Editor’s Picks

Here are the 5 articles I really enjoyed the most (even though I could have picked a lot more!). I wanted to choose articles that really stuck with the “hack” part of Money Hacks…

How To Write An Effective Complaint Letter posted at Two Pennies Earned.

How To Become A Millionaire and Get Rich In 10 Steps posted at Money Blue Book Finance.

When Buying A Car (and in Life), Knowledge Is Power posted at Single Guy Money.

Skills, Infrastructure, and Experiments in Subsitence Farming posted at My Family’s Money.

Thrifty Roadtrip! posted at Miss Thrifty.

Investing

Stock Market Education For Beginners – Learning From Your Mistakes posted at Beginners Stock Market Investing.

4 Ways to Play the Coming Stock Market Rally posted at Contrarian Profits.

Should You Sell A Dividend Stock After A Dividend Cut? posted at Dividends4Life.

401(k) Retirement Plan posted at ABCs of Investing.

Losing Money In Your 401k? 6 More Ways To Make Some Extra Money! posted at Bible Money Matters.

$1000 in 1 day on Nasdaq (QQQQ) call options posted at $aving to Invest.

The Two-Hour Retirement posted at My Daily Dollars.

529 College Savings Plan posted at Passive Family Income.

An alternative play on a financials rebound (VVR) posted at Intelligent Speculator.

The Coolest 401k Option Ever posted at HarvestingDollars.

Preferred Stock Index Funds: The Future for High Yield Dividend Investors? posted at Steadfast Finances.

Up, Down, and Around: Keep an Even Keel with the Stock Market posted at Uncommon Cents.

Cashing in With the Vanguard Tax Exempt Money Market Fund posted at Five Cent Nickel.

Secure Retirement – At What Rate Should You Save For It? posted at FIRE Finance.

Risk Management and the Imaginary Portfolio posted at No Debt Plan.

Should you re-invest your dividends? posted at Dividend Growth Investor.

Credit

Three Tips for Choosing the Right Credit Card posted at CreditShout.

Best International Credit Card posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Reshuffling My Whole Cash Back Credit Card Plan posted at My Dollar Plan.

Saving, Frugality & Shopping

on paying yourself first posted at The financial wellness project.

How to Save on Checks (Some Companies Just Don’t Get It) posted at Free Money Finance.

Quicken online is now free posted at Christian Finance Blog.

Fast Cheap and Easy Food posted at Momma’s Blog.

10 Smart State Income-Tax Saving Strategies posted at Fix My Personal Finance.

Beware of Flood Damaged Cars posted at Cash Money Life.

Self Discovery – My Own Buying Habits posted at Money Ning.

Davesfarm Canada’s Cheapest Man posted at Penny Pinching.

How I Saved $2,000 by Being Creative and What Else Did I Discover posted at The Personal Financier.

Budget Friendly Kitchen Cleaners posted at Condo Blues.

10 Cheap Ways to Woo your Other Half – Any day of the week! posted at Budgets are Sexy.

Printable Coupons and Online Promotion Codes posted at More4kids Family.

10 Ways You Can Save Money Right Now posted at Happy to be at Home.

Psychology of Money – The Negotiation Tango posted at Greener Pastures.

How to Save When You Think You Can’t posted at Northern Cheapskate.

Politics

Taxes 101 For Politicians posted at The Wandering Tax Pro.

Question: What Do You Think of Obama’s New Economic Plan? posted at Prime Time Money.

Presidential Candidates And Personal Finance posted at The Happy Rock.

Debt

When in debt where do you look for guidance? posted at Until Debt Do Us Part.

Can Your Creditors Still Sue You After Bankruptcy? posted at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog.

Dealing With The Economy

5 Steps To Prosper In Hard Economic Times posted at Joshua Seth Blog.

How the Average American can Weather the Financial Crisis Without Becoming Emotionally Overwhelmed posted at Slow Down Fast Personal Coaching and Lifestyle Design.

