Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #31 – Lend A Helping Hand

"A Helping Hand, Eugene de Blaas, Oil on Panel, 1884"

Thanks for stopping by the 31st Edition of the Carnival of Financial Camaraderie.  This Carnival was founded by the good folks at My University Money, with the following intent:

Our goal in creating The Carnival of Financial Camaraderie was to provide a collection of articles that everyone can benefit from on a consistent basis.  While things can get competitive amongst certain subsets of bloggers, everyone we have met so far has been friendly and helpful.  When issues arise everyone is quick to lend a helping hand.  We are a part of the Yakezie Challenge and it has been a great experience.  The camaraderie between financial bloggers is a great thing to have, and it inspired our Carnival.

Right then, let’s get on with it.

Editor’s Picks…

What better way to lend a helping hand by charity and to ensure the donation is used wisely?  Start one yourself.

YFS (Your Finances Simplified) presents The Benefits of Giving to Charitable Institutions – “They say that giving and helping others can offer people more satisfaction than acquiring material things. For centuries different individuals, even the most wealthy ones, have found a sense of fulfillment in giving, and indeed it is in the act…”

This caliber of informative, in-depth analysis of the oil and gas  is generally hidden behind a fee curtain.  And here it is, free for the reading.

Mich @ Beating The Index presents The Viking Oil Play in Saskatchewan –  “The Viking oil play in Saskatchewan is repeatable and scalable with low operating costs and high netbacks. Only a handful of companies provide investors with a pure play exposure to this resource play, find out who they are.” 

Pastors are the embodiment of a serving leader.

Bob @ Christian PF presents 20 Great Ways To Say ‘Thank You’ To Your Pastor — “How do you adequately say “thank you” to someone who gives so much of themselves, laying aside their own lives for the sake of serving and caring for the spiritual health of others?

On Education and Careers…

Teacher Man over @ My University Money presents How to Stand Out in the Scholarship Process.  — “Like many other aspects of the transition from high school to university, applying for scholarships is another way it can be easy for students to become overwhelmed and easily discouraged.”

Tushar @ Everything Finance presents Top 10 Money Management Tips for College Students  – “How you conduct your finances for the next four years while you are in college can determine in part what type of lifestyle you will have when you graduate. If you are mired in credit card and student loan debt, you may have no choice but to move back in with your parents.”  Sounds ghastly.  On the other hand, there’s always bound to be something to eat in the fridge.

Robert @ The College Investor  presents A College Grad’s Guide to the Job Search.  – “Gone are the days of high salaries and fat signing bonuses immediately upon moving that tassel from side to the other. Instead, most college grads are faced with an uphill battle for full-time employment that may mean competing against their own parents and relatives in a lackluster job market.” Living *and* competing with your parents? Makes for a tense household…

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter presents How to Network at Work and Increase Your Influence – “The importance of a personal network is well known and is as applicable to your personal life as to your working career. Follow these strategies on how to network at work and watch as your influence increases.”

NerdWallet presents  Searching for a Scholarship? Don’t Get Scammed  – “There are several indicators that a scholarship search or a scholarship application might be spammy, or even a scam.”

My Canuck Buck presents How to find out about scholarships  — “This article provides links on where to search online for scholarships, as well as suggestions for other locations (your or your parent’s place of employment, civic groups, etc.) that may offer scholarships.”

Friendship, love and truth... and camaraderie, of course.

Krantcents presents The 3 M’s of Success – ”The 3 M’s of Success is the thirteenth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.” –

CF @ The Oulier Model presents 5 Job Interview Must-haves  – “The job interview is a nasty piece of business. Sure, it’s a necessary step that is required to weed out unsuitable candidates but in the end, it’s generally awkward and uncomfortable for all participants. Having been on both sides of the table, here are my 5 most important interview tips.”

Frugality…

Steven Zussino @ Grocery Alerts Canada presents Costco Membership Benefits, saying “Is a Costco membership worth it? We list the current membership benefits and show if they save you money or if Costco is not worth it.”

Steve @ Brip Blap presents 7 Things You Don’t Want to Skimp On — “You don’t always want to save as much as you possibly can on everything. I can think of at least a few examples where spending the least amount possible is not always a great idea.”

Corey @ the Bar Whiz Blog presents The Miser’s Guide To Clubbing — “Hitting up the clubs can be particularly expensive when you factor in cover charge, coat check and the inflated cost of drinks. Thankfully we’ve learned a thing or two on how to save a few bucks when at the clubs. Some tips may obvious, some unorthodox, but they all work.”

