Saturday, September 12, 2009

Carnival of Financial Planning #106 - September 12, 2009

Welcome to the September 12, 2009 Edition #106 of the Carnival of Financial Planning. My thanks to the editor of The Skilled Investor for having My Wealth Builder host this week.

As background, the Carnival of Financial Planning takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. It focus on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

Enjoy!

Budgeting

Banker Saver presents 4 Financial Tips To Weather The Mortgage Crisis posted at Banker Saver, saying, "We can survive the mortgage crisis with careful planning, spending less and budgeting."

Dorian Wales presents Budget vs. Net Worth posted at The Personal Financier, saying, "While it may be recommended to manage both a budget and net-worth sometimes focus leads to better results."

Susan Savering presents Personal Budget Expenses posted at Family Financial Planners, saying, "When you don't understand how much you spend and how much you save and invest, you do not have a financial plan. This dramatically increases your family’s long-term financial risk."

The Smarter Wallet presents Internet Banking: Compare Online Banks For Your Savings Needs posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "Thanks!"

Economics

BWL presents Government redistribution of wealth: posted at Christian Personal Finance, saying, "Should the government be taking from the rich to give to the poor? When the government takes from a rich person to give to a poor person. The rich person isn't giving, but rather they are being taken from."

Roshawn Watson presents The Rich Get Poorer posted at Watson Inc, saying, "The implications of this recent recession have been far-reaching enough to put a big dent in American and world wealth. Both the magnitude of wealth and the number of millionaires decreased profoundly in 2008."

Super Saver presents Expecting Another Bubble posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "Low interest rates are bound to create another bubble. Hopefully, by expecting one, I can protect our savings better that during the housing and financial crash."

The Smarter Wallet presents Online Business Guide posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, "Here's how to manage your small business."

Dorian Wales presents On Causality and Correlation in Economics posted at The Personal Financier, saying, "Causality is perhaps the most fundamental element of empirical evidence available to economists. However, it is also the source of many misconceptions due to its elusive nature."

Marc Ryan presents Excess banking profits and pay amidst a financial crisis posted at IndependentInvestor.info, saying, "Increased competition and cost reductions resulting from economies of scale normally reduce prices. For reasons difficult to understand this has not occurred in the mutual fund industry. In comparison, commission rates for brokerage transactions paid by individual investors have diminished since the phenomenon of the big bang and especially since the advent of discount brokers. Overall, before the recent financial crisis there was, not a decrease, but a dramatic increase in overall profits of the financial services industry. What happened? We do a short overview of some articles published in 2009."

Estate Planning

Jeff Rose presents Taking Care of an Elderly Parent posted at Jeff Rose, saying, "Find of what you need to do when you have to become the parent of your parents."

DIY Financial Planning presents Roth Account Estate Planning Strategy posted at Do It Yourself Financial Planning, saying, "There are trade-offs in deciding how to set the proportion to contribute into Roth retirement savings accounts versus making contributions to traditional retirement accounts with tax deferral advantages. An optimal Roth retirement account contribution strategy also becomes an estate planning question. In the majority of personal finance situations, making 100% of allowable Roth contributions may not yield the greatest total estate at age 80, 90, or 100."

Financial Planning

20smoney presents 5 Types Of Diversification Your Financial Advisor Won’t Mention posted at 20s Money, saying, "This article discusses five types of diversification that aren't discussed very often, yet are still very important to consider when financial planning."

Intelligent Speculator presents How Your Advisor Is Compensated posted at The Financial Blogger, saying, "When you meet with a financial advisor, the first question you should ask is how he is compensated."

Dividend Tree presents Building Core Competency for Long Term Survival posted at Dividend Tree, saying, "whether it is running a business or individuals’ investment portfolio, it is important to build a core competency for long term sustainability. In my case, I focus on good quality companies that consistently pay or have potential to pay growing dividends over time."

KCLau presents I achieved financial freedom at 38 posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "This post is contributed by WaiYin, a reader whom I admire very much because she achieved financial freedom at age 38! Here, she shares how she did it."