Dave McCormick On Restoring Global Stability posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog.

Dealing with a Tough Economy posted at Money and Such.

Are you stupid for paying your mortgage? posted at Kirby on Finance.

And All The Rest…

A Home Based Business – Who, Why, When and Where To Start? posted at Personal Plug.

Evaluating Job Benefits posted at LivingAlmostLarge.

How to Avoid Getting Sucked In by Fall TV posted at Sound Money Matters.

Taken for a Ride posted at Chasov Blog.

Fish Murders and PetSmart Savings posted at Personal Finance Analyst.

Are you part of the NEET Generation? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips.

That’s it for this edition of the Money Hacks Carnival, and I would appreciate that you link back to the Carnival from your site if your article was included. Look for the 36th over at Free From Broke!

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You might also like:

1. Sunday Money Roundup – Long, Long Weekend Edition.
2. Sunday Money Roundup – L.A. Friend In Town Edition.
3. Sunday Money Roundup – Friends In Town Edition.
4. Sunday Money Roundup – Kid Proof The House Edition.

Hustler Moneyblog presents Make Money with Elmo Live via Ebay posted at Hustler $$$ Blog.

Chris presents What Drives Career Advancement – Development of Skills or Development of Connections? posted at ProsperingServant.com.

J. Savings presents Using your 401(k) as an Emergency Fund? Are you insane?! posted at Budgets are Sexy., saying, “My recent run-in with crazy people on the train talking crazy 401k stuff. There’s a right and a wrong way to set up an Emergency Fund.”

Master Your Card presents The Costs of Apartment Living posted at Master Your Card, saying, “So today hasn’t been much of a good day for me. I got my electric bill and it was over $150…again. This is in spite of the fact that I’ve cut my AC usage way back, I turn off all lights and appliances when leaving the house, and I even unplug the appliances if I’m going to be gone for more than an hour (this is because plugged in, they still zap electricity).”

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Wall Street Woes posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Cade Krueger presents How To Start A Small Business Opportunity posted at Write To Right.

Carol Bentley presents Eliminating global meltdown worry posted at Carol Bentley.

Jeremy Zongker presents How to Create a Household Budget posted at Destroy Debt.

FMF presents The Quickest Route to a Six-Figure Job posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Some ideas on how to make a great living.”

Sandy Naidu presents Top 5 Dirty Little Credit Card Tricks posted at Future Nest Egg.

Mr Credit Card presents How Do You Start A Repayment Plan With a Credit Card Company? posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Phil B. presents Why the Bank Bailout will probably NOT Work << Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, “Here are my 4 reasons why the Bank Bailout will probably NOT work.”

hank presents How Do You Save Your Money? (revised repost) posted at My Investing Blog.

Upside Trader presents The Next Capitulation posted at upsidetrader, saying, “There is a great piece in Barrons with Richard Bernstein, chief investment officer at Merrill where he discusses his views on the market. In a nutshell, he says that inflation has never been at 5.5% with the S&P trading at 25 trailing earnings and that the global economy will be much weaker than we think.”

The Smarter Wallet presents Freshman Fund: Save For College With A 529 Plan Registry posted at The Smarter Wallet

Ted Reimers presents 529 College Savings Plans posted at CampusGrotto.

Sam presents New Goals Will Change My Life. Tools to Inspire, Develop and Help Yourself. Making Goals Happen posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, “Goals Will Change Your Life.”

Ross Taylor presents The Common Sense Route to Happiness posted at UncommonAdvice.

fwp presents using 43things to further your financial goals » the financial wellness project » because money doesn’t own you — YOU own money! posted at the financial wellness project

Jacob presents » How well are you doing on your way to early retirement? Early Retirement Extreme: Financial independence, frugality, self-sufficiency, ecology, capitalism, and voluntary simplicity posted at Early Retirement Extreme.