Nunzio Bruno @ Financially Digital with Frugal Is The New Cool. –  “Forced Frugality. It’s something most of the nation was forced into over the last few years. According to economists, major news hubs, and even my own rough fundamental analysis we are finally rounding the curve – off the contraction and ringing in the expansion.”

Sean @ One Smart Dollar gets very specific with  What Is the Best Day to Buy Specific Items   – ” Did you know that you can save money just buy making purchases on a specific day of the week or month?”

On Locomotion…

Astronaut John Glenn enters the Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7, prior to the launch of MA-6 on February 20, 1961 and became the first American who orbited the Earth. The MA-6 mission was the first manned orbital flight boosted by the Mercury-Atlas vehicle, a modified Atlas ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile), lasted for five hours, and orbited the Earth three times.

Ashley @ Money Talks presents How to Spend Less on Gas –“How much gas are we using to drive to work, to school, to the store, and so on? Here are some tips on how you can deal with the high price of gas.”

FG @ Financial God presents Cars Are the Mass-Transit Solution of the Future – “As you sit in traffic on your way to work, you might find it hard to believe, but one day, that congested highway will be part of the mass-transit wave of the future.” And you might not have to worry about how to save on gas…

On Credit…

Lenders and creditors, legal or illegal, are not your friends. This will become painfully obvious to anyone who delays the weekly vig to people partial to excessive bling and velor jogging suits.

On July 1, 1975, Paul "Big Paul" Castellano, boss of the Gambino crime family, was indicted on loansharking charges and with tax evasion. Debtors did NOT breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Money Cone presents In Pursuit of the Most Rewarding Rewards Card — “For those who use a credit card for convenience and not for the interest rate, it makes sense to choose a card that maximizes rewards. 5% cash back on gas? That’s more than what the markets returned last year! Claim what’s rightfully yours!”

Ben Feldman @ Ready for Zero presents   What Does APR Mean?  billed as “An in depth article that makes it easy to understand the math behind how credit card interest rates are calculated based on your APR. A must read for students who may be getting barraged with credit card offers in the mail, on campus, and in retail stores without realizing what they may be getting into if they sign up.”  Alternate advice for students:  stay away from credit cards.  And student loans.

Philip Taylor @ PT Money presents 6 Common Credit Report Errors.  PT’s personal experience with credit reports as well as other errors that commonly occur in them.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom presents Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card Review and a 2 Free Flights! — “Earn up to two free flights with the Chase Southwest Rewards credit card! If you’re traveling soon, this card is one that you need now!”

Jeremy @ Modest Money presents Thank You For Irresponsible Credit Card Usage “There are many personal finance blogs that tell you to cut up your credit cards or exercise greater willpower with credit cards. While that may be good advice depending on your situation, I want to personally thank the countless people who are irresponsible with their credit card usage.”

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog presents Is the Cash Method Helpful?  – “Is an all cash method of budgeting the best way to control your spending? Find out if the envelope method is right for you.”

Shaun @ Smart Family Finance presents Should Families Pay Off All Their Loans: No, Debt is Not Bad and It is Not Always Riskier than Cash –  “I’m sorry, but if you think debt is bad; you are wrong! Debt can be good, sometimes it is even essential.”

Andy Hough @ Investorz Blog presents   My Bankruptcy Story  – “My experience going through bankruptcy and what I learned from it.”

Kurt @ My Money Counselor presents Fake Debt Collectors  – “A recent Federal Trade Commission Consumer Alert warns of scam artists posing as debt collectors. You needn’t be late on a debt—or even have any debts—to be targeted by this latest breed of creep.”

On Budgeting…

John @ Wallet Blog presents It’s Their Fee Party, and Prepaid Card Issuers Will Charge If They Want To . “With prepaid cards rapidly gaining ground on traditional checking accounts, how do you know which ones are the best and which are the worst? Confusion is the current name of the game when it comes to fee disclosure. Let’s hope that changes – and soon!”

Princess P @ Portfolio Princess presents Smart, Savvy, And On A Budget. “Sometimes sticking to a budget is no easy task, but there are ways to make saving money easy by following these simple budgeting tips.”

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance presents The Fact and Fiction Behind “Two Can Live as Cheaply as One”. “Based on a qualitative retrospective of four areas of spending, “two can live as cheaply as one” has not been true for us, and it’s even possible that we have increased overall spending since we got married.“

My Money Design presents  Before Retirement, Eliminate Your Biggest Expense – “Have you ever considered the benefits of paying off your mortgage early as a way to save BIG during retirement and reduce the amount of income you’ll need? If you’ve got a lot of time between then and now, even better!”

