Totally Money Carnival – Super Bowl Edition

Happy Monday everyone! How did everyone’s team perform yesterday? Are you facing disappointment, disbelief, or worse, depression because your team lost? Or are you still proud that your team won another superbowl? OR are you many of the other watchers that only cared about the half-time show? Either way, I hope it prepared you for today’s edition of the Totally Money Blog Carnival. If you want to be featured in upcoming editions, please use this submission form.

Get ready for the Super Bowl Edition of the Totally Money Carnival. Before you get excited, there are no pictures of Tom Brady or Eli Manning. It’s the super bowl edition because there were that many submissions – 89 submissions, if I recall correctly.

Editor’s Picks

KT presents How to Host a Superbowl Party on the Cheap posted at Personal Finance Journey. The Super Bowl is just around the corner and if your house is about be invaded by party-goers, you might be worried about what hosting a huge party is going to cost you. Potlucks and BYOB are always a good way to host a party on the cheap!

Teacher Man presents More Rewarding: Earning vs Saving posted at My University Money. Us personal finance nerds seem to have an ongoing debate raging (ok, maybe a slightly aggressive term) concerning who is cooler, the guys/gals that save more, or the guys/gals that earn more. Clearly the coolest peeps are the ones that save as much as possible and instead of wasting valuable time partaking in a fairly mundane exchange of stale views, earn more than the rest of us as well…

Jeffrey presents 67+ Free and Inexpensive Hobbies posted at Saving Advice. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, just because you are on a tight budget (or don’t want to spend a lot of money), you can’t have any hobbies. Here are some ideas for inexpensive hobbies:

Matt presents Keeping a Mortgage for Greater Investment Gain posted at RamblingFever Money. The 15 vs 30 year mortgage debate. I ran some numbers and was shocked to find out that it might actually make mathematical sense to stick with the 30-year. Is this the best choice though as it pertains to your “personal” finances?

Pam Whitlock presents Books for Kids and Teens that are Great for Teaching about Money posted at The MoneyTrail Blog. I absolutely love using literature as a method for teaching kids and teens about money. Here are some of my favorites for young readers and teens.

Managing Your Money

LaTisha presents How You Can Build Wealth posted at Financial Success for Young Adults. Building wealth takes time and knowledge. There is no get rich quick method. There are a few ways to begin building wealth. Passive income is the key.

Marie at FamilyMoneyValues presents Settling an Estate? Learn How to Make Your Job Easier posted at Family Money Values. Have your parents designated you as their estate executor – or perhaps their successor trustee – or both? If so, you have my condolences. Settling an estate is a lot of work. But, you can work now – while your parents are alive, towards making your job as executor less difficult when the time comes.

Little House presents January Progress Monitoring posted at Little House in the Valley. This year my goals were fairly simple; save money ($6,000 for the year), continue to grow my blog (375 readers daily), and ride my bike (1,000 miles this year). So how am I doing at day 31?

Justin presents 9 Smart Things to Do with $100 posted at Money Is the Root. Here are 9 smart things you can do when you get said $100.

Amanda L Grossman presents Double Tax Benefits for Mid to Low Income Households Who Contribute to Retirement Accounts posted at Frugal Confessions.

Shaun presents Mistakes Young Families Make When Financing Their First Home posted at Smart Family Finance. Money mistakes made by young, educated and affluent families were a direct cause of our current economic turmoil. If families fail to learn from those home buying mistakes, we are doomed to repeat the consequences.

A Blinkin presents Are You A Mental Accountant? Grand Finale posted at Funancials. Remember when Jeff Foxworthy came out with his unforgettable series, ‘You Might Be A Redneck?’ It was a huge hit that led to book deals, TV shows, and enough riches to fund every redneck’s retirement. Read my take on being a mental accountant with a Jeff Foxworthy spin.

Jill Suskind presents How to Raise Your Teen with Great Money Habits and Attitudes in 2012 posted at Your Teen’s Money Skills. Start off the year on the right financial footing with your teen. Don’t be intimidated! Read this article for tips on how to begin.

Little MIss Moneybags presents Saving for Retirement vs. Kids College posted at Little Miss Moneybags. Whether to focus on saving for retirement or for kids’ college tuition.

