Carnival of Money Pros – The Summer Olympic Edition

I’m very excited to host the Carnival of Money Pros this week!  Here are some of the posts that made though. Hope you’ll have some time in between your busy Olympic schedule. Enjoy the posts and leave your opinion in comments.

vh @ Funny about Money writes Ridiculous Retirement System: With a Vengeance – There’s a fundamental problem with our present 401(k)-style retirement “system”: most Americans have about a snowball’s chance of saving enough to support them through old age.

Lance @ Money Life & More writes It Pays to Ask For More – Coke Zero Commercial “And…?” – I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten something more simply because I asked for more. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just say “and…” with no reason to back it up and have someone give me free money. You always need a reason and shouldn’t just expect a hand out.

Squeezer @ Personal Finance Success writes How to strech your dollars when you are unemployed – With the Bureau of Labor Statistics pinning unemployment at 8.2%, many individuals are out of work and looking for a new job. To combat this, one should trim his or her budget to extend any savings as long as possible.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes Found Money Creates Wants – My husband and I received a large cash this month, but without a plan in place for found money, it’s created some anxiety and marital strife!

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes How Much Risk is Involved in Spread Betting? – Really! How much risk is involved in spread betting! Read more to find out…

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Why Investment Fees Matter – Corey previously wrote about how time is your new best friend. This is all because of compound interest. The more time you have to let your investments grow, the more your money can compound upon itself and grow faster. It almost sounds too good to be true, and unfortunately it is when you look at it in terms of investment fees.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Frugal Cures for Cubicle Fever – I am reading a fantastic book right now that has caused bursts of belly laughter to escape from my mouth at random moments throughout the day.

Jennifer Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes Boo To Those Sneaky Bank Fees – Sneaky bank fees suck, read my recent bad experience with them and why I think they are wrong!

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes Student Loan Advice – Check out my student loan advice, see if I can help you.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Top Five Stress-Free Vacation Tips – Imagine having a stress free vacation: nothing too expensive, no crowds, and no worrying about how things are going back at work. Here’s how to do it.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes A Few Reasons Why Asset Allocation is Important – When it comes to investing, many people recommend that you diversify your accounts. The idea is to not put all your eggs in one basket.

Passive Income Earner @ The Passive Income Earner writes Why Hold High Yield Stocks – High yield investments can play a part in your portfolio. Even though I am a fan of the 10/10 rule of investing which focuses on the growth of a dividend stock,a high yield dividend stock (or income trust) can have a part in a portfolio. In fact, I have high yield investments in my portfolio.

PPlaner @ Provident Plan writes Signs of Dysfunctional Finances – Find out if your finances are dysfunctional. Do you find carry a credit card balance or live paycheck to paycheck? If so, it might be time for a change.

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes 13 Part-time Jobs With Benefits – Do you want some good news on the employment front? Here it is: you can get employee benefits on many part-time jobs.

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes ARE YOU CUT OUT TO BUY A FIXER UPPER? – The lure of real estate investing is great. This article outlines what it takes to buy, renovate, and resell real estate. Find out if this potentially lucrative endeavor is for you.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes The Cost of Being Sick – Being sicks can put a huge strain on your normal life. It can not only cost you a lot of money, but cause social disruptions.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes Three Ways Credit Card Companies Can Trick You – When the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was put into place, credit card holders were supposed to benefit from the new

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes Social Security Taxes the Poor to Benefit Rich White People – The people who live the longest (rich white people) benefit most from Social Security. We need to stop taxing poor people to give money to rich people.

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes Childhood Money Memories – I went to a financial seminar this past weekend and one of the exercises was to think as far back as you could and tell a 2 minute story about a money memory

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Why Babysitting is an Awesome Side Hustle – I babysit as a side hustle. I watch two kids that live fairly close to where I work. It works out perfectly, because I get off at 4:00 and I start babysitting at 4:30 a couple of days a week.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Investing in Real Estate Basics – I am an aspiring real estate investor. I don’t have direct experience investing in real estate, but several of my closest friends and family members own at least one rental property. I don’t just want to follow the crowd, because most people don’t think highly of investing in real estate.

Brianna Baiocco @ http://www.termlife-insurance.com/blog writes Life Insurance with Long Term Care Benefit Riders – Long Term Care Benefit Riders and life insurance. All wraped into one.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Job Hunting Success – Retooling Your Job Hunt – Some advice on how you reshape your job hunt if you aren’t successful, and increase your chances of standing out from the crowd as you do.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes Seven High Paying Part-Time Jobs – A part-time job can also be used to increase retirement savings, supplement business income, and an effective way of dealing with stagnant salaries.