On Financial Advice…

("Friendship Wood"... Is that what happens with you have "friends with benefits"?) ---- Heusenstamm Friendship Wood, Haysden Country Park. Donated by the twin town of Tonbridge, following the Gale of 1987 which blew over many trees in the area.

Jefferson @ See Debt Run presents Me vs. the Door-to-Door Salesman.   “I have a policy where I never buy anything from a door-to-door salesman. I discuss tactics for getting rid of them and share a bad experience that I had.“   Additional tactic:  Hold up your left hand, smile and say “Pass” while holding the pepper spray firmly and visibly in the other hand.  Make exceptions for Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts.

Control Your Cash presents Think locally. Act locally  “Don’t pay attention to the financial news. At least, don’t pay as much as you are. Concentrate on the personal things, not the global things.”

Liana @ Card Hub presents Which State’s Statute of Limitations Applies? — “There is a lot of confusion among indebted consumers as to which Statute of Limitations applies in cases of unpaid credit card debt. Not surprising, considering every state has it’s own laws pertaining to the subject. Find out a little more about how the process works!”

Little House presents Visualizing the Financial Future  -  “I had an epiphany yesterday: to truly save what you need for the future, you need to visualize it clearly and realistically.”

Kay Lynn @ Bucksome Boomer presents 10 Sneaky Expenses That You Never Saw Coming  – “Do you want to be wealthy in the future? Do you have a plan set in place to achieve your wealth goals? Make sure that you don’t forget about these sneaky costs that tend to catch some people by surprise.”

(This statue is missing a head. It is limited. Therefore, it is a Statue of Limitations) -- "Headless statue of Hermes with traveller's cloak and caduceus. Marble, Roman copy from the 1st century CE after a bronze original of the 5th century BC." -- National Museum of Rome

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke presents 7 Money Mistakes That Can Keep You from Achieving Your Goals – “Money mistakes can cost you your goals. Take a look at which mistakes you have to pay special attention to so that you can reach your goals.”

Daniel @ Sweating The Big Stuff with  The Finances of Addiction  – “It seems like just about everybody is addicted to something. Do you know how expensive additions are?”

SB @ One Cent At A Time presents How to Start with Managing Personal Finance — “Most critical and hardest barrier to managing personal finance is getting started. A guide to help you get going with the first few baby steps towards better management of your personal finance.”

Barbara @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance presents 58 Habits to Increase Wealth — “Here’s the list you’ve been looking for. Print out these 58 tips and you are on your way to a wealthy life!”

Mr. Money @ Smart on Money  presents  Is It Hard to Get By on a Six Figure Income?    – “I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of stories lately about how one family or another is having a hard time getting by, on incomes that are a bit above the average. Why are they having such a hard time making ends meet?”

Peter @ Bible Mney Matters presents  Government Settlement Means Some Homeowners Could Get Reduced Principal, A Refinance or Compensation  – “This past week a federal judge approved a settlement agreed to by the nation’s five largest banks and attorneys general from 49 states and the District of Columbia. The agreement will settle charges of foreclosure processing abuses dating back to 2008.”

Dave @ Financial Conflict Coach presents What’s The BEST Financial Advice I Can Give?   – “When someone asks for financial advice, is that really what they’re asking for? In my experience, they’re actually asking for something else- options.”

Real Estate…

Most wars are fought over real estate and resources… not very camaraderie-like.

(Do NOT look up these two on Wikipedia .... not unless you want to spend a half-hour learning about the Hashemite Dynasty and the connection to Lawrence of Arabia) ------ Emir Feisal I (right) and Chaim Weizmann (also wearing Arab dress as a sign of friendship) in Syria.

Echo @ Boomer and Echo presents Pros And Cons Of Waiting To Buy A Home  – “Should you buy a home now and take advantage of ultra-low interest rates, or should you wait until housing prices come down from their record levels? Here’s the pros and cons of waiting to buy a home.”

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder presents How to Make $500/week Cleaning out Foreclosures — “Foreclosure cleaners often earn a whopping $500 to $2,500 per house that they clean. Here are a few tips on how to score these jobs…”  I had this kind of gig in college.  Flexible hours and reasonably good pay.