Mr. ToughMoneyLove presents How to be a Money Strategist to Reach Financial Goals | Tough Money Love posted at Tough Money Love » Hard Truth and Tough Love for Money Problems and Personal Finance, saying, “Proper use of money tactics and money strategies will help achieve your financial goals”

Elizabeth Potts Weinstein presents Financial Freedom: What does it mean to you? posted at The Wealth Spa, saying, “When we are planning for our finances, we must decide how we will measure our success. One measure is achieving Financial Freedom – but what does financial freedom really mean?”

HIB presents Goals for the Remainder of 2008 posted at Happiness is Better.

Tushar Mathur presents Are you disappointed with your mutual fund investments? posted at Invest In India, saying, “Few would dispute that the year 2008 has been tough on investors. This holds especially true for first-time investors. After having seen the markets surge to record highs, the downturn has certainly caught several investors off-guard.”

Michael Cintolo presents Be Flexible! posted at The Iconoclast Investor.

Greg Swann presents Introduction to “A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission” – the eBook posted at BloodhoundBlog, saying, “By far the most significant “secret” issue in residential real estate is the way that buyer’s agent’s are compensated. The current system virtually assures the betrayal of both the buyer’s and the seller’s interests, with this fate being avoided only by accident.”

The Stock Teacher presents Speculating On The Election posted at Stock Investment, saying, “If you think McCain is going to win the election, certain stocks may be worth betting on.”

Helen Anderson presents 6 Safe Places to Invest Your Money posted at Bankaholic.

Michael Cintolo presents My $700 Billion Solution posted at The Iconoclast Investor.

Sammy Delena presents 14 Totally Ridiculous Insurance You Probably Don?t Need posted at Fix My Personal Finance, saying, “Investing in reasonable insurance to protect our financial assets is important. However, there are insurance out there that we probably don’t need at all-so why bother. Here’s a good post on 14 totally ridiculous insurance that you probably won’t need.”

Amy L. presents How to Find an Affordable and Safe Place to Live posted at Housekeeping Tips, saying, “Without question, the downsizing of our economy is forcing many people to reconsider where they’re living and whether or not they can really afford it.”

P.L. Frederick presents 10 Surefire Schemes To Make $1 Million posted at Small and Big, saying, “A bit of fun for you. ”

MoneyNing presents Living on $34.01 a Week posted at Money Ning, saying, “Living frugally is definitely possible!”

Erika Collin presents Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: What Next? posted at Currency Trading.net.

Heather Johnson presents What Would a Return to the Gold Standard Mean for You? posted at Currency Trading.net.

Joshua Dorkin presents Gambling at the Foreclosure Auction: High Stakes posted at Real Estate Investing For Real.

Steve_Leung presents Mortgage Financing for Home Buyers Moving Up – A New Model posted at Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog, saying, “When couples buy their first home, many do so with the financial goal of moving up to a larger one. With the mortgage crisis becoming a mainstream crisis, the goal posts have changed and with it comes a new set of requirements.”

FIRE Getters presents Early Retirement Case Study – My Dollar Plan Retires At 29 posted at FIRE Finance.

Joseph presents How To Save Money On Clothing posted at Penny Pinching.

KCLau presents How not to Spend that Money? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Article on how to prevent spending unnecessary money. Also 3 methods on how to do so.”

Chris presents Get Promoted Faster by Looking After Your Boss – Part 1 posted at ProsperingServant.com.

Dave presents Cheapo Food posted at Cheapo Groovo.

Mac presents 10 Ways To Save A Dollar During Hard Times posted at Actorlicious.

Linda W. presents Budget Engagement Rings posted at The Eclectic Female, saying, “You may be able to score a great engagement ring for much less than you think.”

Jeremy Zongker presents Free College Education Exists posted at Destroy Debt.

Hanna Kassis presents A Bad Credit Score Can Ruin You posted at College Finance 101.

