Frank the Financially Savvy Atheist - The F.S.A.

Welcome to the 61st edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. I'm your host, Frank the FSA. We have a really great show for you today. What better way to start your Monday than with a heaping of personal finance. I've highlighted 6 posts that stood out and included a sample passage. All others got links (not to slight anyone, but just to make this more than a link-fest), although I did exercise some editorial restraint and didn't include everyone that sent a link. Some were very well written, but didn't tie into pf per se and were more suited for the carnival of investing. Others were pretty far off topic and still others were good but you couldn't comment on them (like, this one).

In either case, here are the top 6 posts in no particular order, plus the rest for you to enjoy.

1. Over at Ask Uncle Bill, there is a really interesting post entitled The Cincinnati Kid. A reader sent in a question asking about some career advice. Here is a brief snippet:

From a career standpoint, I need to do one of three things to advance.

1) Same job in a larger market, at a company with room for continued
advancement (larger company).
2) Start a business where I'm at, serving a market that I anticipate
being successful in.
3) Go back and get an MBA (possibly part-time while I work) and use
the MBA to transition into a new role.

Read the response and comments. I'll be checking make for more input from you readers.

2. Five Cent Nickel has the step by step process he used to determine if he was saving enough for retirement. Sure, someone always does one of these types of posts, but it's helpful to be reminded of these things now and again.

It goes without saying that an incredibly important aspect of saving for retirement is figuring out how much you’ll need. The problem here is that it’s tough to accurately predict how much you’ll need when there’s no good way of predicting how long you’ll live. Thus, it’s probably best to err on the side of caution, and to over-prepare for retirement. But here again we run into a similar quandary… How can we over-prepare if we don’t have a good idea of what it takes to be properly prepared.

3. Vince over at investorgeeks has a post on career allocation. Here is a choice quote:

In the investing world, financial services companies advocate asset allocation. The basic premise of asset allocation is that there are 3 basic asset classes:...But what if we thought about our careers with the same risk vs. rewards analysis? Would it look something like this?

I think that my career allocation is 99%, .5%, and .5%. But you don't know what that means, so click on over.

4. It's Just Money talks about time shares in this post. I really liked this statement he made:

Funny thing though, whenever we show disinterest, one of the first things they pull out of their back pocket is, "We have financing if you want." No kidding, you have financing? So does my dentist, my hospital, local furniture store, big screen TV store, jewelry store, just about anyone selling anything for more than a couple hundred dollars wants to get me on a payment plan!

5. Free Money Finance has a very helpful guide to purchasing a steam cleaner. Choice quote:

Her [his wife's] opinion is that buying your own carpet steamer is a great investment as it saves money over the alternatives, gives you the flexibility of cleaning when you want, and helps keep your carpets looking good (ours are seven years old and they look brand new).

6. Wenchypoo tackles that eternal question: stay-at-home or work. Well, more like she verbally tackles Linda Hirschman (Update: Sorry for not having the link from before).

For all the countless women out there who HAVE run the numbers and discovered that it’s more profitable, both monetarily and personally, to stay home and make the most of what DOES come in, I give you a big giant YOU GO, GIRL!

My only quibble with this post is that it paints all feminists as exactly like Linda Hirschman, but Wenchypoo is right when she states: "[women] do you feel like less of a person, or somehow demeaned, for not working outside the home? I sure as hell don’t—in fact, I feel more empowered than ever doing more with less". And I think that fits right in with feminism, maybe not Linda Hirschman's you-have-to-have-a-corporate-job type, but the type that offers choices to women and is non-judgemental. That's just my thought though.

The rest of the best! :)

CapApp tells us to shirk away from extended warranties. I would add also any type of furniture protection plan.

Mighty Bargain Hunter gives us what's not his idea of a buyer's market.

Money Matador has 5 reasons why some beggars make more than you do.

No Credit Needed has a post full of links that qualify for their own carnival! Read the 27 best ways to save money.

My Financial Awareness offers us some reasons why people ignore retirement planning.

Accumulating Wealth has a post about Women Millionaires

Jim at Bargaineering has a post on surprising 6-figure salaries.

Free Credit Debt Advice is planning on investing 75% of his/her? paycheck in their 401k. All I can say is wow, are you planning to eat at all?

My Money Forest points us to another p2p lending site kiva.

My Money Path started a 529 plan for his niece. Awww, isn't that sweet.

Nina at QueerCents had an article about Kathy Griffin's money stealing husband.

Over at Taking Control Over Finances, they're doing just that. Here is the process they took.

Searhlight Crusades reminds us that there is no such thing as a free lunch with this post about free loan appraisals.

Bouncing Back asks more life, or more mortgage? What, is she saying I can't have both?

The Insure Blog mentioned a new insurance product that protects your 401k contribution. Sounds great, but my question is what does it cost?

My 1st Million at 33 has a salary comparison between the top three engineerings schools.

Dave and Katy submit How a debt free relationship can be maintained for life.

The good human (I like that name) offers us Carrying consumer debt hurts your mind as well as your wallet.

He Just Laughs tells us his thoughts on penny stocks.

Free the Drones reminds us that the love of money is the root of all evil...just kidding, he tells us how to deal with finances if you hate money.

Over at the frugal underground, there's some thoughts on how to save money with DealMine.

Emmanuel tells us we don't need more money.

Thinking about money tells us You can Get Rich by Spending.

That's it for the carnival. If you've made it this far, thanks, that was a lot of work. For those who are new to my blog, check out my guide. Stop on by and comment on some of my other posts. I'd really appreciate it. The next carnival is going to be at the Money Blog Network. Whew, finished at 3:00 AM. Time for bed.
Tags: personal finance