Four Pillars presents Affordable Refinance Program posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, "Making Home Affordable refinance program eases requirements."

Patrick @ Military Money presents How Much Life Insurance Do Military Members Need? posted at Military Finance Network, saying, "Military members may have different life insurance needs than civilians. Here is information regarding how much life insurance military members should buy, and some resources for finding the best life insurance deals."

Susan Savering presents Personal Investing Strategy posted at Family Financial Planner, saying, "When pursuing optimal financial planning and investing strategies and controlling your costs and capital gains taxes, you also need to establish a time-efficient system to monitor, adjust, and adhere to your financial plan."

Financing a Home

Tallahassee Real Estate presents Housing Market Bottom Reached In Tallahassee posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, "It is obviously premature to call the bottom of the market, as we only have a 10 day up-trend. If this ends up being the true real estate market bottom in Tallahassee, you can record August 23rd, 2009 as the day the market turned! I really suspect that we are closing in on the bottom if we have not hit it already. My earlier predictions were for this to occur in November, but I’ll certainly take an earlier result if we can find it."

Alex Fotopoulos presents When to Refinance a Mortgage? posted at My Trader's Journal, saying, "Some key points to consider when refinancing your home."

Financing Education

Emma Taylor presents 100 Useful College Planning Tools for Conscientious Parents posted at Online College.org.

Praveen presents Will Education Follow the Housing Bust? posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, "Tips for students to avoid excessive loans and debt"

Health Care

KCLau presents Withdraw EPF Fund to Pay Insurance Premium? posted at KCLau's Money Tips, saying, "Vincent Lee from Penang generously shares an idea to use your EPF"

Income

The Financial Blogger presents What I Don’t Like About Mary Kay and other Multi Level Marketing (MLM) Companies posted at Gather Little By Little, saying, "someone you know, a good friend, gives you a call and his voice appears as a ray of light over your head; he has found a solution, an easy way to make more money!"

nissim ziv presents How to Negotiate a Job Offer: Salary Negotiations tips posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, "One of the major aspects of a job interview is the job salary. With the changing times and attitudes, discussing job salaries are sometimes overlooked or even ignored."
FMF presents My Jobs, An Interesting Transition posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "Experience is often the best teacher. This post details a real workplace experience and what all of us can learn from it in order to grow our careers."

Zach Scheidt presents Under Armour – Fourth and Long posted at ZachStocks, saying, "Under Armour (UA) has a strong athletic brand, and an expensive stock. The third quarter is the most important period for the company and with consumers spending less it could be a disappointing time for investors. Consider shorting or at least avoiding long positions."

Investing

Dividends4Life presents Dividend Stocks Offer Continuous Feedback posted at Dividends Value, saying, "One of the many reasons I like dividend stocks is because they provide continuous feedback. As time passes, dividend investors see their income grow steadily. Each dividend and dividend increase provides reassurance that the strategy is working."

ABC presents Stock Market Indexes posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "How different types of stock market indexes work."

jim presents Cheap Stock Trades at Discount Stock Brokers posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

puneetkapoor2000 presents Indian Stock Fundamental Analysis posted at KuberKhana -Indian Stock Fundamental Analysis, saying, "It is an analysis of the holding company, Network 18 running the popular TV channel CNBC TV 18. Besides fundamentals and valuations, it also touches on corporate governance issues."

Manshu presents China ETF List posted at OneMint, saying, "A list of ETFs that gives investors exposure to China."

SVB presents ETrade Online Brokerage Account: Top Broker Review posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Thanks!"

Madison presents Ohio 529 College Advantage $25 – $100 Bonus posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, "Have you been planning to start a college savings account for your kids? It's the perfect time to do so with the Ohio 529, rated one of the top 529 plans. They're offering sign up bonuses this fall to open an account."