JP @ My Family Finances writes Overanalyzing the Numbers behind the Family Grocery Bill – If you’ve ever wanted to see someone over analyze the family grocery bill, this post is for you.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes What Would You Take With You in Case of a Fire? – I feel that I became too materialistic, too attached to stuff. If anything dreadful happens to us, I will be devastated by a loss of material things that took years to accumulate. I realize that material possessions are just bits and pieces of our lives and not really us. So if a fire happened, what would you grab first?

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes Risk Basics: Understanding Interest Rate Risk – The last few years we’ve seen historically low-interest rates and a rising concern over interest rate risk. We need to understand interest rate risk, its effect on different assets, and how to mange it all.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes The Personal Power of Changing a Blog Theme – Change is important in life, sometimes just a little change like a blog theme can greatly change your attitude!

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes What is Supply Trade Finance? – Supply trade finance is when a company uses a bank (usually an international bank) to facilitate the transfer of goods or services, while also facilitating the payment for said goods or services in exchange. Basically, if you’re a US-based company, you don’t want to pay for goods from China until you are guaranteed they are on their way.

Bryan @ Gajizmo.com writes 5 Safe Investments You Can Make Today – With the volatility in the markets, learn about the 5 best and safest investments you can make today.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes The 3 Z’s of Success – The 3 Z’s of Success is twenty-six in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.

MR @ Money Reasons writes Spending Money Fail! How We Spend More Than We Realize – How spending on a car repair cause great financial anguish while the lunches I’d had that week cost even more! It funny what we worry about financially.

MMD @ My Money Design writes Using the Dogs of the Dow to Buy the Best Dividend Paying Stocks – Use the Dogs of the Dow investment strategy to buy the most stable and highest dividend paying stocks available in the market.

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Does Canceling a Credit Card Hurt Your Credit? – Should You Consider Canceling Your Credit Card? Nearly everybody on this planet knows that Dave Ramsey is against credit cards; so much so that he shuns the idea of utilizing cards for their rewards and encourages people to CANCEL all of their cards despite the fact that canceling it may hurt your credit.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes USDA Guaranteed Home Loan – I knew absolutely nothing about USDA guaranteed loans when we applied for one. So I thought I would share a little bit about what I’ve learned so far………..

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Consumers Are Horrible At Math – Derek Thompson over at The Atlantic wrote a great article titled “The 11 Ways That Consumers Are Hopeless at Math”.

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes Can we Trust Corporate Bond Credit Ratings? – Although there is a lack of trust in the rating agencies after the financial crisis you can still trust corporate bond credit ratings.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Want to Boost Your Savings? Consider a TFSA – One of the most interesting options that Canadians have when it comes to saving money is the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA).

Kanwal @ Simply Investing writes Are Your Investments Making You Money? Are You Happy With The Results? – Are Your Investments Making You Money? Are You Happy With The Results? Will You Have Enough to Retire? Can You Quit Working? If you answered “No” to any of the above questions, then the time to act is now. I know life is busy and it’s easy to put off investing for a few years, but before you know it’ll be too late.

Bridget @ Money After Graduation writes Why I travel – Read my philosophy with respect to traveling and why I love it.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Important Steps in the Home Buying Process – Here are the important steps in the home buying process. See if you agree.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes The Four Of The Best Car Insurance Discounts – Car insurance is an extremely competitive business which is great for the individual consumer. Most car insurance companies will keep their rates low in order to attract and keep consumers.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Want to retire? Answer these 3 Questions! – Find out what three questions every person should ask in preparation for retirement.

Shawanda @ You Have More Than You Think writes Changing Jobs? Why Cashing Out Your 401(k) Could Be a Costly Mistake – When a job change occurs, many workers cash out their 401(k), which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement assets.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes Workplace Stress – The verdict is in – your job is killing you. More specifically, workplace stress is killing you. This means we’ve come full circle from our days as cavemen, when our biggest source of stress was finding food.

Anne @ Unique Gifter writes 4 Wedding Food Savings Tips (for guests) – Attending a million weddings this summer? Just going on vacation? Here are some ways to save your money on Food, as a guest. This works especially well if you’re in a hotel with a group of people!

Earth and Money @ Earth and Money writes Are We Funding Our Own Demise? – Canadians are funding their own demise by financially supporting companies which create unhealthy environments.

