial Help presents 0% credit cards are not free!. An interesting conclusion that a reader came to on the real cost of credit cards.
• DW from Arrive Financial: Credit Card Intelligence presents Your Credit Report Matters More Than Your Credit Score.
• pfi from Passive Family Income presents Best Gas Credit Cards, and shares tips on picking out the best gas credit cards out there with rewards.
• Clint from Accumulating Money presents Secured Loans and Unsecured Loans – What’s Right for You?

Finance:
Finance covers a looooot of stuff, and a looooot of industries. So, naturally, we have a looooooooooooot of good articles on this topic :) Please to enjoy:

An FBI agent is interviewing a bank teller after the bank had been robbed 3 times by the same bandit:
"Did you notice anything special about the man?" asks the agent.
"Yes," replies the teller. "He was better dressed each time."

• Super Saver from My Wealth Builder presents Passive Income is not Effort Free. Ain't that the truth! While it may look like it's easy-peasy money, there's a loooot of work that goes into building up passive income.
  
• ABC from ABCs of Investing presents Investment Asset Classes Explained. A brief and simple explanation of asset classes!
• Henry Stern, LUTCF, CBC from InsureBlog presents Now THAT'S Customer Service!. Sometimes, getting what you pay for's a GOOD thing. Here's a true story of how one e-tailer handles orders in an honest and personal way.
• My Journey from My Journey to Millions presents Stay Away from Seller Financing.
• A Dawn from A Dawn Journal presents ADJ Picks Canada’s Best High Interest Savings Accounts.
• Money Answer Guy from Money Answer Guy presents How to Compare Lenders Online.
• The Financial Blogger from The Financial Blogger presents How To Beat Inflation Part 2, and states that we need to find other trick to keep our lifestyle intact. Tricks to beat inflation are becoming smaller.
• Joe Manausa from Tallahassee Real Estate Blog presents The US Treasury On Market Turmoil. Joe goes into some remarks by Secretary David H. McCormick about the current economic turmoil - identifying how the chaos basically got started, and acknowledging that we are now paying the price.

Money management:
I'm a HUGE management guy, esp. when we're talking about money (actually, it's the ONLY thing i manage ;) ), so this subject is near and dear to my heart. If you know where your money is coming from, and you now exactly where it's going, you're a-okay in my books! Another joke:

A businessman was confused about a bill he had received, so he asked his secretary for some mathematical help.

"If I were to give you $20,000, minus 14%, how much would you take off?" he asked her.

The secretary replied, "Everything but my earrings."

• Pete from Bible Money Matters presents 10 Things I Have Learned About Money, al of which he's learned in this past year!
  
• MoneyNing (David) from Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning presents Why Only Thinking About Affordability Makes You Poor. Just being able to "afford it" doesn't mean it's wise to buy it! Think twice! (Amen to that)
  
• Fitz from Ready To Be Rich presents How To Make Friends Pay Back The Money They Owe You, and adds, "We lend money to friends because we want to help them. But what do you do when they refuse to pay you back or tries to delay the payment? What can you do? This articles hopes to shed some light into this problem." I could have used you a year ago ;)
  
• Aryn from Sound Money Matters presents Couples and Money: Five Tips for Daily Money Talks. The article talks about how couples who communicate about money have better financial futures.
• Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck from Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck presents Return of premium term life insurance overview, adding,"If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Example #847:" No doubt.
  
• Debt Freedom Fighter from Discover Debt Freedom presents 3 Indicators that a balance transfer credit card is right for you.
• Tisha from American Consumer News presents Heating Your Home Without Going Broke.
• Squawkfox from Squawkfox presents 3 Best Financial Decisions, where readers share their 3 best financial decisions to help others.
• Tony from Bad Credit Advisor presents Living on one income doesn't mean living on one paycheck. This is true!
  
• Mary from Simply Forties presents The Economy of a Hunting Club, stating that managing the micro-economy of a hunt club is not unlike managing your personal finances.
• FrugalTrader from Million Dollar Journey presents Divorce - A Wealth Killer.
• Mr. ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents How to Maintain Optimism in Tough Economic Times. While it's easier to be pessimistic when the economy heads south, Optimism is better! Yessir.
  
• My Dollar Plan from My Dollar Plan presents 15 Must Do Fall Finance Tips.

Investing:
I'm not the smartest man around when it comes to the nitty gritty here, BUT, i do know that investing wisely will go a long way here. That means no panicking and emotional selling of one's nest eggs (ya hear that economy?). Which leads us to our next jokey mcjoke:

A frightened investor goes to his financial planner and asks if he's at all worried about the volatility of the markets these days. The planner replies that he sure does! In fact, he says that he sleeps like a baby.

The frightened investor was amazed! "Really? Even with all the fluctuations?"
"Yup! I sleep for a couple of hours, and then I wake up and I cry for a couple of hours."