Sherin Devassy presents Money lessons to kid posted at Investment Internals, saying, “This article telling the requirement of teaching your kid about money management from the childhood. Nice read for parents who wish there kid should aware about money and be a good financial planner in life.”

Upside Trader presents Let’s Talk Pennies and Rallies posted at upsidetrader, saying, “Pennies are where FNM and FRE will most likely be trading tomorrow as both company’s common shares will be denied love as part of this bail out. They will probably be trading on the pink sheets at some point soon.”

Livingalmostlarge presents Book Review: Middle Class Millionaire posted at LivingAlmostLarge.

Nicholas Powiull presents Realizing the Deeper Forces Behind Focus, Thoughts, & Achieving Goals/ Desires: By Nicholas Powiull posted at Conscious Flex.

kat presents financial fitness group posted at the part-time life.

Welly Mulia presents 6 Ways To Stay Focused On Your Goals posted at Internet Business Make Money Online With Welly Mulia.

Jim presents How To Draft A Basic Financial Savings Plan posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Make Money During a Slow Economy posted at Bugs Munny, saying, “The economy is tough and the media isn’t making anyone feel better about the future. Money is still out there and here are some proven ways to make it.”

Investing Angel presents Investments To Avoid posted at Stock Tips, saying, “Certain types of investments should just be avoided by beginner investors.”

Charles Euchner presents Time Passages posted at START SIMPLE, saying, “Create the life you want. An intriguing look about how perspectives on time — past, present, and future — could spell your success or failure.”

Vicky presents Make Your Own Budget Wedding Invitations posted at Affordable Wedding Planning, saying, “Professionally designed wedding invitations can be expensive – between the embossing, the second set of envelopes and the postage necessary to get them to your guests, you could wind up spending a fortune.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Upromise Survey: Saving For College, Getting Tougher? posted at The Digerati Life.

Credit Card Offer of the Week

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You might also like:

1. Need Help Talking To Kids About Financial Literacy? Try These Free Classes.
2. Our Kids’ Financial Futures Are At Stake.
3. Listening To Financial And Life Advice From Our Elders.

Credit Card Offer of the Week

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1. Extra Frugal – How Frugal Can You Go?
2. Sunday Money Roundup – L.A. Friend In Town Edition.
3. Be Frugal, But Don’t Be A Cheap Bastard.
4. The Benefits of Frugal Living.

Carnival of Personal Finance – Edition 130 over at Money Smart Life.

Carnival of Money Stories #38 at Cash Money Life.

The 103rd festival of frugality at Plonkee Money.

And on a separate note, a post of mine was included in the “Cabaret of Common Sense Advice” over at the blog Anything But Taxes. Go check out what other bloggers were included!

Credit Card Offer of the Week

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1. Estimated Taxes Due Tomorrow, January 15th.
2. Three Easy Steps To Ruin Your Finances.
3. Listening To Financial And Life Advice From Our Elders.
4. Why I Think The Recession Needs To Continue For A Bit.

My Two Dollars took part in four money carnivals this week:

Thanks to everyone for hosting!

Credit Card Offer of the Week

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1. I Am Not Against Using Credit Cards To My Advantage.
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3. Using Amex Reward Points For A Blu-Ray Player & A Television.

Credit Card Offer of the Week

Slate from Chase – 0% Intro APR for up to 12 Months, no annual fee. Apply Today

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1. Extra Frugal – How Frugal Can You Go?
2. Sunday Money Roundup – Friends In Town Edition.
3. Grocery Poll 2: How Much Do You Spend On Groceries Per Month?
4. Sunday Money Roundup – L.A. Friend In Town Edition.

Welcome to the 125th Carnival of Personal Finance. This week we have 74 articles for your reading pleasure and I have divided them up into a few categories. I could have made more of them, but then each of the other categories would have only had 1 post in each section. The ones that I could not fit into the categories I decided on are included in the General Money section. I picked out 5 of the articles that really struck a chord with me for one reason or another and listed them below under Editor’s Choice. Enjoy, and if you took part in this week’s Carnival, please be sure to promote it on your own site!