Hank presents How To Raise The Next Millionaire Entrepreneur posted at Money Q&A. Giving them a solid foundation to launch their creative ideas will help them achieve a financial freedom. A true millionaire entrepreneur knows that they can’t wait for opportunities to find them.

PITR presents Early Retirement posted at Passive Income To Retire. In preparation for early retirement, what are you doing? Find out what I am doing to prepare for early retirement.

Erika presents How do you talk about money with your husband? posted at Newlyweds on a Budget. Who manages the finances in your relationship? And how do you decide how to spend your money?

Grand Per Month presents How to Make $1000 a Month Cleaning Houses posted at Grand Per Month. If you need to earn a decent level of income much sooner, one way to do this is by cleaning houses. Now it is not very glamorous or exciting work but it can help pay the bills or eliminate debt much more quickly. It may take a little bit of time to develop a clientele, but if you use your network to get the word out, I would dare say that $500 per month within the first month would be an achievable goal.

Marissa presents How much is commuting costing me? posted at Thirty Six Months. Examining the true costs of commuting.

FMF presents Your Portfolio Needs Rebalancing posted at Free Money Finance. Most investors do not have a balanced portfolio. They look for investments with little to no risk that still provide great rates of return. And by chasing this elusive chimera they miss the easy money they could make from having a good asset allocation in the first place and rebalancing it periodically.

Glen presents 5 Kids Expenses to Budget For – Apart from College posted at Parenting Family Money . There are other expenses for kids-not on the magnitude of college-that are also worthy of budgets all their own. Make sure you budget for these kids expenses!

Matt presents Can You Live Debt Free and Still Have Credit Cards? posted at Living in Financial Excellence. In my book (and my experience) it’s a lot easier to stay debt free by taking away the temptation and switching to cash. Which is what I did more than five years ago. Oh, did I mention that I’ve been successfully living without debt for years?

Squirrelers presents Save Money on Dental Care: How Much Pain You Can Handle posted at Squirrelers. Not much is more important than our health. That being said, sometimes we have choices to make about health care. This post covers 3 options for a dental procedure, which offer tradeoffs between pain and money. What would you do?

Frugal Lifestyle

Young presents Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel Book Review and Giveaway posted at Young and Thrifty. Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel is written by Phil Vallarreal. If you don’t know who he is, I have to be honest with you, you’ve been living under some sort of rock because he’s one of the writers/ contributors to the Consumerist. Basically, the book give 100 dirty little money-grubbing secrets that will help you save money.

Jon the Saver presents We Won What? posted at Free Money Wisdom. The next time you dismiss a sweepstakes because you know you never win, think again. We entered a sweepstakes and got a $5,000 honeymoon in return!

Everything Finance presents How to Creat a Good Craigslist Ad and Sell Your Stuff posted at Everything Finance. Here are a few quick tips on how to create a good Craigslist ad and sell your stuff.

Michael presents Save Money By Laundering Your Own Dress Shirts posted at So You Think You can Save. Resist the automatic urge to take your dress shirts to the dry cleaners. It’s easy, I promise!

Melissa presents Do You Really Want a Typical Valentine’s Day? posted at Fiscal Phoenix. Showing your love on Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be through the gifts that companies and marketers make you feel you have to buy. Instead of using your hard-earned money on consumables that will be gone in just a few days, choose a different activity that will help you create a memory.

SavingMentor presents Calling Retentions Can Really Slash Your Bills posted at HowToSaveMoney.ca. The big secret here is that you don’t have to wait until you are unhappy with your service or you want to cancel before you call retentions! They are overcharging you now, so why wait?!

Kennedi presents How Stores Trick You Into Spending More posted at Face and Fitness. You might think you’re saving money by buying things “on sale,” but that’s not always true. Here are 8 ways you can avoid splurging when there’s a sale.

Sandy presents Get Out of Debt in 2012: How Much Do You Owe? posted at Yes, I am Cheap. The money that you earn must be greater than or equal to the money that you spend. Most of us tend to be okay with the left side of the equation; it’s the right side that’s the problem. I know that many of you will probably disagree with me and say that you’re just not making enough money, but trust me, that’s usually not the case.