• Richard Epley from Blue Jeans Millionaire presents Five Ways to Divorce a Stock. I really enjoyed this one :)
• Dorian Wales from The Personal Financier presents How to Recognize a Bull Trap. I had noooo idea what one of these were, but i sure do now! Pretty cool to read up on some new stuff ;)
  
• Patrick from Cash Money Life presents Dollar Cost Averaging vs. Value Averaging , a very cool and insightful comparison of two investing methods.
• nickel from FiveCentNickel presents Four Reasons not to Overreact in the Current Market.
• Dividends4Life from Dividends4Life presents How To Be a Better Investor During These Difficult Times, adding, "A recent article on The Motley Fool pointed out that now is the time that Baron Rothschild was referring to when he said, "Buy when blood is in the streets."
• The Dividend Guy from The Dividend Guy presents Some Investing Rules According to Warren Buffet. Good to keep in your back pocket these days!
• Intelligent Speculator from Intelligent Speculator presents Think The Worst Is Still To Come?. A lot of investors think we are far from out of this situation and that an important recession will occur (and probably has already started).
• Kevin from No Debt Plan presents Why Yesterday's 11% Gain Isn't What You Think It Is.
• AJC from How to make $7 million in 7 years ... no scams, no schemes! presents Horses are not for courses … What does the World's Greatest Investor do differently than the rest of us? Click to read :)

Debt:
Debt = no fun. But alas, 99% of us have some debt laying around. At least it's not all "bad" debt though - college loans, mortgages, business loans, etc. But either way, we're all in this together :) Here's another joke, and then the beautiful posts:

What did the car dealer say?
The best way to get back on your feet is to miss a car payment!

• Starving Artist from Indebted 2 You presents Remarkable Failure, adding, "I finished paying off my credit cards and wrote a wrap-up article talking about the things you can accomplish if you fail enough." Indeed :)
• Christopher Holdheide from Stumble Forward presents The REAL Reason You Can't Get Out Of Debt. An article about getting debt free, but even more so on the mindset you need to get debt free.
• Chief Family Officer from Chief Family Officer presents Reacting to the economy again: Cutting back on retirement savings in favor of reducing debt.

Saving:
Saving has always been a cornerstone of building wealth. So make sure to do lots of it :) (can you tell i'm tuckering out now?)

"Why do the Irish keep their money in banks?
Because it's Dublin!"

• Todd from Harvesting Dollars presents Why Must Parents Pay For College.
• junger from Online Savings Blog presents The Declaration of Financial Independence: ING Direct.
• David from BankAround presents Hudson City Savings Bank Rises Above Mess With Traditional Banking.

Real Estate:
I used to be a realtor during the boom a few years back, and i must say that i came away with a lot of knowledge out there. Sadly, much of it was stuff i'd rather forget (shady bankers, realtors, and just people in general). BUT, it did teach me a very important lesson - Everyone's financial situation is different, and you really have to know what you're comfortable with, not what others are comfortable with. Advice is GREAT, don't get me wrong, but just be sure you know which advice to take in, and which to dump in the trash. Now another joke :)

If you owe the bank $100, that's your problem.
If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem.

• Ryan Suenaga from Uncommon Cents presents Well, No, I Can’t Buy Your House.
• Smarty from Growing Money presents Philadelphia Tenant Saga - Part 2.
• vh from Funny about Money presents Foreclosed: Postscript.
• Dan Melson from Searchlight Crusade presents Mortgage Loan Modification.

Taxes:
Some may call taxes a "joke" in itself, but unfortunately we all have to deal with 'em. Sure it may bore you to death, but it helps keep our country paved with the golden dreams of opportunity! (Did that even make sense?) Let's have another joke:

Late one night a mugger wearing a ski mask jumped into the path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs. "Give me your money," he demanded.

Indignant, the affluent man replied, "You can't do this - I'm a US Congressman!"

"In that case," replied the robber, "Give me MY money!"

• Sam from Fix My Personal Finance presents 5 Smart Property Tax-Saving Strategies.
• Andy from saving to invest presents Tax Changes under McCain and Obama. It's pretty interesting to see how your taxes will be affected under Obama or McCain.

Career:
VERY important to have if you wanna bring in the big bucks. I'd like to consider blogging my "Career", but it's all in due time :) For now, i'll keep being amazed by the ballers of our industry (ahem Jonathan...cough cough.....J.D...). Either way, i'm all for doing what makes you happy. And as long as you have your head on straight financially, you can get by with any paying job! Now, another joke from our sponsor:

A social worker is facing a mugger with a gun.
"Your money or your life!" says the mugger.
"I'm sorry," the social worker answers,
"I am a social worker, so I have no money and no life."

• Amanda from Value For Your Life presents Who Else Wants To Improve Their Organizational Skills?.

Other:
Other? hmm......this can encapsulate a whole mess of different things! But unfortunately, or fortunately if you're tired of me already, i'm running out of time here. So on w/ the last joke and hand picked posts of the day:

A preacher gets up one Sunday and announced to his congregation:
"I have good news and bad news...
The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program.
The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets!"

• Bret Frohlich from BretFrohlich.com presents Fighting Global Poverty, and adds, "October 15th was Blog Action day and this year's subject was Poverty. This post offers suggesions on how to fight global poverty." Yup, I've been seeing a few posts on this lately, pretty interesting.
• LAL from LivingAlmostLarge presents Is the middle class gone?.
• Mr Credit Card from Ask Mr Credit Card presents Organizing Your Personal Finance.
• Steward from My Family's Money presents US Poverty: How Is It Defined? A look at what we define as "poor" in the United States for statistical purposes.

That's it for this week kiddies! Go ahead and take yourself a breather for now - you'll need it for next week's CoPF over at Master Your Card (i love it!). If you liked what you saw, don't forget to sign up to the ol' RSS feed or grab an icon! And remember: Budgets = Confidence = Sexy!

Labels: carnivals, jokey jokes