Diverting your money from a retirement fund to purchase a home would require much larger retirement contributions in the future to achieve the same nest egg. Lets use some real numbers to see what I mean (at The BagLady).

It goes without saying that credit cards aren’t for everyone – in fact, I think they should only be used by people who pay their balance off each month. If you fit that category, though, you should pay for as many things as you can with your card. Here’s why…
(at Chief Family Officer).

I believe that if the parents are paying for the education, they have every right to set some ground rules. Unless the parents inherited the money themselves, they must be able to have some influence over what and how their hard-earned money gets spent (at Grad Money Matters).

Now that I’ve defined my goals, I need to work out next actions to be associated with pushing each one forward. That’ll require some brainstorming (at Plonkee).

This year is actually the first time I have really started work on planning for my future. As I have mentioned before, my old ways were to live for the now and worry about the future if I was around in the future. I incorrectly thought that planning for the future meant that I could not have any fun now (at One Snarky Chica with Issues).

Notorious Practices of Payday Loan Companies (at ZooLaw Legal Blog).

Planning for your future (at CareOne Debt Management).

Those Folks Are Crazy (at Debt Sucks).

How To Buy On Ebay And Get the Best Deal (at Money Blue Book).

What a Weak Dollar Means for U.S. Shoppers (at The Authentic Bartender Blog).

Real Value Vs. Perceived Value (at Rather-Be-Shopping).

How To Get Insider Pricing (at How I Will Be Rich).

Change Our Car Buying Behaviors and Save Tons of Money (at MoneyNing).

Landlording and Screening Tenants (at Million Dollar Journey).

Real Estate: Know What Can Be Fixed and What Can’t, What’s Profitable and What Isn’t (at Searchlight Crusade).

Do you know who owns your mortgage? You probably don’t… (at WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo)

What to Do When You’re Short on Rent (at Money Under 30).

Billion Dollar House – Ultimate Luxury or Living Hell? (at Smart Money Daily).

Determining the Minimum Acceptable Bid for a HUD Home (at Two Wise Acres).

Can We Really Afford To ‘Move Up’? (at A Penny Closer).

Moving from one tax paradise to another one (at Stock Web).

Flexible spending account : which income earner should contribute? (at Index Town).

Ten Qualities a Good Money Manager Needs Most (at Watch My Money Maker).

How I Involve My Family in Investing (at The Dividend Guy Blog).

How to Build a CD Ladder (at Cash Money Life).

Does investing in socially responsible funds cost more and is it justified? (at Money Relations.)

Afraid Of Investing In The Stock Market? (at My Wealth Builder).

How Investing Changes Your View Of The World (at Queercents).

Dow Index Drops 362.14, 2.6% – Now What!? (at My Retirement Blog).

January Effect and October Effect, Are They Real? (at Moolanomy).

Timing (at Financial Reference).

Best Advice: Gary Belsky (at Free Money Finance).

Bernanke Cuts Another Quarter (at The Agonist).

The Scale of the Federal Deficit (at Exjackly).

Enough Wealth: Financial Armageddon (Again) (at Enough Wealth).

Things You Should Know About Percentage Traps (at Money, Matter, and More Musings).

Early Retirement – Illusion or Reality (at Smart Investing & Money Management).

HSA as a Retirement Account? (at I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…).

A Free Haircut is Always a “Super” Cut (at jlogged).

Get Yourself A Frugal Education (at Frugal Journey).

My Cheaper Alternative to Starbucks (at Single Guy Money).

Do You Get What You Pay For? (at Debt Dieter).

How to Make the Best Beer in the World for Under a Buck a Bottle (at Saving Advice).

Don’t Waste $$ On Your Next Hotel Room (at Life Lessons of a Military Wife).