Suba @ Broke Professionals presents Our House On The Market: Month Two  –“Two months in to having our house on the market, and still no offers. I’m anxious to slash our asking price and reduce allowances we’ve made for closing costs.”

Corey @ Provident Plan presents Top 5 Mortgage Mistakes — “Learn about the top five mortgage mistakes that you can make when buying a new house or condo.”

On Business…

Photo by Nha Le Hoan from Kirkland, WA, USA

Grand Per Month presents How to Make $1000 a Month as a Hobby Breeder – “This past week we had the second litter of puppies so assuming that there won’t be any major surprises, let’s see if breeding puppies as a hobby could generate some extra monthly income.”

Sustainable PF presents Green Tip #240 – Rain Barrel – “The 240th Green Tip: Use a Rain Barrel to collect rain water and reduce your water usage costs.” Not only that, but a good source of backup water if the water mains go out in your town. Could happen..

Shawanda Greene @ You Have More Than You Think presents Is Discrimination Ever Okay?   –”Are there instances in which it’s socially acceptable to discriminate? Regardless of the legal ramifications, there are times people discriminate in order to protect their bottom line or other interests.”

Investing…

Van Beek @ Stock Trend Investing presents Growth Investing vs. Value Investing – “When it comes to investing in stocks, there are two major styles of investing: growth investing and value investing. There has been an intense debate as to which investment style yields the best returns and what style of investing suits investors.”

Dividend Growth Investor presents Dividend Investing Misconceptions  – “In my four years as a dividend blogger, I have written hundreds of articles on dividend investing and weekly dividend increases. One common question that I receive from readers relates to companies raising distributions for a long period of time, yet their shares have a pretty low yield.”

J.P. @ The Novel Investorpresents Book Review: Millionaire Teacher – “Financial education is a big key to successful investing and the Millionaire Teacher is a great place for novice investors to start on that journey.”

PITR (or “Peter” to his friends) @ Passive Income to Retire presents Risky Investments – High Return. –  “Investing with great risks gives you a bigger potential return. You won’t always avoid mistakes, but you will learn from them.”

Jason  @ WorkSaveLive presents Where to Save Your Retirement Investing Contributions – “Welcome to the 3rd week of my “Understanding Retirement Planning & Investing” series! If you’ve missed the first two posts be sure to check them out! Everything You Need to Know About a Roth IRA & Why to Start One.”

Kanwal @ Simply Investing presents  Is it Good When Companies Buy Back Their Own Shares? – “Companies will sometimes buy back their own shares, but is this good or bad for you the shareholder? Generally it’s a good thing because in the long run it will result in an increase in the share price.”

Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder presents Why a Greek Default Doesn’t Matter – And Why Spain’s and Italy’s Will  – “The GDP of Greece is in between Indiana and Maryland, the 16th and 15th states in terms of GDP. If Indiana or Maryland defaulted, that would barely be a blip in the world economy. However, the GDP of Spain is about the same as California’s and the GDP of Italy is almost equal to those of California and New York combined. “

Luke @ Learn Bonds presents  Should You Trust Your Financial Advisor?   – “Does your financial advisor have a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest? It depends on the type of advisor you are work with.”

Investor Junkie presents Personal Capital Review – Investment Centric Version of Mint.com — “As I’ve discussed in my mint.com review, I think Mint is great for budgeting, but poor when used for investment planning. It appears Mint is targeting people just starting out with their finances (Generation Y and Z). As I mentioned, I wished for a web 2.0 app that focused more on investing: retirement, asset allocation, and taxes. I recently discovered Personal Capital, and it appears has answered most of my wishes.”

PK @ Don’t Quit Your Day Job (DQYDJ) presents Optimal Asset Allocation with the Kelly Criterion – “Just out of college? You should probably be mainly in stocks. Here’s the mathematical reason for that statement, be sure to run the numbers to verify the results!” Pay attention, young’uns.  Numbers don’t lie. They don’t even fib a little.

John @ Married With Debt presents Pay Off Debt Before Investing: Rule 9 — “This is Rule 9 in my 10 Rules to Eliminate Debt and Change Your Life Should I pay off debt before investing? If you are asking this question, let me first say congratulations.”

On Doing It Yourself…

(Wonders of Wikimedia .... who knew there was a play titled after a blogging carnival?) --- "Scene from 'la Camaderie' at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm. Image from Nils Personne: Svenska Teatern VIII (1927).

