Carnival of Retirement – 6th Edition

photo credit: Dominic Scaglioni

Welcome to the most recent Edition of the Carnival of Retirement. If you want to submit a post for next week’s edition, please use the submission form. Next week’s edition will be hosted by My Personal Finance Journey.

Dr. Dean from The Millionaire Nurse published A Valentine’s Day: Make A Choice, saying, ‘Just like Christmas, it’s easy to let commercialization and materialism ruin a beautiful idea. Don’t stress your relationship over this over-hyped holiday. Now-go make love not war!’

Darwin from Darwin’s Money published Your President Is Lying About a ‘Strong Dollar Policy’ – Why Dollar Weakness Matters, saying, ‘I couldn’t help but notice today that Pfizer started the trend we’ll see from every multinational today blaming lower 2012 forecasts on a stronger dollar CNBC.’

Luke Bonds from Learn Bonds published Treasury Bonds, saying, ‘All three are types of bond issued by the federal government of the United States. The name indicates the maturity date of the bond.’

LaTisha from Financial Success for Young Adults published The Five Components of a Credit Score, saying, ‘How can I improve my credit score? There are five components to credit card scoring and if you want to improve your FICO score pay attention.’

Andy from My Retirement Blog published How Much Do I Really Need to Retire?, saying, ‘Retirement. Spending time with your family. Travel. Doing what you want to do, when you want to do it. It’s a wonderful pipe dream that practically anyone over 50 indulges in now and then. Or even younger. But in addition to all the uncertainty about Social Security, there’s more to consider, including rising Medicare costs.’

Kyle from The Penny Hoarder published The #1 Most Overlooked Tax Deduction Could Save You $1,000, saying, ‘There’s free money available to people who invest in retirement accounts, but the money is often overlooked. Many low-income individuals could qualify for the Saver’s Credit. It’s a tax deduction that could put up to $1,000 in their wallets.’

YFS from Your Finances Simplified published Stock Primer for the Novice Investor, saying, ‘When it comes to investing money, the very first thing that comes to mind is putting it aside as savings. What people fail to realize is that this is not a productive way to invest their money. Read my primer and learn the way!’

Shaun from Smart Family Finance published How We Taught Our Daughter about Saving: Top Family Finance Posts #4, saying, ‘Teaching your daughter how to save is a challenging task. This is how my family taught my daughter at the age of three.’

Daniel from Sweating the Big Stuff published With The Federal Reserve Holding Steady On Interest Rates, Is Now The Time To Buy?, saying, ‘Last week, the Federal Reserve say they have no plans to raise interest rates until 2014. But what does that mean for mortgage rates?’

Corey from 20s Finances published Furnishing Your Apartment from Ikea?, saying, ‘If you are looking to furnish your first apartment, you may be wondering where the best place to buy your major items from. There are many great stores to choose from these days and it is hard to establish the best place. While I often suggest that Craigslist is the best place to buy items because it ensures that you are not paying the mark-up price for a new item.’

KT from Personal Finance Journey published 3 Tried and True Ways to Find Money to Snowflake on Debt, saying, ‘Are you in debt? If so, you are in company with millions of Americans. However, 2012 can be the year that you resolve to be debt free or to significantly reduce your debt. My preferred method of paying down debt is two pronged, use the debt snowball and read my other methods on my site!’

Dividend Ninja from The Dividend Ninja published Why Should I Invest in Bonds? Part-1, saying, ‘These days, bonds are getting a bad name. Stock markets are off to a tremendous start in 2012, dividend stocks are outperforming, and not surprisingly investors are losing their confidence in government issued bonds. There are three main reasons why investors are spooked with bonds…’

Hank from Money Q&A published What’s The Difference Between Index Funds and Exchange Traded Funds ETFs, saying, ‘At first glance, many investors simply do not understand the difference between index funds and exchange traded funds and how they can fit into your investments.’

Don from MoneySmartGuides published Your 401k: How Much Are You Paying?, saying, ‘I’m not a huge fan of writing about taxes. Most readers aren’t big fans of reading about taxes. I can’t lie, so unfortunately this post is about taxes. Please don’t go. I promise this is very important information and it help you!’

Amanda L Grossman from Frugal Confessions published The Zero Sum Financial Game: Ideas to Help You Juggle the Month, saying, ‘At the end of the month you need for all bills to be paid, savings goals to be met, and for your checking account to have a balance of at least zero!’

krantcents from KrantCents published The 3 C’s of Success, saying, ‘The 3 C’s of Success is the third in a series of articles to help you reach your goal. What are your goals? I know you thought about it! You know, it is your dream, wish or resolution you made! Before you can get to where you want to be, you need to know where you have been!’