Alex Fotopoulos presents 9 Stock Picks - September 2009 posted at My Trader's Journal, saying, "Alex put together a list of nine picks he thinks are worth checking out."

Zach Scheidt presents Education Breakdown – An Expensive Short Opportunity posted at ZachStocks, saying, "China Education and Technology Company (EDU) is primed for a sharp decline. Investors have been programmed to expect the company to beat quarterly guidance, but competitive pressure could catch up to EDU."

Super Saver presents Investment Plans for the Rest of 2009 posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, "I'm starting to think that the economic recovery will be slower and longer than current expectations. I believe the next couple months will be telling. Here are my plans."

Mike Piper presents Discount Brokerage IRA Comparison posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, "A comparison of all the major discount brokerage firms, intended to help you determine the lowest cost place to open an IRA."

ABC presents Investment Real Return posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, "A simple explanation of investment real return."

Larry Russell presents Top No Load Mutual Fund posted at No Load Mutual Funds, saying, "Taken as a whole, the vast body of investment research studies show that there really are better approaches to buying and owning mutual funds and ETFs. You do not need to frantically chase fund performance. Performance chasing simply does not work."

Frank Vertin presents Best Stock Index Fund posted at Best Index Fund, saying, "Buying an S&P 500 index fund through an investment counselor can substantially increase your initial purchasing costs and and drive up your annual management expense fees. Unfortunately, the vast majority of individual investors buy mutual funds and ETFs through brokers and investment advisers. Rarely do financial advisors recommend that you buy index funds with low fees. This is because low cost, no load mutual funds do not pay them as well as loaded, high fee mutual funds."

Tushar Mathur presents Can't Control the Markets? Try controlling the Costs posted at Everything Finance, saying, "As 2008 proved, the financial markets are prone to unpredictable periods of turbulence. That can make investing feel a bit like a roller-coaster ride. The disappointing results that many mutual funds posted in 2008 and at the outset of 2009 may have left you feeling concerned over your financial future. You're not alone."

Tomas Escent presents Quant Investing posted at Nerds on Wall Street, saying, "Think of this book as sort of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to Wired Markets. There are no robots parking cars for six million years, but there are robots trading millions of shares in six milliseconds, so maybe that’s close enough."

Praveen presents India Fund (IFN) Trade Example posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, "An example of how having a trading system gives you an edge, and let's you take advantage of market moves outside of your control."

Dividend Tree presents What is your preference – Aristocrats or Achievers? Dividend Tree posted at Dividend Tree, saying, "The key question here is; are we willing to invest in companies that have still not completed 25 years of dividend growth? All dividend aristocrats were at that stage at some point in time."

The Skilled Investor presents Personal Investment Management posted at Personal Investment Manager, saying, "Investors more easily understand investment costs that are directly measurable, such as fees deducted on investment statements. However, many investors ignore or are unaware of the opportunity costs of their sub-optimal investment behaviors. Opportunity costs are usually much more difficult to measure directly, but these investment costs can be even higher than more visible investment fees."

Managing Debt

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Best Student Credit Cards posted at Cash Money Life, saying, "Tips on how students can use credit cards wisely and avoid the trappings of getting into credit card debt. Also includes a list of the top student credit cards."

MoneyNing presents Free Credit Reports posted at Money Ning, saying, "AnnualCreditReport.com should be the only way to get a free credit report."

PT presents How to Effectively Use 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards posted at Prime Time Money, saying, "Thanks!"

Jeff Rose presents New Credit Card Rules 2009 posted at Jeff Rose.

Eric J. Nisall presents Good Credit Is Important Now More Than Ever posted at Let's Blog Money, saying, "The new credit card laws have already started to take effect, and the credit issuers are also taking steps to protect themselves. This means trouble for consumers."

Miscellaneous

MoneyNing presents How to Break Bad Habits posted at Money Ning, saying, "How many bad habits would you like to break?"

Tom Drake presents Recommended Personal Finance Books posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, "My top 25 personal finance books, anything from investing and portfolio allocation to taxes and saving money."