YFS presents 10 Easy Tips for Saving Money on Car Insurance posted at Your Finances Simplified. Everyone has to have car insurance, but it can be a pain to find something that works for you and that you can afford. If you are tight on funds, or if you simply want to save some money, here are ten easy tips for saving money on your car insurance.

Andi B. presents Does Eating Seasonally Really Save Money? posted at Meal Plan Rescue. Eating seasonally usually tastes better because, well, ripe produce usually tastes better than food that’s underripe or going bad. But it also saves you money. Just how much shocked even me.

Suba presents Simple Home Maintenance Anyone Can Do posted at Broke Professionals. If you own a home, you can save time and money by learning to do some common and simple home maintenance. The time you save is the time needed to locate a repair person, wait for them to arrive and do the task. The money you save is their labor charge.

Roshawn Watson presents 3 Reasons to Focus on Household Cash Flow posted at Watson Inc. There is clearly a significant disconnect between our knowing the importance of cash flow and our actions. Here are three reasons for a renewed focus on cash flow.

Brian presents Saving on Energy Costs: Insulation posted at Wallet Watcher . If you aren’t up-to-date with insulation in your home, you might be wasting plenty of money on energy. Take some of the following tips in stride – there is a lot of information that simply can’t be covered presently.

Todd R. Tresidder presents Debt & Credit – The Only Guide You Need posted at Financial Mentor. Debt is a personal problem masquerading as a financial problem. Discover the 3 rules that keep you safe from the debt monster and 5 steps to get out of debt if you’re already in trouble.

Earning More Money

Hank presents The Beginner’s Guide – How To Find A Mutual Fund posted at Money Q&A.

Kyle presents How to Make Money Buying Virtual Real Estate posted at The Penny Hoarder. Real estate is such a valuable investment, you no longer need it to be real to make money. Learn how real-life virtual real estate entrepreneurs have made millions.

Evan presents The Worst Way to Invest in Real Estate posted at My Journey to Millions. I love the idea of investing in real estate and earning my passive income through rent money, but there is a good way to go about it and an absolutely terrible way.

Kevin presents These Three Jobs Are a Great Way for a Teen to Earn Money and Learn Something About Life at the Same Time posted at Invest It Wisely. My opinion is that one of the best ways for a teenager to learn about making and saving money is to get a summer-job, or work part-time. These are absolutely amazing ways to gain valuable experience in helping others and learn about responsibility, endurance, and teamwork, and earn money in the process.

Economy

MR presents Why Taxing Dividend Income Hurts The Elderly posted at Money Reasons. Taxing dividends at a higher percentage hurts the elderly and the young.

Odysseas presents Should You Be Mad That Free Checking Accounts Are Becoming a Thing of the Past? posted at Wallet Blog. Hey, what’s the deal with rising checking account fees? Should we light the torches and grab the pitch forks? Before you do, you may want to be sure you’re headed toward the right victim…Which of the new rules should get your back up?

Lazy Man presents Good Bye Bank of America, Hello USAA posted at Lazy Man and Money. So Bank of America, this isn’t really good bye like I said in the title. We can still be friends. I am just looking for more out of my banking relationship.

Glen Craig presents Obama Mortgage Relief Refinancing Plan – A Tax on Big Banks and More posted at Free From Broke . The latest Obama mortgage relief plan focuses on refinancing, specifically those with underwater mortgages. See what the President’s latest plan is all about.

Kay Lynn presents Trains and Automobiles in Southern California posted at Bucksome Boomer. A constant complaint in Southern California is that there isn’t a good public transportation system. It’s not that we don’t have public transportation. There are buses, trains and trolleys. It’s clean, timely and affordable, but there just isn’t enough.

Corey presents Fake Prosperity: U.S. National Debt Growth vs. GDP Growth posted at Steadfast Finances. If you’re a member of Gen X and Gen Y, this is probably the scariest chart you will see in in the Economy, and possibly, right up to the time you’re old and gray.

Paula presents The Market is Volatile. Hang on For the Ride! posted at Afford Anything. The truth about investing? You’ll win some, and you’ll lose some. But those wins and losses can be enormous.