MMD from MyMoneyDesign published A Strategy for Maxing Out Your Retirement Savings, saying, ‘Learn about the strategy we used to max out our retirement plans like our 401k and IRA’s, and how we plan to keep saving above and beyond that!’

“Evan from My Journey to Millions published Updating My Dividend Income Investment Portfolio, saying, “I will continue my $300 – $500 lots at or near short term dips in the stock. I spent a lot of time on this portfolio, but I am not providing investment advice rather I want to hear what EVERYONE thinks about it!”

Jeremy Waller from Personal Finance Whiz published Is Health Insurance Worth It?, saying, ‘Health insurance is one of the most important types of insurance you can have. Heath care costs in the U.S. are ridiculous! Even a simple inpatient procedure can cost you in excess of $10,000. If you don’t have insurance one trip to the hospital could put you under serious financial strain!’

Erika from Newlyweds on a Budget published Traveling vs. Saving, saying, ‘Is it okay to travel when you’re paying down debt and saving money?’

Aloysa from My Broken Coin published Spending That I Can Afford, saying, ‘January was not an easy month. I felt unhinged. I felt content. I was a bitch. I was a good friend. I was rude. I was sweet. I expected a lot. I expected very little. I was happy. I was blue. I was sick. I was all over the place. All shopping bills are paid.’

A Blinkin from Funancials published Market Update: Snowboarding on the Stock Market, saying, ‘When Burton first introduced snowboards back in the 80’s, they were for lack of a better term, runaway death machines. They did not have metaledges and were very hard to control, especially in less than ideal conditions.Read how I tie this into the stock market!’

Suba from Broke Professionals published The Most Painful Annuity, saying, ‘Alimony, which is taken from the Latin derivation for sustenance, is a court declared contract where a man or women is obligated to receive monetary compensation from their spouse, after their divorce or separation. While the term and concept has been changed since modern times, its origins can be traced way back to ancient history The Most Painful Annuity!’

Eddie from Finance Fox published Get Your Free Credit Report – Honestly, it’s FREE!, saying, ‘Small business web hosting offering additional business services such as: domain name registrations, email accounts, web services, FrontPage help, online community resources and various small business solutions.’

Wayne from Young Family Finance published Financial Benefits of Not Having Kids, saying, ‘Discover some of the financial benefits of not having kids. It may surprise you to know the true costs and what you are saving by not having kids.’

Small Business Resource from Small Business Resource published How to Save Money on Technology For Your Business, saying, ‘Fax machines, copiers, printers, computers, smartphones, tablets … it seems like every day there is some new piece of technology without which your business’

FG from Financial God published The Role of Money in the Financial Crisis, saying, ‘There is an interesting post by Jeffrey Tucker on the Mises Institute of Canada about the ongoing ‘crisis of capitalism’. If one is talking about the current world economic order, then there is indeed a crisis going on, but it all depends on how you define the word ‘capitalism’. ”

Mich from Beating The Index published Stock Updates: Aroway Energy, Hyperion Exploration, Palliser Oil and Gas, saying, ‘Aroway Energy : This stock, the one that got away, has performed superbly in the past months particularly in a difficult year such as 2011 where it outperformed’

Jeffrey from Money Spruce published Is a Master’s Degree Worth It?, saying, ‘Advanced degrees aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. They won’t guarantee you your dream job. They won’t ensure happiness in life, either. But they will cost you a lot of money if you’re not careful. At age 26, I’ve already completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. That’s not me bragging by any means.’

Jester from The Ultimate Juggle published How to Get a Raise, saying, ‘Find out how to get a raise. By applying these tactics, you will be on your way to getting a raise.’

MR from Money Reasons published Are You A Money Hoarder?, saying, ‘Are You A Money Hoarder? Have you ever thought about it? Do you hide a lot of money in your house?’

PITR from Passive Income To Retire published Types of Investments, saying, ‘Read about different types of investments that are not the typical types of investments.’

Kevin from Thousandaire published 8 Financial Behaviors that Piss Me Off!, saying, ‘You know you hate it when people dig for exact change when they are in line in front of you. Here are all my least favorite financial behaviors.’

101 Centavos from 101 Centavos published Funny Girls and Stand-up Dames – Weekend Reading List, saying, ‘I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I would do it.’

Corey from Steadfast Finances published The Best Online Credit Tools, saying, ‘Your credit report can say a lot about you to a future creditor, landlord or even employer. There are many online tools that allow you to monitor and fix your credit.’

John from Married with Debt published Job Loss Protection: An Emergency Plan, saying, ‘If you are facing job loss or want to plan for job loss, it is a smart idea to have a Job Loss Emergency Plan. Read on for ways to protect your family and prepare for the worst.’