No Load Bonds presents Bond Index Fund posted at Bond Index Fund, saying, "Simply put, if you pay higher bond mutual fund fees, then these bond management expenses tend just to be a deadweight loss to you. The best bond fund buying strategy is to pick only very low-cost no load bond funds."

FIRE Getters presents Credit Cards In Ireland and Associated Stamp Duties posted at FIRE Finance - A Top Personal Finance and Investing Blog for Early Retirement and Money Management!, saying, "Ireland had the unenviable title of being the only country in the world to impose a credit card stamp duty. And this country earns a lot of revenues by levying this duty on its citizens ....."

Roshawn Watson presents Should You Buy A House Outright? posted at Watson Inc, saying, "Suppose you find yourself in the somewhat unique predicament of having the resources to purchase your house outright without a mortgage. Is it then financially-wise to make the purchase?"

FMF presents When Work and Money Collide posted at Free Money Finance, saying, "What do you do when money issues enter the workplace?"

Retirement Planning

Karen Chan, CFP, University of IL Extension presents Pension Plans At Risk: Employer Bankruptcies, Frozen Plans, Suspended Matching posted at Plan Well, Retire Well, saying, "What happens to your pension benefits if the plan is frozen or your employer goes bankrupt? This post explains guarantees from the Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporation, and how to revise your retirement plan. Five educators in Consumer & Family Economics with University of IL Extension contribute to this blog. Our goal is to provide unbiased, sensible perspectives on investing, retirement planning, and managing your money."

Jeff Rose presents In Service Distribution- 401k Rollover While You’re Still Working posted at Jeff Rose, saying, "If your 401k has you down at work, the in service distribution might be exactly what you need."

Curt presents Here Is Why Inflation and Socialism Will Eventually Fail and Capitalism Will Regain Its Worthy Support posted at PennyJobs.com

Top Stock Index Funds presents Top Stock Index Funds posted at Top 10 Index Fund, saying, "Buy these top 10 very low cost no load S&P 500 index mutual funds directly. You do not have to pay the heavy added expenses of buying through a stock broker, financial adviser, investment adviser, or investment counselor."

Retirement Savior presents Passive Investing Overkill posted at Retirement Savior, saying, "Most investors leave risk-adjusted returns on the table. Learn simple ways for you to improve your portfolio."

Risk Management and Insurance

Patrick @ Military Money presents COBRA Benefits 2009 Economic Stimulus Recovery Act posted at Military Finance Network, saying, "The 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan includes additional COBRA and unemployment benefits."

Savings

Paul Kamp presents More Savings Help posted at Don't Quit Your Day Job - Personal Finance, Economics and Investing, saying, "I wrote this article based upon some coming changes to savings plans in the United States. I like what's coming in 401(k)s, but savings bonds from tax returns feels like a gimmick."

Four Pillars presents Back To School Cell Phone Deals posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, "Comparison of the best cell phone deals for students heading back to school."

Taxes

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Self Employment Tax Guide posted at Cash Money Life, saying, "Do you know if you owe self employment taxes or not? Use this guide to learn more about self employment taxes – who, when, and how much."

Jeff Rose presents American Opportunity Tax Credit For College posted at Jeff Rose, saying, "The American Opportunity tax credit is a nice step up for parents with kids in college."

DIY Financial Planning presents Tax-Advantaged Retirement Investment Planning posted at Do It Yourself Financial Planning, saying, "In general, if your retirement saving planning allows sufficient annual retirement savings from your earnings, most retirement investment advisers would recommend that you make the full contributions each year into these various plans through out your employment up to when your retire. Even when you find that you cannot deduct from your income taxes your annual contributions to retirement plans, very often it still makes long-term retirement financial planning sense to make those IRA and 401k contributions, since future appreciation of these assets would be sheltered from ongoing taxation."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: , .

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2009 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

2 comments:

Patrick said...

Thanks for hosting! :)

Paul Kamp said...

Thanks for hosting!