Madison presents Obama’s New Refinance Program for Responsible Homeowners posted at My Dollar Plan. Learn more about a new refinance program that is supposed to save homeowners an average of $3,000 per year by helping homeowners take advantage of the current, low mortgage rates.

Small Business Resource presents Top Tips For Small Businesses To Survive The Recession posted at Small Business Resource. Here are some tips for small businesses to survive the recession …. courtesy of the everywoman network!

Andy presents 2012 IRA Contribution Limits posted at My Retirement Blog. Curious what the 2012 IRA Contributions Limits are?

PK presents Predicting the S&P 500 – January 2012 Edition posted at Don’t Quit Your Day Job…. Options contracts – puts and cools – are interesting things. While normal stock investments only require an investor to pick direction, options require investors to consider direction, magnitude, and timeframe. What else does it mean? We can use options pricing to divine where the market thinks a security will be priced in the future – this article uses the method for the S&P 500.

Jeffrey presents 37 Must-Read Posts for Tax Savings posted at Money Spruce. A collection of the best tax tips posts that cover a wide range of tax topics, including deductions, tips for filing, and working with an accountant.

Eddie presents Airline’s Charge to Check Bags = One Big Cash Grab posted at Finance Fox. Despite a pretty smooth trip overall, I had the pleasure of paying $25 to check my bag. Three different airports, three different starting points and that’s $75 less I had in my wallet.

Other

Jen presents My Biggest Financial Fear posted at Master the Art of Saving. Sometimes fear can motivate us and other times, it can paralyze us or dictate our decisions. I have plenty of fears, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

Aloysa presents How ‘Do Not Need’ Lists Can Save You A Buck posted at My Broken Coin. I am on a three month no-buy resolution. I figured it is a good prelude to start implementing my next resolution – de-cluttering. Where do you usually start? I, of course, started with my favorite place which happens to be you guessed it, right! my closet.

FG presents Is Canada Immune to a Financial Blowup? posted at Financial God. My Own Advisor recently wrote about the heavy austerity in Greece, and thanks his lucky stars that things are nowhere near this bad in Canada. I agree that those in Canada are very lucky that the country has weathered the financial storm in relatively good shape, and not only that but the Canadian government has wasted less of the people’s wealth on ‘stimulus’.

Daniel presents Paypal Income Reporting Requirements for Bloggers posted at Sweating the Big Stuff. The IRS required PayPal to issue Form 1099-K to those making over $20,000 a year on PayPal. Since it was so confusing, the IRS did something smart.

Kevin presents Cheap Things That Make Life Easier posted at Thousandaire. Sometimes people get so caught up in the idea of saving money that they won’t use their hard earned cash to buy something that would improve their quality of life. What the heck are you working for if you can’t buy yourself something that will make you happier?

Darwin presents Confidence is Great, Right? Nope, It’ll Wreck Your Life posted at Darwin’s Money. We’re all taught to be confident from childhood. You know, those confidence boosters like getting a trophy no matter where you placed, parents telling you that you can do anything in life and so on. On some level, having confidence in yourself and what you can achieve does allow you to think big, stretch your your limits and achieve great things.

Don presents What to Look for in Mutual Funds – Part 1 posted at MoneySmartGuides. This is my first part of a two part series on what to look for in Mutual Funds.

Wayne presents Cheap Romantic Dates posted at Young Family Finance. Cheap romantic dates are great on the budget and relationship. Find creative ideas here.

Mich presents Investing in Canadian Well Completion & Drilling Companies posted at Beating The Index. The oilfield services industry provides investors with exposure to the oil and gas commodity sector minus the inherent risks associated with exploration and development drilling.

Dan presents International Bond ETFs posted at High Yield Edge. Looking to mix high yields with international exposure? Then check out this review of international bond ETFs where you can find protection from Europe, a weak US dollar and inflation.

101 Centavos presents Redneck Dividends posted at 101 Centavos.

Jester presents Unexpected Crisis posted at The Ultimate Juggle. Find out how I managed to take care of a lot of things in a short amount of time.

John presents Frugal Living is All About Creating the Debt Free Magic in Your Life posted at Married with Debt. This site is about helping people, both financially and in all aspects of their lives. Because I want this site to be a community, you will see from time to time, guest posts from readers and fellow financial bloggers.