Peter from Bible Money Matters published The 401k Maximum Contribution Went Up This Year. Did You Bump Up Your Contributions?, saying, ‘This past year after we finally maxed out that 12 month emergency fund we finally started contributing close to the maximum to my 401(k) account through my job. This year as we make further changes we’ll be contributing right up to the maximum for 401(k) accounts, and we may also being contributing to the Roth IRA as well.’

Kacie from Sense to Save published How much money will you need to retire?, saying, ‘This post helps you consider your expenses in retirement, factor in inflation, and add in pensions and Social Security to determine how much you’ll need in your nest egg at the start of retirement.’

Cash Flow Mantra from Cash Flow Mantra published Three Pronged Approach to Retirement, saying, ‘As promised on Friday, I am going to delve into my retirement plans and share what I intend. Knowing what I know about inflation and purchasing power, I think you will find that this is a well rounded approach to the risks that will be present should I decide to live for 25 or 30 years following the day I quit my day job. It is not a really sophisticated plan per se with lots of fancy calculations, but is aimed at providing a living income for my wife and I with some extra money for travel purposes as well.’

Grand Per Month from Grand Per Month published How to Make $1,000 Per Month with Stock Dividends, saying, ‘The one downside to earning dividend income is that it takes a substantial amount of money to invest. Rather than spending a lot of time working to develop and establish the income, it takes cash. So if you have the cash to do this, great. If not, there are plenty of other ideas on the site which can help you make an extra $1000 per month which would eventually give you the cash needed to move to a more passive form of generating monthly income.’

Beating Broke from Beating Broke published The Lending Club IRA: Peer to Peer Lending Enters the Retirement Realm, saying, ‘Many of us struggle to put money away for our retirements. Do we really want what little money we have put away in an investment that carries as much risk as Lending Club notes carry? I like risky investments, but even I don’t think I’d want all of my retirement money in these notes.’

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey from My Personal Finance Journey published Options Investing – Does it Deserve a Place in Your Personal Portfolio?, saying, ‘This post gives an introduction to Options Investing, and describes how it may or may not fit into an individuals’ own investing strategy for the short term or for retirement.’

Miss T. from Prairie Eco Thrifter published How Anyone Can Create Passive Income, saying, ‘Typically, passive income is portrayed as a device for the rich to get richer. Those that have the money invest in passive investments such as rental units, property, big businesses, or large amounts of stocks that yield dividends. Each one of these investments can provide an excellent income with very little amounts of work, but they also need a large amount of up-front cash! So, how in the world do average Joes begin to earn a passive income?’

Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff published Our Stock Portfolio – 2012 Update, saying, ‘I realized a couple of weeks ago that I hadn’t updated any of you about our stock portfolio holdings for about a year. I still dislike stocks and market stats since they seem foreign to me, so Mr. BFS does most of our investing. Here are the current stocks we are investing in, their current dividend yield, and what Mr. BFS said about them:’

Jen from Master the Art of Saving published Sometimes It’s Good to Feel the Pain…of debt, saying, ‘We didn’t feel the pain of paying off our debt because we took the easy way out. The problem wasn’t just the debt; it was the lack of budgeting and being really stupid with our money. We made it a whole two weeks without using credit cards to pay for stuff we couldn’t afford. After that, we went right back to everything we were doing before.’

Jon the Saver from Free Money Wisdom published Why You Need a Retirement Plan and How to Create a Sturdy One, saying, ‘Even though it is common knowledge that starting to save for retirement as early as possible is the best practice, some still ask, “Do I really need a retirement savings plan at all?” One reason the answer to that question is an emphatic “YES” is that you never know what the future will bring and unexpected and sudden circumstances may arise.’

Jeffrey from Saving Advice published Top 5 Dying Regrets: Why I Won’t Have Them and Neither Should You, saying, ‘A nurse, Bronnie Ware, who spent years tending to patients that were living the last weeks of their lives recently came out with a book titled The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing. While not all of these regrets are directly related to finances, they do all have some type of money aspect to them. These are the five most common regrets for people at the end of their life and why I won’t have them (and neither should you) when I do die:’

retirebyforty from Retire By 40 published Dividend Income Portfolio Jan. 2012 Update +RDS.B, saying, ‘A dividend portfolio is a great tool for retirement income. My latest addition is RDS.B because gas price will sky rocket this summer and I’m sure Shell will benefit.’

“Emmie from Frugalist published Saving for Retirement: 7 Super Strategies, saying, ‘Achieving a comfortable retirement requires a good plan. Starting to save sooner rather than later and tracking your goals along the way is the main key to a successful retirement plan.’

SB from One Cent at a Time published How much do I need to save for retirement every month, saying, ‘Are you over-saving or under-saving for your retirement? You can’t know before you do some calculation. Determine if your retirement saving is taking pre-retirement pleasures away. Its important to calculate exactly how much you need to save every month to reach your retirement target.’