Tushar @ Start Investing Money writes Should You Use the Internet to Explore Investment Ideas? – Why not use all the resources available to you for investment ideas? The internet is a great way to do it!

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes 6 Things to Do This Summer to Boost Your Promotion Potential – Here are six things to do this summer to boost your promotion potential!

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes Earn Extra Cash As a Personal Paparazzi Photographer – Are you an amateur or professional photographer wanting to put your talent to use while earning some money in the process? Here is what you can do to earn extra money.

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes Generating Income During Retirement with the Internet – While I recently discussed the boring, usual ways for to boost investment income, I didn’t talk about active online endeavors. To be fair, these options aren’t just for retirees, but I think experience and time would help:

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes How Does Corporate Finance Work? – Corporate finance is the finance of companies and businesses, and the tools used to make financial decisions for businesses. The primary goal of corporate finance is to increase the value of the company. Most corporate finance issues can be broken down into either long-term or short-term goals and decisions. For example, capital spending, long-term financing…

L Bee @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes The Magic of Compounding Interest on Student Loans – Below is a guest post by Drewski. In addition to being my main squeeze he also used to work as a broker in New York City and currently helps teach brokerage exams. Aside from being uber qualified, as a graduate student he knows first hand the cold fist that is compounding interest.

Sean @ One Smart Dollar writes Credit Unions vs Banks – Which is Best for You? – A lot of people don’t know the difference between credit unions and banks. Here is a guide to helping you pick the right institution

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Small Choices Mean Big Gains When Achieving Financial Security – If you can understand the concept of making small choices, on a regular basis, in order to achieve big gains in the future, it becomes easy to change this mindset.

Paul Vachon @ The Frugal Toad writes How to Get the Most From Your Credit Card Rewards – Whipping out the plastic doesn’t sound like the best way to save money, but if used correctly, credit cards can play a role in stretching your budget and getting the most from your money.

Grand Per Month @ Grand Per Month writes Consider Employment Benefits Before Taking a Part-Time Job – Sometimes making a grand per month is not just about the extra cash in your pocket but the generous benefits that you receive. Yes, it would be nice to make an extra grand per month in cash, but sometimes it is worthwhile to make less at a part-time job that also pays you generous benefits such as health care and a 401k.

Penny Thots @ Penny Thots writes Gas Prices Tick Me Off! – If the high prices of certain products like gas are getting you down, then consider becoming an owner of those assets and benefit from the price increases rather than letting them cause you pain.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Thoughts on Building a House – Through enough of my own research, I realize that if the time comes to choose a builder for my little house, I’ll be making sure that builder has a few of the following qualities:

Beating Broke @ Beating Broke writes Are You a Peter Pan Spender? – Growing up doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. It just means you have to have fun with responsibility. When all the bills are paid and you’ve socked away a bit for the future, have all the fun you want.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Saving Money By Taking Your Own Lunches To School or Work – If you work outside of the home, you have to supply your own lunch. Unless the executive dining room is at your disposal for free, you are on your own when hunger strikes at lunchtime. Eating lunch in expensive restaurants every day can be fun, but most working individuals have neither the time nor the money to indulge in that habit.

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes Lending Tree Review – Quick and Painless Mortgage Refinance – When you do sign up for LendingTree be prepared to start accepting calls as well. These banks really do want your business, and LendingTree made the process simple. It’s great that they came to me instead of me having to go to each bank and research for the best rate. It was a time saver and convenient.

Greg Field @ NerdWallet writes How I Made the Switch to a Credit Union – An insightful article on how to switch out of your expensive and unfriendly big bank account into a money saving credit union. Enjoy!

Ashley @ Blogging For Money Now writes Learn How to Make Money with Blogging – This site gives beginners some great tips and products to jump start their blog making and quickly start earning money. The products listed on our site are products that we have personally used, and still use.

Jason @ Live Real, Now writes Handling a Windfall – What would you do if you were handed $10,000 tomorrow? $20,000? The easy default answer–if you spend time in the personal finance world–is to pay off debt and save the rest. But is that the right answer?

Steven @ Grocery Alerts writes Seven Refillable Items – Saving Money & the Planet – A lot of people assume that saving money and saving the planet are two separate goals, yet this isn’t the case. There are plenty of environmentally friendly solutions that can also help you develop a growing savings account.

Teacher Man @ My University Money writes Should You Take a Full Course Load? – Taking a full course load in school will help you get out of school quicker and into the work force, which helps pay off your debt sooner.

