Carnival Round Up For The Week #3

Here are the Carnivals from this past week that I am reading :

The Carnival of Personal Finance #89 is hosted by Binary Dollar.	My Carnival choice is Free Money: Federal Excise Tax Refund posted by Simple Guru. This is about the one-time $30-$60 tax credit for a federal phone tax from 2003-2006. I chose this post because many filers have not taken the credit. To date, out of 34 million filers, 10 million people have not claimed the credit, which is available to everyone. (I think the reference is a Wall Street Journal article, which I can't find at the moment.)
The inaugural edition of the Investors Blog Network (IBN) Festival is hosted by BioHealth Investor.	My Festival pick is Big Business Betting on Your Second Life! presented by SciTech Investor. Virtual money=Real money, virtual lives and real companies - an exciting blurring between reality and what can be. However, I agree with SciTech Investor that my real life (versus a virtual world) is where I want to spend my time.
The Carnival of Family Life is hosted by Modern Sage.	My Carnival choice is Do It All presented by Home School Daze, which points out that a good strategy may be to choose a few things versus doing it all. I fully agree. Doing what's important or needed (and avoiding the unneeded or unnecessary) should be the highest priority.
The Festival of Frugality #63 is hosted by Stingy Students.	My Festival pick is My 25 Frugal Habits & 5 Spendthrift Confessions by The Frugal Duchess, which make the point that no one is 100% perfect in their strategies. While every habit is not for everybody, the list is a good starting point if one is looking for ideas. Personally, I use about 10 of the frugal habits described.
The Carnival of 30s and 40s Personal Finances: The Wealth Accumulation State is hosted by Making Our Way.	My Carnival choice is presented by the host, Making Our Way, and is titled Thoughts on portfolio construction & All About Asset Allocation. The post reminded me that Small Cap and Value stocks tend have higher returns over the long term. In thinking about my own portfolio, I am under represented in Small Cap, at this time. The reason is that, historically, Large Caps outperform Small Caps in the later stages of the economic recovery, which is the current stage, theoretically. Based on this article, I am going to revisit my Small Cap portfolio allocation.

I hope you enjoy reading these Carnivals and finding tips you can use.

Check back on Saturday for the next Reflections and Musings segment.

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

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