Keep Yourself Safe by Creating a Winter Kit for Your Car (at FinanceIsPersonal)

1 Paycheck Away (at BasenjiMom).

The decision of having a housecleaning lady (at The Financial Blogger).

Your Relationship With Money (at Journey To Financial Freedom).

Are Pennies Beneath Us? (at Blunt Money).

Seven Wonders of the Personal Finance World (at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity).

Goosing Emergency Fund Earnings (at Advanced Personal Finance).

When you stretch and stretch and the ends don’t meet (at Wise Bread).

Consolidating NewlyWed’s Finances (at 2million My Journey to Financial Freedom).

Old Habits Sure Do Die Hard (at Gather Little By Little).

It hit me like a ton of bricks (at Being Frugal).

Budget Cuts:Medical Insurance (at Real World Finance)

Rule #18: Alone and Together (at My Open Wallet).

When Money Isn’t Everything (at College of Cash).

The High Cost of Eating Healthy in the US (at Philby’s Finance)

8 steps to a six figure career (at brip blap).

She Makes More Than Me (at Money and Such).

Achieving Financial Freedom is Simple, But Not Easy (at Dough Roller).

College Admission Consulting (at Ask Dong).

Do You Have a Financial Confidant? (at One Frugal Girl).

Why Are Some People So Ignorant About Money? (at Money Smart Life).

Prosper.com: 6 Months in and Still Exceeding Expectations (at Everyday Finance).

My Silicon Valley Job History (at Silicon Valley Blogger).

Great Thought on Personal Finance (at Frugal Dollar).

What is a Secured Credit Card ? (at Ask Mr Credit Card).

Check to see if the government is holding some of your money! (at The Happy Rock).

Marriage And Money (at My Good Cents).

Adoption on the Cheap (at Graceful Retirement).

Single Page List Of Monthly Expenses – No Credit Needed Notebook Pg 2 (at No Credit Needed).

That’s it for this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance! These ought to keep you busy enough until next week’s edition over at Million Dollar Journey. If you didn’t see your post included, it was either submitted after the cut off time or it was not relevant to the Carnival. For more information about the Carnival itself and how you can host a future edition, check out the Carnival of Personal Finance homepage.

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You might also like:

1. Sunday Money Roundup – Winter Is Getting Close Edition.
2. Sunday Money Roundup – Long, Long Weekend Edition.

Thanks to Dough Roller for hosting!

Credit Card Offer of the Week

Slate from Chase – 0% Intro APR for up to 12 Months, no annual fee. Apply Today

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The Festival of Frugality #96 – The FIRE Edition! was over at FIRE Finance where my article “Ten Ways Living Simply Can Save You Money” was chosen as an Editor’s Choice.

The Carnival of Money Stories was at Free Money Finance, and my article “The Benefits Of Run-Flat Tires Far Outweigh Their Expense” was included.

Credit Card Offer of the Week

Slate from Chase – 0% Intro APR for up to 12 Months, no annual fee. Apply Today

You might also like:

1. Sunday Money Roundup – Friends In Town Edition.
2. October 17-24 Is National Protect Your Identity Week.
3. The Tax Extension Deadline Is October 15th.

First up, the Carnival of Personal Finance #119 over at Blunt Money. My post “Do You Ever Spend Money On Anything?” was chosen as a favorite, and the following posts caught my eye:

Next up was the Festival of Frugality #93 over at Money & Values. My post “Ultimate Frugality – Ten New Ways For You To Save Money “ was included as a favorite, and the following posts also sparked my interest:

So if you have a minute, be sure to go check out these fine carnivals!

Credit Card Offer of the Week

Slate from Chase – 0% Intro APR for up to 12 Months, no annual fee. Apply Today

You might also like:

1. Sunday Money Roundup – Friends In Town Edition.
2. Sunday Money Roundup – L.A. Friend In Town Edition.
3. Sunday Money Roundup – Long, Long Weekend Edition.
4. Mirror The Trades Of Financial Professionals With kaChing.