Carnival of Twenty Something Finances: Sep 14

Welcome to the September 14th, 2009, edition of Twenty Something Finances. I hope that you enjoy the line-up today. There are a lot of great articles, so jump in and then spread the word!

(Oh, and let’s be honest. The real reason we all go to the carnival or state fair is for funnel cake and bumper cars. It’s the only time road rage is not only legal but encouraged. In fact, I’m going to the state fair tonight! )

Editor’s Pick:

• PT presents How to Effectively Use 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards posted at PT Money. I picked this post because it in part discusses some balance transfer options that I think are worth being aware of, though they should be cautiously considered.
• Jeff Rose presents The American Opportunity Tax Credit For College posted at Jeff Rose. With the high cost of education, Jeff offers a good recap of available options.
• Jim presents Roth IRA Account Explained posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Jim writes, “Take advantage of the Roth IRA, one of the best retirement accounts ever.” I’m a big proponent of Roth IRAs and this post is a great breakdown.
• J. Money presents Inspiration From My Homeless Friend. posted at Budgets are Sexy. A great perspective piece about realizing that even though our finances matter, they aren’t what matters most in life.
• The Statement presents It Pays to Part Painfully ? The Science of Credit Card Debt posted at Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. I found this post to be a quite fascinating discussion about the psychological factors at play when using credit cards instead of cash.

Investing:

• Manshu presents China ETF List posted at OneMint. A list worth evaluating.
• Investing Toolkit presents Why Trade In The Forex Market? posted at Investing Toolkit.

Credit and Credit Cards:

• Master Your Card presents New Rules for February: College Students Won’t Be Receiving Any Valentines from Credit Card Companies in 2010 posted at Master Your Card.
• CreditCardAssist presents Excellent Credit Requires Your Own Due Diligence posted at CreditCardAssist.com. “Maintaining an excellent credit score has never been more important and these days it requires constant upkeep and due diligence to maintain it.”
• FIRE Finance presents FIRE Finance: Credit Cards In Ireland and Associated Stamp Duties – A Top Personal Finance and Investing Blog for Early Retirement and Money Management! posted at FIRE Finance.
• The Smarter Wallet presents Equifax Credit Report and Score: Review of Equifax Products posted at The Smarter Wallet.
• David Weliver presents Student Credit Cards: A Necessary Evil? posted at Money Under 30.
• Vic presents Credit Card Free Annual Fee Warnings posted at Kota Medan Travel. A good review of issues surrounding credit cards in Indonesia.
• Bill Spohnholtz presents Credit Solutions Start With You posted at Learn The Stock Market And How to Trade. Bill elaborates, “If you’re staying up late at night watching get rich or credit repair infomercials, scatching a lotto ticket, praying Uncle Harry dies and leaves you 10% (though you never talk to him) you don’t have a credit solution! Here is some that might work better.”

Frugality:

• Miss Thrifty presents Trade your old mobile for pop concert tickets posted at Miss Thrifty. Definitely worth checking out.
• DR presents How to Stop Printer Ink Cartridges from Smearing Your Budget posted at The Dough Roller. “At $22 per quarter-ounce, the cost of printer ink cartridges reminds us of why we got that inkjet printer for “free” when we bought our last computer.”
• Tyler presents Eat Less Meat, Kill Cow Farts, and Save $600 a Year posted at Frugally Green. Tyler elaborates, “How often do you eat meat? Would you eat less if you knew exactly how expensive it is – not just to you but to your environment as well? I recently realized that I was eating so much of it that I wasn’t fully enjoying it anymore and decided to make a change.”

Insurance:

• Tom @ Canadian Finance blog presents Insurance You Can Do Without – Credit Life Insurance posted at The Canadian Finance Blog. “Credit life insurance is purchased so that the balance of your car loan or credit line would be covered if you die before your debt is paid.”

Career:

• Darwin presents Corporate Pension Plan Shortfall – The Next Crisis? posted at Darwin’s Finance. Darwin wants to help, “The 50 Best Places to Launch a Career Survey – Results and Analysis that is both enlightening and surprising in many aspects.”
• Silicon Valley Blogger presents Find The Best Web Host For Your Online Business posted at The Digerati Life. Ms. Silicon Valley states, “Starting an online business? Check out my tips and resources.”

Budgeting:

• Travis presents Christmas, it’ll be here sooner than you think posted at Christian Money Mountain.

Real Estate:

• Tallahassee Real Estate presents Housing Market Bottom Reached In Tallahassee posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog. “It is obviously premature to call the bottom of the market, as we only have a 10 day up-trend. If this ends up being the true real estate market bottom in Tallahassee, you can record August 23rd, 2009 as the day the market turned! I really suspect that we are closing in on the bottom if we have not hit it already. My earlier predictions were for this to occur in November, but I’ll certainly take an earlier result if we can find it.”

Other:

• Roshawn Watson presents Being A Landlord By Default posted at Watson Inc. Roshawn comments, “Although choosing to become a landlord can be financially rewarding, many homeowners are finding that this option is not all that it is cracked up to be.”

Summary

If you are interested in submitting a post from your blog to this carnival, just use this convenient submission form. Or if you are interested in hosting the carnival, then here is all the information you need. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this week’s line-up. If you have, then please show some social love and spread the word!