Jeff Rose @ Good Financial Cents writes Best IRA Online Brokers – If you’re looking to open an IRA with an online brokerage firm, you have a lot of options. Here are some of the best ones to choose from and why we like them so much.

Greg@ClubThrifty @ Club Thrifty writes Avoiding the Debt Trap – Recently, my friend asked me for some financial advice. I advised him that refinancing his house could save him tens of thousands of dollars over the long run. Unfortunately, he didn’t take my advice and fell into the “Debt Trap.”

Steve @ Brip Blap writes How Coaching Can Help You Out of a Rut in Your Corporate Career – Here are 3 key areas that coaching can help you with, whilst helping you get out of that rut and enjoy working again:

Echo @ Boomer & Echo writes The Ins and Outs of No Medical Exam Life Insurance – No medical exam life insurance has higher premiums than a standard life insurance policy, but may actually be less expensive for someone who’s likely to be rated. The tradeoff is in the benefits.

Katie @ The Discount Coder Blog writes 7 tips for saving cash on camping by keeping it simple! – Everyone loves going on holiday but sometimes we just don’t have the spare cash to make it happen when we really want. Well, camping can solve that problem and these thrifty camping tips will get you sleeping under the starts for even less cash!

Peter @ Bible Money Matters writes The History Behind Credit Bureaus, and the Founding of the Big Three – Having our credit checked when we borrow money has become a fact of life these days, and we’ve all come to expect it as part of the process. But where did the credit bureaus come from, and how long have they been around?

Mr. Money @ Smart on Money writes Rebuilding and Starting from Scratch – Here are a few tips on how to recover from a financial calamity and start from scratch:

Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money writes New Nonsensical Stock Trading Idea: Someone Else Paid a Lot More for It – Since institutional investors had paid a lot more for Facebook, I figured I was getting a better deal than those smart guys. Better yet, they’d probably do whatever they can to try to push the stock up so that they can break even. With this in mind, I ended up buying some FB at around 30.50 and as it continued to drop some more at around 26.50. Facebook stock recovered to around $33 and I implemented a strategy a friend at college had mentioned… selling most of the stock and playing with much

Robert @ My Multiple Incomes writes Why Multiple Income Streams Are Important – I tried explaining to my friend why I would want extra income (as explained below) and she just could not grasp my reasoning. Having extra income and multiple income streams can be great for many reasons.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes Giving Should Exceed Saving? – I recently heard the suggestion that one’s savings rate should not exceed one’s giving rate. What do you think of this principle?

Darrow Kirkpatrick @ Can I Retire Yet? writes Why an Annuity Could Be in Your Future… – Many careful, frugal investors have long ruled out any sort of annuity as a retirement solution. Count me in that camp. For years, I loathed annuities because of what I read about the expenses and complexity. Why would I need an annuity, when I was enjoying great success at growing my own diversified portfolio well in excess of our retirement income needs. But then three events transpired…

Robert @ Entrepreneurship & Life writes Bringing In a VA to Help with Your Business – If you are not big enough to hire an employee, but you still need a little extra help, a virtual assistant could be just what you need. There are many types of jobs that can be outsourced, but here are some of the most common outsourced jobs

Robert @ Entrepreneurship & Life writes Bringing In a VA to Help with Your Business – If you are not big enough to hire an employee, but you still need a little extra help, a virtual assistant could be just what you need. There are many types of jobs that can be outsourced, but here are some of the most common outsourced jobs.

Melissa @ Bargaineering writes 0 Frugal Hobbies (That Might Even Make You Some Money) – Everyone needs a little down time to relax and unwind. While some choose to spend quite a bit of money on their hobbies and recreational activities (think downhill skiing or boating), your hobbies don’t have to cost a lot. Best of all, some frugal hobbies might even make you money!

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes So You’re Debt Free; Now What? – Debt is the great equalizer, and the overwhelming majority of Americans are saddled with more than their fair share. But there are some who manage to tame the monster of indebtedness. Those people are left facing a variety of paths: What to fund first? College tuition for my kids or retirement? Invest first or save?

Glen Craig @ Free From Broke writes Bad Credit? Rebuild it With These Secured Credit Card Offers – Using one of the best secured credit card offers can help you build, or re-build, and improve your credit an get you on your way to getting an unsecured card.

CCS @ Credit Card Smarts writes Savvy Credit Card Use: Pay Off Your Balance Each Month – Want to use your credit card wisely? Make sure you pay off your balance each month. This way you save yourself from debt and more.

The Carnival of Money Pros is brought to you to by the Money Pros Team, and you can submit articles at Blogger Carnivals.

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