Money Reasons presents Fixing Your Garage Door Opener By DIY  — “These are the steps I followed to replace my Craftsman garage door gears that were shredded. This particular repair cost me $25 vs around $200 for a repairman.”

Hank @ Money Q&A presents Only Certain Home Improvement Projects Will Pay You Back   — “Most of your home improvement projects and remodeling projects are not going to make you money and will unfortunately not translate dollar for dollar in new home equity.”

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle presents Saving Money By Doing Small Repairs Yourself   –”How I save money to spend on my kids by doing small repairs myself. If what you are trying to fix is old, it might be worth it to try fixing it yourself.”

Saving…

Wayne @ Young Family Finance presents  5 Tips to Save Money on Your Grocery Bill — “If you are looking to save money, you might want to consider these tips to reduce your expenses with your grocery bill.”

And Everything Else…

Kevin @ Thousandaire presents It’s All About Creating Income — “Lots of people worry about saving millions of dollars. If you generate passive income, you won’t need so much in savings.”

Jeffrey @ Money Spruce presents How to Be an Entrepreneur — “Answering the question \How to Be an Entrepreneur\ is a a somewhat complicated one. There’s really no simple way to answer it. The first thing I will tell you: being an entrepreneur is easy, but being a successful entrepreneur is not. Here’s a few simple steps to think about.”

Eddie @ Finance Fox presents 10 Signs You Need Help With Money — “One thing is certain with money is that it’s never too late to make a turn around and admit that you need help with money.”

KT @ Personal Finance Journey presents Some Smart Ways to Use an Unexpected Windfall – “As a child, you may have played the game of LIFE and enjoyed those moments you get an unexpected windfall. The same can happen in real life. A few years ago, many Americans got an unexpected windfall when President Bush offered a tax rebate to a majority of U.S. citizens.”

Daisy @ Add Vodka presents Vancouver Personal Finance – “A couple of weeks ago, TeacHer Finance wrote a post asking whether or not personal finance advice should depend on geography. I say YES.”

Jen @ Master The Art of Saving asks How Much House Do You Really Need?   – “Sometimes we just need to ask ourselves: How much house do I need? If you stay in your house almost all the time, then of course your needs would…”

Roger the Amateur Financier presents How Much Information Should You Share? – “A discussion of the dangers of sharing too much information online, and how to prevent problems by sharing too much.”

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions presents Environmental Reward Program Update   – “Earth Day/Week is here, and I thought I would take the opportunity to update you on the reward point programs I introduced about a year ago.”

Don @ Money Smart Guides presents Revisiting The Buffett Rule – “I previously wrote about how I was against The Buffett Rule, raising taxes on the rich to help balance the budget.”

Steve @ Money Infant presents Happy Songkran from Thailand – “No, I haven’t lost my mind. I know it isn’t New Year in most of the world, but here in Thailand it is.”

Jeremy Waller @ Personal Finance Whiz presents Top Personal Finance Posts Of The Week – Wal-Mart Bribery Scandal Edition — “Wal-Mart, one of the largest companies in the world, has just found itself in the middle of a massive bribery scandal. Allegedly, bribes totaling more than $24 million were paid to Mexican officials to speed up the permitting process to open new stores.”

Maria @ The Money Principle presents Regulate the people, not the banks! — “Read why it is not the institution that the government needs to go after, but those few selfish individuals in the company!”  Amen, sister!  As of this writing, Jon “MF Global” Corzine, still has no idea where the money went, and still walks a free man.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin presents Who I Have Not Become – “At some point in life, we all dream of becoming someone else, someone different from who we are now. We have certain aspirations and hopes. Sometimes we live up to our dreams. Sometimes they remain just that, dreams.”

Janet @ Credit Cards Canada presents Hackers Target Credit Reports,  – “While your identity can be stolen from information in many different accounts, some hackers are now going right to the source, and stealing entire credit reports from credit reporting agencies.”  A good reminder to be as discreet as possible with your online personal information.

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes presents The Importance of a Schedule and Time Management. — “I work full time, run multiple websites, and am getting a rental property put together, and more! Needless to say, if I wasn’t organized, I would be pulling my hair out right now! However, because I take the time to plan and organize, I can usually squeeze everything in that I need to in a day, and still have free time to hang out with my family and walk the dog. Here are some of my scheduling tips that you may find useful.”

"Women of Boston are lending a helping hand in the drive for peach stones, which are being used by the Government in the production of gas masks. This Tableau was arranged to help in the campaign." Photo archived by the War Department -- Underwood and Underwood., 09/23/1918

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