Leanne presents How Much Would You Spend on Lingerie? posted at Money Challenge. Just in time for Valentine’s Day! Fancy lingerie is getting more expensive. Would you be willing to shell out $700 for a bra? And how often do you buy new lingerie?

Jason presents Human Interaction posted at Live Real, Now.
Life may be like a box of chocolates, but it is certainly not a game of Sorry, where one person wins at the expense of all others. It is entirely possible for everyone to win in most voluntary interactions.

Paul Vachon presents Customer Service – How to Get a Refund Without Losing Your Dignity posted at The Frugal Toad. Ever notice how the Complaint Department in stores have been replaced by the Customer Service Department? There is a reason for that. Nobody likes a complainer and that includes the person behind the counter. To resolve your issue as quickly and painlessly as possible follow these simple suggestions.

Money Beagle presents I Should Have Known We’d Get Less Snow posted at Money Beagle. You spend money to get around a problem and of course the problem disappears!

Crystal presents New Year’s Resolutions and Goals for 2012 posted at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. I wanted my goals this year to be important to me. Weight loss, health, and money are great, but I really wanted to think of my core values. With that in mind, here are my goals for 2012.

Jennifer Chauhan presents Enough: Feel satisfied with what you have posted at Mother Miser. No matter what I accumulate, I keep searching. Is this human nature? I am certain that this insatiable need for the new and best is what keeps so many people in serious debt.

John presents What Is the Best Weight Loss Program for Me? posted at Passive Family Income. My family’s health is directly tied to our finances. If one of the members of our family gets sick – we go to the doctor and shell out a $30 medical copay. When one of my children needs some medication, we go to the pharmacy and pay our prescription copay. These are just the low cost examples of how our health is related to our finances.

Control Your Cash presents The Sexy World of Dividend Yield Stocks posted at Control Your Cash. A rudimentary introduction to dividend yield stocks, because you can’t invest in them if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.

Neal Frankle presents Best Way To Fund Your Small Business posted at Boomer & Echo. How can you launch a business if you don’t have much money to spare? Here are 5 ways to fund your business that you may not have considered.

Lisa presents How to Save Money on Your Super Bowl Party posted at Thriftability. The average Super Bowl party host will spend between $50 and $100 on food for their party. 38% will spend under $50, 12% will spend over $100.

Philip Taylor presents What Is a Right to Work State and How Does This Affect Your Finances? posted at PT Money Personal Finance. Defines the term “right to work state” for the reader, lists the states that are deemed such, and discusses how it could affect one’s finances.

Suba presents Stay at home or to work : What is the financial & professional price? posted at Wealth Informatics. Stay at home or to work : This is not a post to convince anyone that they should stay at home or that they should be a working parent. Rather this post is a thinking process on what changes financially/professionally so that we can better prepare for it (as much as possible).

Ken Faulkenberry presents Making Probability Theory Practical for Investment posted at AAAMP Blog. Understanding investment probability theory will help investors avoid short term prognosticators and concentrate on a long term investment plan.

Dr. Jason Cabler presents Winning Without a Credit Score posted at Celebrating Financial Freedom. A story about my friends mom “Marge” who got turned down for a credit card because she has no credit score, and how that means she’s been winning with money for over 40 years.

SB presents Yodlee Money center review posted at One Cent at a Time. Yodlee MoneyCenter gives you more ways to manage your personal finances and track your net worth than its competitors. In its newest avatar Yodlee became more manageable and user friendly.

Roger the Amateur Financier presents Important Steps to Protect Your Identity posted at The Amateur Financier. In our world where it’s increasingly possible for criminals to cost you money without ever coming within one hundred miles of you, it’s more important than ever to protect your identity.

Lina presents 10 Reasons to Breastfeed posted at Baby Alerts. Mothering for many women has included being able to breastfeed their baby. For some it is not an option. With our fast paced economy, where mothers are also career women it has made this decision a more complicated one.

Steve Zussino presents 5 facts you should know about the Facebook IPO posted at Canadian Personal Finance. Well, it was announced this week that Facebook has filed its preliminary prospectus in order to go public. In filing their prospectus, I discovered some startling facts you should know about the #1 social networking website.

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